Novels by Mariah_Maverick

ELIASThe Mercer estate was a different kind of hell.Not the loud, chaotic kind. Not the one with fire and torment. No. This hell was polished marble floors, a chandelier that cost more than most houses, and silence so thick it could suffocate you.I hadn’t lived here in almost three years. Not since I turned eighteen and convinced the board (who apparently made all the major decisions of my life) it was better for appearances if I had my own place, my own image. So I built a mansion across town. Clean, modern and completely fit to my tastes. That’s where I held the parties. That’s where I wore the crown they gave me.But this? This was the kingdom.Dinner was at seven sharp. Not 6:59. Not 7:01.Late meant disrespect. And in the Mercer house, disrespect was basically treason. And I’m not even kidding.I parked the car exactly where I always did…the lower driveway, passenger side closest to the door. The valet had long since stopped offering to park for me. He knew I preferred the con

DARCYThe beeping.God, it never stopped.The soft chime of the monitors. The low hum of hospital machines. The sharp click of shoes on the linoleum outside my door. The voices. The whispers. The baby.Everything was way too loud.And yet somehow still not loud enough to drown out the spiral in my head.I was three days post-surgery, and my body felt like it had been cracked open and stitched back wrong. My skin didn't fit right. My bones ached. My breasts were swollen, burning, leaking just enough milk to stain every one of Levi's oversized shirts I'd been living in, but somehow never enough to satisfy her.The baby. Still unnamed. Still loud. And of course still mine.The nurses stationed around kept calling her "Baby Girl Seville," their voices bright and excited like it wasn't driving me insane every time I heard it. As though it wasn't a frequent shitty reminder that I hadn't been able to name her. Like I didn't just stare at the blank line on her birth certificate every night, w

ELIAS Marnie disappeared back inside, leaving Cassian and me standing there, bags of baby supplies weighing heavily in our hands. We didn’t speak, and neither of us moved, we were just stood there in the same position. Because neither of us knew what the fuck to do next. Cassian was still staring at the trunk like it held all the damn answers he needed. Like if he just focused hard enough, the truth would magically spell itself out in between the formula cans and tiny clothes. His jaw clenched, his breathing uneven, the muscle in his temple ticking like it always did when he was about five seconds from losing his shit. He wouldn’t say it. Not out loud. He didn’t even have to. But I could see it written all over his face. He thought the baby was his. And was already panicking at the thought of his broke ass trying to deal with that mess. Anyways, if Cassian was thinking the baby was his because of that night, then of course, so was I. Because what were the fucking odds? Ni

CASSIANThe hospital’s automatic doors slid open, and the cold air hit me like a slap.I barely felt it.Marnie was leading the way toward her car, talking as she walked. I could hear her voice, but the words blurred together, muffled beneath the sheer panic coursing through me, aggravated by the pounding in my skull.Just ahead of me, Elias moved like nothing was wrong.As though the last five minutes hadn’t flipped our entire fucking world upside down, as though it was just a nightmare I forgot to wake up from.As though he wasn’t standing in the middle of this mess with me. To think, randomly deciding to follow Elias Mercer would’ve led to such an outcome. But I was still glad I fucking did. He hadn’t said a word since we left Darcy’s room. Not even a glance my way.Because he didn’t have to. I knew him too well. Knew that he was already thinking, analyzing, calculating his next move while I was barely holding myself together. It was always like that with us.Marnie’s trunk was al

DARCYElias's words hung in the air, heavy, unrelenting and suffocating.Cassian ran a hand through his already messy hair, pacing, his movements were erratic and restless, like he couldn't stand still. He kept looking at me, then at the empty space where baby had been, then back at me again, like he was desperately trying to piece something together that didn't fucking fit. But he didn't worry me yet.Elias, on the other hand, was too still. Too silent. His eyes had darkened, locked onto me with something unreadable and calculating.And that scared me way more than Cassian's pacing.Because Elias Mercer didn't guess. He didn't assume, didn't throw accusations into the dark without knowing exactly what he was talking about.He found the answers. Tore them apart if he had to.And I could tell...he was already getting close. Too fucking close.The realization started to settle in way too suddenly for my liking, I could see it creeping into their expressions, into the way Cassian's frown

DARCYI couldn't breathe.Not with them standing there. Not with Elias Mercer and Cassian Dempsey standing right there, staring at me, staring at her.The room had been too small before, but now it felt like the walls were closing in, pressing painfully against my ribs, and making it real impossible to think.They didn't say anything. Of course they didn't. What was there to say?Neither did I.We just... stared.Cassian's brows were drawn, his lips pressed together in a hard line like he was trying to solve a puzzle that shouldn't exist. Elias stood still, too still, but his sharp eyes hadn't moved from me once. They weren't looking at the baby, nor were they looking at Levi.Nahh, they were looking at me. Focused and intense.Like they didn't know who the hell I was.Like I had suddenly turned into something unrecognizable.The pressure in my chest grew much worse. My arms were locked in place, frozen, my fingers curled so tightly around the baby that my knuckles had gone white.I h