Natalie’s POVI didn’t think. I just leaned forward and kissed him.Sebastian was in the middle of saying something, pacing back and forth like he always did when he was thinking too much. His hand was halfway in his hair, and his mouth opened, probably to argue with me again about some plan he wasn’t ready to share. But I didn’t care. I just kissed him.For a moment, he froze. I felt his body stiffen, and I was about to pull away, embarrassed. Maybe I’d crossed a line. Maybe this was too much. But then his hand cupped the side of my face, and he kissed me back.It wasn’t slow or sweet. It was rushed, like he was trying to say something he couldn’t put into words. His grip was firm, almost desperate, and it caught me off guard.When he finally pulled back, he stared at me, his chest rising and falling like he’d been running. “What… what was that?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse.“I—” I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “I don’t know. I just… I’m tired, Sebastian. Tired o
Chapter 53: Sebastian’s POVAs we walked into the cafe, Natalie almost bumped into a guy. sh was at the verge of raising her voice, but I had to stop her. I knew she was exhausted and everything raised her temper at this point. We went in and Natalie sat beside me, her back straight, her hands folded so tightly her knuckles were turning white. I could feel the tension around her already, and honestly, I felt the same way. Samantha stood in front of us, leaning casually against the wall like she owned the place. Her expression was smug, too smug, and I hated it.I shifted in my seat, clearing my throat. “Alright, Samantha. We’re here. Say what you need to say.” My voice came out steadier than I expected, but my heart was pounding in my chest.She smirked. That irritating smirk. “Finally. I was starting to think you’d never ask.”Natalie’s voice was sharp, cutting through the room like a knife. “Stop playing games, Samantha. If you’ve got something to say, just spit it out.”Samantha
Chapter 54: Sebastian’s POVSamantha leaned back in the chair like she had all the time in the world. Her eyes flicked between Natalie and me, and there was a smirk on her face that made my skin crawl.“I want one night,” she said finally, her voice calm and sharp.Natalie stiffened beside me, and I felt her anger radiate like heat. “One night for what?” she snapped.Samantha’s smirk deepened. “With Sebastian.”I blinked, sure I had heard her wrong. “What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice flat.She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “It’s simple, really. You spend one night with me, Sebastian, and I keep your little secret. No one has to know you’re not married.”Natalie stood up so fast her chair scraped against the floor. “Are you insane?” she said, her voice rising. “That’s not happening.”Samantha shrugged, completely unfazed. “Your choice. But if you refuse, Iris will know by morning.”I could feel the blood drain from my face. This wasn’t just about me or
Sebastian's POVI sat on the edge of the couch, staring at the floor. My chest felt tight, and my head was pounding. Natalie’s words replayed in my mind, over and over. Coward. She’d called me a coward. The one person I thought understood me, the one person who was supposed to be on my side, didn’t believe in me anymore.I couldn’t blame her. I really couldn’t. Everything was a mess, and it was my fault. She was right about that. I started this whole thing - faking a marriage to protect my business, dragging her into it, convincing her it was the best move for both of us. And now Samantha was holding it all over my head, dangling my life’s work like it was some kind of game to her.I rubbed my face, trying to think straight, but my thoughts were all over the place. I hated Samantha, hated her smug little smile when she walked out of here like she owned the world. But more than that, I hated myself. How did it come to this? How did I let her get this much control?Natalie’s voice echoe
Natalie’s POVI locked the door and leaned against it. My chest was tight, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Tears were already streaming down my face, but I didn’t bother wiping them. What was the point? They just kept coming anyway.I walked to the bed, but halfway there, my legs gave out. I just sat on the floor, staring at nothing. Everything hurt. My chest, my throat, my head. It was like the sadness had taken over my whole body, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.Why did I let myself get into this mess? Why did I think I could handle this?I hugged my knees, trying to hold myself together. But it wasn’t working. I felt like I was falling apart, like the pieces of me were breaking one by one.Samantha. That name kept playing in my head like an echo. Samantha. Samantha. Samantha. She ruined everything. And the worst part? I couldn’t even blame her completely. She wasn’t the one who dragged me into this.That was hi
Sebastian’s POVI sat on the couch, staring at the empty glass in my hand. The bottle of whiskey was on the table, but I hadn’t touched it since I poured the first drink. My head was a mess. Nothing made sense.The house was too quiet. I could hear the clock ticking, and my own breathing. But I couldn’t hear her. No footsteps. No soft humming. No sound of her moving around upstairs.Natalie.I ran a hand through my hair, tugging at it out of frustration. I was so mad at myself. Everything felt wrong. I’d screwed up. Again.Why did I let Samantha talk to her like that? Why didn’t I say something? Why didn’t I do anything? I just stood there like an idiot, watching Natalie’s face fall apart.I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes. I could still see her standing there, looking at me like I’d betrayed her. And I guess I had.I groaned, rubbing my face with both hands. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. None of this was supposed to happen.I looked at my phone sitting on th
Natalie’s POVI stared at the door f4r a long time after he stopped talking. I didn’t move, didn’t even blink. My head was full, but at the same time, it felt empty. His words were still playing in my mind, but I didn’t know what to do with them.He was still out there. I could hear his breathing, slow and heavy, like he was just waiting. Maybe he thought I’d open the door. Maybe he thought I’d forgive him.But I didn’t. I couldn’t. And perhaps I won’t.I got up from the floor slowly, my legs still shaky. The room felt colder than before, but maybe it was just me. I walked to the window and looked outside. The sky was still gray, like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to rain or not.My suitcase was still in the corner of the room. I thought about packing it again. Maybe this time I wouldn’t just sit there staring at it. Maybe this time I’d actually leave.But where would I go?I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, my hands gripping the sheets. My head was spinning. I wanted to screa
Sebastian’s POVI wasn’t supposed to be here. I knew that. But here I was, standing in front of Samantha’s apartment. The whole thing felt like a bad joke, one that I couldn’t get out of. I told myself this was the last time. I had said it before, but somehow, it always seemed to pull me back in. I knocked on the door, my heart pounding, but not because I was nervous. It was because I knew I’d regret this.The door opened, and there she stood - smiling like nothing had ever changed. Like it was just another normal night between us. “Hey, stranger,” she said, stepping aside to let me in.I didn’t reply. I didn’t know what to say. The air between us felt tense, but it was the kind of tension that was familiar. The kind that didn’t need words. I walked in, and she shut the door behind me.It didn’t take long for the usual silence to settle in. Samantha was always good at that - filling the space with her presence, even if it was just her being there. I hated how much she knew about me. H
The house was too quiet. It was at this moment I knew silence had a sound and could be heard. It wasn’t the peaceful kind of silence.It was the heavy, suffocating kind-the kind that made the air thick, the kind that made my own heartbeat sound too loud in my ears. It pressed against my chest, wrapping around me like an invisible chain.I stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the space in front of me. My hands were clasped together, but my fingers kept fidgeting, twisting over one another.Sebastian hadn’t come downstairs since we got back from the courthouse.I knew where he was.Locked in his study. Alone.I hated this silence.Because it wasn’t really silent.It had a sound—the sound of pain, of grief, of everything that had gone unsaid.I walked toward the couch and sank down, my body feeling heavier than it should.This house wasn’t just a house.It had been
The weight of the the whole dramam going on settled on my shoulders like a boulder.I stood outside the police station, gripping my phone tightly in my hand, my thumb hovering over the play button.This was it.The moment I would turn my own mother in.The woman who had raised me, who had held me as a child, who had taught me how to ride a bike—now, I was handing her over to the law.Because she was a monster.Because she had betrayed me.Because she had tried to kill the woman I love.I sucked in a sharp breath, closing my eyes for a second. The night air was cold, biting against my skin. The streetlights flickered above, casting long shadows on the pavement. I could hear the faint sounds of cars honking in the distance, but everything around me felt… muted.Like the world had slowed down.Like I was standing on the edge of something I could never come back from.Then, with a final exhale, I stepped inside.The police station was bright and, the air was thick with the scent of coffee
I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the elevator and into the familiar space of Grant Enterprises. It had been weeks since I was last here. Weeks since my life had spiraled into chaos. Since secrets had been revealed, betrayals exposed, and the foundation of everything I knew had been shaken to its core. But now, I was back. Back to work. Back to normal. Or at least, as normal as life could get after everything that had happened. The office smelled the same-fresh coffee, crisp paper, the faint scent of polished wood. The soft hum of conversations and clicking keyboards filled the air, blending with the occasional ringing of phones. It was comforting in a way. Familiar. And yet, something felt different. Or maybe I was the one who had changed. …. The first thing I did after settling into my office was call HR. I needed a personal assistant. Ever since I got promoted, I had been handling too much on my own, and after everything that had happened, I knew I couldn’t affo
The knock on my office door was sharp, deliberate. I didn’t expect anyone. Not at this hour. Not today. I set down my pen, glancing at the clock. 3:47 PM. I had been drowning in work all day, trying to keep my mind off everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Trying to pretend that life was normal again, that I wasn’t standing on the remains of a world that had been shattered beyond recognition. But now, someone was at my door. I straightened, adjusting my tie before speaking. “Come in.” The door creaked open, and my muscles tensed the moment I saw him. Thomas Grant. My stepfather. The man who had been nothing more than a shadow in my life, standing by while my mother did whatever she wanted. A man who never protected me, never spoke up, never did anything except watch. And now, he was here. I said nothing as he stepped inside, his movements slow, cautious—like he knew he wasn’t welcome. His eyes darted around the office before finally settling on me. He cleare
Sebastian sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. I had never seen him like this before. Not when we were trapped. Not when we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive. Not even when he was injured, fighting to stay conscious. But now—now he looked like a man who had lost everything. His shoulders were tense, his breathing uneven, his fingers tangled in his hair as if he was trying to hold himself together. I sat beside him, close but not too close, giving him space. I wanted to say something, but words felt useless. What could I possibly say to make this better? How do you comfort someone when their entire world has just crumbled? I reached out and gently touched his arm. He flinched. Not in fear. Not in anger. Just in pure, raw pain. I pulled my hand back. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the distant hum of the city outside, cars moving, life continuing as if nothing had changed. But for Sebastian, everything had changed. Finally, he lifted h
Four Weeks Later Freedom. That’s what the doctors called it when they finally discharged us. I should have felt relieved. I should have felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But as I stepped outside the hospital, the cold air filling my lungs, something in my chest still felt tight. Four weeks. That’s how long we had been stuck in that place - four weeks of beeping machines, fluorescent lights, and hushed voices whispering about whether we’d make it. I had spent every one of those days sitting by Natalie’s bedside, waiting for her to open her eyes, for her to say my name. And when she finally had, I’d felt something break inside me - relief so strong it had made my legs weak. Now, she stood beside me, her hand tucked into mine, looking up at the sky like it was the first time she had ever seen it. The sun cast a warm glow on her skin, but she still looked too pale, too fragile. Her body was thinner than before, her movements slower. But her grip on my hand was st
Darkness. That was all there was at first. A deep, heavy nothingness that felt like me feel like sinking underwater, like being swallowed whole by a world without sound or light. Then came the pain. It was dull at first, a distant throbbing somewhere deep in my body. Then it sharpened, spreading like fire through my veins. My head pounded, my hands felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and something tugged at my skin - tubes, maybe? I tried to move, but my body didn’t want to listen. Panic curled in my chest. Where was I? I forced my eyelids to move, even though they felt glued shut. A soft beeping sound filled the air, slow and steady. The scent of antiseptic, which was sharp and clean, filled my nose. The air was cold, almost too cold, biting at my skin. A hospital. Memories hit me all at once. The attack. The blood. The feeling of slipping away. I was supposed to die. A shaky breath left my lips, and I turned my head slowly. The effort sent a sharp sting down my neck,
The city had never felt this big. The streets stretched on endlessly, the lights flashing past like blurs of color as I pushed the car faster. The call kept repeating in my head, a cruel echo that refused to fade. "She lost a lot of blood. There's a high chance she won’t survive." My fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. No. She couldn't die. I refused to let her die. The car roared as I sped through a red light. Horns blared, tires screeched, but none of it mattered. My heart pounded against my ribs like a war drum, my breaths coming out sharp and uneven. The world outside blurred, but my mind was painfully clear. I could still see her face, pale and weak, lying in a pool of her own blood. The memory was like a knife twisting in my gut. "Hold on, Natalie. Just hold on." I had never prayed before. Not once in my life. But as I raced through the city, I found myself muttering desperate words under my breath. I didn’t care who was listening.
The cold night air hit my face as I stepped outside the hospital. The chaos from earlier had faded, leaving behind an eerie quiet. My body felt heavy, my mind even heavier.I should have felt relief.Iris and Samantha were in police custody. They wouldn’t be able to hurt Natalie again. The nightmare should have been over.But it wasn’t.Something inside me wouldn’t rest.I stood near the entrance, watching as the police officers led the two women to the waiting patrol car. Samantha fought against their grip, her wild eyes burning with rage."You think this is over?!" she screamed, twisting in the officer’s hold. "You think you’ve won, Sebastian?! You have no idea what’s coming!"Iris, on the other hand, didn’t say a word. She simply walked forward, her face blank. But I knew better.She was calculating.Planning.Waiting for the right moment.The officers shoved them into the car and s