MasukShare
The gap between us
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-04-22 22:16:02
Bab terkait
My arranged marriage The ghost of the past
Ray Kingston I could tell the moment I stepped into the apartment—something was off. The kind of stillness that didn’t come from peace, but absence. Emma wasn’t home. No shoes by the door. No coffee mug half-finished on the counter. No quiet humming from the bathroom while she got ready. Just silence. I dropped my keys onto the table, checked my phone, and saw nothing. No text. No missed calls. My gut stirred. She never left without saying something—not anymore. I crossed the living room and spotted her phone charger still plugged into the wall. Her favorite jacket was missing. So were her sneakers. Casual—but hot, I’d said. She hadn’t rolled her eyes at that. At least not to my face. I tried calling. Straight to voicemail. That’s when the knot formed in my chest. Not panic. Not yet. But that low, gnawing tension that starts in the gut and crawls its way up until it coils behind your ribs like a storm waiting to break. I called Lucas. “She’s not here,” he s
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-22My arranged marriage A fragile peace
Emma Watson The first morning light spilled through the hospital blinds, brushing the edge of the bed where Ray sat, half-asleep in the visitor's chair. His hand was loosely curled around mine, his head resting against the crook of his arm on the edge of my mattress. For the first time in days, there was a stillness I didn’t dare disturb. Everything that had happened — Moreau, Benita, the penthouse shootout — felt like a surreal blur. But the ache in my shoulder, the lingering tremor in my limbs, reminded me it had been very real. I shifted slightly, wincing at the pull of the bandage. Ray stirred. His eyes fluttered open, that sharp blue gaze immediately locking on mine. “Hey,” he said softly, voice rough with sleep. “Hey,” I whispered back. He sat up straighter, rubbing the back of his neck. His hair was tousled and his shirt wrinkled, but I’d never seen him look more human. “How are you feeling?” “Sore,” I admitted. “Tired. But... alive.” He gave a faint smile, brus
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-22My arranged marriage The cost of control
Ray Maverick The hospital corridor was too quiet. Fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead, casting a sterile glow over the pale walls. Nurses moved briskly past me, heads down, their rubber soles squeaking against the floor. I sat in a cold plastic chair outside Lucas’s room, my elbows resting on my knees, my fingers steepled under my chin. I’d made more deals in silence than in boardrooms. I’d survived ambushes in places far darker than this one. But nothing rattled me quite like the sound of nothing at all—especially when someone I cared about was behind a closed door fighting to stay alive. Emma hadn’t left his side for hours. I knew because I hadn’t left the hallway either. I kept hearing the gunshot. The moment I pulled the trigger on Moreau. The moment I chose an end. I told myself it was justice. That it was necessary. But justice doesn’t feel like this. It doesn’t feel like blood drying under your fingernails and the ghost of an old friend’s voice whispering t
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-22My arranged marriage The healing hour
Emma Watson I didn’t sleep. Even after everything settled—the doctors’ assurances, Lucas’s steady breathing, Ray’s quiet confession—I couldn’t close my eyes. Every time I tried, I saw flashes. Blood on marble floors. Gunpowder in the air. Benita’s voice twisting around my thoughts like smoke. You're just another fool in Ray’s web. I stood barefoot on the balcony, the cool breeze brushing against my skin, the city lights flickering in the distance. Below, the world moved on—cars crawled through intersections, streetlights blinked through cycles, and lives continued, blissfully unaware of the storm we’d just survived. Behind me, Ray slept, finally. One arm draped over the empty side of the bed like he knew I’d be back. I wasn’t sure when I had fallen this deep, or if I ever had a choice in the first place. Ray Maverick wasn’t just a man—he was a gravity I couldn’t fight. But loving him came with scars. I pressed my hand over my heart, as if I could still feel the way it
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-22My arranged marriage The breaking stage
The warehouse stank of rust and rot, like old blood and broken promises. I stood in the shadows near the boarded-up entrance, the cold steel of my gun a steady weight in my hand. The night air outside was humid, thick with tension, and too damn quiet for my liking. We were close—too close—to the end. But endings weren’t peaceful in my world. They were loud, messy, and filled with smoke and regrets. Lucas had gone silent on comms five minutes ago. He was supposed to be tailing one of Moreau’s last known lieutenants—a wormy bastard named Claudio who’d turned snitch after realizing Moreau wasn’t the kind of man who took care of his own. I hated snitches. But I hated unfinished business more. And Claudio had information I needed. I crept deeper into the warehouse, my boots whispering over the cracked concrete. Light filtered through a broken window, casting bars of pale moonlight across the floor. My instincts were screaming at me that something was off. Too quiet. No backup
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-22My arranged marriage When the world goes quiet
Emma The silence after the storm is the loudest thing I’ve ever known. Ray’s penthouse is a mess of shattered glass, scorched walls, and the faint smell of smoke lingering like a ghost. The emergency team had come and gone, whisking Lucas away, confirming Moreau’s death, and declaring the place temporarily off-limits. But I stayed. I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t walk away just yet. I stood in the center of the living room, barefoot on cold marble, my arms wrapped tightly around myself as if I could hold all the pieces of my world together just by sheer will. My phone buzzed incessantly with calls from the press, from my assistant, from numbers I didn’t recognize. I’d silenced it hours ago. There were more important things on my mind. Like how Ray hadn’t said a word since the ambulance took Lucas away. He stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to me, blood dried on the cuff of his shirt. The golden light of sunset spilled in through the broken glass, casting
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-23My arranged marriage Picking up the pieces
Ray The city moved around me like a machine that refused to stop—horns blaring, people rushing, sirens in the distance. But inside this moment, everything was still. Emma was asleep in the bed, tangled in the sheets, her chest rising and falling with a quiet rhythm that calmed something in me I didn’t even realize was screaming. I should’ve been with her, curled around her, soaking in the peace she gave me like it was oxygen. But I couldn’t sleep. I hadn’t since the night of the fire. My mind was a warzone, a clutter of memory, regret, and what-ifs. What if I hadn’t been fast enough? What if Lucas hadn’t made it? What if I’d never pulled that trigger? The last one was the heaviest. Benita’s face haunted me every time I closed my eyes. I could still feel the weight of the gun in my hand, the sharp snap of the bullet leaving the chamber. She had been so many things—ruthless, brilliant, broken—but I’d loved her once. Not like I loved Emma, not even close, but enough that th
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-23My arranged marriage What comes later
Emma There were still mornings when I woke up expecting to find it all gone—the penthouse, the calm, Ray. Like I’d blink and be back in my old apartment, hunched over cold coffee, writing crime columns for a paper that didn’t care about the truth. But then I’d roll over, and he’d be there, arm draped around my waist, the smell of cedar and something darker—something distinctly him—filling the space between us. Today was one of those mornings. Ray had already slipped out of bed. I could hear him moving around the kitchen, probably making the strong coffee he claimed was “just enough to keep his sanity intact.” I sat up, pulled the sheets around me, and watched the sunlight filter through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Spring was starting to settle over New York. Trees bloomed cautiously in the park below, and people were beginning to trust the weather again. There was a new energy in the city—hopeful, tentative, like we were all just relearning how to live after a long winter.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-23
Bab terbaru
My arranged marriage Home at last
Emma WatsonThe late afternoon sun poured through the tall windows of the Manhattan penthouse, casting golden beams across the sleek marble floors. The scent of fresh lilies drifted through the open space, mingling with the faint aroma of roasted coffee from the kitchen. For the first time in months, the silence didn’t feel heavy or dangerous. It felt... peaceful.I stood barefoot by the glass wall, gazing out at the city I once hated for everything it took from me. Now, somehow, it had given me everything too.Behind me, Ray’s footsteps echoed softly across the wood. I didn’t turn. I didn’t have to. I knew his presence by heart now—the rhythm of his breathing, the tension in his muscles when he was deep in thought, the way his energy wrapped around mine like a second skin.He came to stand beside me, his hand finding mine. Warm. Solid. Real.“This view used to make me feel invincible,” he said quietly.I looked up at him, his profile bathed in the soft light. “And now?”He glanced do
My arranged marriage Forever
Ray The night air bit against my skin as I stood on the rooftop of the Kingstone building, the skyline of Manhattan stretching before me in all its glittering, indifferent glory. The city didn’t know what it had cost me to get here—or maybe it didn’t care. Either way, the end was coming. And I was ready. Behind me, the wind whipped at my coat, and the faint sound of footsteps echoed from the stairwell. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. “Are you sure about this?” Lucas’s voice was low, hoarse from the healing wound in his side. I glanced back at him. “It ends tonight. One way or another.” He nodded grimly and joined me at the edge. “We have snipers stationed on the west building, just like you planned. Emma’s team is holding the perimeter.” My throat tightened at her name. We’d said our goodbyes earlier, just in case. She’d kissed me like it might be the last time. Maybe it would be. “They’ll be here,” I said. “Benitez doesn’t miss a chance to gloat.” Luc
My arranged marriage The forever
Emma I used to think love was the end goal. Like if I could just find the right person, all the broken parts would fall into place and I’d finally feel whole. But love wasn’t the end. It was the beginning. Because when Ray and I stopped running from who we were—and started building toward who we wanted to become—something bigger took root. Something wilder. Braver. Truer. Not a happy ending. A brave one. And that made all the difference. We spent the first few weeks after the wedding wrapped in a kind of quiet bliss. The world slowed down. Emails went unanswered. The Fellowship ran without us for a little while. Priya handled most of the chaos, sending short updates with emojis and bullet points. I skimmed them between morning walks and late-night dips in the ocean. Ray was softer, more still. I could see it in the way he looked at me—like the war inside him had finally gone quiet. I’d never felt more like myself. And in that stillness, something surpri
My arranged marriage More than a name
Ray When I was a kid, I thought power meant control. Silence in a boardroom. Eyes following your every move. A last name that carried weight, made people sit straighter. Turns out, none of that matters when you’re standing in a village where no one knows who you are—just that you show up when you say you will. That’s real power. Not dominance. But trust. And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t chasing power to bury my father's shadow. I was chasing purpose—with Emma beside me. We moved slower now, not because we had to, but because we could. Mornings began with thick coffee and open laptops, balancing spreadsheets with outreach emails. The fellowship was growing faster than we planned. Our quiet office above the bookstore had tripled in size, and we were already looking for a new space. We weren’t just funding journalism. We were creating platforms. Safety nets. A family of storytellers, rebels, and truth-seekers. People I would’ve never noticed if I’d stay
My arranged marriage The shape of forever
The Shape of Forever Emma The breeze was warm, laced with the scent of frangipani and sea salt as I stepped out onto the balcony. Below, the ocean stretched into a horizon so clear and infinite, it felt like time itself paused to breathe. Bali wasn’t what I expected. It was better. No crowds. No headlines. No past. Just us—and the rhythm of waves that didn’t care about who we used to be. Ray was in the kitchen, humming something soft as he sliced fruit. Shirtless, barefoot, sun-kissed. If I didn’t already love him, I would’ve fallen for him right then and there. But I’d already fallen—completely, recklessly, irrevocably. And here, in this quiet corner of the world, it finally felt safe to land. We spent our mornings wrapped in each other, too lazy to set alarms. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we didn’t need to. His fingertips would trace patterns on my skin while the sun climbed higher, and I’d close my eyes, memorizing the silence between our heartbeats. In the af
My arranged marriage The legacy we choose
Ray The wind cut through my coat as I stepped out of the cabin one last time, the cold air snapping me to attention. Snow crunched beneath my boots, and far below, the world stretched out in a sea of silver and blue—mountains frozen in time, quiet valleys that didn’t care about headlines, betrayals, or billion-dollar collapses. Up here, the world couldn’t touch us. But it also couldn’t stay frozen forever. Behind me, Emma zipped up her duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the chill, her hair tied back in a loose braid. She looked at me like she always did—like I wasn’t the broken son of a corrupt empire, but something more. Something worth saving. And maybe—for the first time in my life—I believed her. The train we caught into Lucerne was empty except for an older couple reading a newspaper and a teenage boy scrolling on a cracked phone. Emma sat beside me, her head leaning on my shoulder, one hand looped around my arm. I watched the
My arranged marriage The after shock
Emma The sun rose behind a shroud of pale clouds as we crossed the Swiss border. Ray sat beside me in the back of the SUV, his eyes fixed on the snow-dusted mountains ahead. Lucas dozed in the front passenger seat, snoring softly, a jacket draped over his face like a makeshift shield from reality. I watched Ray in the quiet. The shadows under his eyes hadn’t faded, even after everything we’d done. Even after the truth had finally come out. The Chronicle had published it all. Langston Enterprises. The bribes. The offshore accounts. The ports. The human cost. The devastation left in his father’s wake. It was global news now. Presidents were giving statements. CEOs were distancing themselves. Stocks were crashing. Investigations were launching across four continents. And yet, somehow, the air between us still held that tension. That edge. Because justice came with a price. And we were the ones who’d lit the match. The safe house was tucked into the mountains above Interla
My arranged marriage The weight of his name
Ray It wasn’t just the name—it was everything that came with it. Langston. In boardrooms, it carried weight. On Wall Street, it opened doors. But in my blood, it felt like a curse I’d spent my entire life trying to outrun. And now, it was time to turn around and face it. I stared at the screen, Emma asleep beside me on the couch, her legs curled underneath a blanket, her head resting on my thigh. The glow of the laptop cast long shadows across her peaceful face. God, she deserved peace. Deserved a life untouched by this war. But she’d chosen to fight anyway. With me. For me. I couldn’t let that be for nothing. I scrolled through the documents we’d compiled—encrypted logs, money transfers, real estate deals, fake nonprofit filings, covert port activity. All of it pointed back to one name: Langston Enterprises. All of it pointed back to my father. Everything we needed to dismantle his empire was right here. The question was—who could we trust with it? Lucas had reached
My arranged marriage Beneath the ashes
Emma The morning after the bloodshed, the safe house felt eerily quiet—like the walls themselves were holding their breath. I stood by the window, watching the pale gray mist roll over the hills. The trees swayed in a rhythm that felt too calm, too detached from what had happened less than twenty-four hours ago. Inside me, a different storm brewed. One that didn’t care for peace or clarity. Ray was still asleep. His breathing steady beside me in the bed we had barely touched since arriving. We’d held each other in silence last night, the kind of silence that didn’t beg for words but craved understanding. But even in his arms, I hadn’t truly rested. My mind hadn’t stopped since I’d pulled the trigger. I’d never killed before. I wasn’t even sure I believed in the right to. But when that man raised his weapon toward Lucas, something primal in me had taken over. I hadn’t hesitated. I hadn’t flinched. I’d acted. And I didn’t regret it. That’s what scared me the most. I steppe
