Lyla’s terrified and helpless eyes darted to Carlo, who seemed to have already anticipated her thoughts. Before she could react, he wrapped his arm around her, swiftly lifting her and spinning them both behind a set of curtains in the corner. A row of metal cabinets holding old materials stood there, blending into the background. Carlo gently set Lyla down. She hastily pulled up her underwear and tried to shrink into the shadows, wishing she could disappear.At that moment, Liam entered the lab, phone in hand, walking straight to Chloe’s desk—Chloe, another researcher in their group and also Liam’s girlfriend.“Next time, remember to keep your keys with you instead of making me run out here in the middle of the night to find them,” he said into the phone with a hint of frustration. Just as he was about to leave, he paused, his gaze drawn to the screen of the lab equipment.“Chloe, did you run any tests with a participant this afternoon?” Liam asked, moving closer to the equipment.“N
That was the last time Lyla saw Carlo three years ago.Now, sitting at a café near the entrance of Westhaven College, where she now teaches, Lyla cradled a cup of hot latte, her mind far away. Hudson had offered to pick her up and take her to the location Carlo had designated, but she refused. She chose this café, right across the campus entrance. Three years ago, Carlo had vanished from her life without a trace, leaving her to wrestle with self-doubt and confusion, trapped in a cycle of pain and desire in her dreams.Three years later, she would not let him hold that power over her again.Lyla often found herself replaying memories of their time together. She couldn’t forget the day after Carlo’s abrupt departure when she locked herself in her dorm room all day, refusing to face the world. But eventually, she had to attend her evening lecture. Walking into the classroom, she was met with the heated buzz of gossip."Did you hear? Jessica killed someone."“Killed someone? When did this
Seeing that smile, it felt like someone punched Lyla in the chest, leaving a heavy pressure behind. She had wanted to question him about why he had disappeared so suddenly and why he had just as suddenly reappeared, but now, she no longer felt the desire to ask.She feared being deceived, but even more, she dreaded his evasive and cryptic answers that would drag her back into a whirlpool of pain."What do you want?" she asked, her tone cold and composed.Carlo remained nonchalant. "I forgot to return something to you." He leaned down, picking up a sleek laptop bag from beside his feet, and placed it in front of her.Lyla quietly unzipped the bag, already knowing that inside was the laptop Carlo had dismantled three years ago.Without even bothering to check the contents, she zipped it back up, a bitter smile forming on her lips. "Thanks, but I’ve already bought a new one. I don’t need this old one anymore."At that moment, a waitress arrived at their table, carrying a tray. She placed
“Ah, so you’re mad because of that waitress?” Carlo’s face lit up with a look of mock realization, but it was so exaggerated that anyone could tell he was faking it. The only genuine thing was the smug smile plastered on his face. “I only gave her my business card. Are you jealous?”Lyla felt like a needle had just pierced her heart. She tried to suppress her emotions, keeping her voice cold as she replied, “No. What I’m saying is, if you hurt any of my students at this school, I will call the police.”“Hurt them?” Carlo let out a chuckle. “It was just a business card. How could I have possibly hurt her? I can give you one too, if you want.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an identical card.“I don’t want it...” Lyla started to refuse, but her eyes caught something on the card that surprised her. Furrowing her brow, she asked, “Wait a minute, who’s James Donovan?”“Who knows,” Carlo shrugged casually, “someone stuffed it in my pocket at a party, I guess.”It felt as if t
That evening, Lyla went to the movies with Lucas, as planned, but she couldn’t recall much about the film. Her mind was consumed by thoughts of Carlo’s sudden reappearance, leaving her restless throughout the night.She found it impossible not to wonder where Carlo had been for the past three years. Yet, another part of her knew she should let go of this dangerous man once and for all. The dim light of the cinema blurred her thoughts, and by the time they left, her mind was still in a haze.“What’s wrong?” Lucas noticed her distracted demeanor, gently taking her cold hand in his.Lyla didn’t pull away like she usually did. She forced a smile and shook her head. “Nothing, I’ve just been tired these days.”“Is it because of the assistant professor application?” Lucas asked. “Don’t worry, you’re incredibly qualified. Your application is solid. It’s just a matter of waiting for the committee to approve.”“Yeah,” Lyla nodded absentmindedly.“I’ll drive you home,” Lucas smiled, guiding her
“Are you stalking me?” Lyla demanded angrily.“I’m too busy for that,” Carlo shrugged dismissively. “I’ve been waiting here the whole day.”“Waiting for me?” Lyla scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’ve moved on. I don’t need anyone waiting for me.” She emphasized the phrase " waiting for me". With those words, full of hidden meaning, she turned and started walking away without looking back.“If that kiss had made you happy, I would’ve left without a word and never bothered you again,” Carlo’s voice echoed behind her.Lyla’s steps faltered. She turned around to find Carlo leaning against his car, holding a tissue. Even under the dim streetlights, his serious expression was clear—gone was the playful nonchalance he usually wore.After a moment’s hesitation, Lyla walked back toward him. She forced a smile, trying to appear unfazed as she took the tissue from his hand and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.“I was happy,” she said with a hollow laugh. “He asked me to be his g
Lyla was so stunned that she could barely think.She remained silent, watching as Carlo followed her into the apartment building, stepped into the same elevator, and exited on the same floor, walking straight to the room across from hers.That room, until today, had belonged to a senior student majoring in physics."It did cost me some money," Carlo said casually, inserting a key into the door. "But college students are easy to deal with.""Is that so?" Lyla shot him a withering glance as she pulled her own key from her bag.But Carlo was struggling with his key. It got stuck in the lock, and no matter how hard he twisted, it wouldn't budge. In frustration, he twisted harder—until the key snapped in half.“Damn it!” He cursed, throwing the broken key to the floor.Now it was Lyla's turn to smirk triumphantly. She unlocked her door but didn’t go inside just yet. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. With a smug look, she said, "I guess that easy-going student didn’t tell you the
Outside, the black Mercedes was parked right where Lyla had noticed it earlier when she sat down. Compared to the sleek silver Aston Martin, this car seemed far more discreet—so low-key that when she first saw it last night, she never would have connected it to the flamboyant, arrogant Carlo.“That car?” Carlo’s eyes remained fixed on the spinning washing machine drum as he shrugged casually. “It burned.”“You’re talking nonsense again!” Lyla muttered under her breath, flipping the pages of her book with exaggerated force.Carlo didn’t respond. His eyes were still on the rotating drum, but the mechanical hum of the machine seemed to morph in his mind into the crackling sound of flames and the thunderous roar of an explosion.In his memory, the scene from that night replayed vividly. When he received that message behind the curtain, he had rushed home to gather his belongings. In his haste, he didn’t bother parking in the underground garage but left the car right outside his luxury apa
Lyla woke up in an unfamiliar room. As she slowly opened her eyes, the dimly lit space made it difficult to observe where she was. The high ceilings and vintage furniture exuded an air of luxury, yet it felt cold and impersonal. Heavy curtains blocked out any light from the outside, leaving the faint, warm glow of a bedside lamp as the room's only illumination.This was clearly not a hospital, but the IV in her arm told a different story. For a moment, she was disoriented, her sense of time muddled. What injury had she sustained? What illness was she recovering from? Fragments of her past—the fight in the prison and the car accident—flashed in her mind. Then, a sharp pain in her lower abdomen pulled her back to reality. A flood of memories surged forth—she might have lost her child.Panic took hold. She sat up abruptly, ignoring the tug of the IV, and instinctively placed her hand over her abdomen.“Lyla, you’re awake. Are you okay?” Lucas’s voice came from beside her. Once a source o
The car sped down the desolate highway. Lucas told Lyla that Carlo would surely send someone to search her mother’s house. It was safer to stay away from her mother, both for Camilla’s safety and her own. He promised to take her to his hometown—a peaceful, quiet place where she could stay until the baby was born.Lyla, unsure where else to go, silently agreed to his plan. Resting her head against the window, she watched the scenery blur past like a fast-forwarded film. Her mind wandered back to moments with Carlo—his sudden appearances, abrupt disappearances, his truths and lies, and the magnetic charm that had once captivated her. She found herself questioning: was it the man she had fallen for, or simply the physical connection between them? More than once, she wished it had only been about his looks—the sculpted body, the possessive control, and the irresistible allure. If that were all, she wouldn’t be in this much pain. There wouldn’t be the betrayal, the despair. The only ce
Hudson’s words left Lucas frozen, unable to recover from the shock. Before he could fully process what he had just heard, Hudson continued, “Listen, Lucas. Ending the pregnancy is for everyone's best. Without the baby, Lyla will have no ties to Sir Carlo. Mrs. Bianchi won’t waste her time going after her, and she’ll lose her value to Blake. Her life will be spared, and you won’t have to pay an even steeper price. Isn’t that a better option than killing her outright?”Hudson’s voice buzzed in Lucas’s ears, like an incessant drone.He couldn’t deny the fact that Hudson's words were convincing. Without the baby, the bond between Lyla and Carlo would be irrevocably severed. A few minutes of tense silence passed before Lucas made his decision.“What do you want me to do?” he croaked, his voice rough with resignation. “I can’t guarantee it will be completely safe to… end it. You clearly have a plan, don't you? What is it?”“Of course, I have a plan,” Hudson replied smoothly, unfazed by Lucas
"Who the hell do you think you are to order me around?" Lucas stormed forward, grabbing Carlo by the collar, his voice shaking with fury. "I warned you—if you hurt her again, I’ll never forgive you.""What the hell does this have to do with you?!" Carlo snapped, shoving Lucas's hand away. He didn’t even know who he was truly angry with, but the storm of emotions raging inside him demanded release. "She’s carrying my baby! Of course, I’ll protect her and the baby. This is none of your fucking business!""Enough!" Lyla’s voice cut through the tension, low but sharp. She clutched her still-flat stomach, her eyes brimming with pain and despair. "This isn’t your baby, Carlo. And I will never let you see it. You don’t deserve to be a husband, a father, or to be loved!"Though she spoke quietly, afraid of being overheard, her words were like daggers. The raspy, restrained anguish in her tone sliced through the night, hitting Carlo like a blow to the chest. His voice trembled as he tried to p
"Who is this woman?!" Isabella quickly approached Carlo, her eyes sharp with suspicion as she examined the disheveled, tear-streaked woman before her. The stranger's casual attire was out of place for the elegant engagement party, and she clearly wasn’t one of the household staff either.Carlo clenched his fists tightly, avoiding Lyla's gaze and refusing to meet Isabella's eyes either. His voice was cold and detached as he replied, "I don’t know. Just some crazy woman. I found her acting suspicious, so I followed her out to check. No big deal. I'll call Hudson to handle this. Come on, babe, let’s head back. We shouldn’t keep the guests waiting."He grabbed Isabella’s arm, attempting to lead her away, but she jerked free. "A crazy woman?" she snapped, clearly irritated. "I won’t allow anyone to ruin our engagement party. There’s no need to bother Hudson over this."With a sharp snap of her fingers, two burly men stepped out from the shadows at her beckon. Speaking in Italian, one asked
The mansion was enormous, filled with laughter and brightly lit from corner to corner. Lyla fought back tears and nausea as she tried to navigate her way out, relying on her memory of how she had arrived. She was aware that Carlo was silently following her, but he dared not call out to her in front of the crowd, and she dared not stop. They weaved through the bustling throng of guests, Lyla quickening her pace with each step, until she finally reached the dark, desolate vineyard.“Stop following me!” Lyla couldn’t hold it in any longer. The emotions she had been suppressing erupted as she turned to Carlo and screamed, her voice raw and miserable. “Don’t you have more important things to do? Go back! Be a happy fiancé! Why should you care if I live or die? I don’t need you anymore! I never will!”Her screams were filled with such pain and despair that she seemed like a porcelain doll, covered in cracks and on the verge of shattering at any moment. Carlo’s instinct was to rush forward a
Lyla sat quietly at a secluded table, her gaze fixed on the center of the grand ballroom. There, Carlo, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, was recounting the story of how he and Isabella met and fell in love.Just minutes ago, Blake had escorted her to this dimly lit corner. He had placed her at an inconspicuous table, posted two men to keep an eye on her, and then disappeared.When she arrived, she caught the tail end of Leonardo’s announcement—Carlo being granted the family name and partial control of its power. Carlo stood proudly beside his father, with his mother on the other side, her arm looped around Leonardo’s, her smile radiant. They looked like the perfect family, united and unshakable. Carlo’s expression was brimming with triumph, his striking green eyes gleaming with ambition and a hunger for power—something Lyla had never seen in him before. In that moment, he felt like a stranger to her.Now, the spotlight had shifted to Carlo and Isabella. The stunning, confident
The mansion on the seaside cliff was unusually lively today. The engagement party of Carlo Ferretti and Isabella Cavalieri wasn’t just a union of two powerful Mafia families; it symbolized their collective expansion into international territories. The Cavalieri family had flown in hundreds of members from Europe, while the Ferretti family made an equally impressive show of force, gathering nearly all their key figures. Adding to the grandeur were representatives from other factions hoping to curry favor with the two Mafia dynasties.The whole thing felt like a royal wedding—lavish and over the top.For Carlo, this wasn’t just another party—it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had spent over two decades fighting for recognition within his family. While his initial agreement to marry Isabella had been a strategy to save Lyla, recent developments had shifted his perspective. Just before the engagement, his father, Leonardo, had visited him in the hospital despite his failing hea
Lyla felt like she’d been hit over the head, her mind foggy and spinning. Stumbling, she grabbed onto the table for support, picking up the invitation and staring at it as if she didn’t recognize the words. She flipped it over, studying it again and again.“No… I don’t believe it,” she murmured, her voice trembling as if she were trying to convince herself. “He told me Isabella was only six. They… they can’t be getting engaged.”“Oh, so that’s what he told you?” Blake sneered. “No wonder. When you heard it yourself that day, I thought your temper would have you walking out on him for good. But looks like even a stupid lie like that was enough to fool you. Ah, poor girl. I almost feel sorry for you.”Lyla shook her head, unsure if she was rejecting Blake’s words or denying that Carlo had lied. Her eyes filled with tears, but she bit them back. “No, you’re lying. You’re just using me to hurt him!”Blake clicked his tongue, his expression laced with fake sympathy and disdain. “Why don’t