His Pov:It took me a long while before I could focus back on the details of the deal. Before that, I cleaned the kitchen as it held the proves of last night. And it wasn't letting me focus, neither was it helping my mind from going back to her.No matter what or how complicated my inner self is, I can't let that reach my umderling, to my father or to the outer world. I never make mistakes, and neither do I make changes in plans. And it won't happen this time also. No one should get a glimpse of any difference or any weakness of mine. I have been trained for over a decade for the position I am at today, and I am not letting it slip and let myself be disappointed at it. I was almost done with the details when I felt a sudden shift in the air. It's as if the air around me got lighter and smelled of roses because of a certain presence. And I didn't need to look to know the reason for the change of air. The reason for my distress and my insanity. I could hear light footsteps moving awa
Her Pov:Leonardo brought me to this upscale hospital to confirm his suspicions. If I were in the U.S. under different circumstances, I might have taken a moment to admire the hospital’s grandeur—the unmistakable aura of old money woven into its marble floors and gilded accents. But right now, none of it matters. My mind is too clouded, my body too tense, consumed by the weight of uncertainty. The sterile air feels suffocating, the pristine walls closing in, yet all I can do is lie here, waiting for the truth to unravel.They ran a series of tests on me, and once they were done, they moved me to a cabin and inserted an IV drip filled with saline. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to find a moment of peace, but instead, all I felt was the sting of tears slipping down my cheeks. No matter how much I tried to steady my breathing, an ache settled deep in my chest—silent, suffocating. The quiet hum of the machines around me only made the loneliness heavier, pressing down like a weight I co
Her Pov:My gaze lands on the towering figure at the doorway, his presence almost too vast to be contained within the room. His eyes, sharp and calculating, hold the quiet menace of a predator stalking its prey. The air shifts, thick with tension, as if the very walls recognize the threat he carries with him.Leonardo....“Leonardo…” I summon the courage to speak his name, my voice barely above a whisper as my eyes remain locked on him.He moves toward me with slow, deliberate steps, his presence swallowing the space between us. The door clicks shut behind him, sealing me in with whatever unspoken danger he's carrying. My breath catches as he closes the distance, stopping just beside me, his broad frame leaning against the wall.His gaze never wavers, dark and unreadable, laced with a silent threat I can feel even from a breath away. The air between us tightens, thick with an unnameable tension. He’s too close—close enough that I can sense the heat of something perilous luring me in,
Her Pov:I look at him, but it's as if I can't see him. Instead, I see those people from there. From that hell.My fingers clench around the glass tighter. So tight I can feel my knuckles whitening. I want the pain to flush into my skin and pull me from the web that I am falling into again.I move my eyes from him as he lets go of my chin, but I still can't escape those words in my own mind. "You are a whore Maryline. You like it or not!" A voice in my head keeps repeating it.I close my eyes as I repeat in my mind. I am not a whore. I am not a whore... But all I can hear is cruel laughters and all I can see is those red eyes. The marks on my back burn brighter. The marks of the whipping. I squeeze my eyes tighter.The choking ,the beatings, and the injections all rush into me as I slightly tremble. Tears welling up to my eyes. They kept me hungry for 3 days, and after that, they pushed a shot into me, and the next day, I found a man lying beside me. Naked. All used.And then another
Her Pov: I stare at the closed door, my body trembling with quiet sobs. I don’t know why I care so much—why his opinion of me matters, why the way he sees me cuts so deep. But it does. It matters more than it should.My heart twists painfully as I replay the moment he walks away, not even sparing me a single glance. That hurts more than I can put into words. The distrust in his eyes, the quiet hatred buried beneath his gaze—it shatters me. And no matter how much I try to push it away, the truth lingers: his absence feels heavier than it should.I stare down at my hands, watching as shards of broken glass pierce my skin, their jagged edges buried deep. Blood smears across my palms, trickling down my wrists, staining my clothes in dark, crimsonstreaks. It should hurt. I should feel the sting, the sharp bite of pain.But all I feel is nothing-just an empty, aching numbness that stretches from the inside out, swallowing me whole. I had only wanted to see a flicker of trust, a shred of b
Her Pov:I have no idea how long I’ve been drifting through this suffocating darkness, the silence pressing in on me like a living thing. Then, just as a shiver runs down my spine, I catch the faintest movement—a shadow shifting within the black void. My breath hitches.“Who’s there?” I whisper, my voice barely breaking the oppressive stillness as I strain to make out the figure lurking in the dark.Silence answers my question, thick and unyielding. The only sound is the faint, rhythmic beeping of machines, a steady pulse in the stillness. My eyes adjust, tracing the vague outlines of the furniture in the dimly lit cabin. The walls, the bed, the quiet hum of life-supporting devices—they’re all real.Maybe this isn’t a nightmare. Maybe I’m not trapped in some fever dream, lost in the abyss of my own mind. Maybe the darkness isn’t just in my head. It’s real. And I’m still inside it.I drag my body up on my bed as I try to get down from the bed. A tremor runs through my legs as I will t
His Pov:I suck in a sharp breath, struggling to steady my racing pulse as I slam the door shut behind me. Her eyes—cold, filled with nothing but raw hatred. Not just anger. It's not just pain. But pure, unfiltered loathing. The way she looked at me, the way she recoiled, as if my very presence was something vile.And then her words—no, not words. A threat. A warning laced with venom. Don’t touch me.As if my touch was poison. As if I hadn’t already done enough damage.I stepped out, forcing distance between us, not because I wanted to—but because for the first time, I feared that staying would only shatter her more.“Noah, call the doctor,” I grit out, my voice sharp with urgency.He nods and rushes off without hesitation. I barely have time to take another breath before he returns, followed by a group of doctors and nurses, their hurried footsteps echoing through the hallway. They push past me, swarming around her, their voices a blur of medical jargon and clipped orders.I take a s
His Pov: Because for the first time in my life, someone else's suffering felt worse than my own.No... I can't walk away. I won't... My steps falter as I halt in my way. She has to know that she is not pregnant with my child. Her fucking wish came true. And also... She has to know what is wrong with her. She has to know about her addiction. She has to answer my every single fucking questions. Why did she never once mention the drugs she used to take? Addiction to drugs is not something that happens over the day.She has to crave for them. But then... Why did she never ask me for them? Let's say she was hesitant, maybe afraid. But then why did she never try to get them behind my back? How can she be so dumb that she never realised that she's addicted to the drugs she was dependent on?I turn to go back to her cabin, but my phone buzzes in my pocket, making me halt. I take out my phone as I see the contact on the screen, Father. If it was in other circumstances, I would have ignored
Her Pov:The sun sinks lower over the Seine, casting molten gold across the water, painting the ripples with liquid fire. The city hums around us—soft laughter from distant lovers drifting through the air, the rhythmic lapping of waves against the stone embankment, the whisper of the wind as it tangles through my dress.Paris feels like a dream, weightless and unreal, but Leonardo beside me is more vivid than anything else.He moves with his usual silent grace, his presence coiled and restrained, like a predator choosing patience over pursuit. The evening glow sharpens the angles of his face and deepens the shadows beneath his cheekbones, making him look like something sculpted from darkness itself. He is breathtaking, but never soft—never safe.A sudden gust of wind sweeps in, lifting the hem of my dress, sending a shiver dancing up my spine. Before I can react, warmth engulfs me. Leonardo moves with a quiet swiftness that steals the breath from my lungs, pressing against my back, h
Her Pov:I swallow hard, looking away from him for a second, trying to gather my thoughts. “Is that it?” I finally ask, my voice barely a whisper. The question lingers, hanging between us, almost absurd in its simplicity.“No,” he says softly, his voice barely louder than the river’s murmur. “There’s more to be freed than just the fish.”I glance up at him, but his expression remains unreadable, as always. But something in the way he looks at me makes my breath hitch, like he’s seeing through every wall I’ve built.He steps closer, and I feel the heat of his presence before I even see him fully. The air between us thickens as though the world is holding its breath. I want to speak, to ask him everything, but my throat tightens, the words sticking in my chest. I stand there, frozen in place, as his gaze holds me captive, just as much as he claims to have done to the fish."They’re just like me..." he whispers, the words soft but piercing, making my chest tighten. His eyes are intense,
Her Pov:Paris stretches endlessly beyond the car window, a blur of elegant streets and towering architecture, but none of it holds my attention. All I see is him—Leonardo, sitting beside me in the backseat, his presence heavy, commanding. He hasn’t spoken much since we left, and I can’t tell if the silence between us is suffocating or intoxicating. Maybe both. His fingers tap lightly against his knee, his eyes staring straight ahead, but I know he’s aware of every movement I make. Every breath.The ride stretches on for hours, the city fading into quieter roads, then almost nothingness. I shift uncomfortably, feeling the slight ache still lingering in my body, a reminder of last night—of him.Heat curls under my skin at the memory, but I push it away. He hasn’t looked at me the same way since this morning, and I hate how that unsettles me. Like I’m standing on uneven ground, waiting for him to either pull me in or push me away.His two men sit in the front, quiet as ever, focused on
Her Pov:When I wake up, he’s nowhere to be seen. The bed is cold beside me, as if he had left hours ago, yet the air still carries the ghost of his presence.Last night, he was all over me. When I drifted into sleep, it was with his scent wrapped around me, his breath mingling with mine, his body pressing down on me in a way that made me feel utterly possessed. Now, with the morning light streaming through the curtains, I feel the stark emptiness of his absence. My fingers brush over the sheets, still slightly wrinkled from where his hands had gripped me, from where his body had pinned me down as he took me, as he claimed me.A sharp ache pulses between my legs, a reminder of just how relentless he was. His thrusts had been merciless, as if he wasn’t just trying to claim my body but my very soul. As if the mere act of having me wasn’t enough—he needed to carve his presence into my skin, into my bones, into the deepest recesses of my mind. And what’s worse? I had wanted it. I needed i
***15 Years ago****His POV:When my eyes cracked open, it felt like waking from death itself.The ceiling above me swayed, blurry and unfamiliar, though I’ve stared at it a thousand times. For a moment, I couldn’t even remember where I was—only the weight of my limbs, the stickiness of blood dried across my skin, and the stinging throb radiating from every corner of my body. My breath came out jagged, uneven, as if my lungs had forgotten how to pull in air.I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Hours? Days? I can’t tell. Sleep doesn’t feel like sleep anymore. It feels like falling into some black hole and clawing my way back up every time, just to fall again.My body—my entire being—felt like it wasn’t mine anymore.My skin prickled and burned, covered in sweat, filth, and blood. When I shifted, a sharp, tearing sensation ripped through my back and arms. I sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, forcing my eyes to move, to look down.Shards of glass.Tiny, jagged pieces embedded in
***15 years ago***His Pov:It’s been three days since my mother pushed me down the stairs.Three days since I felt my body crash against every hard step, bones snapping, skull cracking, everything blurring into nothingness before I blacked out.My right hand is fractured. They had to wrap it in plaster, sling it from my neck like a reminder of how breakable I really am. My head is bandaged too—tight and rough around my skull—covering the deep wound above my eyebrow where they stitched me back together. Seven stitches. I counted them when I woke up, fingers trembling as I traced the skin around them, wondering why I still felt so numb.I don’t even know how I survived.If David hadn’t done something… if he hadn’t begged or screamed for help… I would’ve bled out right there at the bottom of those stairs, and no one would’ve noticed until I started to rot.From the bits and pieces he’s let slip, I think he ran to the neighbours, knocked on their doors in the middle of the night, sobbing
**15 years ago***His Pov:I don’t even know how much time passed while we sat there, lost in the comfort of something that felt almost... normal. Maybe an hour. Maybe two. All I know is the sun had already started creeping higher, bleeding light through the half-closed curtains while we sat cross-legged on the floor of my room, controllers in hand, laughing at nothing and everything as we played my favourite video games.David had woken up too. He’d been with us the whole time, sitting close, occasionally throwing in jokes or grabbing the controller for his turn. It felt like family — not the kind of family I grew up with, but the kind I used to dream about. A soft, peaceful, happy little bubble. It almost felt like Father's Home, when Aunt Rachel used to stay with us, making dessert while the TV buzzed in the background.For once, the world outside my door didn’t exist.Until it did.Until everything shattered in a single heartbeat.A sharp sound cracked through the air — the dull,
**15 Years Ago**His Pov:I flip through the crumpled, half-burned pages of the only thing I have left—the only thing she couldn’t destroy. My fingers trace the torn edges carefully, like they’re made of glass, like they’ll fall apart if I hold them too tight. The paper is stained, corners smudged, some pages singed at the ends. But it’s still here. It's my favourite book. The only one I could save.A sharp sting burns the back of my eyes, and I blink hard, fighting the tears that keep coming even when I tell them not to. A droplet escapes anyway, falling on the brittle page in front of me. The black ink smudges under it like it’s bleeding.Why does she always do this to me?Why does she always hate the things I love?I don’t understand her. I’ve never understood her. No matter how much I try. I’ve always liked quiet things—books, cameras, and games. Things that let me disappear into a different world because this one hurts too much. But to her, those things are worthless. Nonsense.
His Pov:I stand on the balcony, the city lights flickering below like dying embers, as I take a slow drag from the cigarette I borrowed from one of my men. The smoke curls in the air, a temporary distraction, but even that isn't enough.I don’t smoke—not usually. I’ve never needed vices to dull my mind, never sought escape in addiction or meaningless habits. I’ve always been above such weaknesses.And yet, here I am.Because of her.She’s made me crave, made me restless, and made me need.My fingers tighten around the cigarette, the burn at my fingertips, nothing compared to the fire coursing through me. I can’t erase her from my mind. No matter how much I try, she lingers—her ice-blue eyes wide and full of something between fear and defiance. Her swollen lips, parted and trembling. Her teary eyes, her breathy moans and her tight cunt all just leaves me hungrier.The way she looked at me, the way she sounded, the way she felt wrapped around me—so impossibly tight, so warm, so fucking