In the grand church where her dreams are meant to come true, Belva Moguel’s world shatters in an instant. A damning video plays—Pascha Romanov, the man she’s about to marry, tangled in betrayal with her best friend. The vows remain unspoken, the promises broken before they even begin. Heartbroken, Belva walks away from everything: the man she thought she knew, the family she cherished, and the perfect future she had once envisioned. Five years passed. In San Francisco, Belva rebuilds her life from the rubble of the past, living peaceful days with the big secret she’s been hiding: a little boy the world has never known, let alone his father. Yet, her fragile peace crumbles when destiny thrusts her back into the path of the man who once shattered her heart. A ghost from her past who ignites chaos with a single, reckless night of passion. His intoxicating charm pulls her into a whirlwind she swore she’d never revisit, leaving her reeling from the thunderous echoes of her mistake. Pascha is no longer the man she knew. He has turned into a cold, vengeful figure with a dark charm that shakes Belva's walls. Amidst the chaos, Belva must face the fact that Pascha has another woman by his side, while she desperately protects the secret about their son. As past and present collide, Belva is caught between love, betrayal, and a choice that could destroy everything. Can she hold on to the world she has built, or must she give up everything, once again?
Lihat lebih banyakWe arrived at the Romanov villa gates nearly two hours after leaving San Francisco. With one emergency stop I’d rather not talk about, and a series of events that could only be explained as Pascha being Pascha.It started with me just needing to pee. A quick stop at a small, empty-looking rest area. But of course, Pascha decided to turn on the hazard lights and call out from the car window, “Don’t get lost, Miss Moguel. The woods can be cruel!”I shot him a glare.Naturally, he didn’t stop there. When I came back and reached for the car door, he locked it automatically and smiled at me through the window like he’d just won some twisted Olympic event.“Pascha Romanov, I swear to God, I will—”Click.The door unlocked. He laughed for the next ten minutes straight while I sat in silence, breathing slowly, seriously considering whether throwing my sandal at him would be too dramatic or way too soft.The moment we arrived at the villa, I understood why Max loved it here. The Romanov villa
BelvaMorning slipped in through the gap in the curtains like an old friend who knew how to arrive without making a sound. Warm light crept across the edge of my bed, slowly trailing up the wall and brushing my fingertips.I opened my eyes without the weight in my chest. The bad memories were still there, sure, but like shadows, they came and went, swallowed by something warmer. Something calmer.Maybe I was just too tired. Maybe my body had finally surrendered to a peace I had been refusing.I got up, letting my feet touch the cool wooden floor. The sheets were still messy, a pillow had fallen to the ground. This morning felt... light. I grabbed a towel and walked to the bathroom. Hot water washed over my body, and for a few minutes, I just stood under the shower, letting it rinse away the traces of last night.Afterward, I slipped into a loose white t-shirt and comfortable linen pants, my hair still damp as I stepped out of the room. My pace was slow and lazy, but the moment I reac
Night had fallen hours ago, but Max had no real understanding of the concept of "bedtime."“I think,” he said, rolling over to his left for the hundredth time in his bed facing the villa balcony, “if I fall asleep now, I’ll miss the golden hours to plan my next secret mission.”I sat at the edge of his bed. “What time do you think it is right now?”“Eight fifty-nine!” he said, then raised his index finger like he was teaching me something very serious. “And do you know what great spies do at times like this, Daddy?”“Sleep?”“No!” he said, clearly offended. “They practice foreign languages and memorize secret codes!”I sighed and rubbed my temples. “Max…”“Teach me Russian, Daddy. Right now. Hurry. Say, ‘I am a super robot from the planet Bumbleberia.’”I frowned. “Bumbleberia’s not a real place.”“Then teach me how to say it in Russian so it can be!”This kid…I looked at his little face, so expressive. His hair was still damp from his bath, his cheeks flushed from the warm night air
My phone buzzed, screen lighting up with a name that had become familiar, and still somehow made my heartbeat skip half a note: Pascha Romanov.I tapped the screen to accept the video call while Clara and Jullian were still deep in debate over whether dinosaur-shaped pancakes were superior to star-shaped waffles.The call connected, and Max’s face instantly filled the screen, his grin wide, hair a little messy, and behind him, Trisha, still wearing her straw hat, waved while chewing on something.“Mommyyyy!” he shouted. “Why is everyone here speaking Russian?! I don’t understand anything! I feel like… like an alien on Mars!”I let out a soft laugh, about to reply when—“MAX!” Jullian called out.Max’s eyes lit up. “You’re there too?!”Jullian leaned closer, sharing the screen with me. “Hey, partner,” he greeted warmly. “Looks like you’ve been busy socializing with the high society crowd.”Max nodded enthusiastically. “I almost got to drive the golf cart by myself! But Grandpa said I d
Clara showed up just minutes after I sent the message. With slow steps and eyes barely open, she walked toward us dragging a gray blanket behind her like it was an oversized royal cape. Her hair was a mess, and her expression, well, like the world had woken her up five centuries too early.“I smell empanadas,” she mumbled without preamble, plopping down onto the sand with zero regard for grace.Jullian stifled a laugh and held out a plate. “I admire your lifestyle.”“I don’t remember who you are,” Clara answered with a huge yawn, grabbing an arepa and taking a bite like a zombie discovering its first victim. “But you make excellent life choices.”I shook my head and scooped a bite of arroz con pollo into my mouth. “Clara, you can’t keep napping like this every afternoon.”“Relax. I dreamt I was watching Max,” she shot back. “Technically, I’m still on duty.”Jullian chuckled, then glanced over at me. “Speaking of Max…”I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”“I keep thinking about that dinner we
The midday sky hung cloudless, a clean blue canvas yet to be written on. On the warm, breezy shore of San Francisco, I sat on a white canvas folding chair, my bare feet touching sand that still held the chill of morning. Beside me, a cold water bottle beaded with condensation and a gently vibrating phone, my only interruption in an otherwise peaceful silence I was beginning to savor.I picked up the phone and glanced at the screen.A message from Pascha.The first photo popped up with a soft notification sound. Max was in Trisha’s arms. Her long blonde hair was braided into two neat plaits, a straw hat tilted playfully on her head. Max looked half-squished, but happy, his cheek nearly disappearing behind Trisha’s oversized sunglasses.Second photo. Max was perched on Igor’s shoulders. Max was laughing, mouth wide open, arms thrown up in the air. He lifted him higher as they walked among the tall, leafy trees of Carmel.I smiled, letting a quiet warmth spread through my chest. Not beca
The front door opened with its usual sound, a bit creaky, a little heavy, but it never bothered anyone, because the person who always came through it never felt the need to knock first.Pascha Romanov walked right into my house, like always. As if it wasn’t mine. As if boundaries were a concept that didn’t apply to his stupid head. And the truth was, I never really figured out how high a wall I needed to keep him out.He was a storm that had grown used to passing through without asking permission.Max launched out of his chair like a mini rocket, leaving the last piece of his pancake behind without a second thought.“Daddyyyyyy!” he shouted, his little feet pounding across the floor as he crashed into Pascha with a tackle of hugs and breathless chatter. “Mommy was soooo annoying today! I just said I didn’t wanna take a bath and she went off like the news on TV!”Pascha chuckled softly, lifting Max into his arms without effort, “Oh yeah?” Pascha shot me a quick glance, half a smile pla
Morning came without mercy.The sun climbed slowly behind the thin curtains I’d forgotten to close correctly the night before. I was still in bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling that looked exactly the same as it did yesterday. The morning air drifted in through the cracked window, salty, laced with the scent of the sea.Usually, that smell calmed me. Today, it only made my chest feel heavier.I hadn’t slept. Or maybe I had—that didn’t feel real for a few minutes. My mind was still tangled in last night’s mess. My father’s cold stare, my mother’s too-sweet smile that barely passed for sincerity. Their words echoed like voices down a long, narrow hallway that led nowhere.I pushed the blanket aside and sat up, facing the tall glass window that stretched from floor to ceiling. From where I sat, I could see the shimmering silver line of San Francisco’s coast glowing in the early sun. The waves rolled in slowly, peacefully, unlike the noise in my head.“Mommyyyy!” His shout came from t
That afternoon, the Moscow sun poured through the tall windows of the Romanov family room. Light danced across the marble floors and reflected softly off the polished table, making the whole space look like a living painting—elegant, expensive, and loud.I sat at the end of a long sofa, holding a warm cup of tea. Its scent blended with the lavender from a vase on the coffee table. My hair was still damp from a long shower after our trip back from Siberia, and my legs ached just a little. But I barely noticed—too absorbed by the scene playing out in front of me.“—You dragged us all the way to Siberia, and now I’m sneezing every five minutes!” Trisha flung a pillow at Igor, who barely flinched as he blocked it with his elbow.“You’re sneezing not because of Siberia, but because you refused to wear a jacket,” Igor replied flatly, though the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.“I couldn’t wear that army green thing you call a jacket! It’s an insult to my entire aesthetic!” Trisha
My steps feel light as I walk through the snowy streets of central Moscow. The cold wind bites my face, but I don't care. I've decided to take some time for myself today.Pascha Romanov, my fiancé, is, as usual, buried under a mountain of work. Even with our wedding day only a month away, it feels like I'm spending more time with his shadowy figure than his authentic self.As I turned the corner, my eyes fell on a magnificent church with golden domes rising into the grey sky.St. Sophia's Church.I was transfixed. Although I grew up in Bogota, Colombia, surrounded by old churches with stunning architecture, none were as beautiful as this one. Its dome reflected the gloomy light of the winter sun like the building had a light of its own."This is it," I muttered involuntarily.With my heart pounding, I imagined myself standing under the dome, wearing a white dress, with Pascha by my side. A smile was painted on my face.Would Pascha have time to see this place with me? Or, as usual, wo...
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