Ghost POVPrince looks at me, his expression thoughtful. “Do you have any idea who might be doing this?” he asks, gesturing vaguely around the room.Guilt churns in my gut, twisting like a knife. My head shakes automatically, and I look away, unable to meet his gaze. He’s going to hate me when he finds out the truth—that I started this whole mess, even if I tried to stop it. For now, though, I bury the guilt and focus on the moment.We stay there, in each other’s arms, talking about everything and nothing. Slowly, I start to see a different side of Prince. The real Prince. He relaxes, his walls coming down, and for once, he laughs freely, joking around with me as if the darkness that’s always clung to him doesn’t exist.I soak it all in, every second, every smile, every laugh. Deep down, I know this won’t last. Once we’re released, he’ll go back to pretending, hiding behind the mask he’s worn for so long. He’ll run back to the safety of denial, and I’ll let him. I meant what I said—I
Ghost POVWhen we’re done, I set the plates aside. The silence stretches on as we sit there drinking. Eventually, he sighs, like he’s about to say something, but the words don’t come. I glance at him, waiting, and his eyes meet mine.“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice quiet but firm.He hesitates, then shakes his head. “Yeah, I’m just... No, I’m not.” His voice is barely above a whisper, and I feel the sting of his admission. I set my glass down and turn to face him fully, giving him my full attention.“Do you ever feel like certain things in your life are meant as a test? Like... to see if you’ll fail?” he asks, his voice distant, almost hollow.My head shakes instinctively. “No, and that’s the fucking bullshit they put in your head talking, not you,” I snap, harsher than I mean to. I hate that they’ve broken him down like this, that their words are still poisoning his thoughts.His eyes flick to mine, filled with something I can’t quite place—pain, resignation, maybe both. He shrugs li
Ghost POVPrince’s movements become relentless, his thrusts harder, faster, deeper. His hands grip my hips with bruising force, anchoring me in place as he drives into me. The tension in my core coils tighter, the pleasure mounting to an almost unbearable peak.“That’s it,” Prince growls, his voice raw and possessive. “Take it all. Show me how much you love my cock inside you.”A shudder wracks my body at his words, and I hate myself for how much I love it. I’m trembling, on the edge of release, teetering between resistance and the desire to let go completely.“You’re mine now,” he growls, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Say it.”I hesitate, clinging desperately to the last vestiges of my dominance. But Prince slows his movements, teasing me with shallow thrusts that leave me aching, desperate for more.“Say it,” he demands again, his teeth nipping at my earlobe.“Yours,” I gasp, the word spilling out before I can stop it. “I’m yours.”The satisfaction in his gaze is palpable.
Prince POVWhen I wake, I’m still wrapped around Ghost. For a moment, I don’t move, don’t even open my eyes. I let myself just be. Somehow, everything feels... right. There’s a strange sense of normalcy in this, even though it’s far from normal.“Why was the marriage pulled forward?” Ghost’s voice cuts through the stillness, his tone sharp. I groan inwardly. So much for pretending, for escaping into the quiet.“Prince?” he prompts again, more insistent this time.Reluctantly, I open my eyes and find him staring at me. He looks like he hasn’t slept, his expression hard and unrelenting.“I’ve been going over it all night,” he says, his voice tight with frustration. “Over and over. There was no reason for it to be pushed forward. So, what am I missing?”Sighing, I sit up and move to grab a coffee from the side. Anything to delay the inevitable conversation.“Prince?” His voice sharpens.“Because I’m taking over!” I snap, turning to face him. The words tumble out before I can stop them. “
Prince POV“Why are you keeping it hidden?” Ghost asks suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence. He’s staring at me, his expression a mixture of hurt and betrayal.“My father said not to announce it until I was married,” I say quietly, unable to meet his gaze. “Everyone we work with knows to keep it quiet. It gives us the edge. Your family thinks my father is still calling the shots, that I have no power. It means you didn’t suspect me. It means you didn’t realize how much I was actually doing.”His face twists with anger and something deeper—something closer to heartbreak. I don’t blame him. Then again, we were rivals. Why would I have told him the truth?“That meeting with my father,” Ghost says, his voice clipped. “The marriage to Josie. Was that you too?”I shake my head quickly. “No. I had no knowledge of that. We agreed my father would deal with yours to keep up appearances, to sell the act. I never knew about the marriage to Josie. I was just as shocked as you.”His expr
Prince POV“Your silence just confirms it,” Ghost says, his voice low and bitter. He downs the drink in one swallow, his back turned to me now.I don’t know what to say. I can’t go back and change what happened to Marcello. I can’t undo what I’ve done. All I know is that I didn’t want my father to think I was weak, didn’t want him to think I was soft on Ghost. And now? Now I’ve destroyed the one thing I wanted to keep intact.The door opens, and neither of us moves. Ghost glares at his glass, and I stare at him, waiting. This tension, this unspoken storm between us, was inevitable. At least it’s happening now and not hanging over us later.“Figured you could do with something to pass the time between giving us videos,” the man sneers from the doorway, his voice grating and smug. He lingers in the doorway, watching us like we’re his entertainment.I don’t turn to face him; I’m too focused on Ghost, silently willing him to speak. Say something. Anything.“You two seem busy, just don’t f
Ghost POVI didn’t sleep. Every moment replayed in my head, over and over—how the wedding got pushed forward, how wrong it all felt, and then Prince’s bombshell admission that he’s been in charge all along.That shit hit me like a brick. I didn’t see it coming, and it unraveled everything. Because it means all this time, Prince made moves without a second thought about me. He didn’t think about how I’d feel, didn’t consider the fallout. He just did it.And then he couldn’t even say he’d stand up to his father if it came down to my life. He couldn’t promise he’d say no if ordered to kill me. I’ve been so focused on wanting him, on trying to win him, that I didn’t stop to see how little he actually cares.This wasn’t always like this. We weren’t always enemies, always fighting. We were close once—close enough that I thought, deep down, he still held some care for me. But now I see it. He doesn’t. He never cared enough to stop his father from killing me. He wouldn’t hesitate to do it him
Ghost POVAnd then he moves. With a guttural growl of frustration, he surges up, closing the distance between us, his lips crashing into mine with a force that leaves me reeling.The kiss is violent, desperate, a collision of teeth and tongue and pent-up emotion. It’s every argument we’ve never finished, every touch we’ve denied ourselves, every unsaid word spilling out in a chaotic, messy, passionate clash.I kiss him back just as fiercely, pouring every ounce of frustration and longing and anger into it, and for the first time, it feels like we’re finally saying everything we’ve never been able to put into words.When we break apart, our breaths come in harsh gasps, mingling in the charged space between us. Prince’s eyes bore into mine, wide with a mix of shock and something dangerously close to desire. His lips are swollen, the evidence of our clash still fresh, and for a fleeting moment, he looks torn—caught between running and diving deeper.“This changes nothing,” he whispers, b
Ghost POVI can’t fucking breathe. The rage burns so hot it threatens to consume me. I slam the laptop shut, the sound echoing through the room.When I return to the front, the staff are still lined up against the wall. The woman who spoke earlier trembles, her eyes darting to me in fear. I hold up a file, my hand shaking with fury.“This,” I growl, my voice dripping with venom. “This is what you’ve been doing? Torturing kids? Breaking them?” My gaze sweeps over the staff. “Who gave the orders? Who carried them out?”The man with glasses finally speaks. “We… we just followed the guidelines. It wasn’t personal!”“Not personal?” I laugh bitterly. “It was personal to the kids you destroyed. It was fucking personal to Prince.”My finger tightens on the trigger, but I stop myself. Not yet. Instead, I step back and motion to my men. “Shoot the ones who didn’t show up in the footage against Prince. Leave the rest.”Gunfire erupts, deafening and final. The staff scream as bodies drop to the f
Ghost POVAs soon as I’m in the car, Josie throws her arms around me, clinging like I’m the only thing grounding her. My father’s glare is like a dagger, sharp and unyielding, but he stays silent. The drive back is heavy with unspoken words, the kind that fills every corner of the car, pressing down like a weight. I know he has things he wants to say, demands he’ll make, but I have something else on my mind—something I need to do.When we finally reach the estate, I follow him straight to his office. The moment the door closes behind us, I walk to his desk but refuse to sit. My body is tense, charged with the anger and purpose bubbling beneath the surface.“You’ll want to sit for this,” he grits out, his tone low and biting.I let out a sigh but comply, sitting down reluctantly. “I have something I need to do,” I say, my tone firm. “I need a team of men.”His eyes narrow as he studies me, suspicion etched into every line of his face. “We’ll get to that, after we talk about what happen
Prince POVMy father’s voice breaks through my spiraling thoughts. “Myself and Salvatore have worked to ensure these stay private! Only he and I know. Everyone else thinks we never got anything.”I don’t let my expression falter as I respond coldly, “Keep it that way. I don’t want them out.”His face hardens as he stands abruptly, glaring at me with the full force of his authority. “Are you really giving me orders?”“You just said I’m officially the boss,” I snap, meeting his glare without flinching. “So yes, I fucking am! Delete every single fucking copy.” I stand, the tension between us thick and suffocating. “If they get out, people will know we have weak spots, and others will try to take me again. Not to mention they had fucking Josie! Using her to make us do shit, so delete it.”He tilts his head, studying me, as if weighing his next move. “They never had her! When you two didn’t return, we locked down everything. It was fake!”Fake? My fists clench at my sides as I fight to kee
Prince POVI join in the search, my pulse pounding as I frantically check every door, every corner. Finally, I find a door that leads to a narrow staircase. “Here!” I shout, the word bursting from me like a lifeline. Ghost appears immediately, his pace urgent as he rushes forward, overtaking me to take the lead. He reaches the door first but stops abruptly, his body tensing.“We’re going back, Prince. Stay in touch, let me know you’re okay, but I will stay away,” he says quietly, his tone devoid of the intensity I’d expected. His words land heavily, and before I can respond, he starts climbing the stairs, his movements brisk but mechanical. At the top, he shoves a hatch open, flooding the space with blinding light. I groan, shielding my eyes as the brightness stings and distorts my vision.Ghost climbs out first, pausing at the top to extend his hand toward me. I stand at the bottom, my eyes flickering back to the rooms behind me. A hesitation grips me, rooting me in place.“Prince, c
Prince POVTime seems to stretch and warp in this place. Ghost and I have tried to piece together how long we’ve been here, basing it on the number of times we’ve slept or when they bring food, but it’s impossible to be sure. Ghost thinks we’ve been here two weeks, while I feel like it’s been just a week. Then again, with everything going on, I can’t seem to focus long enough to figure it out. My mind won’t let me. I’m too wound up, too mentally wrecked to think straight.Meanwhile, Ghost is grinning like a damn cat who got the cream as he places his cards down, triumphant once again. I groan loudly. I’ve lost, again! There’s no way he’s not cheating. I mean, come on—how the hell is he winning this much? It defies all logic.At one point, I was so sure he was hiding cards somewhere that I actually told him to strip down so I could check. He kept his hands firmly in front of him the entire time and, of course, there was nothing. Still, I’m not entirely convinced. There has to be someth
Ghost POV“Fuck,” I gasp, my voice raw. “Prince, I—”“Say it,” he demands, his tone razor-sharp, each word punctuated by another relentless thrust. “Say you were wrong.”I bite down hard on my lip, torn apart by conflicting emotions—my pride and my desperate, aching need for release. “I—I was wrong,” I finally choke out, the words barely audible over the pounding of my heartbeat and the sound of skin against skin.Prince’s hips falter, his movements growing erratic, and with a guttural groan, he spills inside me. His hand tightens around my cock, and the combination of sensations sends me careening over the edge. My vision blurs as I shudder violently, waves of pleasure crashing through me and leaving me breathless.We collapse together, tangled on the cold floor, our bodies heaving with exhaustion. For a long, drawn-out moment, neither of us speaks. The weight of what just happened settles over us like a suffocating blanket, impossible to ignore or push away.Finally, Prince rolls of
Ghost POVAnd then he moves. With a guttural growl of frustration, he surges up, closing the distance between us, his lips crashing into mine with a force that leaves me reeling.The kiss is violent, desperate, a collision of teeth and tongue and pent-up emotion. It’s every argument we’ve never finished, every touch we’ve denied ourselves, every unsaid word spilling out in a chaotic, messy, passionate clash.I kiss him back just as fiercely, pouring every ounce of frustration and longing and anger into it, and for the first time, it feels like we’re finally saying everything we’ve never been able to put into words.When we break apart, our breaths come in harsh gasps, mingling in the charged space between us. Prince’s eyes bore into mine, wide with a mix of shock and something dangerously close to desire. His lips are swollen, the evidence of our clash still fresh, and for a fleeting moment, he looks torn—caught between running and diving deeper.“This changes nothing,” he whispers, b
Ghost POVI didn’t sleep. Every moment replayed in my head, over and over—how the wedding got pushed forward, how wrong it all felt, and then Prince’s bombshell admission that he’s been in charge all along.That shit hit me like a brick. I didn’t see it coming, and it unraveled everything. Because it means all this time, Prince made moves without a second thought about me. He didn’t think about how I’d feel, didn’t consider the fallout. He just did it.And then he couldn’t even say he’d stand up to his father if it came down to my life. He couldn’t promise he’d say no if ordered to kill me. I’ve been so focused on wanting him, on trying to win him, that I didn’t stop to see how little he actually cares.This wasn’t always like this. We weren’t always enemies, always fighting. We were close once—close enough that I thought, deep down, he still held some care for me. But now I see it. He doesn’t. He never cared enough to stop his father from killing me. He wouldn’t hesitate to do it him
Prince POV“Your silence just confirms it,” Ghost says, his voice low and bitter. He downs the drink in one swallow, his back turned to me now.I don’t know what to say. I can’t go back and change what happened to Marcello. I can’t undo what I’ve done. All I know is that I didn’t want my father to think I was weak, didn’t want him to think I was soft on Ghost. And now? Now I’ve destroyed the one thing I wanted to keep intact.The door opens, and neither of us moves. Ghost glares at his glass, and I stare at him, waiting. This tension, this unspoken storm between us, was inevitable. At least it’s happening now and not hanging over us later.“Figured you could do with something to pass the time between giving us videos,” the man sneers from the doorway, his voice grating and smug. He lingers in the doorway, watching us like we’re his entertainment.I don’t turn to face him; I’m too focused on Ghost, silently willing him to speak. Say something. Anything.“You two seem busy, just don’t f