MasukShare
29: The Price of Love
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-02-16 10:43:40
Bab terkait
Broken Vows, New Promises 30: The Web Tightens
Damien’s POVThe sting of helplessness was like a knife to my chest. I stood there, staring at the cold, sterile walls of the hospital room, the silence pressing down on me. Aurora was still unconscious, her body battered by the attack, her blood staining my memories. It felt like a nightmare, one that I couldn’t wake up from. I’d promised to protect her, and I failed.But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t give up on her.I was ready to take on the world for her, and I’d do whatever it took to make sure she was safe. But even now, as I sat in the sterile hospital corridor with my thoughts swirling, there was something I couldn’t fight. Something I didn’t know how to deal with.The police had come to question me about the incident. I gave them every detail I knew about Victoria’s involvement—her manipulative schemes, her attempt to steal Aurora from me, the threats she’d made. I thought it would be enough.But I was wrong.The detective sat across from me, his hands folded on the table. His
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-16Broken Vows, New Promises 31: A Grandmother’s Warning
Damien’s POVThe steady beeping of the hospital monitors filled the silence of the room. I sat in the chair beside Aurora’s bed, my fingers entwined with hers. She was still weak, her body healing, but she was here. Alive. That was all that mattered.I had barely left her side since the moment she was brought in. My mind couldn’t rest, not with the image of her lying in a pool of blood haunting me. Victoria had crossed a line—one I would never forgive.But before I could set my revenge in motion, I had to deal with the one person I never expected to oppose me.My grandmother.The moment she entered the room, I felt the weight of her presence. Eleanor Volkov was a force to be reckoned with—an elegant, powerful woman whose quiet demeanor often hid her sharp mind and ruthless strategies. She had built an empire alongside my grandfather, and she knew the cost of power better than anyone.She walked toward me with measured steps, her silver hair pinned into a tight bun, her piercing blue e
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18Broken Vows, New Promises 32: A Love That Burns
Aurora’s POVThe weight of Damien’s words lingered in the air, thick and suffocating.“I will risk everything, Aurora. I will burn the world down if it means keeping you safe.”His voice was raw, filled with unwavering determination. But was that really love?Or was it just another kind of imprisonment?I looked away, my fingers gripping the hospital blanket. My heart was at war with my mind. I loved him—God, I knew I did—but love wasn’t supposed to feel this heavy, this dangerous.“I need time,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.Damien’s entire body tensed. “Time?” His voice was dangerously low, as if he was trying to contain something dark inside him.I forced myself to meet his gaze, knowing this would hurt him. “To think. To breathe. To figure out if I can do this, Damien.”His eyes darkened. “There’s no ‘if,’ Aurora. You’re mine.”I flinched.Mine.That word. That claim.And yet, wasn’t that what I had been fighting all along? To be my own person?I let out a shuddering breat
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18Broken Vows, New Promises 33: A Cage of Gold
Aurora’s POVThe tension in the hospital room was suffocating. Eleanor Volkov, Damien’s grandmother, stood with the grace of a woman who had spent her entire life commanding respect. Her gaze was firm yet compassionate as she turned toward Damien, who stood rigid beside my bed, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white."She’ll come with me," Eleanor declared, her voice leaving no room for argument. "I will guarantee her safety."I held my breath, watching Damien’s expression shift. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and I knew this wasn’t something he would agree to easily. He had spent every moment since my attack hovering, controlling, making sure I couldn’t take a step without him being there.And now, I was about to be taken from his grasp.Damien’s voice was low, sharp. "You want me to send her away? To leave her unprotected? After everything—""I will protect her," Eleanor interrupted. "She will be safer with me than anywhere else. And she needs to heal, Damien. You have
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18Broken Vows, New Promises 34: A Fragile Escape
Aurora had thought leaving Damien’s suffocating grasp would bring her peace, but standing in the vast estate of Damien’s grandmother, she felt anything but free. The weight of the past weeks pressed upon her chest like a heavy stone, suffocating her with every breath.Lady Eleanor Volkov, Damien’s formidable grandmother, had insisted on taking Aurora under her wing, promising her safety and respite from the chaos Damien’s presence inflicted upon her life. And yet, despite the elegant walls and the warm hospitality, Aurora still felt like a prisoner—only this time, in a different kind of golden cage.As she sat by the grand window overlooking the sprawling gardens, she traced the rim of the teacup in her hand, lost in thought. She had not spoken to Damien since he agreed to let her go, and though she should be relieved, a part of her felt hollow. Her body still bore the faint traces of the war she had fought—both physically and emotio
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-19Broken Vows, New Promises 35: Nowhere Left to Run
The scent of aged wine filled the air as I swirled the glass in my hand, watching the deep red liquid swirl like blood. Outside, the city was alive with lights, but inside my penthouse, the only thing burning was my rage.Aurora Laurent. A name that tasted like poison on my tongue.She had no right to be in Damien’s world, yet she clung to him, ruining everything I had spent years cultivating. She was an infection, one that needed to be cut out before it spread any further.Adrian Sinclair sat across from me, his own frustration evident in the way he gripped his glass. He had lost something too—his fiancée. And like me, he wasn’t willing to accept it.“She doesn’t belong there,” I murmured, my nails tapping rhythmically against the glass. “Aurora Laurent needs to disappear.”Adrian scoffed. “You act like I don’t know that already. I had her, Victoria. She was mine, and she threw it away. But I won’t let her go so easily.”I studied him for a moment before smirking. “Then let’s make su
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-19Broken Vows, New Promises 36: The Web Tightens
Aurora’s POVI should have known peace was only temporary.Sitting in the sunroom of Eleanor Volkov’s estate, I sipped on my tea, trying to quiet my thoughts. The encounter with Adrian had left me shaken, but it was Damien’s presence that lingered in my mind. His possessive words. His burning gaze.She is mine.I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fingers against my temple. I couldn’t afford to get lost in him. Not again.“Aurora?”Eleanor’s voice pulled me back, and I looked up at her kind but observant gaze. “Yes?”She set her cup down. “I have a feeling something is brewing. I want you to be cautious.”A shiver ran down my spine. “I know. I can feel it, too.”Before Eleanor could respond, one of the estate guards entered, his expression tight with urgency. “Madam, Miss Aurora, we’ve detected a security breach.”I stiffened. “What kind of breach?”“An unknown vehicle has been circling the property for the past hour. We’re tracking it now.”Eleanor’s expression darkened. “Double the
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-19Broken Vows, New Promises 37: Unbreakable Chains
Aurora’s heart pounded in her chest as she sat stiffly in Eleanor Volkov’s grand estate, her fingers tightening around the cup of tea in her hands. The events of the past few days had left her shaken, and no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew she wasn’t safe—not truly.Victoria and Adrian were still out there, circling like vultures, waiting for the right moment to strike. She had seen it in Adrian’s eyes that day at the gate—he wouldn’t stop until he had her back. And Victoria? She was a storm brewing in the distance, promising destruction.“Aurora,” Eleanor’s voice cut through her thoughts. The elderly woman’s sharp, knowing eyes assessed her carefully. “You’ve barely touched your tea.”Aurora forced a small smile. “I’m just a little distracted.”Eleanor sighed, setting down her cup. “You’re worried about them, aren’t you?”She nodded, unable to deny it. “I don’t know what they’ll do next.”Eleanor’s fingers tapped against the porcelain plate beside he
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-19
Bab terbaru
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 149 : Ashes of the Failsafe
Silence pressed against their ears as they approached the lowest chamber. The air was heavier here—thick with ozone and dread, as if the facility itself exhaled the weight of its own malice. Damien’s flashlight beam danced across the walls, revealing veins of circuitry pulsing beneath steel plates. Each step echoed like a verdict.Aurora’s grip on her rifle tightened. “This corridor leads straight to the core. Seraph must be close.”Asher flanked Damien’s other side, unblinking in the dim light. Though forged in Monroe’s broken crucible, the boy’s courage was pure—a reminder that hope could grow from ashes.Null’s voice crackled in their earpieces. “I’m seeing systems coming back online. Ten minutes before full lockdown. We need to move.”Elias checked his watch. “Understood.”They rounded the final corner and stopped.A vaulted chamber yawned before them. In its center, illuminated by a ring of harsh white light, stood Seraph. Taller than a child but smaller than an adult, she was fr
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 148 : The Sleeper Below
The silence grew heavier the deeper they went.Null’s map guided them through a maze of subterranean halls—some cold and sterile, others torn by time and disuse. The smooth hum of generators still echoed in places, interspersed by flickering emergency lights that bathed the world in sickly red pulses.Damien led the way with Aurora and Asher close at his heels. The boy in the containment pod had given them everything—coordinates, access routes, and warnings. Seraph wasn’t like Daemon or Omega.He was worse.“Bio-signature locked,” Null murmured, eyes on the scanner as they reached another sealed door. “There’s something down there. No readable vitals, but movement… constant. Pacing, almost.”“He’s waiting,” Aurora said.Asher’s small voice cut in, soft but certain. “He doesn’t think. He reacts. He was made to become… everything they wanted me to be.”Damien knelt beside him. “You don’t have to face this.”Asher looked up. “I do. If we don’t stop him, he’ll come for us. For others.”Au
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 147 : Into the Heart
The elevator doors closed with a reluctant groan, sealing them in.Inside the narrow shaft, the only light came from their tactical gear—soft glows against skin and metal. Aurora stood beside Damien, her hand brushing against his, an anchor in the silence. Asher stood between them, staring straight ahead, lips pressed into a thin, focused line.The descent felt longer than it should have. As if the very walls were stretching around them—preparing to swallow them whole.Then the lift jolted to a stop.A hiss of depressurization followed. The doors slid open with a groan, revealing a corridor bathed in cold white light. Clean. Too clean. The sterile scent of disinfectant and ozone clung to the air like a ghost.“This is it,” Null said quietly. “The Core Lab.”They stepped out as one.Unlike the upper floors, this level was pristine. Not abandoned. Not even neglected. Lights functioned. Doors responded to biometric scans. Cameras followed their every move, some still tracking with soft c
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 146 : Before the Storm
The sun dipped low, setting fire to the horizon in hues of crimson and ash. From the ridge above the temporary camp, Damien stood alone, watching shadows stretch over the forest like fingers reaching for something they could never quite hold.Below him, the others prepared in near silence. The kind of silence that didn’t come from fear—but from knowing. From understanding just how close they were to the end.The wind curled around him, carrying the scent of pine and steel and something colder. A storm was coming. Not of weather—but of reckoning.“You always find the highest place when you need to think.”He didn’t turn. He didn’t need to.Aurora’s voice always settled beneath his skin like a familiar hum—gentle and steady.She stepped up beside him, hands tucked into the sleeves of her jacket, her gaze following his to the horizon.“You used to be quieter,” he said. “Before all this.”“I used to have more to be afraid of,” she replied, half-smiling. “Now I just have more to lose.”He
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 145 : A Name Among the Ashes
The boy didn’t speak of the dream again.But something in him shifted after that night. His steps were a little steadier. His gaze no longer darted to the exits first. He stayed near Damien, yes, but not like a shadow clinging to light. Now, it felt like a tether, an anchor—not dependence, but choice.Damien noticed it when they trained in the clearing behind the safehouse. The boy followed directions without flinching, without looking over his shoulder every five seconds like he expected Monroe to appear from behind the trees. And when Kai handed him a blade—not sharp, just a practice knife—he held it with the curiosity of someone discovering a piece of themselves.“What do we call him?” Eli
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 144 : Echoes in the Light
The morning sunlight felt wrong.Too bright. Too open.After days in the Hollow’s synthetic twilight, Damien squinted at the skyline like it was some forgotten relic. The world outside was still broken, scarred by everything Monroe had built, but out here—beneath real sky—it felt like breathing for the first time in weeks.They moved through the forest trail in silence, Aurora walking beside Damien, the child—now clothed in a borrowed jacket and boots too large—staying close to Damien’s side like a shadow tethered to light.No name.No past.
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 143 : The First Breath
The air inside the chamber thickened as the hum of the cryopod deepened, soft lights tracing across its surface like veins awakening after a long slumber. Damien stood with his hand hovering just above the control panel, eyes locked on the boy within. A-00.The child who shouldn’t exist.The child who had been discarded—forgotten—yet had outlived the project meant to replace him.Aurora touched Damien’s arm gently. “Are you ready?”He didn’t answer right away. His gaze was still fixed on the boy’s face. So young, so still. Yet somehow, it felt like staring into a mirror that refused to reflect.
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 142 : Into the Hollow
The helicopter blades sliced through the Ural sky like a warning.Beneath them, the forest spread like a sea of frozen pine and fractured stone, untouched and unwelcoming. The coordinates Null had provided pointed to a narrow canyon—its jagged sides veined with ice and shadow—where no human path should've ever led.Damien sat beside Aurora, eyes locked on the narrowing terrain below. The cold had begun to seep in through the insulated layers, but it wasn’t the temperature that clenched his gut.It was the silence.Even at this altitude, the absence of wildlife was unnerving.As if nature itself refused to brea
Broken Vows, New Promises CHAPTER 141 : Fractures Beneath the Surface
The wind had changed by morning.Geneva’s neutral calm felt different now—like something sacred had been disturbed beneath its manicured stillness. The team gathered in the briefing room of the underground complex, still shaken from what they’d uncovered the night before: Damien’s prototype—Subject A-01-D—and the fractured remnants of Monroe’s last vault of secrets.No one spoke for a long while.Elias was the first to break the silence. “So what now? We’ve seen the start of it. That clone—your prototype—it changes everything. Doesn’t it?”Null nodded slowly, pacing. “It suggests Monroe’s e
