Lenka's POVWhen that woman came, I didn't think of her as a guest I wanted to welcome, but I couldn't do anything to get rid of her.She was present before me like a compulsion, which she did on purpose. Ava sat with eyes that looked confident. She was created with near-perfect beauty, so it's only natural for her to be overconfident. I felt tired just looking at her, especially considering what had happened recently.Ava's eyes are so clear. She grew up full of love and had a strength that made her life comfortable. "You must feel surprised by my arrival." Something felt strange. Surprised and pressured, she showed me who really ruled this house. I was getting frustrated. After my fingers bent the book, I held it more firmly, and I managed to move my hand to write something down. [What brings Miss Ava here? Michael might not like her.] "Of course. Because he doesn't like me spending time with a troublesome woman like you." Her words were so piercing that I silently watched the
Lenka's POV I stared at the woman. She looked confident, waiting for me to answer positively, but I had other interests. She did manage to guess my wishes. She was not blind in this situation. I exhaled as I stood and walked to get a pen and a torn-looking book. I patted the book. The paper was already wrinkled, and one side was almost split. What I was doing seemed to annoy Ava, especially because I seemed to be ignoring her words. I could hear her chattering but didn't look at her, choosing to write first. [Why do you want to help me, Ms. Ava? It's so sudden.] I realized that we had never been close to each other. In fact, the woman's attitude was closer to hating me than liking me. I wasn't much different, either. Michael was always by her side. Their mafia family was supportive and would become even more significant. She was considered perfect, while I was just an incomplete woman. I felt uncomfortable and sick. Her shoe marks were still visible on my scarf, as was the
Lenka's POVAh, the sky looks so clear today…I smile slightly, feeling as if the scenery before me shares my happiness.There are only a few clouds, and even they only partially veil the sunlight. I close my eyes for a moment, feeling a slight sting from the sun’s glare, but soon open them again.A fitting atmosphere.I have left—the place where I was never appreciated nor needed.No more mocking servants, no gloomy chambers, nor the dreary sight of that man's residence.I feel no longing, only relief.In this world, I am alone.A few minutes ago, I was still there, and now I’m on a bus.A servant had led me through the back road earlier. With only a short distance to cover, I managed to get on the bus heading out of town.The rush of adrenaline surged through me. It felt almost unreal, as if this might not be happening—but it was.I had finally stepped out of the cage that had trapped me for two years.Liberating.A mix of emotions swirled inside me, too tangled to put into words. I
Lenka's POVWhy is something like this happening to me? I never intended to disturb him.I trusted him. I never had any doubts, yet once again, I was deceived and trapped.Before, I was inside a room. Now, I’m gasping for air, my chest burning as if it’s on fire.I’ve never felt like this before.I run, using every ounce of strength in my legs for the first time in so long. No. I’ve never even walked this far before.My legs feel heavy and sore.I’ve fallen multiple times, tripping over rocks and tree roots, crashing into low-hanging branches.My face feels stiff—not just from the stinging cuts but also from the cold wind blowing around me.I can’t take it anymore. My breath feels like it’s about to stop.Before I could fall again and add more wounds to my body, I stopped.I had arrived at a desolate place, surrounded by towering trees. There was no one around. Not even a single sound.I had no idea how far I had run or how much time had passed. The only thing that mattered was gettin
Lenka's POVIt was hard to hear anything clearly because I had my hands pressed against both of my ears.Fear of death was embracing me.All this time, I felt like I wasn't a bad person. But now, accepting a situation like this, even though I know that evil will always exist in the world... that's why, when I found out Michael's true identity... I was disappointed.He was a figure in the most dangerous position...Now, I’m trying to survive this foolish act. That was the sound of a gunshot, but I didn’t feel any pain... I don’t know... I’m not so sure.It was too shocking.Staying still with my eyes closed might end very badly, but someone stopped the spiral of my fear."Miss, are you okay?"I could faintly hear the voice of a man. I loosened my grip on my ears slightly, but I remained hunched over.Oh, maybe they were just playing a game. I often heard from my father about the profiles of criminals. So, this could be what’s happening.My hands gripped my ears tighter, refusing to rai
Michael's POVI threw the bottle across the room, nearly hitting the useless fools who couldn’t complete their task as I had expected.My mood was foul, and a deep sense of displeasure surrounded me.Leaning forward slightly, no longer resting against my chair, I glared at them, who dared not move from their positions—as they should. Their bodies and clothes were stained with blood and traces of whiskey.I was in no mood to tolerate trivial matters today."Useless," I spat, my gaze cold. "Have you still not found that woman?"The task should have been simple—tracking down someone who had fled. All they had to do was locate a person who had lived in this house for over two years. Yet, even after all this time, they had failed to bring me any results.It had been a week.My patience had run dry. I was sick of their incompetence—they should have completed this task much faster.Their target was nothing more than a mute woman. A helpless woman with no acquaintances, no connections to anyo
Michael's POVThe woman stepped forward, completely unfazed by what I had just said. As always, Ava acted as if she was extraordinary and could do whatever she wanted.“Michael, you can’t do this. Remember, we have an agreement about our marriage,” she said.She placed her hands on the table, leveling her gaze with mine. “You know that the wedding has to happen soon—for the sake of our precious organization.”“I know.” My eyebrow arched. She talked too much.“You don’t need to remind me of something we’ve already discussed. If there’s anything else, you can talk to Diego about it.”The marriage between us would happen, but it wasn’t something I was in a rush to do. There were too many things to take care of—like overgrown shrubs that needed trimming. Even she, as his daughter, should understand that.Regardless, our marriage would serve as a solid foundation to strengthen the alliance between my mafia group and hers. And they were the ones who proposed it first.Sensing an advantage,
Lenka's POV“Come here. Let’s eat, Lenka,” the man invited.I gazed at Jonas, the man who had saved me, before slowly making my way toward him as he waited.Two main dishes were already set on the dining table—one for him and one for me—along with the meal he had prepared. It looked delicious, though I still couldn't fully catch its aroma.I wasn’t completely recovered yet, but during my time here, I finally remembered who Jonas was.I realized that I had seen him several times with my father. They were colleagues, partners in routine patrols and handling certain cases.Even though my father had only told me about him once, and we had only exchanged brief greetings whenever he dropped my father off, I still remembered his face well.He was still kind and warmhearted.I fell silent as another thought suddenly crossed my mind—about him and someone else who had cared deeply for me before they were gone.Maybe, just maybe… my father had sent him from above. My father was helping me throug
Inside the car, Lenka’s body felt so cold. She kept holding the documents containing the evidence in her hands. She remained silent, staring at the evidence without saying a word—but I knew she was deeply shaken.Then she looked at Felix.“Felix,” she called weakly.“He’ll be fine, Lenka.”She shook her head—so weak, so pained. Seeing her like this hurt.“You didn’t do anything to Felix…? Didn’t you do this to him…?”“Lenka, I didn’t do anything evil. Not at all. I only wanted to win you over without force… but I’m sorry, this time I had to force you to leave that house.”I held her hand, and this time, she didn’t pull away.That gave me a bit of relief. Maybe this calm would help her better receive what I was about to say.“Whatever that man said—it’s not true. I wasn’t the one who did it.”She looked at me, her eyes twitching, as if she wanted to speak but held back. After a moment of lowering her head, gathering herself, she finally looked at me again.“Jonas… he lied to me.” Her h
MichaelIt felt like all the air had been sucked out of me, like I was being pushed into a bottomless pit after hearing what Diego said.All this time, the enemy I’d been searching for was actually so close—and that man was now with Lenka.Jonas is the leader of the Blacksheep Mafia.Being a police officer was just his way of hiding his true identity—or maybe he simply enjoyed playing around with that status. Either way, he had successfully deceived many people, including Lenka.That mafia group is massive, and they’ve clashed with The Noctis before. They seem inactive on the surface, but they’re a dangerous organization.Now I understand the game he’s been playing.The reason George was killed.“We need to save Lenka—now, Diego.”My entire body was engulfed in a dark aura, a mix of rage and fear.A man who’s done so many terrible things wouldn’t hesitate to do something drastic—even to the woman he claims to love.“He must’ve killed my mother and George because they discovered his tr
MichaelWhen I received the letter from Lenka, I was truly shocked and froze for a few seconds. I thought our relationship had been improving lately—I was getting closer to her and Felix.I could feel it from the way she treated me. Lenka had slowly begun to open her heart to me. That’s why her sudden decision not to see me anymore left me surprised and confused.I'm sure something happened, and it might be because of the man beside her—Jonas.He clearly doesn’t like me, with his rude and cold demeanor. He acts more like Lenka’s husband than I do. I know he saved Lenka from what Ava did, but he’s been acting way too overprotective.And every time I face him, my instincts tell me something isn’t right. I’m wary of him, and that’s why I told Diego to look into Jonas.There’s something he’s been hiding, I can feel it.After exhaling several times, I leaned back into the chair again, causing it to rock slightly.I’ve been keeping my distance from Lenka for five days now. I wanted to give
LenkaJonas is a man I can truly rely on. Just when I had slowly begun to open up to Michael and started to think that maybe I could trust him a little, something like this happened.Shocking.I wanted to laugh at myself when I realized I might’ve just walked into a trap he set. Drugs—those are things so easily accessible for someone like him, a mafia member.Even during the marriage I once had with him, I came to realize how deeply he was involved in criminal activities. That clearly contradicted everything I had believed in until now—About truth and justice, the values my father always spoke of.I’ll say it clearly—my heart is in pieces right now, knowing the condition my child is in.Dr. Bruce said this would take time.As I said, Jonas is someone I can really rely on. I no longer care about the coffee shop I built—I’ve entrusted it completely to Tina to handle.Jonas quickly took Felix and me to another place. He said it would be a safe place for the both of us. And of course, I
JonasI’ve been patient long enough. Everything has been prepared perfectly, and I thought that finally, I would get what I’ve wanted for so long.Lenka is a naive woman; she’s different from George, who often deals with the dark side of things and has sharp instincts. That’s why Lenka often doesn’t realize that her actions could end up putting both herself and Felix in danger.What does Michael have that I don’t?He’s the man who once hurt Lenka so badly that she had to run away and hide. And yet, she still draws close to him—their relationship seems even closer than before. I can even see how her face blushes whenever she’s with him.Has she not accepted me all this time because she’s still in love with that bastard?I’ve done everything. There are so many things that, if I told her, would probably shock her. I have a certain fondness for her surprised expression. She has an incredibly amazing look when she’s shocked.It makes me feel breathless—it's that extraordinary.I like her.
Lenka“Look, Lenka, I’ve prepared it perfectly.”That wide smile is etched clearly in my memory. At that moment, I couldn’t forget what Michael did. He lit up countless fireworks in the sky when we accidentally stayed overnight at the villa because of a heavy storm.That caught my eyes. I truly admired what he did—it was an incredibly beautiful sight.[You prepared this?]I moved my hands, and Michael, ever attentive, understood what I meant. He nodded and held my hand, then pulled me into an embrace.“Yes. I want to propose to you.”That’s right—it was a memory of when he proposed to me. I remember it clearly, and I believed that with him, I would experience an extraordinary happiness.At the time, I gave him my answer with excitement—I swear it was because I truly felt he loved me.A slight bitterness filled my mouth as I recalled what happened afterward. A married life that turned out to be so harsh, cold, and painful. So much so that I repeatedly wondered if I was trapped in a lon
Lenka's POVI didn’t expect that we would be playing in the park.There was a fountain nearby, and there weren’t many people around us. I sat down while Felix and the man were playing with the water.I laughed.My son sprayed Michael with water, and so did the man. They attacked each other until I got splashed too, but I didn’t complain. I felt like, at this moment, there were no boundaries between us.I was just accompanying my son as he played, Felix looking like he was having fun, and the man doing both things at once.I enjoyed my time while wringing out the hem of my drenched shirt from their game."You made mom’s clothes wet, Felix."I finally protested, but my son didn’t seem to care. He kept laughing, running around with the man. He clearly seemed happy, not really paying attention to his surroundings or listening to me.I just snorted and smiled lightly, but then I saw Michael stop the attack. He brought Felix closer so I could clearly see what happened to him.His clothes we
Lenka's POVI had just finished my bath and stepped out of my room to check on my son. But when I arrived in his room, Felix was nowhere to be seen."Felix?"I called out, searching for my son, who did not respond.He should have said something if he had heard my voice, but there was only silence. My heart pounded faster, and my palms began to sweat.I shook my head, trying to push away the overwhelming anxiety creeping in. This was the first time I had experienced something like this, and with the added stress of having been confined to the house for so long, it only made things worse."No, it’s fine. Everything is fine."I took a deep breath and began searching through every room in the house, calling his name and even checking the rooms he rarely visited.Still, there was no sign of him. I bit my lip, my eyes darting around as I tried to think. "Where are you, Felix?"There was only one place left to check. Outside.I hurried out and immediately spotted him.Felix was standing near
Lenka’s POVI was playing with Felix in the room.Several books were stacked up—some we had already finished reading together, while others remained untouched. Scattered around were toy cars and a chessboard we had played with earlier.My son’s face grew gloomier by the minute.It seemed like he couldn’t hold back any longer and finally decided to speak his mind. His gaze no longer sparkled with excitement as it usually did.“Mom, why have we been staying at home all the time lately? I’m so bored. I want to go outside.”I looked at him with a small smile, knowing this moment would come sooner or later.No matter how much I tried to keep him occupied, there was only so much patience a child could have when it came to playing indoors. He needed space, an open area—not just the confines of our home.Gently stroking his head, I tried to soothe him. “Mom just wants to rest for a while. And the weather outside isn’t good, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to spend time outdoors, Felix.”My son