DemitriI don't understand Demi's worry about her parents, but she seems to not want to spend time with them. Maybe it's more because her mum is wild like her, which means she is worried about what I will think.That makes no sense, though, as if I would think badly of her mother and her ways, I would of Demi. If anything, it's highly amusing.We say goodbye to her parents and they leave, Demi kisses me and walks off clearly exhausted from her fun."Want me to search him?" Paul looks at me, and I don't even need to ask who to know. It's strange that the owner sold up and disappeared.It's strange that the new guy is giving her a hard time as well on day fucking one."Yeah, look him up and see what you can find," I mutter and my dad sits smiling. "What?""Oh, nothing...except what happened to. 'No, never, I'll never date anyone or find anyone remotely entertaining enough?' You seem to be in a place where you would marry that one," he says while smirking, and he's right. I would marry D
DemiI get to work on time, with a few minutes to spare. Sitting at my desk, I prepare for today."Demi, a word," his voice travels to me, and I stand walking to my office, or at least it used to be. I step in and sit down. He stands and walks around, closing the door and blinds.Great, I'm getting told off again. I fight back the laugh."Today, I will be observing you as you work. These are the properties that we're trying to get signed." He hands me the papers."Why are you watching me?" I ask."Your sales seem...Too good," he mutters, and I laugh."What? Do you think I'm creating fake people and buying buildings and homes myself?" I laugh slightly."This isn't a game or a joke." He glares towards me."And if I refuse?" I ask, and he points towards the door."Then you know where to leave. Just don't come back when you're struggling for money," he explains, and I sigh."Fine," I go to stand, and he stops me."You're staying in here and working from in here. These are clients who want
DemitriI've spent the day between places. My dad has offered to help and is going around his old associates to see if anyone has heard anything."There must be something," I mutter as I look through Dean's things again, but there's nothing."We got Austin's address," Evan looks at me."Then let's go," I need to see him."It's near her parents. You will be gone for two hours," Evan explains, and I nod. I don't want to leave for that long if something happens."Send some guys to fetch him and bring him back," I explain, and he nods and works from his phone. "Who were the people she was looking to close deals for?" I ask, and Paul grabs his phone."Guy named Edmond Lewis, he was buying a house, more like a fucking castle actually. Richard Smith, he's buying an old building, and a woman, Rose Williams, why?""Because I'm going to see them. Theres a chance the main guy reached out to them or got someone else to." I can't just wait for them to get Austin. "Give the driver Edmond's address,
DemitriI've no idea where to look, I've no idea who it is or anything, and she's gone. Disappeared, which isn't fucking good. Why didn't I just tell her to stay put?"Maybe check her apartment?" Evan looks at me."Why would she go there?" She wouldn't, even I know she wouldn't."Because it's closer than your place? She has no car or phone; it's the closest place." He looks at me, waiting."Fine, we will try there," I get into the car, and Yas looks at me. Great, I forgot about her. I don't talk I just work from my phone asking people to watch for her."Has Demi mentioned getting money?" I turn and look at Evan."What?" Why the hell would he ask that?"I was checking through Austin's things. He sent her the money from selling the business," Evan explains, and my head shakes."Not fucking willingly. Figure out a way to remove it or hide its traces. The police will question why he sold it, sent her the money, then killed himself, and she will be the main target," this was all planned.T
DemiI left the building and began walking back to Demitri's place, but I quickly realised it wasn't as close as I thought. So, I walked back to the office to grab my things and found them gone.Now that I consider it, I should have thought and found a way to contact Demitri instead of just walking around and trying to make my way back.When I felt his arms wrap around me, I freaked out. Something felt off with Mr Westbrook, and I thought it was him. It wasn't, though.Now, I'm looking at Demitri, and I can't help but chew my lip as I consider what's coming next. He looks entirely different now. His eyes haven't left me for a moment. He looks wild, which makes me want to taunt him to see how far he will go, but I do have some common sense.Right now isn't a time to joke about. Even I can sense he's on the edge and was freaking out. The car stopped, and he pulled me out and into the house."Everyone leave," his voice is loud, and I watch as people rush out of the doors. I try not to, b
DemitriI watch as she sleeps, knowing I've tired her. She's barely slept recently with me around, so I leave her in my bed and walk out.Walking down, I look at my dad."Watch her. I'll be back soon. I need to find out how things are going and do something," I explain, and he nods."From what Paul said, they are dead, same with the two guys who tried to grab you." He looks at me, and I nod."Then where are they?" I expected them to be back."Evan and Paul are seeing over things, ensuring there's no traces back to you and Demi. They are getting rid of the bodies now, you just didn't answer when they called about it," he explains and I nod."Okay, well, I'm still going out. Watch her," I say. Walking out, I send Evan and Paul a message. They don't need to watch over the guys getting rid of the bodies and evidence.I get in the car and get taken to Demi's place. Evan and Paul are outside waiting."Good, you brought the van," I smile and walk in with them following me."Demitri, clearly
DemiThe sound of Demitri whispering in my ear wakes me. I need to get my sleep back to normal, I can't believe I went to sleep during the day again.Rolling over, I look at him, and he smiles. "You need to eat, but before you do, I have something for you," he whispers, and I sit up, watching as he hands me the roses. That's a fucking lot of roses.My mouth opens, and he covers it with his hand. "I need to make you aware that while you were sleeping, I moved your things into the house. So yeah, you now live here," he says calmly, and I glare.Is that a joke? I move and try to hit him with the flowers, but he jumps off the bed."You can't do that!" I scream and get up. "You can't just move me in with you!" I try to hit him with the flowers again, but he jumps back. He leans down briefly."Puppy!" He shouts and holds out a puppy, and I fight back the squeal."I'm going to kill you!" I shout, and he smirks."You can't. I have hold of a puppy. Yours as I bought him for you," he smiles and
DemitriI glare at her, which only makes her smile harder and got I want to fuck her, but I can't."Get it off and put something appropriate on," I growl, and she laughs."This is appropriate. I'm going to go meet Yas," she leans forward and kisses my cheek before turning and walking towards the door."Demi," I call out, and she laughs."Later."Later? Fucking later. I turn and see my dad and Paul staring at her. "Stop fucking looking!" I turn and look towards the door. I could just go with her and kidnap her until she sees sense."She won that," Paul laughs, and I glare at him."Won what?" There was nothing to win."The whole argument. Either way, she wins. You follow her, she wins twice, you don't, and she wins because you let her leave like that." He sits, smirking."You moved her in without her having a choice. She took back her control, so now what?" My dad looks at me. Now, I want to go after her and drag her back and force her to put real clothes on."You realise if you chase a
Dhalia POV After shopping today, I felt a sense of relief I hadn’t experienced in what felt like forever. It wasn’t just about the shopping itself, though I did need some new clothes—my body has changed so much in the past year. No, it was more about finally getting out of the house, about reclaiming a little bit of the freedom I’d been missing. The walls of our home, which once felt like a sanctuary, had started to close in on me. Chase and Jax, in their well-meaning but intense desire to protect me and ensure I had time to heal, ended up suffocating me without even realising it. Don’t get me wrong—I love them for how much they care, but I didn’t need to be housebound for months, or placed on bed rest for weeks after giving birth. I know some women would relish the idea of doing nothing but resting and being pampered, but it drove me crazy. That’s why, when Chase casually mentioned going shopping, I jumped at the opportunity. I was out the door and in the car before he could even t
Chase POVI watched Dhalia as she moved through the store, her steps light and full of purpose, and it hit me—I might have gone too far. In our well-intentioned but overzealous efforts to protect her and Jacob, Jax and I had smothered her. When I casually mentioned the idea of going shopping, I expected a discussion, maybe some hesitation. But instead, she practically bolted for the door, grabbing her coat and leaving without a word. That was proof enough. We had suffocated her under the guise of safety and care.Seeing her so happy to be out, to be free to do something as simple as shopping, was a wake-up call. We had reduced her life to the confines of our home, restricting her to the roles of mother and partner, leaving little room for her to just be herself. That’s why I suggested she could return to work if she wanted to. Jax may not like the idea—he’s still riding the wave of his overprotectiveness—but after more than six months of keeping her tethered, it’s time we give her bac
Blake POV The last few months have been a whirlwind, a mental and emotional gauntlet that none of us expected. It wasn’t the physical demands that took their toll on me—it was the psychological strain, the constant push and pull of trying to navigate our lives while Chase and Jax became increasingly overprotective of Dhalia. My attempts to ground them in reality often felt futile, like trying to anchor a ship in the middle of a storm. Dhalia, poor Dhalia, bore the brunt of their overzealous protection. At five months pregnant, they decided it was too dangerous for her to continue working. Mind you, her job was sitting in a cozy little bookstore, reading and managing sales. There wasn’t anything remotely strenuous about it, but they convinced themselves—and her—that it was unsafe. It seemed harmless enough at first, just a precaution. But by the time she hit seven months, their obsession to shield her and the baby from every possible harm became all-consuming. They wouldn’t let her
Jax POVAs I sit on the couch, the book resting on my lap, I find myself absorbed not so much in the story itself but in the little marks I’ve made throughout its pages. These marks have become something of an obsession for me. They’re the places where I’ve seen Dhalia react—whether it’s a quiet gasp, a tear rolling down her cheek, or that subtle squirm of excitement that she can’t quite hide. Whenever she reads with me in the room, and I catch one of those reactions, I make sure to mark the page number. Later, when she’s done, I go back and read those specific sections, trying to decode what it is about these words that stirs something inside her.It all started small. At first, I only marked the pages that elicited a blush or a quiet moan—scenes of sex that clearly struck a chord. It didn’t take long to realise that it wasn’t just those moments that mattered to her. She would also react to the tender, the heartbreaking, and the unexpectedly sweet moments with an equal, if not more p
Dhalia’s POVMy eyes are glued to the door. In front of me are three small boxes, one for each of them. They are late, though. They promised to be back by four, and now it’s a quarter past. I’m trying to be patient, but it’s harder than I’d like to admit.Two months ago, I opened my bookstore, and it’s been incredible. Twice a week, we host book clubs, and I’ve made it a point to bring one of the guys with me to each session. It’s hilarious watching their faces as we dive into the discussions. The women seem to enjoy it too—something about discussing steamy romance scenes with a bit of eye candy in the room.The door finally creaks open, and I sit up straighter as they walk in.“You’re late,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.“By fifteen minutes, Angel. Cut us some slack.” Blake winks, leaning down to kiss me. His hand reaches for one of the boxes, but I slap it away.“Don’t touch.”He chuckles, rolling his eyes.“Why do I get the feeling we’re in trouble, Sweetness?” Jax asks as
Chase POVI stay stood in this room, shocked by what she's done. She went above and beyond, I was expecting a small, shop, nothing big. This though, is huge. We made sure that everyone knew not to mention anything to us about it.They weren't allowed to mention the location, the colour of the store, nothing. We wanted her to be in control and do it all alone without our input and she has."I've got something to show you," she grips my hand and guides me back through to the book store part, walking through she stops by some books, and hands me one.There, on the cover is a pink fucking unicorn. She found one? I stare at her and she laughs."Pink unicorn," she smiles up at me."You're fucking crazy, you read it?" I stare in amazement as she nods."I did and I'll admit I didn't enjoy it a single bit, but I had to get it, read it because that's the next book you're reading."My head tilts. "Please say you're joking?" She has to be. Her head shakes, and she places the book back."No, you m
Jax POVI watch as she walks towards us, the dress is stunning, long and golden. She stops in front of me and smiles."If they don't hurry, we will be late," she glares towards the door."Leave them alone Sweetness, they were having some fun before getting ready." We both laugh and I wrap my arms around her. A lot has changed in the past three months, a lot of her stepdads businesses are now fully hers. Although we take care of a lot of them.She wasn't comfortable taking over the strip clubs, bars, and such. So we sort a lot of it out for her. She straightens my tie and I chuckle. Her arms wrap around my neck and she reaches on her toes to kiss my lips."I love you Sweetness," I whisper as I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer. My mind goes back, and I begin to wonder if we would ever have found her had Carl not set her up? It's scary to consider that, to consider where she would have been.Justin's plan was to do what Carl had once she returned to him, so would she still be
Dhalia POV His words float around in my mind. He should have told Jax and Blake, then maybe they would understand the whole issue he has. Something tells me after he does something with them, it brings back what happened with his father. I fight to figure out what to say to him, other than he should tell Jax and Blake. “Do they know any truth in what happened?” I stroke along the scar. “No, I thought them believing it sent me over the edge would stop them from doing anything. It did, but part of me still craved them. Which of course Jax noticed, and made it happen.” “You need to tell Jax the truth.” After everything, he still believes that Chase runs because he’s repulsed. “Jax can’t know. He will blame himself for what my father did.” He’s not wrong, Jax will blame himself to some degree. “What happens if he finds out the truth, Chase? Then how will he feel? Knowing that you kept on lying to him?” “He can’t find out, only we know.” I laugh. “So every man there that day is dea
Dhalia POV After eating, I found myself with more energy than before. Which sucks as I was ready to go to bed. Jax and Blake are currently messing around. I say, messing around, but Blake is more taunting him to get a punishment. It’s nice to see, and it reminds me of at the start. “I’m going to finish my book,” I jump up and walk off. I could have fallen asleep earlier, now though? I’ve got too much energy. Grabbing the book I sit down and begin reading it. About ten minutes later, the movement of the door has me turning to it. Chase walks in with a smile. “So, I found a book.” Really? “You found a smut book that involves a frickin unicorn?” He nods. “I did very well, thank you.” Wait, no! “Pink unicorn, it has to be a pink unicorn.” I watch as he sighs and sits beside me. “Pink is impossible! I have searched and I can’t find it!” His outburst has me laughing. “How about a human-unicorn that’s pink? I found one of them.” “No, it’s a pink unicorn, not half and half Chase. So y