The Price Of Betrayal 소설 & 이야기

I looked down at the documents again, their black text swimming slightly as my eyes unfocused. The thing about betrayal I thought was that it never looked like itself until it was too late. It looked like kindness. It looked like showing up at the right moment with concern. It looked like midnight phone calls and notebooks found in storage facilities at exactly the time you needed to find them. "Why would he need payment," I said, not to Jonathan but to the air itself, to the universe that seemed determined to teach me the same lesson over and over. "If he genuinely felt what he says he felt, why would money need to change hands."

Alternatively, if this conflict would split us before we ever had an opportunity to rebuild. Although secrets were costly, the cost of betrayal would be far more. And shortly we will learn precisely who was ready to pay the price.

Cause that's all a vulnerable woman like me could do. The bed creaked beneath us, but it wasn't enough. His rage spilled out. We crashed onto the floor, then the couch, until I was pressed against the cold glass of the window. My skin seared from the icy touch of the pane. Yet he only pressed harder. Pain is the price of betrayal, they say. And I was paying in full. There was no escape. His punishment was for both of us. Every thrust, every bruise, his wrath, his desire.

But since he no longer loved me and even betrayed me, I had no reason to continue helping him with his dreams. Still, I had to calm him down. I couldn't let him know that I was planning to sell off all my shares. So, I looked at him emotionlessly and said, "Fine, we won't divorce." Aaron grinned gleefully in satisfaction. "Isn't that great? I'm sorry I can't give you the love you want, Katrina, but I can still give you the money that you want."

And now Boris is dead because of it. "You bastard," I spat. "Save your strength," Alexei said. "You are going to need it." "What do you mean?" I asked. "I am moving up your execution," Alexei announced. "Tonight. Right now." My blood ran cold. "You promised irinat…" "The deal is off," Alexei interrupted. "She betrayed me. So you die. Simple as that." "No," I said. "Please. Give me more time." "Time for what?" Alexei asked. "To plan another escape? To have more people die trying to save you? No. This ends tonight."

I started with a cream colored dress, it hit the middle of the thighs, lacy but girly, sexy but classy, a mix that made me feel pretty and hot at the same time, I walked out with a smile on my face this time. "What do you think?" I ask him. "Turn," he orders, and I do that, showing him that my ass cheeks are covered. "We'll buy it," he says to Valentina, who nods. "That's not feedback," I say, blinking at him, he didn't say if he liked it or not, if I looked pretty or not, or if we just buying what seemed okay. "That's his way of saying you look good, expensive, more like a Romano," Valentina comments, so she knows about my family? About my brother too?

“Every action has a price. Every betrayal is a debt. And tonight, your debt is due.” The fear was delicious, intoxicating. It wasn’t about cruelty. It was about control, precision, dominance. He realized it. Every flinch, every gulp of air, every trembling muscle screamed the truth: he had been outplayed, and he knew it. I signaled to my men, and they moved swiftly, separating him from the other captives. They were careful, efficient—but I wanted the satisfaction of delivering the first strike myself. My hands were steady, deliberate. I struck, not enough to kill, but enough to ensure he would remember the lesson: betray me, and your world collapses.

"She's throwing another tantrum, isn't she? She did the same thing last time—took off the monitor just to threaten me. Unbelievable. Even with lives on the line, she still plays games like this. "Go. Find her. Bring her in and draw the blood. I don't care how you do it. Even if she tries to use that bastard child in her belly to bargain, ignore her." At the word "bastard," my soul—already detached from my body—wavered. My nails dug deep into my ghostly palms as I watched him, face tense with irritation, giving out orders. Not a trace of sorrow. Not even a flicker of regret. I closed my eyes. Tears slid silently down my cheeks.

Jesse stared at him for a beat, then nodded. “That’s better than a lie,” Jesse muttered. Before he left, he gave Elias a pat on the shoulder. It wasn’t warm. But it wasn’t cold either. That was enough. That night, Elias and Lucas sat outside, sharing a blanket on the balcony. The sky was full of clouds, no stars. “I used to think love came with a price,” Elias said. Lucas looked at him. “What kind of price?” “The kind that makes you give up parts of yourself just to keep it. Makes you shrink so someone else can breathe.”

My whole body shivered uncontrollably. Ian… How could he? Out there, with another woman? And so recklessly that it landed them in a hospital? The realization was like a blow to the gut. My breath hitched painfully, and I clung to the wall for support. Why did I have to find out like this—while carrying his child? Why did he have to betray me, especially today, of all days? Valentine's Day. Suddenly, a sharp, stabbing pain gripped my belly. I bent over, barely able to stay on my feet, while the voices around me continued unabated.