Maya de Cruz is at the lowest point of her life—her career is in ruins, her uncaring family has her backed into a corner, and her past continues to haunt her. In the depths of her despair, Maya’s world tilts when Aaric Salvaterre Bernardi—her ex boyfriend, now her sister’s fiancé—appears with an offer too tempting to resist, one that could either save her or destroy everything she once held dear. Aaric, with his deadly charm and power to subdue anyone, drags Maya back into the web of his dangerous world. What begins as a risky deal slowly turns into a seductive and inescapable game of desire. Maya struggles to suppress the emotions slowly invading her heart, but Aaric's undeniable magnetism pulls her deeper into his orbit. Every glance, every word, unravels her defenses, leaving her at war with a dilemma that threatens to shatter her principles and pride. Amidst a swirl of intrigue and dark secrets that are increasingly revealed, Maya finds herself at the crossroads between a burning forbidden love and the threat of losing herself. As reason gives way to desire, a single question lingers like a haunting melody: will Maya dare to risk it all for the man who shattered her world, yet awakened a flame within her she thought had long died?
View MoreThe morning came slowly.Sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, brushing against my skin like warm fingers that weren’t quite ready to wake me up. The air in the room was still cold, but something kept me from moving.An arm around my waist. Heavy. Warm. Familiar.Aaric.Once again, he was holding me like I was the only thing keeping him from falling. Like my body was the anchor that kept him alive.I slowly opened my eyes and glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. Almost seven. Still enough time before I had to get ready for the shoot. But my body didn’t want to move. Not yet.I thought I’d have trouble sleeping after last night—after the blood, the gunshots, and seeing the true face of Aaric’s world. But instead, I slept more soundly than I had in a long time.And that... was a problem.I took a deep breath and slowly peeled myself out of Aaric’s embrace. It wasn’t easy. He mumbled something in his sleep but didn’t wake up. His arm dropped onto the bed as I got u
My eyes swept across the room, but there was too much movement. Too many shadows. People were hiding behind chairs, tables, thick columns like the one I was behind. I started moving—crouching low, my knees nearly touching the ground—toward the wall closest to the exit.And then I heard it.“Maya!”His voice.I turned and saw Aaric across the room, half running toward me. His body was slightly hunched, one hand gripping a weapon, the other pushing aside anyone in his way. His black suit was a mess—covered in dust, wine, maybe blood—I couldn’t tell for sure.Someone blocked his path. Another armed man, a stranger’s face, clearly not one of Aaric’s people.They fought. Not just with guns. But fists. Wrestling. Punches. Aaric slammed a fist into the man’s jaw, then drove his elbow into his neck, knocking him to the ground.He came toward me. “This way!” he shouted.I rose from my hiding spot, my legs feeling like they didn’t belong to me. He grabbed me just as gunfire tore through the spo
Aaric’s black car slid smoothly through the city streets, now coming alive with the glow of night. Through the window, the lights from towering buildings and luxurious billboards created the illusion of a glittering world—a world I never truly belonged to.I sat silently beside Aaric, fingers gripping my small clutch tightly, while the red silk dress hugging my body felt too revealing, too loud. My shoulders were bare, my skin almost glowing under the soft interior lights of the car. I looked like someone who knew her place—but truthfully, I had no idea what I was doing.“I feel like I’m walking into a slaughter,” I murmured under my breath.Aaric turned to me, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “You look lethal tonight, Maya.”I scoffed and turned back to the window, but out of the corner of my eye, I could still see his gaze lingering on me. His eyes swept over my body unapologetically, like he’d carved me himself.“You’re not helping,” I muttered, feeling the heat r
Aaric didn’t say another word after that warning.He just closed the bedroom door and disappeared downstairs. Like a storm that comes without rain, just wind that steals the breath from your lungs. I stared at the door for a while, hoping he’d come back and say something, explain something—or even yell. Anything. But there was nothing. No footsteps returning.Only silence, and the hum of the AC making the room feel even emptier.I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep again.But it turned out my body was more exhausted than my mind. Or maybe it was the constant battle inside me that wore me out until I finally gave in to the soft mattress and the cold pillow.It was a little past nine in the morning when I let my eyes close completely.And I don’t know how many minutes or hours passed before I felt something else.Not a dream.Something real. Warm. Heavy. Wrapping around me from behind.That familiar scent of mint and soap.His arm curled around my waist, his strong fingers slowly slippin
I had no schedule today. For the first time in a week full of chaos, there were no production calls, no interviews, no fittings or scene rehearsals. Just an empty day… and a body far too tired to make use of it.So I decided to take a nap.The bedroom curtains were half drawn, letting in a soft light that warmed the room without being blinding. I lay down on the bed that hadn't been made since morning, my face sinking into a pillow that still held the faint scent of my shampoo, and my thoughts began to drift... slowly...Then came the sound. The door opening gently, its hinges creaking just enough to pull me out of my half-dream.That walk.I knew it. Steady, slow, and heavier than the air around me.Aaric.I didn’t open my eyes. Not yet. But I knew he was coming closer. The mattress shifted slightly under his weight as he sat at the edge of the bed. His breath was near, calm but filling the room.I kept pretending to be asleep, hoping he was just there to look... and leave. But of co
PRESENT The morning sun slipped gently through the thin curtains, painting the room with a soft golden hue. The light danced across the walls, like it was trying to wake me with careful hands.My body felt heavy. Exhausted. My muscles protested when I tried to move, and not without reason—the night had lasted too long. Far too long. As if time itself had decided to stop when Aaric dragged me into a storm of his own making.The blanket wrapped around us felt hot and thick. I could feel the warmth of his breath against the back of my neck, his strong arms coiled around my waist like chains, locking me into a hold that offered no room to retreat. Our bare skin still touched, undeniable proof of everything the night had left behind.I inhaled slowly, trying to steady the rhythm of a heart that hadn’t quite calmed down. My neck ached, my hips throbbed with a dull pulse, and one side of my body was nearly numb from being held by Aaric the entire night.Very slowly, I shifted the blanket an
The New York sky that morning looked like a crumpled canvas. Bluish gray with a faint splash of orange just starting to peek through the buildings. Light filtered slowly through the large window, uncovered by curtains. And I opened my eyes, slowly, with a head heavy like it was filled with fog.The first ten seconds were quiet. Warm.The next ten, I remembered.White linen sheets were wrapped around my waist. My skin, bare. And a hand. Long, cold once, but now warm with time, resting around my stomach from behind. Someone’s breath touched the back of my neck, steady, calm... Aaric.I froze.My body knew first. Muscles stiff. My heart... it didn’t beat slow like in the movies. It pounded. Loud. Wild. Like protest. Or confession. And my mind, slowly but surely, started piecing together the night before.Flashes of the club. Kisses in the car. His hands on my hips. Soft whispers in my room.And then...I thought I’d feel afraid. But what I found was a silence heavier than guilt.I gave s
I was dancing like a maniac, hands in the air, hair sticking to the back of my neck, eyeliner halfway down my cheeks, and I didn’t care. The music was too loud, the lights too bright, and everything was just blurry enough to make me forget who I was this morning.Until I felt someone standing too close.A guy. Tall. A bit of scruff. Wearing a black shirt that was way too tight. Grinning at me like we’d met before. Too chill. Too presumptuous."Hey," he said, stepping in a little too fast. "You here alone?"Before I could answer, a hand suddenly grabbed my waist and yanked me back like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.My back hit a chest. Solid, familiar, and hard in every sense of the word.Aaric.He wrapped his arm around my stomach like a suitcase lock.“She’s not,” he said, still smiling, but in a way that didn’t invite further conversation.The guy raised his hands slightly, took two steps back, and vanished into the crowd. And just as I opened my mouth to scold Aaric for ac
I bit into my chicken wrap with the kind of enthusiasm you’d use to chew through all your bad life decisions. The chicken was too chewy, the sauce a little too sweet. But at least it gave me an excuse not to talk.Aaric was still sitting across from me, fingers tapping the bottle cap like he was strategizing how to conquer another planet.“How about we just date?”I stopped chewing.The cafeteria suddenly felt too bright. Too real. The chicken wrap lost all its charm in an instant.I stared at him, sharp. “What?”“I mean… we’ve been—” He shrugged. “Spending time. A lot of it. You let me sleep in your bed. You steal my hoodie. We flirt. A lot. I figured… why not just make it official?”I stood up before I even realized I was standing.My chair screeched across the floor. The half-eaten wrap still in one hand. The other grabbing my sling bag.“You figured wrong.”“Maya—” he stood too, but I was already walking, fast, out of the cafeteria.My breath suddenly felt like a spark waiting to
I stood in Aaric’s living room, my heart racing as I looked at the evidence I found in my hands.A photograph. Caitlyn. She grinned, her arms wrapped around Aaric's neck. Aaric's face looked relaxed, almost smiling."What is this?" I asked, my voice flat. I tossed the photo onto the table in front of him.He looked up from his phone, his brow furrowed. "It's just Caitlyn. It's nothing.""Nothing?" I chuckled, a sound that almost resembled a mockery. I raised my hand, revealing another object I had just found in his bathroom trash can. A used condom. "And this? Also, nothing?"He stood up slowly, his eyes alternately staring at the photo and the condom. "Maya, are you serious? You're rummaging through my trash now?""I don't need to search if you don't keep this stuff like someone who wants to get caught!" I crossed my arms, my body burning with the emotions I had been holding in."Look, that picture isn't what it looks like," he said, looking at me directly. "Caitlyn pulled me in for ...
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