ADRIEN A tough ask!“Rochelle, I…” I began, but I could feel the anxiety creeping back in, and her expression shifted from soft to guarded. It seemed the day of passionate surrender brought with it new tensions we hadn’t discussed yet.And then it landed squarely on me, the urgency to face the consequences of my actions. As if reading my thoughts, she pulled away, leaving the warmth of our bodies behind as she shuffled out of bed and grabbed the oversized sweater again, enveloping herself in layers, a permanent barrier once more.“Maybe you should leave,” she said, hurt lacing her tone. My heart sank, realizing the burden my brother’s decision had added to what ought to be straightforward.“Rochelle, I don’t want it to end like this,” I urged, my own intensity fading into desperation. “You know how I feel about you. This last night was…” I hesitated, the words heavy and stumbling. “I don’t want to lose what we could have.”“Delight was right. I'm not good for any of yo
ROCHELLE Playing games!Eventually, I’d had it up to my neck. My life had turned into a twisted carnival ride of desires gone wrong. It wasn’t enough to just be involved with Adrien and Aries, brothers whose smiles could launch a thousand ships—or at least, a thousand insecurities within me. Like I said before, I wanted more than the fleeting touches of passion. I craved a connection that was deeper than skin. But sharing their attention with that golddigger extinguished that hope almost immediately. Again, they hadn’t even bothered to deny it, and that truth stung like salt in a wound.Driven by a storm of emotions erupting from my heart and a fierce determination to feel something—anything other than the bitterness Delight brought into my life—I started going out more frequently. To spite Aries and Adrien, I kissed random guys, bringing them home to our shared space. Oh, how delightful it was to see the tension in their faces, the fury in their eyes, and the hints of
ROCHELLE It's not working!A week passed, and my defiance turned into an all-out rebellion. I met more guys—each kiss filled with spite and rebellion. I recalled how Aries once pulled me close and whispered sweet nothings when I least expected it. I longed for that connection, but instead, I found myself challenging the very boundaries they had set.Then, there came a night I truly thought I had crossed a line. I brought home a guy named Mike, who was a little too cocky for my taste but had a charming smile. We were entwined in laughter as we stumbled into the apartment, clearly much too overwhelmed from the night’s
ROCHELLE It's all messed up… again!After that call, I lay on my bed for a good while, staring at the ceiling. The money, the freedom, the lavish lifestyle—none of that mattered without warmth and honesty in my life. My avoidance tactics crumbled into ash.Later that evening, I tried to drown my insecurities and anxieties in the depths of a bottle of red wine. I convinced myself that I could go through the motions just one more time without caving into the despair I felt for being sidelined in this extravagant relationship.The doorbell rang, echoing through our lavish apartment as I rose unsteadily on my feet. When I swung the door open, my eyes fell on Adrien and Aries, each impeccably dressed but turbulent emotions sparkling in their eyes.“Good to see you’re ready for dinner,” Adrien remarked but his gaze dropped to the wine glass in my hand.“Oh, it’s just a little something to loosen up,” I said, feigning nonchalance.He frowned. “You look unwell, Rochelle.”“Don’t fus
ARIES He blew hot!The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the silence that filled the room. Adrien sat across from me, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression calm and unbothered. Meanwhile, my blood was boiling. I slammed my hand on the table, making the papers and coffee mug shake slightly.“Adrien, I can’t do this anymore,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s driving me insane!”Adrien arched an eyebrow, not moving an inch. “Aries, you’ve been saying that for days now. You’re still breathing. Barely insane.”“Don’t test me,” I growled. “This is serious, Adrien. Rochelle acts like she owns this place. You saw what she did to Delight earlier, right? She couldn’t even sit on the couch without Rochelle glaring at her like she was some criminal trespassing on her territory.”Adrien rubbed his temples, sighing deeply. “Look, I get it. Rochelle’s attitude is… difficult. But what do you want me to do? Kick her out? She has nowhere else to go.”I threw my hands in
ROCHELLE Back to hell!When I heard the knock on my door, I didn’t even bother looking through the peephole. Surely, that must be Adrien. I was already in the mood for him—or Aries—to show up. I was dead horny, and I couldn't wait for either of them to tear me apart and stuck their hard hot dick on my already wet pussy. My fingers were still sticky with the evidence of my impatience, and I could feel my cheeks flush at the thought of either one of them walking in on me like this.I tied my robe hastily, not caring how disheveled I looked. My mind raced with possibilities—Adrien’s smirk, his sharp eyes trailing down my body, or Aries’ brooding presence as he took over the room without saying a word.But when I yanked the door open, the air felt like it had been sucked out of my lungs.“Dad?”He stood there with a practiced smile, his dark suit crisp and his hair slicked back like he was fresh from some corporate meeting. For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating. M
ROCHELLEHow to quit a job!Driving to the office felt like stepping into a battlefield I didn’t want to fight on. The cool hum of the AC in my car couldn’t ease the tension coiling in my chest. My phone buzzed on the passenger seat, but I ignored it. I didn’t need to look to know it was probably Julie—or maybe even Ben—calling again. I had ignored their calls all day yesterday, and I wasn’t in the mood to explain myself now.The tall glass building of Ben Rothwell's Company loomed ahead as I park
ROCHELLE I found out!It all came crashing down the moment I found out I was pregnant. The realization swept over me like a tidal wave, drowning any rational thought. I felt the heat of anger rise within me, mixed with the realization that either Adrien or Aries was responsible for this new chapter in my life. Honestly, I didn’t care which of the two brothers had gotten me into this situation. What mattered to me was the leverage I would now possess over Delight. Oh, how I wanted to taunt her, make her life miserable for thinking she could waltz in and claim what was mine.Thoughts raced through my mind as I drove to their house, the sun setting in a fiery blaze behind me, painting the sky in hues of orange and red. I imagined how I could drop the news. Would I just walk in and say, “Hey, I’m pregnant!”? Nah, that was too boring. I needed to drive the nail deep into that slut’s casket. Maybe I could pretend to be upset, let them comfort me, and then hit them with
ROCHELLENo better way than this!Being back in Aries' and Adrien’s arms felt surreal. I had dreamed of this moment for so long, yet now that it was real, I didn’t know how to process it. My heart felt full, but my body was still weak from everything I had endured. The constant care and attention they gave me were overwhelming in the best way possible. It was as though they were trying to make up for every second of the time we had lost, every ounce of pain they had caused me in the past.Adrien sat beside me on the massive couch in their living room, fluffing pillows and tucking blankets
ARIES We fucking did it!The cold night air bit at my skin as Adrien and I crouched behind the black SUVs parked in the shadows outside the warehouse. The place was surrounded by her guards, all heavily armed, their faces masked with the determination of people who had pledged loyalty to someone as dangerous as Delight. My fingers tightened around the grip of my pistol as I looked at Adrien. His jaw was set, his eyes darker than I had ever seen them. He nodded at me, his silent signal. We were ready.The police had insisted on being part of this raid, but I didn’t trust anyone else to bring Rochelle home. Not after everything that had happened. Delight had taken too much from us already—her betrayal, her lies, her madness. This was personal.“Move in!” one of the officers barked out instructions to his colleagues, and the police stormed the front.“I'm coming with you,” Prince Herold said.“No way!,” I said.“Why?,” he asked.“We can't risk you going in there with
ADRIEN A tip off!The chaos that surrounded Prince Herold’s palace was suffocating. Broken furniture, shattered glass, and bloodstains painted a gruesome picture of the attack from the night before. The air reeked of smoke and sweat, and the sound of paramedics treating the wounded guards mingled with the murmurs of the police officers conducting their investigation.Everything was messed up, really!Aries stood to my left, his arms crossed, his expression a mask of fury barely contained. Herold paced back and forth, his usually regal demeanor now replaced with restless energy. He was mumbling under his breath, blaming himself for what had happened.“I should have saved her! I have let her down,” he kept on saying.I couldn’t argue with him. If we were being honest, we all felt responsible…guilty… almost like we had committed the crime.“Damn it, Adrien,” Aries muttered, his voice low but tight with anger. “How the hell did we let this happen? We had her, bu
DELIGHT I'm always steps ahead!The glass of wine in my hand trembled as rage coursed through me. They had done it again—Aries and Adrien. The brothers thought they were untouchable, didn’t they? Thought they could storm into my world, take Robert, and walk away like they owned the place. The audacity!I slammed the glass onto the table, the crimson liquid sloshing over the rim. My men flinched but said nothing. They knew better than to speak when I was like this. I paced the room, my heels clicking against the marble floor, my mind racing with possibilities.“They think they’ve won,” I said, my voice low and venomous. “But they underestimated me the last time.”One of my men, Marcus, stepped forward cautiously. “What’s the plan, boss?”I smirked, my anger shifting into something darker. “We’re going to hit them where it hurts. Rochelle must pay with her life.”The name tasted bitter on my tongue. Aries and Adrien might be brilliant strategists, but their Achilles’ heel was
ARIES A step ahead…The room was dark except for the faint glow of Adrien’s laptop screen. He was hunched over it, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he brought up satellite images of the city. The tension in the air was thick, heavier than I had ever felt before. We had dealt with a lot of dangerous situations over the years, but this one was personal. Delight had crossed the line by kidnapping Robert.I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, trying to keep my thoughts in order. “You sure you’ve got the right location?” I asked, breaking the silence.Adrien glanced up at me, his eyes cold and calculating. “Positive. The signal from his watch showed up at this abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. She’s using it as her base.”I nodded, pacing the room. “She’s getting bolder. She must know we’d come for him.”“That’s what she’s counting on,” Adrien said. “But we’re not walking into this blind. I’ve already mapped out the weak points in their security. We’
ROCHELLE She threatened to kill him!I stood frozen, my phone trembling in my hand. The moment Delight’s voice cut through the silence, everything around me blurred.“I have your father,” she had said, her tone dripping with malice. “If you ever want to see him alive, you’ll do exactly as I say.”Her words echoed in my mind long after the call ended. My heart pounded in my chest, and my breath came in short, panicked gasps. How had it come to this? My father, an innocent man with no connection to my tangled past, was now a pawn in Delight’s twisted game.I turned to Herold, my mind racing. “She has my father,” I said, my voice cracking. “We need to do something.”Herold’s calm exterior faltered for a moment, his brows knitting together. “What does she want?” he asked, his voice steady but laced with concern.“She didn’t say,” I replied, pacing the room. “She just… she just wanted me to know that she has him. Oh God, Herold, what if she hurts him?”“Calm down,” he said firmly
DELIGHT Playing the death game my way!The party had become a nightmare I barely escaped.I had seen her. Rochelle. The corner of her lips curled in a triumphant smirk as she leaned toward one of the guards obviously attached to her. My heart raced as I watched her whisper something into his ear.The guard’s expression darkened, and I saw him gesture subtly to a group of men stationed near the exit. My breath hitched. They were coming for me, I knew it.I knew I needed to do something, else I'd be the one begging to have her life spared.I couldn’t afford to panic. Not here, not now. Years of being on edge had taught me to think fast. As the guards started moving in my direction, I casually slipped behind a group of chatting guests. I smiled politely, pretending to laugh at a joke I didn’t hear, before slipping through a side door that led to the kitchen.Inside, I found the catering staff busy with trays of different delicacies.“You need something, ma'am?,” one of them asked
ARIES The devil was our housemate!The air in the study felt suffocating, even though the windows were cracked open to let in the cool evening breeze. Adrien paced the room, his polished shoes clicking against the hardwood floor. I sat on the edge of my desk, my arms crossed, trying to keep my temper in check.The party was over. Everyone had left, but Rochelle’s face, her voice, her very presence, was still vivid in my mind. She wasn’t just a memory anymore. She was here, alive, but hunted.We couldn’t let whoever tried to kill her succeed a second time.She had refused to tell us who it was… Or maybe she didn't have a clue who. That made our task even more complicated than it already was.Adrien stopped pacing and looked at me. “We need to start somewhere, Aries. But this isn’t just about finding the truth—it’s about protecting Rochelle. She’s already been through enough.”I nodded, my jaw tight. “Agreed. But finding the truth is the only way we can protect her. Whoever did th
ROCHELLE Finally, the truth!The more I looked at her, the more convinced I was that she was the one. It wasn’t just a resemblance. It was her. Rochelle. The woman we’d loved and lost, the woman we had mourned, the woman we’d failed to save. Yet here she was, standing next to Prince Herold as if the last three years had been nothing but a cruel dream.Beside me, Aries went rigid. His glass of whiskey trembled in his hand before he set it down on the bar with a sharp clink. “Adrien,” he whispered, his voice taut with disbelief, “tell me I’m not seeing things.”“You’re not,” I muttered, my eyes glued to her. Rochelle. Alive. Breathing. Laughing softly at something Herold said. The sight of her felt like a punch to the gut and a balm to my soul, all at once.Delight’s honeyed voice interrupted my thoughts. “Gentlemen,” she purred, sidling up to us. “You’re staring. Quite rude, don’t you think?” Her tone was light, but her eyes glinted with suspicion.Aries barely spared h