Chapter 1 ~ The Wife In Handcuffs

{Harlow’s POV}The gates of Vale Estate opened like a hole that swallowed secrets with stone walls rising on both sides— Iron curling into thorns and a driveway long enough to hide regret in. My hands stayed folded in my lap as the car rolled forward, smooth as a well told lie.I was twenty-nine.Purchased.And resold to a prettier cage— (courtesy of my parents)The house didn’t care about my age or the ruin stitched beneath my ribs. It only cared that Adrien Vale could afford to keep me.The man waiting for me on the steps was not young or gentle. He was not anything a girl writes in a diary.Adrien Vale was money in human form— sharp where he wanted, soft where he chose. He held himself like a verdict.“Mrs. Vale,” he greeted when I stepped out of the car. He was already tagging me with his family name and I hated how the title settled on my skin, like a brand I had agreed to. Because, technically, I had.“It’s Harlow,” I corrected softly and his eyes flickered at my response, app

Last Updated : 2026-06-02

Chapter 2 ~ Glass & Heat

{Harlow’s POV}Adrian didn’t fuck me last night so those hurrays were wasted. But keep them.Sooner or later, I’ll be needing them.Arian had had a switch of mood after he had received a phone call and so he had thankfully dismissed me, and then throughout today, he had been away from the estate, giving me more time to breathe and my heart time to settle. Now, it was nighttime but I wasn’t catching any sleep. I still felt tense due to all that had happened and all that was about to happen in this house. Meanwhile, I had been told that the greenhouse was the only place in the Estate that didn’t feel like a pressure cooker. Calista, one of the maids who has been kind to me since my arrival, had left me a note earlier in the pantry, tucked behind a sugar jar like contraband.“The Greenhouse is peaceful and beautiful to hang. Especially at night.” The note had read so now, I left my room and went there. The glass ceiling of the Greenhouse glowed faintly with moonlight and warm air wrap

Last Updated : 2026-06-02

Chapter 3 ~ Father’s New Prize

{Kael’s POV}The Estate woke before I did.Servants were whispering in the halls as they went about their duties and I heard my father’s voice in a distant room as he made one of his uncanny calls. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling beams. They were old. Heavy; the kind that looked like they remembered things.I didn’t sleep much. I hadn’t slept well for years, but last night was worse, because every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.Harlow.My father’s new bride. Or prize.There has been many before her so I was used to seeing strangers like her, but then she seems different. She’s not like the others who have come and mysteriously disappear. She’s too confident and stubborn and something about that urges me to constantly warn her about my father and the way he uses people like her.At the end of the day, I don’t care. She’s not my responsibility but then there’s what happened yesterday at the greenhouse. I had lost control for a moment there and it had led to someth

Last Updated : 2026-06-02

Chapter 4 ~ And More…

{Harlow’s POV}The Estate woke early.By seven in the morning, the west hall was already drowning in flowers, silver trays, and servants moving with the sort of panic wealthy men called organization.I stood near the center table with a clipboard in one hand and boredom on the other.“Mrs. Vale?” one of the maids asked nervously. “Should the roses go beside the champagne tower or the staircase?”“The staircase,” I answered. “If they’re near the champagne, someone important will knock them over and blame the staff for it.”The maid looked relieved enough to cry.I understood her completely.These types of settings had the unique ability to make breathing feel performance-based.I glanced around the hall again. Velvet drapes framed the towering windows while chandeliers spilled pale gold light across polished floors. Long tables stretched across the room dressed in ivory runners and crystal glassware so expensive I became afraid to blink near them.The banquet was tonight.Which meant A

Last Updated : 2026-06-02

All Chapters of We Shouldn’t Be Touching : Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

Chapter 1 ~ The Wife In Handcuffs

Chapter 2 ~ Glass & Heat

Chapter 3 ~ Father’s New Prize

Chapter 4 ~ And More…