“What now, Margarette? Are you just going to stare at the utensils like that? Those stuff won’t move on its own, dimwit!” Mother sternly told me as I seemed to be pacing out for a while thinking what to prepare.Her statement, however, perked my eyes. I wanted to call her out for calling me a dimwit but with the limited time I have to prepare for meal before Justin arrive made me instantly move instead.“Sorry, mother.” I uttered, pulling my feet to finally move around and do something. As mother was still looking at me, I simply couldn’t just stand still and do nothing.Truth be told, even as I move around, all that I was doing was just to keep moving the utensils in my hand. Sooner or later, my mother-in-law would eventually notice that I was only playing around the utensils and if that happened, I don’t even know how I would begin to explain it.“Margarette, are you seriously just going to keep doing the same thing over and over? Tell me, do you actually know what you’re doing?” an
CHAPTER 43 When I opened my eyes, there was Justin once more.I couldn't believe my eyes as I found myself caught a glimpse of him, my heart racing in my chest. It was in that moment, when everything seemed uncertain, that I finally realized the truth: Justin's presence had actually saved me. “Are you not feeling well?” Justin asked.As he yanked me towards the dimly lit corner, his hand clamping tightly over my mouth, my heart raced with a mix of fear and curiosity. Through the haze of panic, I caught sight of mother’s glare and ignore it.“Please, justin, take me upstairs. I’m too exhausted.” I begged for the last time I could still muster enough energy.Eventually Justin carried me upstairs back to our room.If it weren't for Justin's quick action, I would have been still stuck with Mother’s errands. My whole body trembled with an overwhelming sense of tiredness. The sound of Justin’s breathing reverberated through the air, a symphony I wanted to continue hearing. I cou
I had a hard time accepting the fact that Justin was actually capable of treating her in such a manner. A short while ago, it appeared as I saw him with Regina and that they shared a romantic dinner with one another. And of course, I can't help but recall that I've seen that woman clinging on Justin no matter where he goes.At first, I didn't pay any attention to her at all. My first thought was that perhaps she is just some random woman who is connected with Justin in regard to their business but not in any other way. Having said that, my opinion of her has completely shifted in light of what I have seen after entering this room. Perhaps she could be Justin’s woman. Until I saw it was Regina.I won’t even be able to move in that state if I were in that woman’s shoes. However, it seems like the case between me and that woman is entirely different knowing how Justin is treating me right now.He was giving off that gentle look once again. I was not still convinced with it. This was not
It didn't dawn on me until just now that I'm actually getting more aroused than I was before. It was Justin who started the fire, and it's burning me like hell right now. As much as I hate to admit it, it appears that only he can put out the fire, and it won't stop giving me discomfort until he enters me.Justin places his face squarely on top of mine and gives me a light nibble on the back of my neck. In comparison to how rough I've seen him be in the past, this is surprisingly kind and gentle. His brusque approach to getting me has already registered so deeply within me that it is already impossible for me to just put it out of my mind. The fact that my body is already yearning for that roughness to return despite the fact that he has been making an effort to treat me gently is an even more surprising development at this point. Suddenly, I find myself wondering what could possibly be preventing him from being the typical version of himself, especially considering the fact
“Isn’t it agonizing not to be able to cum, Margarette?” Justin abruptly stops just as I'm about to reach the climax of my orgasm. As the vibrations on my clit continue to torment me, it has left me with an insatiable desire for more.Justin yanked my face closer to his torso at that point. My nose even brushed up against the very tip of his hot rod, and the heady, manly aroma that it exudes is making me even more hungry for it. I just couldn't give any indication as to how I will even attempt to get past this sensation.“I–I have no idea what you mean, Justin.” I honestly answered.Although that seems to be the case, I never even see any disapproving reactions from Justin. As a matter of fact, it seems as though he is even more pleased that I find everything he is saying to be a completely new detail I haven’t encountered before.Since I had never been sexually active before, I can honestly say that something like this had never occurred to me before. I have never even had a sexual e
As I opened my eyes, I noticed that the rays of the orange-hued afternoon sunlight that were streaming in through the windows had taken on a yellowish cast. I am puzzled seeing how I am inside a room that appears to be meant for a child, while here I am sitting on a rocking couch holding a child in my arms.It's a child, a young boy, and I'm holding him in my arms as he smiles and openly glimmers his green eyes, which are very similar to the green eyes that I have. The color of his eyes, jade, seemed to complement his jet-black hair well. It's almost as if when I look at him, I see a version of both myself and Justin fused together into a single person.When I think about it, my cheeks become flushed with a shade of red, and a spark of excitement goes off in my mind. Is it possible that I am holding our child right now? Wait! Do Justin and I really have a child together?The sensation of actually holding the child in my arms is so comforting that it's as if I'm melting deep within my
“Margarette?” It’s already morning. I didn’t realize that I have been here that quite long. Hearing Justin calls out my name, just instantly brought me back out of my dream. That is why it is just now that I realize that I am just having a dream. Justin is here and alive. And seeing him this close to me in one piece abruptly made me want to hug him out of reflex.For some reason, Justin didn’t say a single word again after I clasped my arms around him. Perhaps, he, too, is surprised by my sudden reaction. I can feel that he seems a little shocked, knowing that I don’t normally do such a thing.And yet, here I am, hugging him tightly as if I never want him to go. This is all just because I had that dream—no, it’s actually more like a nightmare to me. Who wouldn’t call it a nightmare when I had to go through such an ordeal facing that horrible sight of the lifeless Justin before me as I held in my hand our dead son.And then that suddenly rings me, why did I suddenly dream of that sce
Despite how many times I already told Justin that I didn’t want to come with him. He still insisted that I go with him. His persistence over the matter is so dominating that I can’t even make any attempt to insist on what I truly want. In the end, I just settled in letting him drag me along with him.I even remember from earlier that he immediately pulled me off the bed just to push me inside the bathroom to change. Although I knew that he only did that to make sure that I can finally get on the clothes he provided, I still find it rude of him to actually force me. Can he at least wait for me to adjust to the fact that I am actually wearing his clothes. I am not that much of a picky person, however, wearing his clothes would only confirm that I have become his woman.We make our way out of the mansion of the Montefalcos in a very nonchalant manner; however, despite the fact that it appears to be quite simple for Justin, it is actually quite difficult for me. There is a small part of
The rain was falling again.It always did on days like this—days that felt like endings.I stood on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the stormy waters of Anacortes, my coat pulled tightly around me, the hood shielding my face from the wind that carried the scent of salt and something older—something like goodbye.Leon stood behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to feel him there. His presence was familiar now, carved into my skin like muscle memory. He’d been my gravity, my storm, my salvation, and my ruin—sometimes all at once.“It’s really over, isn’t it?” I whispered, more to the wind than to him.He didn’t answer right away. His silence was as heavy as the stormclouds above us.“I wanted to fix everything for you,” he said finally, his voice hoarse, like it had been dragged across a battlefield. “I wanted to give you a life that didn’t hurt.”I closed my eyes. The ache in my chest pulsed with every beat of my heart. “You did,” I said. “For a while, you did.”I heard the crunch
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. “I’m not the same person I was before,” I said, my voice firm, unwavering. “And I’m not walking away this time.”The man’s eyes flickered with a moment of doubt, just enough for me to catch. And then, before I could even register what had happened, Leon moved.Faster than I could blink, Leon was in front of me, his hand grabbing the gun and twisting it out of the man’s grasp. The force of it sent the man stumbling back, but he didn’t go down easily. His bodyguards rushed in, but Leon was already a step ahead, disarming one of them with a swift, calculated move.I stood frozen for a moment, trying to process what I was witnessing. Leon—always so calm, always so careful—was ruthless. He was like a force of nature, determined to protect me at all costs.But the fight wasn’t over yet. The man recovered, his eyes burning with rage. “You really think you’ve won?” he spat, his voice dripping with venom. “You’re nothing but a pawn in a game you can’t ev
The sound of boots drew closer, pounding the floor with an urgency that echoed through the cavernous halls of the estate. My heart raced as the reality of what I had just heard crashed into me like a tidal wave. The man who had once been a part of my life—my family’s betrayer, the one who had orchestrated their deaths—stood there, calmly, as if this was just another night for him.Leon’s grip on my hand tightened, but I didn’t let him pull me away. I could feel the air thickening with tension, the walls pressing in as everything I thought I knew began to crumble.The intruders were only moments away.The man—he—smirked, watching us. “You think this will end well? You’ve no idea what you’re up against. My people are everywhere.”I took a step forward, ignoring Leon’s silent plea to retreat. “You killed them. And you thought I would be the next one to fall in line?” My voice was a whisper, but it held a power I hadn’t realized I had. “You were wrong.”The man’s face faltered, just for a
Next Morning at the Estate Archives. The basement was cold and damp, and the air smelled of mildew and secrets. Old boxes lined the walls, labeled in my father’s tidy script. Financial records. Land deeds. Correspondence.Leon sifted through a crate of documents while I dug through another.Then something caught my eye.A faded folder labeled: Project Thornfield.I opened it slowly.Inside were blueprints—plans for development across coastal land that was supposed to be protected forest. There were signatures from multiple board members, including names I recognized.And then, one I didn’t.N. Vallis.Leon leaned over. “You know that name?”I shook my head. “No. But look here—he signed off on the project two weeks before my parents died.”Leon pulled out his phone. “I’ll run a background check.”I kept flipping through the documents—and found something that made my blood run cold.An aerial photo.Of the cliffside. Our property.With a giant red X drawn over the coordinates where my p
THREE WEEKS LATER...The investigation moved faster than I’d expected. With the board fully on our side now, the paper trail unraveled like a thread pulled from an old sweater—each piece of evidence exposing the next. Shell companies. Forged contracts. Witnesses who had remained silent out of fear but were finally coming forward.Still, no one had seen him since the day of the summit. He had vanished without a trace. No flights. No offshore activity. No messages. It was like he’d disappeared into smoke.But Dorian didn’t believe in ghosts. “He’s hiding,” he said as he handed me a thick folder. “And this—this will force him out.”I flipped through the documents. Bank records. A property registered under an alias. Hidden deep in the woods outside of Anacortes. I felt my stomach twist.Leon stepped up behind me, his hand grazing my shoulder. “Let’s pay him a visit.”The cabin was barely more than a shadow tucked between trees. No lights. No car. Just silence and the thrum of insects in t
Sunlight crept cautiously through the cracks in the blinds, casting golden slivers across the hardwood floor of the safe house bedroom. I sat curled up on the edge of the bed, a blanket draped around my shoulders and the journal heavy in my lap. The cover was cracked, worn with age and secrets. My fingers hovered over the first page for what felt like an eternity.Leon was nearby—he hadn’t slept much, either. He stood at the window with a mug of black coffee, watching the world outside with quiet alertness. When I finally opened the journal, he turned slightly but didn’t speak. He knew I needed silence for this.The first entry was dated nearly two decades ago.July 14th. We signed the contract today. Two families, one future. The woman from Delmar Holdings is more cunning than I expected. She knows we’re desperate—and she used it. I told Mariana to trust me. That this was the only way. God help me, I hope I’m right.My breath hitched. Mariana—that was my mother’s name.I flipped thro
MARGARETTE'S POVBefore we could react, the door behind us burst open.Three armed men rushed in, dressed in black, their movements precise and rehearsed. Leon shoved me behind him, drawing his gun up in an instant. Dorian, who had been lingering near the entrance, took cover behind a cabinet, gun already out.“Elise’s father wasn’t bluffing,” I breathed, my heart hammering. “He had backup ready.”Leon fired the first shot, catching one of the intruders in the shoulder and sending him crashing to the floor. Chaos erupted. Dorian ducked low and returned fire, narrowly missing another attacker who retaliated with a spray of bullets that shattered the windows.I crouched behind an overturned table, the sound of gunfire drowning out my thoughts. The locket in my palm dug into my skin, its edges sharp—a painful reminder that I couldn’t afford to lose control now.“Elise’s father!” I shouted to Leon. “He’s escaping!”Through the haze of smoke and broken glass, I saw the man slinking toward
The sound of footsteps pounding in the hallway was the last thing I heard before the door slammed open.I barely had time to react before a rush of armed men poured into the room, their eyes scanning every corner, landing finally on me. There was no mistaking the intent behind their cold stares.“Get down!” Leon’s voice crackled through the earpiece again, but there was no time to obey. I couldn’t allow myself to hesitate—not now, not when the truth was within reach.I raised my gun, my hands steady despite the chaos unfolding around me. I wasn’t going down without a fight, not after everything I had lost. Not after everything Elise’s father had taken from me.Before the first man could react, I fired. The sound of the shot echoed in the confined space, the bullet finding its mark in the man’s chest. His body crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud, but the others didn’t hesitate. They moved in faster, their guns drawn, but I was ready.I ducked behind the desk, using it as cover
Dawn came in silver slivers through the cracks in the window. I hadn’t slept—not really. My mind was too loud, looping the footage over and over like a broken reel.Leon sat across from me at the table, sipping his coffee like it was the only thing keeping him grounded. Neither of us had said much since the footage. We didn’t need to. The truth had cut so deep, it didn’t leave room for small talk.But I had questions.And I needed answers.“How long do you think he’s known I survived?” I finally asked, voice hoarse.Leon didn’t look away from his mug. “Long enough to start covering his tracks. But he didn’t expect the locket to resurface.”My hand instinctively reached for it. The locket was warm now, like it had absorbed my grief and fury. Inside was a picture of my mother and me—her arm around my tiny shoulders, her smile soft but tired. A photo I hadn’t even remembered until last night.“He killed her,” I whispered. “He killed my father. For what? A project?”“Not just a project,”