21: An Animal

MIREYA I stared up from the floor at the man standing over me. This was Blaise Leith. This was the monstrous billionaire my family was forcing me to marry to wipe their bankruptcy clean. He looked down at me with mocking eyes, his lip curling into a sneer as if my very presence irritated him to his core.A wave of bitter disgust washed over my chest. I loathed that look more than anything in this world. Auden would never look at me this way. Even when Auden was acting cold, even when he was pushing me away or drawing boundaries between us, his dark eyes always burned with a fierce, protective intensity. He treated me like something that mattered, something worth saving.But Phills, my shithead ex, used to look at me with this same hollow, dismissive contempt. Looking at the dangerous edge in Blaise's face, a terrifying realization settled deep into my bones: Blaise would be a thousand times worse than my ex could ever dream of being. Phills was a pathetic coward, but Blaise was a psyc

Last Updated : 2026-10-03

22: Blaise Wants

MIREYAThe men in black lunged forward, their fingers wrapping around my arms to drag me toward the bedroom, just as Blaise had instructed them. I screamed, kicking my legs. But just as the guards braced their weight to lift me completely off the floor, the doors were suddenly slammed open. My father burst into the living room. "What the hell is going on here?" he roared, his voice trembling with an explosive combination of rage, and protection. "Release my daughter this instant! Blaise, I demanded to know what nonsense is this!"Blaise stopped his pacing, his head snapping toward the entrance as he let out a growl. He looked at my father as if he had just disturbed a predator during an important meal. The guards hesitated, their vice-like grips loosening just enough for me to tear myself away.Driven by survival, I scrambled across the floor, stood up, and ran straight to my dad. I threw my arms around his waist and hid behind him, using his back as a shield against the monsters in

Last Updated : 2026-10-06

23: Auden Indifference II

MIREYA Blaise’s grip on my jaw tightened until my neck throbbed with a dull ache. He didn't even look at my father as he delivered his final words, his cold, dominant eyes fixed entirely on my bleeding face."Hence, my fiancé would be staying here permanently," Blaise commanded. "She stays with me, and she will always be with me from this moment on. As for you, Arthur, you can leave before I dismantle every single piece of your body this very second."My father balled his fists, and took a step forward wanting to reach me. He stared down the armed men who instantly raised the barrels of their weapons directly at his chest."Dad, stop! Just go!" I cried out, my voice cracking.I looked at the man who had raised me, the man who was currently trying to play the heroic protector when it was entirely too late. "Go home, Dad. Just leave me here." I said. My father flinched as if I had struck him."Mireya, I am not leaving you with this beast—""Why not?" I laughed bitterly. "After all, yo

Last Updated : 2026-10-19

24: A Trip

MIREYA"Auden, please," I begged, keeping my pride aside. I reached out, as I desperately grabbed his arm. "You can't leave me with him. You know what kind of monster Blaise Leith is. I am desperate."Auden barely looked at me, and he didn't flinch. He looked down at my hand on his arm, his face remaining a unreadable."You should stop begging. Let go, Mireya," he said. "I told you, it's over. I have completely forgotten about you. While you are here preparing for your wedding, I will be preparing for an international trip "Hearing this, my heart sank. “I have nowhere else to go.”“That’s not my problem, Mireya.” He said coldly."Then take me along!" The words burst from my throat before I could even process them, a breathless fear driving my voice. "Take me with you on your four-month business trip, Auden. I'm pleading with you. Save me from being forced into this marriage with Blaise. I can hide in your apartment, I can stay out of your way, just don't leave me here""That’s not my

Last Updated : 2026-10-27

25: Don’t Slip

MIREYA“Blaise, I’m bleeding,” I lied. “I told you at the restaurant that I’m having terrible cramps. I’m in pain, and I really can’t do this tonight.”Blaise stared at me for several seconds, his eyes moving over my face as if he was trying to figure out whether I was telling the truth. My heart was restless, but I forced myself to remain still, hoping he would believe the lie.Finally, he sighed and waved his hand. “Fine. Go to the guest room. I don’t want a bleeding woman in my bed anyway.”I swallowed. “Thank you.”“But don’t think this changes anything,” he added coldly. “When your period is over, you won’t have another excuse.”I nodded quickly, forcing myself to hide the relief that rushed through me as I turned and walked away.The moment I reached the guest room and shut the door behind me, I leaned against it and released a shaky breath.I wasn’t bleeding, and I wasn’t even on my period. But I needed an excuse, and for tonight, the lie had worked.FEW DAYS LATER:A few days p

Last Updated : 2026-10-31

26: Auden’s Lock

AUDENThe plane touched down on the tarmac of Fellnorth City, and I didn’t waste a single second once we landed. I ushered Mireya straight from the hangar into the tinted back seat of a waiting car, making sure we bypassed the main streets entirely. We drove through a high-security commercial district before pulling into the underground parking structure of an anonymous luxury high-rise.I got out of the car and led Mireya into the elevator without saying much to her. She had been quiet throughout the drive, but I could tell from the way her eyes kept moving that she was trying to figure out where I had brought her and why I had chosen to keep our arrival so discreet.When we reached the penthouse, I unlocked the door and stepped aside to let her enter. Mireya walked inside slowly, as she looked around the apartment. The place was luxurious, but there was something cold about it, as though nobody actually lived there. The furniture was expensive, the windows stretched from floor to ce

Last Updated : 2026-11-05