Divided Loyalties Book Novels & Stories

I've been married to Federico Moretti for four years, and the entire time, we've lived in a run-down basement. He works three jobs, all to save up money to buy me a house filled with morning sunlight and make it our home. So when the doctor gives me my diagnosis, all I can think about is how I'm about to become a burden to him. When I get home, Federico is crouched in front of a leaking pipe, wrapping tape around it. He looks up and spots the hospital envelope in my hand, his expression darkening. "Sera, how many times have I told you? Those white coats are all crooks. Look at Alfredo's mom. She had a whole bunch of tests done and spent all that money, only to get better after drinking

“I—I can do better. Please.” Alpha Mathias raised a brow. “Can you?” I swallowed. “Yes.” He circled me now, slow, deliberate. “You don’t win wars with fists alone,” he said, gesturing to the room’s weapon-lined walls. “Sometimes, you win them with bullets. Precision. Calculation. And most of all—loyalty.” I flinched slightly. “I need to know, Lorien,” he continued, his voice low, “that you won’t betray this pack. That you’re truly ours. No secrets. No divided hearts.”

I know, with a dreadful sensation, that he wants me because I am the only thing I have. "What are you looking for from me?" I ask, hardly raising my voice above a whisper. A little, icy smile curls Marco's lips. He states simply, "Loyalty." "Total and steadfast devotion." You are mine now and forever. You will follow my instructions without inquiry and at the appropriate time. I get a chill from his words, and I can feel his demand looming over me like a thick shroud. I understand his question. He wants authority over everything, including my life and my choices.

Letting me understand that I was not an unknown quantity to them. The fourth sentence was the pivot. ‘We are aware that loyalty built on grief and obligation is a different thing from loyalty built on genuine alignment.’ I read that sentence,it was precise in a way that made my jaw tighten. Because it was not wrong. My loyalty to Zayden was not the clean uncomplicated thing that Darius was. Darius followed Zayden because he believed in what Obsidian Keep was and what it could be. His loyalty had a philosophical foundation that held its shape regardless of circumstance.

"We partied too hard last night and forgot to use protection—don't forget to buy morning-after pills for your wife." Looking at the woman's smooth bare back and the red mole on her neck in the photo, I felt absolutely nothing. Again. Five years of marriage, and this wasn't the first time. Kathy liked to test me this way. She called it her "little experiment." The first time, she "accidentally" left a receipt for condoms on the nightstand. I got angry and confronted her, but she just smiled with contempt. "Why are you so petty? My girlfriends and I bought that on purpose just to see how you'd react." The second time was on our wedding anniversary. A guy showed up at our door with a bouq

“He advised me through the worst six months of my life after my father died, when I didn’t know if I was strong enough to hold what I’d inherited. I don’t want it to be him.” “I know.” I reached across the console, resting my hand over his on the wheel, an instinct rather than a decision. “But wanting isn’t the same as knowing.” His hand turned beneath mine, fingers lacing through mine with a quiet desperation that had nothing to do with strategy. “If it’s him,” Declan said, “I need you to understand something wasn’t going to be simple, or clean. Family loyalty in this world isn’t a virtue, Sera. It’s a liability dressed up as one.”

“I can’t wrap my head around the fact that you gave it up so easily,” Alexander went on, stepping closer and closer, his voice dropping the more he spoke. “Around the fact that you have no loyalty.” “Loyalty?” I asked in a whisper, my eyes narrowed. “Loyalty to the man that cheated? The man I divorced?"

His gaze swept over me, sharp and precise, cataloging my failings, my distractions, the betrayal that had already begun to poison the empire we all had built. “Adrian,” he began, his voice calm but lethal, “I need you to understand something clearly. Loyalty isn’t measured by words. It is measured by actions, by decisions, by the consequences you allow to unfold. And yours…” He paused, letting the weight of his judgment settle over me, “…are unacceptable.”

Why did Casey want to do this to us? Before I could even start asking myself the right questions, I suddenly saw Casey throwing his arms around Daisy, the woman he'd been calling "Grandma" for years, and crying out, "Mom! "Finally, I can publicly acknowledge you as my mother now! I'm sorry for letting you suffer for so many years, Mom, watching as I acknowledged other people as my own parents instead of you!" Daisy was also in tears when she hugged him back. "I know. However, we must ensure that the Dyson family business is passed down only to those who are related to the Dyson family by blood. I refuse to allow it to be passed down to outsiders!"

she replied. That was when I realized that this was no longer just about survival. People were starting to choose her, even at risk to themselves. RICO’S POV The council would call it disobedience. I called it loyalty. Because loyalty does not follow titles or seals. It follows the people who show up when it matters. That night, I found Lio near the kitchens. He looked nervous when I approached, but I only said, “You did well today.” His grin was small but real.