Madam Camilla, the lady of Connor Family. She was known for her gentle smile and regal splendor in the high society. She left the capital city to marry a man far less worthy of her status. In the name of love, she ran away and had twins for this man. The patriarch of the Connor Family could do nothing but to swallow their anger and forced the man to be a live-in son-in-law, bearing the Connor Family shamelessly.The man, in the name of true love, stripped off his masculinity and let the twins bear the Connor Family name instead of his. To be with the man he loved, he started a company from scratch. When he hit the wall at every turn, his wife could not bear to watch it anymore so she plead to her father and brothers to help her beloved man.The company her built started to flourish. With the Connor Family, one of the big four families in the capital city, he could almost have his way with every project he wanted. The family of four was the model family of the upper class and the middl
With Harold pushing the wheelchair, Jaxon entered the tensed dining area. Simultaneously, everyone stood up except Ashley. While Camilla and Fred stood up with their flattering smiles, Ashley remained nonchalant as she resumed eating. She only looked up at Jaxon when he was pushed towards her side.Harold smiled at Gina. “Ma’am, my master wants to sit with his wife.”Gina did a doubletake. She looked at Ashley who was eating and to Jaxon who was staring at Ashley as if she was the only one who was in the area and everyone else was air. For once, Gina doubted her sanity—was she seeing things? Why was Jaxon looking at her useless sister-in-like that…like a man in love?!Gina was absentminded the entire time when she gave way for her seat. She was guided to Camilla’s side and the entire time she was in a daze.Ashley only looked up ‘lovingly’ when he was already by his side. She did not act in a flattering manner which was a direct contrast to what the others were doing. She said, “You a
Ashley and Jaxon entered the room after Harold finally left. The pair decided to stay in the villa and would leave by the morning. Although Ashley wanted to have a separate room or bed from him, she knew that she could not do it. At least not now. They needed to appear a united front in front of the Connor Family or she would be swallowed before she could even leave the place—without bones left for sure.Now left alone with Jaxon, Ashley cleared her throat and pointed the couch. “I’ll take the couch. You take the bed.” As if her ass was on fire, she left the room and head straight to the bathroom.Jaxon did not even get to answer when the door banged as it closed, leaving him totally speechless and dumbfounded by his wife’s series of operation. Remembering her flustered look, Jaxon was reconciled. For many months, he noticed how she did not give him any reaction aside from indifference or cold shoulder…seeing her flustered, he could not help but feel a tinge of itch in his heart calle
It was right to call Alanti the future of the dark web hackers. A quarter of an hour after Ashley provided the files she paid for from Alanti herself, in which she also asked Alanti what she wanted to find out, the results were basically out.While reading the new pieces of information, the heavier her mood had become—if the network she discovered had the origin she thought of then it was a problem that she alone could not solve. Hopefully, it just a game between corrupt government officials.If so, it would be easier to solve. But if it involved the interests of multiple multinational companies, then, it would be a protracted war and at the end, it was obvious that she would lose. She was not being a coward; she was being real. No matter how much she wished, her current state was nothing in front of those behemoths in the business world.“Boss, we’re here.”Ashley snapped from her reverie. The last small part of the file was yet to be read, making her take note of it once she was don
“You’ve been bought.” It was not a question, but a statement. Ashley could not answer Jaxon from the other side of the call as she made sure to maintain eye contact with Allen with a distance of a mere one meter between them.“You are with him.” This time, Jaxon’s voice was eerily calm. Ashley could feel it through the phone even when she distanced the phone an inch away from her right ear.Ashley said to Allen when she saw him kept his silence. “You are buying them time.” Upon seeing the obvious shame in his eyes, she knew she got it correct again. He led her here and he would stall her so they could come here and do whatever plan they had.“Miss Ashley, they will buy you this mine and triple the amount you used when you bought this land.” Allen earnestly wanted his former boss to be well. It would be a huge lie if he said he did not feel anything by this betrayal. But after years of being a good person, he wanted to be selfish for once. After seeing the row digits and the number of
The light from some sort of flashlight was directly aimed on her face, making her look away and squint her eyes. Every inch of her muscle was tensed. She was ready for the flight or fight response.She was in the middle of deciding between flight or fight when the light finally shifted away from her face. An old woman’s voice resounded next.“Miss Ashley Connor Smith?”Ashley took a step back. “Who are you?”This time, it was the sound of Alanti from the other side of the call that she had forgotten in a spur of a moment. “Follow her. I sent her to help you.”Ashley only needed these words to take a step forward. Patting her chest as if she was afraid that the old woman would not believe her, she said: “I am Ashley. My friend sent you to help me, Ma’am?”“Yes. Come and follow me before they arrive.” The old woman looked around the eerie forest surrounding the stream from all sides before she whispered. “Bad things happen to those who venture in the dark.”The two followed the current
The western direction route lasted for two hours.Ashley’s sock was already riddled with holes and scratches while her only shoe was fighting to stay with her. Nevertheless, Ashley’s speed did not hinder the old woman’s brisk movements until she stopped…They reached the edges of the mountain! She could see the highway’s lampposts!Delighted, Ashley’s speed doubled, almost catching up with the old woman who did not bother with her the entire time.“Alanti, I’m out! I’m really out! Oh, God!” Ashley covered her quivering lips as she teared up in joy. She would have jump in joy had it not been for the fact that the old woman kept striding, making her unable to stop for a moment.“Follow her and stop dawdling.” Alanti’s cold voice doused Ashley’s joy a little bit. Judging from Alanti’s tone, it was not yet over.“What do you mean?”“You saw the highway, yes. But this is the highway in a place under the jurisdiction of the officials.”Ashley became silent.Alanti scoffed. “This is when you
Two checkpoints stopped operating as soon as they saw the issued notice from above, issued by the governor in which the city and all the other surrounding counties were under. It was an executive order quietly issued by the highest person in the government the president himself. When the city mayor and all other county counselors involved saw the authentic issued letter followed by the special team of soldiers, they instantly paled and almost kneeled down in front of the leading person.The mayor of the city shivered. After all, he was the first one to concoct this plan, buying a spy in her side during the process. Even the kidnapping and blackmailing were under his command!“Come with us,” said another solider who was standing next to the leading person of the team. He handcuffed the city mayor and the rest of his subordinates, leaving the city and the counties leaderless temporarily.It was such a swift series of actions.When the team pulled up to the first checkpoint setup to stop
Ever since their first fight, life had not gotten any easier for Talia. If anything, it had become even harder.Lucas, once patient and composed, had grown irritable and restless. He hated being weak, hated relying on her, and the frustration bled into everything he did. He snapped more often, his words sharper than he likely intended, but the damage was done each time. And Talia—Talia, who had already carried so much weight on her shoulders—chose to step back instead of fueling the fire.Not for herself, but for Tasha.Their daughter, still too young to understand the depth of their struggles, had always been a bright spark in their darkest days. Talia refused to let that spark fade.So when Lucas’s voice took on that cold edge, when his temper flared over something as small as her adjusting his pillow or offering to help him sit up, Talia swallowed her own frustration and let it go. She bit back the pain, the hurt, and the urge to lash back. She stepped away before Tasha could see,
The days had turned into months, and Talia had settled into a relentless routine.Between taking care of Lucas, working at the library, and making sure Tasha had everything she needed, there was never enough time. But today—today was different. Today, something miraculous had happened.Lucas had woken up.After months of watching him waste away in his coma, after months of feeding him, cleaning him, speaking to him without response—he had opened his eyes. He had whispered her name in a voice so weak and fragile that it had nearly broken her. But he was awake. He was alive.“W-Wife…” He whispered.Talia froze in shock for a split second before she cried out in surprise and happiness. “Lucas?!”And for the first time in what felt like forever, Talia saw hope.She had spent the day by his side, holding his hand, talking to him, helping him sip water from a straw. His body was weak, too weak to even sit up on his own, but he was there. He was present. It was more than she could have ever
The days blurred into an endless cycle of exhaustion.Talia barely slept anymore.Between tending to Tasha at the hospital, checking on Lucas at home, and working at the library to keep them afloat, there was no time to rest. Every hour of her day was spoken for, every moment accounted for. It was a delicate balance, one that she couldn’t afford to lose, but the weight of it pressed down on her like a vice.Her body was slowly giving out.Tasha’s fever had finally broken, but she was still weak. The doctors wanted to keep her in the hospital for a few more days to monitor her condition. Lucas, on the other hand, had taken a turn for the worse. His body was growing frailer by the day, and without proper medical intervention, she feared the inevitable. She knew he needed professional care, but there was no money for that. Every cent she had went into keeping a roof over their heads and putting food—what little she could afford—on the table.She had no one to turn to. No allies. No suppo
The apartment was small—too small for three people, especially when one of them needed around-the-clock care. Talia stared at the single bed pushed against the wall, where Lucas lay unmoving, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, unaware of the world around him. In the other corner, her daughter, Tasha, sat cross-legged on the floor, coloring with the few crayons she had managed to bring from their old home.Talia let out a slow breath, exhaustion pressing against her shoulders like an invisible weight. She had lived many lives, died twice, and yet, nothing could have prepared her for this.Her old lives had been filled with power, darkness, and control. She had never known the taste of struggle, not like this. It was absurd, really. Once, she had commanded armies of men, had resources at her fingertips, had struck fear into the hearts of people with nothing but her name. And now, she was in a rundown apartment with peeling wallpaper and a rickety heater that barely worked.
Five months had passed since Ashley and Jaxon decided to give their family a true second chance.Now, seated in the plush back seat of their luxury SUV, Ashley’s fingers traced over the financial reports on her tablet screen. The elegant logo of Rosemary Jewelry and Rosemary Real Estate gleamed in the corner, a reminder of the empire she had built with her own hands. At the time, these companies were meant to be her insurance, a safeguard in case she had to walk away from Jaxon and start anew. But now, things had changed. She had chosen to stay. To build not just a business empire, but a family.The numbers on the reports reflected her hard work.Rosemary Jewelry, a brand that had once been a small passion project, was now a name whispered among high society. Celebrities, heiresses, and tycoons adorned themselves with her pieces, and international boutiques clamored for exclusive contracts. On the other hand, Rosemary Real Estate was a rising force, acquiring prime properties and maki
The steam clung to Ashley’s skin as she stepped out of the bathroom, her damp hair cascading over her shoulders. A plush towel was wrapped securely around her body, but she hardly paid attention to the fabric covering her as she reached for the hairdryer on the vanity. The sound of movement near the closet made her pause.She turned her head—and then froze.Jaxon stood with his back to her, his broad shoulders flexing as he ran a towel through his damp hair. The dim lighting of their bedroom accentuated every ridge and valley of his toned muscles, the chiseled perfection of his body honed through years of discipline and training. But it wasn’t just the raw masculinity of his physique that stole Ashley’s breath—it was the dark, intricate ink stretching across his back.Her name was there.Ashley Elijah.Just beneath it, an elegant script detailed a date—one that sent an icy shiver down her spine. The date of her death in her past life.Her breath hitched in her throat, her pulse thrumm
Jaxon Elijah sat in his office, his fingers pressed against his temples as he listened to Harold recount the details of Henry Deneuve’s confrontation with Ashley. The more Harold spoke, the more Jaxon’s fury burned like an unrelenting inferno. His jaw clenched, his breathing steady yet deep—a dangerous calm before the inevitable storm.Henry Deneuve had dared to threaten his wife? To speak to Ashley as if she were some scheming outsider rather than the woman who had suffered and endured to reclaim her rightful place? Jaxon would not tolerate it. Not now. Not ever."Prepare the package," Jaxon finally spoke, his voice devoid of emotion but carrying an unshakable weight. "Everything we've collected on Henry over the years. I want him to see every dark secret, every skeleton buried in his past."Harold nodded without hesitation. He knew his boss well enough to recognize that this was not a moment for questioning. This was a moment of execution. The Elijah Consortium did not deal in empty
Ashley stood before the towering glass doors of an exclusive luxury boutique, her heart thudding in her chest. It was a strange sensation—one part excitement, one part apprehension. She had never done this before, never had the chance to bond with a mother over something as trivial yet meaningful as shopping. The mother she had known, the one who had raised her until she passed away, was a distant memory, blurred and bittersweet. And Camilla Connor, the woman who played the role of stepmother, had only ever used the idea of motherhood as a tool to manipulate and belittle her. But now, standing beside Uriel Deneuve, her real mother, Ashley was finally about to experience something she never had before.Uriel, graceful and poised, exuded the quiet confidence of someone who had spent her life in wealth and power yet carried an air of warmth that Ashley hadn’t expected. She reached out, gently squeezing Ashley’s hand. “Are you ready, ma chérie?” she asked in a soft voice, her foreign acce
Ashley stood in front of the grand estate, her heart pounding against her ribcage. The Deneuve estate was nothing short of magnificent, with its towering gates, sprawling gardens, and a mansion that exuded centuries of prestige and power. She had been through countless battles in life—both emotional and physical—but standing here, waiting to meet the people who had given her life, felt like the hardest thing she had ever faced.Jaxon stood beside her, his presence a solid wall of support. He hadn't said much on the way here, knowing that no words could ease the storm brewing inside her. Instead, he simply held her hand, giving her strength in his silence. Ashley squeezed his hand briefly, grateful that despite everything, he was here.The gates opened slowly, revealing a long driveway lined with aged oak trees. A butler approached them with practiced grace, bowing slightly. "Madam Ashley, Master Jaxon, welcome. Mr. and Mrs. Deneuve are waiting for you inside."Ashley took a deep breat