Under the flow of warm water, Dysis stood still while the subtle hiss of the shower filled the quiet between them. Though the message appeared so far away, so difficult to grasp, her thoughts kept repeating like a broken record. He had said, I said, and still, the weight of the confession remained in the air, heavy and palpable. I am in love with you.Her heart pounding, she looked up at Alexander; the shock of his words still too new to register. Dark, deep, his eyes searched for any trace of recognition—any indication she understood. All she could do, though, was stand there and stare at him as the water combined with the blood that had formerly covered his skin started to whirl down the drain.“I love you.” The words seemed to hang in the mist, almost too surreal to be real.She started to answer, but no words came out. Rather, her heart thung agonizingly in her chest. Though how could she? She wanted to say something, wanted to let him know she heard him. How could she reconcile t
Through the translucent drapes, the warm morning light created golden designs on the twisted sheets. Dysis lay tucked against Alexander's chest, her fingers sloppily drawing circles over the scar running just under his collarbone. The room still smelt of him cedarwood, fire, and something especially Alexander and her body hurt in that soft, contented manner found after hours of total love. Her heart, though, was not as still. She slanted her head slightly, her voice almost above a whisper, as if she were terrified to disturb the quiet between us.“Alex…”“Mmm?” He whispered, his hand gently guiding her back to ground her with every stroke.“ What if... She stopped, lips brushing his chest. "What would happen if I became pregnant?"The question hung softly and vaguely, but it struck like thunder.Alexander’s hand stopped mid-stroke. His entire body stilled for a breath. Then he turned just enough to glance down at her, his cold blue eyes glowing in the sunlight. Not surprised. Not sh
The sound of the door closing behind Reed echoed in Adam Levi’s office like a bullet casing hitting stone. Outside, thunder rolled low across the gray afternoon sky, and rain tapped gently against the windows like impatient fingers.Inside, the silence cracked apart.“What?” Adam’s voice boomed, laced with fury. The words came out not just as a question, but a threat. His chair scraped across the floor as he rose to his feet, shoving it back with such force it slammed into the shelf behind him.He stood tall in a crisp black dress shirt, sleeves rolled just below the elbows, veins pulsing at his forearms. His tailored slacks were still pressed sharp from the morning’s meeting, but now they clung to the tension in his frame. A single gold cufflink gleamed under the dim lamplight, catching the pulse in his wrist like a warning.Reed didn’t flinch, but his posture shifted.“Shot in the head,” he said quietly. “Execution style. We found him slumped in the holding room. Single bullet. No c
The lounge's slowly flickering fire created a dreamy golden hue on the walls. Though the storm outside had gone, the air still carried weight—thick with all the unspoken over years. With her knees tucked under her, Giselle sat curled on the end of the velvet couch, a mug of unspilled tea between her palms cooling. Half-slung on the armchair, Joe lounged across from her one leg sloppily flung over the other. It has been quiet for some while. To silence. Giselle remarked at last, her voice detached: "I miss Alexander." nor broken, nor weak; simply tired. Like someone clinging on the brink of something that had been slippering for a very long time. So much. Her comments floated between them like smoke, delicate and elusive to hold. "I hope..." She blinked slowly and said, "I wish he could lead a tranquil life." Her eyes gazed someplace behind the hearth, as though they could reach a broken version of him never seen at home. Joe shook his head. You are aware that cannot happen. Gis
Dysis felt the thrum of his pulse against her back. Reliable. Grounding is... Still, his arms showed a conflict, as though he were clinging to more than simply her body. Like he was clinging to his anxiety over allowing her to go. She groaned and let her head rest more completely against his chest. "You have no control on what I believe Alexander." He did not reply straight away. Rather, his fingers followed lazy patterns over her forearm, his touch both gentle and possessive. "I know," he whispered at last. Still, I'll try. Dysis turned just enough in his arms to view his face. His eyes, steely blue and always unreadable, were softer in the sunlight. Not as akin to a weapon. More in line with a man. She gently asked, "You're not used to people caring about you, are you?" His look never changed. "No.," said She nibbled her lip. "That's depressing." ✆ Alexander wrinkled a brow. "Survival is what we do here." That steel under the softness there it was. The man moulded by power,
The downtown streets hummed with midday life—honking vehicles, the smell of street food, sunlight slinking between tall buildings. Nani checked the little scrap of paper in her palm and changed the strap on her handbag. The location brought her to a little corner café nestled between an old bookshop and a florist. She hadn't seen her aunt in years, and the thought of getting back in touch caused mixed feelings. To double-check the message, she reached inside her handbag for her phone, but it dropped from her fingers and landed on the ground.Careful came with a deep, seductive voice behind her. Would not want to lose something vital. Before she could respond, a tall man in a dark fitted coat stooped down to pick her phone. He straightened and returned it with an unusual familiarity in his smile."Nani, right?," he questioned, his voice laid back yet deliberate.She blinked, her eyebrows gently knitting. Indeed, do I know you? The man flashed a gentle, knowing smile. "A friend to th
"Do you think your tears are important to me?" I knelt in front of my father, shaking, the cold cement floor soaking into my knees as I attempted to swallow the sob that had stuck in my throat. As usual, his remarks pierced me deeply. His words filled the little, darkened room, brimming with disdain. For as long as I could remember, I had been forced to live this existence, and every beat of my heart served as a reminder of it.I didn’t look up at him. I couldn’t. His cruel eyes were too much to bear. Too much to endure. “Answer me!” His hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of my hair and jerking my head up. The pain stung, but it wasn’t new. Nothing he did was new anymore. He’d punished me in ways I couldn’t count, but today was different. Today, it wasn’t just my body he was angry with; it was my existence. “Why won’t you ever listen?” His breath reeked of whiskey, and his fingers tightened, pulling me painfully closer. “You’re worthless, just like your mother. A disappointment. A bur
Like a drumbeat marching towards my demise, the sound of heavy footsteps reverberated in the confined hallway, methodical and harsh. Something like panic replaced my father's customary arrogant confidence as his gaze darted towards the doorway. I saw a small tightening of his jaw, although it was subtle. The man who walked into the room caught me off guard. He was tall, and his broad shoulders were encircled by a sleek black suit that radiated might and riches. The way his icy-blue eyes scanned the room made me feel vulnerable, like if he could see into every dark corner of my life in an instant. His presence filled the room like a rising storm, and not a single strand of his dark hair was out of place. Levi Alexander. Although I had heard the name, I didn't know him. Everybody had. He was more than simply a man; among the city's shadowiest nooks and crannies, he was a legend. A mafia boss who used brutality and terror to establish his empire.And now, he was here. “Mr. Levi,” my fat
The downtown streets hummed with midday life—honking vehicles, the smell of street food, sunlight slinking between tall buildings. Nani checked the little scrap of paper in her palm and changed the strap on her handbag. The location brought her to a little corner café nestled between an old bookshop and a florist. She hadn't seen her aunt in years, and the thought of getting back in touch caused mixed feelings. To double-check the message, she reached inside her handbag for her phone, but it dropped from her fingers and landed on the ground.Careful came with a deep, seductive voice behind her. Would not want to lose something vital. Before she could respond, a tall man in a dark fitted coat stooped down to pick her phone. He straightened and returned it with an unusual familiarity in his smile."Nani, right?," he questioned, his voice laid back yet deliberate.She blinked, her eyebrows gently knitting. Indeed, do I know you? The man flashed a gentle, knowing smile. "A friend to th
Dysis felt the thrum of his pulse against her back. Reliable. Grounding is... Still, his arms showed a conflict, as though he were clinging to more than simply her body. Like he was clinging to his anxiety over allowing her to go. She groaned and let her head rest more completely against his chest. "You have no control on what I believe Alexander." He did not reply straight away. Rather, his fingers followed lazy patterns over her forearm, his touch both gentle and possessive. "I know," he whispered at last. Still, I'll try. Dysis turned just enough in his arms to view his face. His eyes, steely blue and always unreadable, were softer in the sunlight. Not as akin to a weapon. More in line with a man. She gently asked, "You're not used to people caring about you, are you?" His look never changed. "No.," said She nibbled her lip. "That's depressing." ✆ Alexander wrinkled a brow. "Survival is what we do here." That steel under the softness there it was. The man moulded by power,
The lounge's slowly flickering fire created a dreamy golden hue on the walls. Though the storm outside had gone, the air still carried weight—thick with all the unspoken over years. With her knees tucked under her, Giselle sat curled on the end of the velvet couch, a mug of unspilled tea between her palms cooling. Half-slung on the armchair, Joe lounged across from her one leg sloppily flung over the other. It has been quiet for some while. To silence. Giselle remarked at last, her voice detached: "I miss Alexander." nor broken, nor weak; simply tired. Like someone clinging on the brink of something that had been slippering for a very long time. So much. Her comments floated between them like smoke, delicate and elusive to hold. "I hope..." She blinked slowly and said, "I wish he could lead a tranquil life." Her eyes gazed someplace behind the hearth, as though they could reach a broken version of him never seen at home. Joe shook his head. You are aware that cannot happen. Gis
The sound of the door closing behind Reed echoed in Adam Levi’s office like a bullet casing hitting stone. Outside, thunder rolled low across the gray afternoon sky, and rain tapped gently against the windows like impatient fingers.Inside, the silence cracked apart.“What?” Adam’s voice boomed, laced with fury. The words came out not just as a question, but a threat. His chair scraped across the floor as he rose to his feet, shoving it back with such force it slammed into the shelf behind him.He stood tall in a crisp black dress shirt, sleeves rolled just below the elbows, veins pulsing at his forearms. His tailored slacks were still pressed sharp from the morning’s meeting, but now they clung to the tension in his frame. A single gold cufflink gleamed under the dim lamplight, catching the pulse in his wrist like a warning.Reed didn’t flinch, but his posture shifted.“Shot in the head,” he said quietly. “Execution style. We found him slumped in the holding room. Single bullet. No c
Through the translucent drapes, the warm morning light created golden designs on the twisted sheets. Dysis lay tucked against Alexander's chest, her fingers sloppily drawing circles over the scar running just under his collarbone. The room still smelt of him cedarwood, fire, and something especially Alexander and her body hurt in that soft, contented manner found after hours of total love. Her heart, though, was not as still. She slanted her head slightly, her voice almost above a whisper, as if she were terrified to disturb the quiet between us.“Alex…”“Mmm?” He whispered, his hand gently guiding her back to ground her with every stroke.“ What if... She stopped, lips brushing his chest. "What would happen if I became pregnant?"The question hung softly and vaguely, but it struck like thunder.Alexander’s hand stopped mid-stroke. His entire body stilled for a breath. Then he turned just enough to glance down at her, his cold blue eyes glowing in the sunlight. Not surprised. Not sh
Under the flow of warm water, Dysis stood still while the subtle hiss of the shower filled the quiet between them. Though the message appeared so far away, so difficult to grasp, her thoughts kept repeating like a broken record. He had said, I said, and still, the weight of the confession remained in the air, heavy and palpable. I am in love with you.Her heart pounding, she looked up at Alexander; the shock of his words still too new to register. Dark, deep, his eyes searched for any trace of recognition—any indication she understood. All she could do, though, was stand there and stare at him as the water combined with the blood that had formerly covered his skin started to whirl down the drain.“I love you.” The words seemed to hang in the mist, almost too surreal to be real.She started to answer, but no words came out. Rather, her heart thung agonizingly in her chest. Though how could she? She wanted to say something, wanted to let him know she heard him. How could she reconcile t
Dysis was stopped at the entrance to the dimly lit shack, the air heavy and oppressive smelling of iron and sweat. Her pulse thumping in her chest, her eyes grew wide and she found herself unable to turn away from the graphic image ahead. The blood so much blood. It permeated all around. The sight was terrible; creeping under her skin, her stomach turned in agony.Alexander bent in the middle of the room, his powerful figure a silent shadow against the last of the evening light. His broad back to her. The blood that ate the space the dark crimson pooled on the wooden floor, streaked across his flesh, and dripped from his hands, staining everything it touched was the warm fire crackling in the corner, its flames dancing. She gulped back a knot in her throat and hung heavy in the air the terrible silence of the moment.And then, she saw it.In the middle of the room lay a dead deer with glassy, soulless eyes and a body stretched in unusual angles. Against the aged wooden planks, its thr
The sound of the sea resonated in the background as the light arrived gradually through the pure white curtains, creating golden shafts of dust into the air. With a trace of lavender oil from the diffuser close by the bed, the air scented like salt and clean sheets. Under the sheets, dialysis was warm and sticky; sweat had left her skin shining. A soft pain grew between her legs as she slowly moved. As she adjusted to the light, her eyelashes fluttered open. It all came at her at once.Alexander.Last night.Her face turned a pale rose then a deep scarlet as she considered his hands, mouth, weight of his body on top of hers, and how intense everything they shared was. Her apprehensive excitement came from her heart hammering fiercely against her ribs. She’d been with her husband, really with him, and there was no going back.She shifted under the sheets, gasping quietly at the sharp tug of soreness under her legs. It was a foreign feeling new, but not unwelcome. She pulled the duvet u
Sunlight flooded the room from the large windows in golden beams that softly painted delicate patterns on the white blankets. Like a pulse resonating through the villa, the ocean murmured far away, slow and steady. A breeze swept the flimsy drapes, and the air smelt of sea salt and vanilla, mixed with the subtle warmth of skin and something else entirely fresh and electrifying. Alexander hovered above her, muscles taut, breath shallow. He was no longer the untouchable man she first met. Right now, he looked raw, almost undone. It was dark and wet, and his navy swim shorts stuck to his hips. They showed every bit of stress in his body. He didn't blink or move his eyes.They were locked on her like he was memorizing a masterpiece. Dysis lay beneath him, her body still damp, glistening in the sunlight like she was made of moonlight and fire. Her red bikini clung to her skin like a second layer, the strings slightly loose now from their kiss. She was breathless.She shook her head back a