24 Hearts Novels & Stories

The door to Damien’s office creaked open, its sound loudly heard in the stillness of the moment. “Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson,” she said, her voice steady despite the rapid sound of her heartbeat. Her eyes flicked to her wristwatch—an attempt to maintain her composure in the presence of the man who now held her future in his hands.

“For fuck’s sake mate, stop making this harder than it needs to be. I just want to talk to him and nothing else and what I have to say does not involve you, got it?” The voices inside my head were raging with every word that was exchanged between Liam and Keith. They were making it harder for me to quiet the voices and I just couldn’t take it anymore as the tears continued and my heart ached from all the pain that came rushing back ten times. I remembered Hayley and Alexis, my parents and him. It was all so overwhelming that I screamed so loud. “STOP! I CAN’T TAKE IT!”

𝐴 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡. TBC

Inside was a single sheet of matte black paper, the message printed in faint grey type, like a whisper in ink: You’re not the only one watching. You’ve got forty-eight hours before someone decides your past isn’t worth hiding. No signature. No mark. But the phrasing… sharp, precise. It reminded her of the way Leo Knight spoke—only this was colder, less amused. Her mind moved fast—cross-referencing jobs, old contacts, burned clients—but there were too many possibilities. She turned the page over, and a smaller slip of paper fell out. A photograph. Her chest tightened.

“I won’t let it. Not with you.” “Then we’ll figure out how to make sure it doesn’t,” Aria said, her voice firmer than she felt. “First—breath.” She placed her palm on her chest, showing the rhythm. “Four in, four hold, four out, four rest. Together.” Kai followed. His shoulders began to loosen. His hands still trembled, but the shaking retreated to his fingertips.

I’m Remy Vale. And I’m carrying two hearts the world tried to erase. And they’re still beating. ---

She wiped it away, but more followed, and soon she gave in to the silent sobs that shook her tired frame. Suddenly, a sharp, searing pain shot through Daphne’s stomach, tearing through her like a bolt of lightning. Her hand instinctively flew to her belly. **Oh no, my baby!** The thought exploded in her mind, flooding her with panic. She had endured so much for her unborn child, fighting through every hardship to protect the life growing inside her. Now, her heart pounded wildly, fear taking over as the pain intensified, twisting and squeezing her insides.

she gives me air kisses and leaves. I sigh, a huge smile on my face, I look at the papers again and it brings joy to my heart but not as much as those flowers, I stare at the petals, my fingers brushing through them softly,my heart pulled in two different directions, softened by the memory of Matteo but heavy with Dexter's growing presence in my life. How can I possibly be in love with two brothers? My heart strings pulled in two different directions, my smile fades. **************** I pack up my bag and laptop when I hear a little knock on my door, I look up and see Dexter and my heart increases in pace, excitedly.

The fluorescent lights caught the gold in his brown eyes, the flecks of lighter color near the pupils that made him look perpetually surprised, perpetually kind. "I know his anatomy," Datu said. "The way his ribs curved around his heart. The adhesions from an old appendectomy—he was, what, sixteen? The scar tissue that slowed my dissection. I know the exact pressure his aorta can withstand before it tears. Does that count as knowing him?"