Erica POV When I opened my eyes, the morning sunlight filtering through the curtains wasn’t as harsh as before. My head didn’t feel like it was stuffed with cotton anymore, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like my body was made of lead. Slowly, I sat up, testing my strength. My feet touched the cool floor, and I braced myself as I stood up. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I was still wobbly, but I could stand. That was progress. Tired of lying in bed like a fragile doll, I took my time moving around the room, tidying what I could. The books on the nightstand were stacked back neatly, the blanket folded. Every little task felt like a small victory. When I was done, I headed to the bathroom. The warm water against my skin jolted me awake as I washed my face. I stood in front of the mirror, studying myself. My cheeks were still pale, but there was color coming back to them. My hair was a mess, and my eyes looked tired, but I felt alive again. I sighed, brushing m
ERICA I sat cross-legged on the bed, my gaze fixed on the window, but my mind wasn’t really on the view outside. Instead, it drifted back to earlier in the day—to the moment I’d walked into the kitchen and found Raffael cooking. Raffael. Cooking. If someone had told me a week ago that I’d see a man like him—arrogant, domineering, always dressed in a sharp suit—standing in front of a stove with an apron, I would’ve laughed. But there he was, like some odd version of himself I wasn’t sure how to process. What was that about? Why did he even bother? The idea of him going through the effort to make food for me felt completely out of character. He could just bark orders at someone else and make it happen. And yet he’d been standing there, focused, actually cooking. I couldn’t make sense of it. This was the same man who’d thrown Jordan to the ground without a second thought. The same man who treated people like pawns on a chessboard. Why would someone like that waste his time making
CLARISSA The club smelled of sweat, alcohol, and desperation. It wasn’t unusual, but tonight, everything felt heavier. The neon lights were harsh, the music grated on my nerves, and every step I took felt like I was being watched. My heart had been in my throat for days now, beating so loudly I was surprised no one else could hear it. The blackmailer had sent another text this morning. The video again. Threats. Time was slipping through my fingers like sand, and I had nothing—no solution, no plan. And worst of all, Raffael hadn’t even noticed. No texts, no calls, not even a damn word. I clenched my fists, trying to shake off the sinking feeling in my stomach. This would be worth it. Marrying Raffael would bring everything I wanted. Power, wealth, influence—the kind of life I had been dreaming of for years. I couldn’t let this video ruin that. I needed Ray. He had to know how to fix things. If anyone could make this go away, it was him. But when I reached his office, the chair was
ERICA The morning light crept into the room, streaking through the thin curtains and casting pale patterns on the floor. I stretched in bed, the ache in my body slowly ebbing away. My strength had started returning these past few days, but it was still a far cry from normal. Small steps, I reminded myself, as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and let my bare feet rest on the cool floor. I glanced around the room. It was neat, too neat—everything in its place except for me. The isolation of being stuck here was starting to drive me mad, but it wasn’t just that. It was the strange shift in Raffael. Ever since I got sick, he had been… different. I stood slowly, testing my balance before heading to the closet to grab a fresh set of clothes. My hands skimmed over the fabric, and as I picked out something simple, my mind drifted back to the man downstairs. Raffael. The crime boss. My captor. My tormentor. Or at least, he had been all those things before. Lately, I wasn’t so
RAFFAEL The tires screeched as I took another sharp turn, narrowly avoiding the edge of the median. The engine roared beneath me, and the speedometer needle kept climbing, but I couldn’t bring myself to slow down. It wasn’t just about getting there fast—it was about outrunning the thoughts swirling in my head, the questions that had no answers. Chloe. Dead. Stuffed in a bag like garbage. Who could have done something like this? My grip on the steering wheel tightened, my knuckles white as rage simmered just below the surface. Was it a customer? Maybe someone got too aggressive and things went too far. Or a competitor trying to send a warning? That seemed more likely, but why Chloe? She wasn’t involved in anything beyond her shifts at the club. She wasn’t connected to my deeper dealings, and she sure as hell wasn’t a threat to anyone. I grit my teeth, my jaw tight as I pushed the car harder. Or maybe it was a rival gang. An intimidation tactic. A sick reminder that no one in my worl
ERICA DAYS LATER This past few days had been… strange. Raffael had been unusually busy, barely around the house. It was almost like he’d disappeared into thin air. I couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to come home later and later every night. Not that I could complain—he’d practically ordered me to stay away from the club. His exact words were, “You’re not setting foot there for a while.” I didn’t know why, and I wasn’t about to press him for answers. A part of me was relieved, though. It meant I was temporarily free from being his personal maid or errand girl at the club. For once, I could just… exist. My days had settled into a quiet, repetitive rhythm: cleaning the house, reading whatever I could find in the mansion’s massive library, and taking long walks in the gardens. The nights, however, were different. Lonely. The mansion felt hollow without him here. Not that I’d admit it to myself, but his absence left an emptiness I didn’t know how to fill. I’d sit at the din
CLARISSA I couldn’t stop pacing. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest, and every breath I took felt shallow and labored. Ray’s living room, usually calm and orderly, now felt like it was closing in on me. The walls seemed smaller, the air suffocating, and no matter how much I tried to slow my thoughts, they kept spiraling. My hands shook as I ran them through my hair, my palms clammy. “I can’t do this, Ray,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. My voice trembled, barely louder than a whisper, but it carried the weight of everything I was feeling. “Clarissa, stop,” Ray said for the fifth time, his voice low and calm, but it only frustrated me further. He stood by the couch, leaning against the armrest with his arms crossed, as though we were discussing something trivial. His composure made me want to scream. “Stop?” I snapped, spinning around to glare at him. “How do you expect me to stop when everything is falling apart? Chloe is dead, Ray!
ERICA I sat on the couch, a book open in my lap, my eyes glued to the same paragraph I’d read three times already. It was supposed to be an escape, something to keep my mind occupied, but tonight, it wasn’t working. My thoughts kept drifting, pulling me away from the plot and back to the darker corners of my mind. The book was one of those suspenseful thrillers, full of secrets and betrayals, the kind of story that would normally have me hooked. But every twist on the page only reminded me of the real-life twists that had unfolded recently. Every deceit, every bit of violence written so neatly in these chapters felt uncomfortably close to home. I couldn’t stop thinking about Chloe. She was gone, really gone. The realization still hit me like a cold slap every time it resurfaced. No matter how hard I tried to move past it, her face would flash in my mind—her smirks, her sneers, the way she’d always made me feel so small and out of place. Chloe and I had never been friends, not even
MONTHS LATERThe hospital room was quiet, save for the soft beeping of the monitors and the occasional cooing sound from the tiny bundle in Erica’s arms. Warm sunlight streamed through the large windows, casting a golden glow over the space. It felt peaceful—like the whole world had stilled just for this moment.Raffael sat beside the hospital bed, his eyes never leaving them. His wife. His child. His entire world wrapped up in a single frame. He had never known a love like this before, never imagined he could feel so much all at once.“She’s perfect,” he murmured, reaching out to gently trace a finger over their daughter’s tiny hand. The baby stirred slightly, her fingers curling instinctively around his. His heart clenched.Erica let out a soft laugh, exhaustion evident in her voice, but her eyes shone with warmth. “She has your nose.”Raffael smirked. “And your lips.”Erica glanced down at their baby, brushing her thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. “I still can’t believe she’s
ERICA’S POVThe house felt strangely quiet after Clarissa and her mother left, as if all the tension had been sucked out of the air along with them.Raffael’s mother, still standing in the middle of the living room, let out a long, tired sigh. She turned to her son, her expression softer now—almost vulnerable.“I owe you an apology,” she said quietly. “I should have told you the truth a long time ago.”Raffael didn’t respond immediately. His jaw was tight, his hands still clenched at his sides. I could tell he was still processing everything that had just happened.His mother continued, her voice thick with emotion. “Clarissa’s mother has used this secret to blackmail me for years. Every time I tried to stand my ground, she would threaten to tell you. I was so afraid of losing you, of what you might think of me.” She swallowed hard. “But today… today, you stood up for me.”Raffael finally exhaled, his shoulders loosening just slightly. He stepped forward, his voice steady. “Nothing wi
ERICA’S POVIt had been a week since we got back from Chicago, but the tension in the air made it feel like no time had passed at all.Things should have felt different. The house should have felt like home again. But instead, it felt like we were holding our breath, waiting for the next storm to hit.And today, it finally did.Raffael’s mother had insisted on this meeting. She claimed it was necessary after Clarissa went to her, sobbing about their engagement being over. Raffael had been furious when he found out. He didn’t want to see Clarissa, let alone entertain her or her mother in his house. He had made it clear that whatever history they shared was over.But in the end, he agreed.Not for Clarissa. Not for her mother.For his own mother. And, in some way, for me.Now, we sat in the living room, and whatever peace we had hoped to maintain had long since shattered.Clarissa’s mother sat stiffly across from us, her face pinched in disapproval. Her sharp gaze moved between Raffael
ERICA’S POVI sat in the living room, curled up on the couch, staring blankly at the coffee table. My hands rested in my lap, fingers intertwined, squeezing together every now and then just to feel something—anything—other than the dull ache in my chest.The house was quiet. Unsettlingly so.The silence pressed in from all sides, heavy and suffocating, amplifying the thoughts I had tried so hard to push away. The weight of it sat in my chest, making it hard to breathe, hard to think.I hadn’t seen Raffael since last night. Since that moment. Since my world turned upside down.I told myself I didn’t care. That I didn’t want to see him, that I didn’t need to hear whatever excuse he had prepared.But the truth was, I had spent the whole day waiting.Waiting for him to come to me.Waiting for him to explain.Waiting for something.Something that never came.The hours stretched painfully, each second dragging on longer than the last. Every small sound in the house made my heart jolt, only
RAFFAELThe conference room was empty, silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning. I paced back and forth, dragging a hand through my hair, my thoughts a chaotic mess.I hadn’t slept.Not a second.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the look on Erica’s face when she walked in last night—the shock, the hurt, the betrayal. It burned into my mind like a wound that wouldn’t close. She hadn’t given me a chance to explain, hadn’t let me tell her that I pulled away the second Clarissa kissed me.But why would she?She had every right to shut me out.I had spent the entire night waiting for her to open her door, knocking, calling her name, begging for just a second of her time—but she never did. The silence on the other side of that door was louder than any words she could have said.And this morning?Nothing.Not a single sign of her.The realization that she didn’t even want to see me twisted like a knife in my chest.I clenched my jaw, my hands fisting at my sides as I turned
ERICA’S POVThe moment Raffael pulled away, everything inside me shattered.I stood frozen in the doorway, my feet rooted to the floor, my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and throat. My vision blurred as my brain struggled to process what I had just seen. Raffael. Clarissa. Their lips.I felt sick.Clarissa’s eyes landed on me first. The corners of her lips curled into a smug, knowing smirk, and her gaze flicked between me and Raffael like she had just won some twisted game.Then Raffael turned. The second he saw me, all the color drained from his face, his eyes going wide with shock and something that almost looked like fear.“Erica—” His voice was sharp, urgent, desperate.But I didn’t wait to hear whatever excuse he had.I turned and ran.My heart pounded violently against my ribs, my stomach twisting into painful knots as I rushed down the hallway. I could hear the quick, heavy thuds of Raffael’s footsteps right behind me, hear the way he called my name, voice full of urg
RAFFAEL’S POVI sat at my desk, fingers flying over the keyboard as I worked, my eyes fixed on the screen. The glow from the monitor was the only source of light in the dark room, creating shadows across the walls. The document in front of me was filled with numbers, reports, projections—things that required my attention. Things that demanded focus. And that was exactly what I needed right now.Work had always been my escape. The one thing I could rely on when everything else felt out of my control. It was predictable, structured—unlike the chaos unraveling in my personal life. Numbers didn’t change on a whim. Spreadsheets didn’t come with complicated emotions. Deadlines didn’t demand explanations.Unlike Clarissa.I clenched my jaw, fingers pressing harder against the keys.Everything between us had spiraled so fast. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I hadn’t planned for tonight to end in a fight, hadn’t expected to break things off with her in such a brutal, final way. But it had
ERICA’S POVThe room felt frozen.Clarissa stood in the doorway, her gaze flickering between me and Raffael, her expression unreadable for a moment—until she laughed.A sharp, manic laugh that sent a chill down my spine.Raffael tensed immediately. His hands clenched into fists at his sides as he slowly stood up. I could feel the shift in his demeanor, the way his entire body stiffened in shock.“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice low, controlled—but I could hear the irritation bleeding through.Clarissa smirked, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder as she stepped inside, completely unbothered by the tension crackling in the room.“Is this why you didn’t bother telling me about your little trip?” she drawled, sauntering past him like she owned the place. “So you could sneak off with her and let her warm your bed?”My heart pounded.Raffael inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring as he turned to face her. “Clarissa, don’t start—”“Oh, I will start,” she snapped, turning t
ERICA’S POVIt had been a week.Seven days since Raffael had looked me in the eyes and told me he loved me. Seven days since he’d shattered every assumption I’d ever had about him. Seven days since I’d decided—against my better judgment—to give him a chance to prove it.And in those seven days, I had seen a version of him I never thought existed.It still didn’t feel real.I kept expecting the old Raffael to slip through the cracks—the cold, arrogant man who had once treated me like an inconvenience. The one who barely acknowledged me unless it was to make a sharp remark or push me away. But that man had seemingly vanished, replaced by someone… softer.Not soft—Raffael could never be soft. But different. Gentler.He still had that quiet intensity, that unwavering confidence that made it seem like the whole world revolved around him. But now, that intensity was directed toward me in ways I didn’t know how to handle.He brought me flowers every morning—fresh, beautiful arrangements that