Amanda's POVVanessa and I stayed on the call for about thirty more minutes before she had to leave for work. It was a weekday after all, and she had to be in the office in about an hour. I sighed and bade her goodbye, missing her already. I did not fully realize how much I'd missed her. I sighed and concentrated on the food in front of me. I'd been picking at it since I was so engrossed with talking to Vanessa. I felt too light and giddy to eat much, so I just stuffed some hash browns into my mouth before pushing the tray away. As I prepared my morning routine, I read through the note Quinn had sent me. I still wasn't over that gesture. And to think that he had even apologized for leaving before I woke up. It was satisfying. I sighed again and took another glance before I kept the note back on the table. I proceeded to straighten out the bed and arrange the suite. What was the point in leaving it for room service when I could do it myself? Plus I was bored and had nothing to do. A
Amanda's POVAs I walked back to wait in the car, I felt a myriad of emotions hit me. It was obvious that Quinn was in a bad mood. He had acted very cold towards me. My first instinct was to feel slighted, but I knew he wouldn't purposely be mean. I sighed as I climbed into the backseat of the car and rested my head against the seat. From the window I could see Quinn discussing with a man, who I assumed was the potential client he had gone to meet. My stomach churned with worry as I stared at them. Was Quinn in a bad mood because the meeting didn't go as planned? Maybe he didn't get the contract. I felt a little sad at that thought, and immediately wished I had awakened much earlier so I could go with him. Maybe things would have been better. That was not to say that Quinn could not stand his ground. He could, better than any other businessman I knew. I had just become so accustomed to accompanying him to meeting that it felt like some kind of goodluck charm. I sighed again and wai
Amanda's POVI scoffed in disbelief as I watched Quinn get into another car and drive off after ordering his driver to take me back to the mansion. My initial confusion was slowly turning to anger. I couldn't believe him. I felt played. I wanted to slap myself for even believing for one second that I could build something good with Quinn. I'd misread the signs. His default mode was just being an asshole, and that was infinitely clear. I had temporarily forgotten about that because of how nice he'd been to me for a while now. I shook my head. I can't believe I'd surrendered my body to him, only for him to turn around and treat me like a stranger. It was more hurtful than I ever would have expected. I was deep in thought en route to the mansion, wondering if I should just turn around and head to my mother's house instead. This was a mistake, Quinn was right about that part. This whole arrangement. I never should have agreed to that contract. I just wanted an escape so I wouldn't have
Amanda's POVOh no. Not this again. The one week I'd spent away from this house had made me forget about how uncomfortable it was. Mrs Rosalina obviously disliked me, there was no two ways about it. And she never failed to show it and make it clear to me. Even when I was still dating Logan, she never thought I was good enough for her son, or for her family. I knew she saw me as a gold-digger, and my marriage to Quinn only made it worse. No matter how much I tried to make peace, be respectful, be nice…it never made a difference to her. She didn't care. All she knew was that I was a pest. "Hello ma'am," I greeted again. She scoffed and let her eyes trail me from head to toe. She was looking at me as though I was nothing but dirt under her shoe. It was humiliating, but I kept my face blank, refusing to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was getting to me. I just wanted to leave. She ignored my greeting for the second time so I didn't even bother anymore. I just turned to my ro
Quinn's POVAll day, I had tried to shake off the strange feelings of disappointment I'd been having ever since I learned the truth about Amanda's past. I had no idea why I was so affected by it, but it haunted me the entire day, putting me in a foul mood. I still had to meet with the other private investigator regarding the assassination attempts on my life. This was the third time now since I'd moved back to Italy. I already had a strong hunch of who was behind these attacks, but I needed concrete proof to tie them to the assassins before pointing fingers. My meeting with the investigator did not take very long since it was just a brief discussion, not to mention that he didn't have any leads yet. I was growing impatient with each passing day. If all failed, I would take the initiative of carrying out the investigation myself. The reason why I hadn't done this already was because, since I was the target, I would obviously be recognized quickly. I couldn't let myself be mixed up in
Quinn's POV“Excuse me? W-What do you mean by that?” Rosalina immediately shot up, her eyes narrowed on me. “Yes, Quinn, what do you mean?” Granny Maria asked. Even Amanda was staring at me in confusion. I waited for the tension to grip every single one of them before I spoke again. “Why don't you ask Rosalina what she thinks about the situation, Granny? Isn't it strange? Who do you think is trying to kill me?”They all visibly relaxed. Rosalina still looked flushed. “How am I supposed to know that, Quinn?” She chuckled. “Perhaps you made a few enemies while you were in Italy for all those years.”“Perhaps,” I agreed. “But these attacks began before I even left New York. I get the feeling that the person behind it might be closer than I think.”She stared at me for a few seconds and then shrugged. “That might be true. But what's important is that you are alive and well. You were lucky to escape with your life.”“Mm, lucky.”The table went silent after that. I could sense the awkward
Amanda's POVWith nothing left to do, I headed back upstairs. The thought of the digging I'd decided to do regarding this family issue was still on my mind, so I made a note on my phone of the things I wanted to check out. But for now I needed proper rest and sleep. As soon as I got to the room, I pushed it open and walked in, only to be met with the unexpected sight of a shirtless Quinn. He was drying his hair with a smaller towel while the other one wrapped firmly around his waist. My entire body seemed to come alive at the sight of him in all his glory. I could not tear my eyes away from him, making my point again that I was still so affected by him. This was more triggering than I'd expected. What was he doing in here anyway? I'd heard him say he would be in his study while we were at dinner. That was why I'd even headed up now, with hopes that I would not have to see him. But that had been dashed away already. Tearing my eyes away from him and managing to not focus on his wet b
Quinn's POVAmanda was not stirring. She lay lifeless in my arms as I ran out of the room and headed down the stairs. All the servants in the hallway froze when they saw what was going on. “Open the doors. Now!” I growled at the closest maid. She obeyed and raced to the door. By now, the others had begun to run out as well. “Quinn, what’s going on?” Granny Maria asked, her eyes wide. When she saw the state Amanda was in, she gasped. “Oh my god, what happened!” “I don’t know. I woke up and found her like this. I’m taking her to the hospital right now.”“Okay, hurry! I’ll be right behind you!” I rushed outside to the car, my heart racing as I silently prayed that she would be fine, that everything would be okay. I couldn't lose her, I just couldn't. As I put her in the backseat and headed to the front to drive out, the reality of this situation hit me. If anything happened to Amanda, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. The last feelings she felt toward me was anger. Was that really
Gabriel reached his car, his hand hovering over the door handle as the sound of passing cars filled the evening air. He hesitated, his mind replaying the brief but tense interaction with Abigail inside the restaurant and the call he just received about his missing son.Leaving without a word felt wrong—cowardly even. After all, she had made time to meet him, however begrudgingly. With a deep sigh, he turned back, his shoes clicking against the pavement as he retraced his steps to the restaurant.Inside, Abigail sat at the table, her posture straight, her expression impassive as she stirred her drink absently. She didn’t look up immediately when Gabriel approached, but the faint narrowing of her eyes signaled that she was aware of his presence.“I need to leave,” Gabriel said abruptly, his voice strained with urgency.Abigail set her glass down and leaned back, her gaze finally meeting his. “What’s the problem this time?”“My son has gone missing,” Gabriel admitted, his tone sharp with
QuinnRobert leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his temples as he stared at the spreadsheets displayed on his computer screen. The day had been long and riddled with minor frustrations, but he couldn’t afford to slow down. Just as he was about to focus on the next task, his phone buzzed. It was the receptionist.“Sir,” the receptionist said politely, “there’s someone here who wants to see you. He says it’s important.”Robert frowned, briefly glancing at the clock on his desk. He wasn’t expecting anyone. “Did he give his name?”“No, sir. He just said it concerns something you’d want to see.”After a moment of consideration, Robert sighed and straightened in his chair. “Fine. Send him in.”A few minutes later, the door opened, and a tall, middle-aged man in a crisp gray suit stepped in. His expression was neutral, professional, but there was a sharpness in his eyes that immediately caught Robert’s attention.It was his private investigator.“Good afternoon, sir,” the man greeted,
Abigail sat in her office, her phone resting in her hand, the screen still glowing with Gabriel’s name in her inbox. The brief exchange weighed on her mind, stirring emotions she’d thought buried long ago. “Who are you texting?” Sarah asked, her tone casual but curious.Abigail hesitated, her thumb brushing against the phone’s edge before setting it down. “It’s Gabriel,” she admitted, her voice calm.Sarah’s demeanor shifted instantly as her expression hardened.“What does that motherfucker want now?” she snapped, her words laced with contempt.Abigail took a deep breath. “He almost died,” she began, her voice steady. “And I saved him.”Sarah’s reaction was swift and sharp. “You saved him?” she exclaimed, her disbelief apparent. “You should’ve let him die, Abigail. After everything he’s done, you should’ve walked away.”Abigail’s gaze dropped to her desk, her fingers idly tracing the wood grain. “He’s still Daniella’s father, Sarah,” she said quietly. “I couldn’t face my daughter
CASSIE I could not thank the stars enough for saving my ass earlier this morning, yet again. My heart was still pounding from the close call I'd had with Julia. Even now as I stood in my room alone, I muttered a prayer of thanks for the fact that I'd been able to escape that situation. I could only imagine the look on her face if she'd seen the text message. There was nothing I would be able to say or do in my defence. The secret would have been revealed in the worst way possible and my entire life would have changed in the blink of an eye. For the worst. "Thank goodness," I said aloud to no one in particular. Chills ran down my spine as I imagined all the scenarios in my head, all the possible things that might have happened if Julia saw that text from Tyre. She probably would have ripped my eyes out and had me arrested like she'd wanted to. I placed a hand on my chest as I sat down in bed and tried to take a breather. My life was already dramatic enough. This was not the time for
Amanda I tossed and turned in my bed the entire night, unable to sleep. All I could think about was the situation I'd found myself in. Through the night I had so many different thoughts, wondering how I was supposed to get out of this at all. It was enough to bring me to tears, but I struggled to keep at bay. What was the point of crying when it wouldn't solve anything? I needed to find a solution to this. The fact that Tyre did not even believe that I didn't have anything to do with the proposal was my biggest problem. If Tyre of all people didn't trust me then who would then trust me? I sighed repeatedly, burying my head into the pillow and trying not to scream in frustration. If there was a way to prove my innocence, then that would be solved. But no. There was nothing. There were already things being used against me namely the business card from Luke, and the wad of cash. Thinking of the card reminded me that the maid was still threatening me and despite the situation I was cur
AmadaI was still stunned by what happened between Tyre and I a few minutes ago. As I stood in the middle of the room, still in shock, I clenched my fists, feeling the anger bubble through my veins. I had actually been so scared when I saw Tyre like that. It was the first time I'd ever seen him so angry. I was trembling so badly, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he would have hit me if I attempted to push a little harder. That was highly annoying and terrifying. Tyre was literally about to explode at me, and it was all because of that girl, Camila. At this point, all of this shit was happening because of Camila. I couldn't believe Tyre had gripped me like that without caring if he would hurt me or not. Just because I'd said he should kick Camila out of the house. Had I done anything wrong? No, I had not. I was in the right. Camila had gone to meet Luke after all, so that obviously meant that they were together. What other proof did Tyre need?"Fuck this!" I yelled angrily into
AmandaLuke sprawled to the floor as my fist connected to his jaw. He writhed in pain briefly before jumping back up to his feet, glaring at me as though he had a million things he wanted to do to me. I mentally dared him to do something, to give me an excuse to beat him to a pulp. "What the hell?!" He yelled, wiping the blood that had begun to leak from his nostrils. "That is just the beginning of what is going to happen to you if you don't stay the hell away from Camila," I hissed at him. "Camila is mine. You get that? She belongs to me. I don't ever, and I mean ever, want to see you anywhere close to her again. Else I'll make you pay, I promise you that."Luke wiped his jaw and spat to the floor defiantly. "So this is about Camila? Really? Well, it seems you have forgotten that Camila is a person, a young woman. She does not belong to me. You make it sound like she's mere furniture in one of your mansions. She can't be owned by anyone because Camila isn't property you can stake a
AmandaI was fuming. I almost let out a scream of frustration as I barged into my room and banged the door shut behind me. I was so angry that for a second I found it difficult to relax and breathe. "That…that stupid bitch!" I screamed, my fists clenched. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to hate Camila more than I already did, but oh I was so wrong. With each passing day she kept infuriating even more. I wanted her gone as soon as possible. I needed her gone! All she did in this house was constitute a fucking nuisance. She was a hindrance, a waste of space, an excuse for a woman, a gold-digger…I swore loudly, biting down so hard on my lips that I tasted blood in my mouth. The list of all the things Camila was, was practically unending. I could go on and on about her sneaky and disgusting behaviour. The girl was so irritating! I knew I would never make progress with Tyre if she remained in this house or in our lives for that matter. And that was why I kept trying my best to
QuinnI climbed out of the car and headed straight for Jason's chambers. The guards at the door stopped me. "He's expecting me," I lied. "I called him already."They nodded and let me pass through. The main room was empty when I walked in, but I heard voices coming from the study. Surprised, I approached the door. But when I heard a familiar voice speak, it felt like I had been dunked in ice. "But when exactly, Jason? I've been patient enough," I heard Selene say. A million questions flooded my mind. What was Selene doing here?!"A little longer, sweetheart. Remember the doctor already confirmed that you cannot carry a pregnancy. I'm just waiting for that omega bitch, Kylie, to give birth to my heir. Once that's done, you will take the child. And then we can dispose of her, dump her in the trash where she truly belongs."My knees grew weak. I could not breathe. Suddenly the world began to spin and I got the overwhelming urge to throw up. No, no, no. This can't be happening to me.