Todos os capítulos de THE HUSBAND BETWEEN US: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 5

I stared at the girl in the mirror. She stared back.Dark-brown hair fell over my shoulders in loose waves. Hazel eyes. Freckles scattered across my nose.My mother hated the freckles. I didn't.I leaned closer to the mirror, tilting my head. What would happen if I changed something? My hair. My clothes. My face. Would my life change too?“Alicia!”My mother's voice cut through the silence.I froze.“Alicia, come downstairs. We have guests.”Guests.The word settled heavily in my stomach.I glanced toward my bedroom door. “I'm coming,” I called.No answer. I looked back at my reflection. For some reason, I couldn't move.Then I exhaled, grabbed the edge of my dresser, and pushed myself away. I didn't know it yet, but that was the last night my life belonged entirely to me.That was the night I met Justin Hayes.The man I was supposed to marry.I was only twenty-three years old—the only child of the Adams family and the sole heiress to everything my father had spent his entire life bui

Early the next morning, I sat at my desk and wrote the note.I stared at the first version for nearly a minute before tearing it apart. Too angry.The second sounded too apologetic, as if I were asking for permission to leave. I tore that one up too.The third was the closest thing to the truth. I couldn't become what they had chosen for me. I couldn't explain everything because, truthfully, I wasn't sure I understood everything myself. I only knew that if I stayed, I would eventually disappear inside the life they had built for me.My eyes lingered on the words.Was this really what I wanted? For a moment, doubt crept in.Then I remembered the engagement. My father's voice. My mother's words from yesterday.And the message.Don't leave the house tomorrow.I had barely slept after reading it. I'd spent hours wondering who had sent it, imagining every possible reason. I was scared. Of course I was. But whoever had sent it had already failed. I was leaving. I folded the note carefully

Antonio came at him hard.A heavy right hand cut through the air, but Leo slipped it by inches.A few startled cheers rose from the crowd.Leo moved lightly, circling, waiting.Antonio swung again.Leo ducked beneath it, then drove two quick punches into Antonio's body before snapping a third into his cheek.Antonio's head jerked back. A few gasps rose from the crowd.For a split second, he stood still, blinking away the impact.Then he came back harder, forcing Leo across the ring with a sharp combination. Leo blocked the first two, slipped the third, then drove a punch into Antonio's ribs. “Come on!” Kayla shouted.I found myself leaning forward.Leo was fast.Not reckless.Every movement seemed calculated.The crowd roared.For a moment, they moved almost perfectly in sync—strike, block, dodge, counter.Then Antonio caught Leo with a vicious hook.The sound of the impact cut through the noise.Leo staggered.And before he could recover, Antonio struck again.The crowd changed inst