Amanda's POVThe last thing I expected was Quinn's lips on mine. It wasn't a gentle kiss, not a hesitant brush. No, that kiss was rough and demanding, cutting off whatever biting remark I was about to throw at him. We shouldn't have been doing that. I shouldn't have been doing that.My whole body froze for a split second, caught between shock and desire as he slipped an arm around my waist. I needed to let go. "Pull away," my brain screamed at me. But I didn't. It felt... it felt too good. His scent gently teased my nostrils, and I suppressed a moan.But then, just as quickly, my body betrayed me. More desire and pleasure flooded through me like a dam breaking under pressure, all the tension and frustration with Quinn crashing into the desperation of the kiss. I kissed him back with as much intensity, letting the tension I'd been denying boil over.It was messy, hungry, everything I swore I wouldn't let happen. God, dammit. His hands gripped my waist tighter and pulled me closer. Ther
Quinn's POVSitting in the luxury store's lounge, I drummed my fingers against my knee, waiting for Amanda to emerge from the dressing room. My eyes roamed around the store, trying to spot another dress that might also look gorgeous on her. There was no one else in the store, besides the workers. The moment was eerily calm, but my mind was far from relaxed.I couldn't stop replaying the elevator scene in my head. I shuddered when I recalled how the walls had felt like they were closing in, and how my chest had tightened with the same fear I thought I'd buried long ago.I thought this was over. I thought I was over this. I ground my teeth. And I felt angry at myself for not being able to control my emotions. Who knew that would be a trigger? How the hell did I let myself get like that?Of all the places and moments, being stuck in that elevator with Amanda was the last place I'd ever wanted to lose control. But it happened, and worse, she saw it. I couldn't stand the thought of her kno
Amanda's POVI couldn't breathe. The only thing I was aware of was my pounding heart and the gunshots around me. I forced myself to take in deep breaths to calm myself down. This would be the worst time to have a panic attack. We were under attack.The gunshots came faster, echoing off the alley walls. Deafening and terrifying, they made my heart pound harder. Quinn's body shielded mine as he pulled me to the other side of the car. For the first time, I felt his heart thumping hard against my back.I wanted to scream again, but there was no point; no one would hear us over the chaos. The sound of bullets ricocheting off the car's metal was frightening. Through the blur of my tears, I saw them: two masked men creeping out of the alleyway shadows, guns raised.My heart pounded louder in my ears; I thought I'd pass out. Quinn pressed his phone into my shaking hands, his eyes locking onto mine with seriousness. I'd never seen him so serious, not even in the office."When I give you the si
Quinn's POVThe last thing I ever expected as I stirred from a sleep I didn't even know I was taking was for Amanda to attack me with a hug. I was barely able to steady myself as she flung her body on me and wrapped her arms around my neck tightly.“Quinn..you're awake…you're here. Oh my god, how are you? How do you feel? Does it hurt? What can I do to help?”Before I could even answer the first string of questions, she had enveloped me in another tight hug. My first instinct was to push her away because I had never been very keen on physical expressions of concern, but for some reason I did not want her to break the hug. There was something so…different, so warm about her embrace. Her scent filled my nose, the feeling of her small hands wrapped around me and the unique scent of her red curls. She smelled amazing, and to have her that close to me was doing things to my body. Things I could not afford to say out loud, things I shouldn't even be feeling in the first place. But alas, here
Quinn's POV“Absolutely not. Not this again,” I said stiffly, watching as Amanda threw on fresh clothes. My resolve was almost broken when I caught a small glimpse of the rise of her breasts as she slid on her jacket. Quickly I averted my eyes and focused on the situation at hand. “Why?” She asked, planting her hands on her hips as she stared at me. “If you insist on going, then I won't let you go alone. I'm coming with you.”I scoffed. “You think I don't know what this is? You've been vocal about wanting to attend this meeting ever since I told you about it. So don't act like this is about you caring about my wellbeing and not your desire to be in a meeting with Nikolai Dayne.”Amanda huffed, but did not stop getting ready. She continued to dress up, ending up putting her hair in a ponytail. I wanted to protest, to tell her that she looked like a fucking goddess with her unruly curls flying all over the place. But I said nothing and instead watched her begin to put on jewelry. “Well
Amanda's POVOkay, this was definitely not what I had been expecting. Alex was Nikolai Dayne’s brother? Damn. “Um, wow that’s a surprise,” I said quickly as I remembered myself. I had just been staring for the past few seconds instead of saying something. “We met at the airport in New York a few days ago.”Nikolai cocked an eyebrow, looking pleased. “That’s excellent. Good to know we are not strangers. That will make the meeting a whole lot easier, no? Less tense.”I forced myself to smile, wishing I could feel like that. On the contrary there was a certain awkwardness to the atmosphere now. I instinctively flashed a glance Quimn’s way to see what he thought of this. But of course, his expression was blank and stoic as usual, giving me absolutely nothing to work with. Ugh. Sometimes I wished I could open up that head of his and get a glimpse of what was going on in there. He was so unreadable most of the time that he might as well have been a robot for all I knew. I glanced over at h
Amanda's POVI couldn’t possibly have heard right. I was staring at Quinn, literal seconds away from my jaw dropping on the floor like a hopeless cause. And yet I still couldn’t believe I’d heard him right. Did Quinn really just ask me out on a date? I hesitated in giving a response, partly to avoid embarrassment if truly I’d heard right, and partly because I had no idea what I would even say if I’d heard right. “A date? To celebrate?” I repeated, just to check if he realized what he was asking me. “Yes,” he said. Nothing else. No more words to explain what he meant. “Um…okay…?” I hoped he could hear the hesitation in my voice. “Alright, we’ll leave in an hour.”With that, he exited the conference room, leaving me confused. Okay, what the hell just happened? And why was Quinn being nice to me? This definitely had to be a first. I frowned as I tried to analyze the situation. Was he planning something? Was this some sort of ploy? Because there was no way in hell I was trusting Quinn
Amanda’s POVWhat the fuck?! I was staring in anger, still wondering why the hell Logan was calling me. What the hell had given him the audacity to pick up his stupid phone and call me. What the hell? Thanks to this honeymoon, I had forgotten that Logan even existed. And now here he was again, disturbing the little peace I had managed to get. “Fuck off,” I swore as I ended the call and tossed my phone back into my bag. Seconds later, it was ringing again. I let out an angry groan as I snatched the phone out again.I was about to end the call again when I changed my mind. Let me hear what he had to say. I picked it up. "Hey, finally, Amanda,” Logan said. His voice sounded raspy and low, and I could tell that he was relieved that I picked up. Well, joke’s on him because I was in the mood for this bullshit. Hearing his voice had struck up anger, hot rage that reminded me of everything he had done to me. “What the hell do you want, Logan?” I asked, my tone brash.“I’m not here to fight,
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.