No Surrender : My Thirty-year War Novels & Stories

He asked, his voice low and dangerous. “I would rather die in the hands of a real man, a man of his words, a real warrior than die in the hands of a pathetic excuse like Marcus,” I said. “And my bravery would add a lot to your pack. I am willing to serve you till my last breath.” “Serve me? To last your last breath you say?” Fenrir asked, his gaze hard and cold. “Do not lie to me or try to trick me. I hate lies and detest liars.”

His thumb grazes the button again, and the world explodes. I scream. Not a cry of pain, not this time. It’s too raw, too consuming. Every nerve in my body is on fire, and all I can do is ride the wave as it crashes again and again through me. My back arches, my legs straining against the cuffs that keep me helplessly displayed. There’s no control, no modesty, no shame. Only surrender.

"Why would you do this?" Dad asked, gritting his teeth. Yannis suddenly yelled hysterically, "Linnus Corporation was supposed to be mine! You took it away from me and killed my mother. I've been lying in wait by your side for many years just for a chance to get my revenge!" I thought that Dad would kill him right then and there, but he just said, "You are just an illegitimate bastard. You have no right to claim Linnus Corporation."

******SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK****** It was freezing cold at nine PM in the streets of Allendale. A woman in her early fifties was seen in front of her large window, a grim look on her face and a glass of wine in her hand. She suddenly turned away from the window, and came face to face with a young man who looked a little distraught. The classy old lady smiled and began walking away from the window side. "Are you still doubting what I'm doing, son?" The young man sighed deeply, shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, Mom. I don't know if all these will work out the way we want. What if Valentine doesn't fall into the trap? You know I'd die without her."

I fully-fledged ignored him for the whole month but that day luck was not on my side. The day when our Hate War officially started... ****Vote and Comment***

“Or maybe he just wanted to give you a graceful way to hand it to someone who actually wants it.” “That's not what this is,” I say. But I don't actually know that. That's the terrible part. “Thirty days,” Vera says, standing, smoothing her skirt. “I'll start clearing my calendar for the transition. No hard feelings, Sera.” There are hard feelings. There have always been hard feelings. I don't say so. I just watch her go, heels clicking against the hardwood, and think, distantly, that I have never wanted to win something as badly as I want to win this.

350 days left. No contract. No rules. Just him. Just me. Just war.

Not just for him, though that would’ve been bad enough. For the feeling itself. That sharp, dangerous rush. That spark. That dizzy, reckless want that made everything else disappear for a second. I wanted it again. And the fact that I wanted it again while sitting in a library surrounded by economics notes and rain smell and silence made me feel like I was losing some private war by inches. “Wow,” Leonard said, dropping into the seat Tyler had just vacated. “Either I missed something important, or you now take tutoring from basketball players.”

Just us—choosing each other, building a family, refusing to surrender to fear or trauma or every voice that said this was impossible. Some hearts break. Some hearts surrender. Ours? We built an empire from the shattered pieces. And the heart that wouldn't surrender finally learned that sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is let yourself be loved exactly as you are. THE END