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Chapter 128
Last Updated:
2024-06-19 23:52:16
VictoryAnne ViceWhy can't her mom just let things be?
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Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 129
Everyone looks my way. She's so loud that it is hard to have another conversation in the room with her raging at me. I'm not even on speakerphone but you wouldn't know that by how loudly she is screaming.Quickly I rush to my bedroom and close the door. Nobody needs to hear her berate me. "What is it this time, Mother?" I am truly exhausted by all of her recent dramatics. It seems that no matter what I do I cannot do anything right. "Angelica is having a meltdown and it is all your fault," she accuses. "You need to let her get on with her life. You're done with Atlas Steele. You're pregnant and engaged to his brother! Why can't you let Angelica have her happiness?"I want to shout at her about how wrong she is. I want to ask why she doesn't love me as much as she loves her. But what would be the point? She only hears what she wants to. "Mother, I cannot control Atlas any more than I can control you," I explain. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about.""What could b
Last Updated : 2024-06-20Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 130
The room is pin-drop silent after Atlas shares his news."She wants what?!" Clark asks indignantly as if he were the one being dragged down the aisle. I feel my heart sink. Atlas is so worried about me, and about our businesses, he might just do it to help me save face. Never mind how much it will break my heart to see him go down the aisle with my sister--a vision that has haunted my dreams for years.I was never supposed to be his bride. She was. If she hadn't tried to run from her responsibilities, if she had stayed and worked things out with Atlas in the first place, that's exactly where she'd be now--married to him."I told her no," Atlas eases all of our fears. As the tension drains from all of us, he takes my hands in his. "I won't do that to you. I love you, Cordelia Steele. We might not be married anymore, but I still take my vows to you seriously.""So what do you suggest we do?" Clark demands. "We told them no, so I'm assuming you made a counteroffer?"Atlas goes over their
Last Updated : 2024-06-20Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 131
[Atlas]As I watched her walk out the door, my heart sank to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. She asked me not to follow her so I didn't. She wants her space. Needs it. This request has finally pushed her too far. I've already asked so much of her. And here I am, asking her again. "You are such an idiot," my brother shakes his head as he places a hand on my shoulder. "I mean, I already knew you were a bit of a fool, but I didn't think you were a complete moron." "Why are you two letting Angelica make such a fuss," Tilly asks, her hands on her hips, angry for the sake of her friend. "I know she's your old sweetheart, but she is a danger to herself and other people. Why hasn't she been placed in an institution better capable of meeting her needs?"She has a point. "It isn't my call to make. I am not her next of kin\," I point out. "I am not her husband." And never will be, if I can help it. Clark begins pacing, twisting his hands with nerves. "You know, before you came
Last Updated : 2024-06-20Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 132
[Cordelia]It felt so good to slam the door and walk away from all of that nonsense. Standing in the same room while Atlas continued to make excuses for Angelica was the last straw. I had told them what had happened, what I had suspected, fears I was afraid of voicing because I was worried about how Atlas would receive it only to discover it didn't matter anyway. Atlas doesn't believe me. Or he doesn't believe that I know what I see and hear with my own eyes and ears.I'm not sure what would be worse--him thinking I'm a liar or him thinking I'm foolish. And Atlas--so much for not caring if others see us, or about the world and what it might think of us and our relationship. As soon as things got difficult, he hid behind his usual "just business" mindset and used it as an excuse to not follow through. I'm not sure why I thought things would be different between us. One beautiful night together isn't enough to change a lifetime of bad habits. I should have told my mother off and hu
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 133
[Cordelia]Even though I don't know this man at all, I find it surprisingly easy to open up to Magnus. As we sat in the diner, the storm outside got stronger, and my feelings poured out of me like the torrent of rain on the street. Maybe it is because I probably won't ever see him again, but I told him everything about Atlas, my sister, and my work. He didn't have a single negative thing to say, he simply held my hand while I ate large amounts of carbs and wept about potential futures gone sour. "It'll be okay Miss Cordy," he pats my hand as my words finally slow and I finish off another waffle. "You are young. You have so much life ahead of you. Even if things do not work out between you and your young mister, there is still so much more out there for you to discover."I guess so," I sniffle, blowing my nose on a napkin and then looking around for somewhere discreet to hide it, feeling gross and a bit rude. "Sorry." He snaps his fingers and gets the attention of one of the waitstaf
Last Updated : 2024-06-22Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 134
[Atlas]Fueled by the need to find her, to tell her how wrong I was, I race out of the building and onto the street. I don't have anything on me but the clothes on my back and my phone tucked away in a pocket.With my rumpled jacket and hair, I could be anyone on the street. Nobody would mistake me for being myself. I wasn't billionaire Atlas Steele, I was just an ordinary guy desperately looking for his pregnant wife on the streets of LA."Damn it, Cordelia," I curse as I feel the wind pick up and remember that she left the house without a coat. "Where the hell did you go?""Hola senor," A sweet woman pulling in her laundry calls from her balcony. "You lost?""Un poquito," I hold up my fingers to express that I am a little bit turned around. "I am looking for my wife. I think she came this way. Very pretty, very pregnant."I make a round gesture over my belly and she laughs playfully, amused by my poor attempts at pantomime. "La bonita prenada mujer," she nods. "I see her, senor." S
Last Updated : 2024-06-23Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 135
[Cordelia]Atlas sets me off like nobody else. I don't know what it is about him that irritates me more: his constant need to be right or his knight-in-shining-armor hero complex, but I can't stand to look at him right now. Maybe Magnus is right. Maybe I need to take myself and this baby far. far away from Atlas Steele and his terrible, toxic family. Maybe I won't be able to heal myself until I have some space away from all of them. "Cordelia, please wait," Atlas calls after me in a gentle, broken voice.I turn around and he is standing where I left him, looking and lost. His clothing is wet and disheveled, his hair askew, the mark of my hand red upon his cheek.He isn't angry or worked like am. Atlas is sad."I'm sorry Cordelia," he holds out his hand. "I came out here looking for you not to take you home or tell you what you should do. I came out here to apologize."The rain is coming down in straight sheets of water, soaking us both, but neither of us seeks shelter. We both st
Last Updated : 2024-06-23Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 136
[Cordelia]When we stumble into the lobby of the Steele Imperial Hotel and Spa, I was expecting Atlas to go straight to the manager and demand the Presidential Suite. I was expecting the concierge to bow when Atlas walked in and offer us the room on a silver platter. Atlas is, after all, the owner and even if he weren't, Atlas Steele tends to get that kind of treatment wherever he goes. He just has to give people his winning smile and flash his unlimited platinum card.What I wasn't expecting was to be shunned. Not again. Not like before. But when I saw the snarl on the face of the concierge as he finally notices us waiting at the front desk, and he marches up to us like a man on a mission, I know that's exactly what is going to happen.This man intends to kick us out. As he gets closer I see he is the same guy who stopped me all those months before, thinking I was a homeless woman instead of the wife of Atlas Steele."Excuse me, sir," he looks me up and down, "Miss. We think you mi
Last Updated : 2024-06-23
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[Cordelia] Today is our 20th second anniversary. We've lost count of the first one, forgetting it entirely as a moment of sadness. Instead, we honor the day when we took our vows and meant them, 7 years later in Napa. Usually, we leave Los Angeles and take the week for just the two of us. Even after two decades, we haven't lost our hunger for one another and I look forward to our time away where we can just be two people together and in love. But this year, my husband is feeling a bit nostalgic. This is why I'm in the lobby of the Steele Hotel and Resort, recreating a memory I wish I could forget. When he sent me the cryptic text this afternoon, I confess I was more than a little bit confused. Why, of all places, would he want me to meet him there? At least this time I'm not wearing a hoodie with a dress tucked into a pair of loose sweats. And while my face is covered with large sunglasses, it's more to protect my identity and not draw too much attention. I am far too recogniza
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[Clark] "Come on. Dad!" My daughters pull me along by my arms. I've never been able to deny them anything they wanted but tonight they are asking too much. "It's only a blind date!" "Girls," I admonish, "What have I said, I'm not ready to let someone new into my heart. Your mother was more than enough for me." Cassie stares up at me with her starlight eyes, as deep and black as her mother's, and doesn't relent. "You promised you'd let us have anything we want for our birthday. Grandma helped us pick her out. You have to try, Dad. For us!" "Grandma Suzanna or Grandma Jenny?" I grump, "Who do I need to send a thank you note." "Both!" the girls giggle. "You owe us, Dad," Cassie counters. Her red curls bounce as she stomps her foot. "Do you know how weird it is to look on a DATING AP for potential girlfriends for our father? It's so gross. You should be grateful" "Yeah," Maddie chimes in, swinging her hair over her shoulder as she twists her lips just like Tilly used to, her hand
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[Jude]If the universe were fair, I wouldn't have lived to see today. If karma took her toll, I wouldn't be friends with Clark and Atlas Steele, our children growing up side by side. Once the shadow of Magnus was lifted from our shoulders, and Angelica and I were finally able to go about our lives the way we always should have been able to do, It became easier to make good with my life. Angelica and I were married shortly after Mathilda's funeral. It was a small ceremony on the family medical boat, just before the two of us set sail with our daughters, Melanie and Veronica. When the DNA showed that they were indeed my children, and NOT Magnus', that his experiment had never stuck, it was easy to adopt them. In their mind, Angelica is their mother. When they are old enough, we'll tell them the truth about Aunt Sydney, but for now, we are sparing them the burden of her insanity.And we give them love, all the love of a couple who has always wanted children of their own.Angelica, it tu
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[Cordelia]15 hours later I place my feet back in LA for the first time in 6 months. We have been gone for so long that I had forgotten how loud it is, or how oppressively hot it can be in summer. Clark met us at the runway alone, the girls with their grandparents. "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to drive you home. We could have sent a driver but," he explains, "I wanted to be the one to welcome you home." He does his best to smile, but as his melancholy grin drifts to how I hold on to my husband's hand, I can see how much this is costing him. "I'm glad it was you," I reach forward to give him a hug. "Thank you." Atlas, who has been receiving a slew of messages from Theo as soon as we landed, asks to be dropped off at the new Steele Industries building. "Looks like they need me," he apologizes, kissing my hand. "I'll make it up to you tonight," he whispers in my ear and I shiver in anticipation. "I'm going to hold you to that," I whisper discretely in his ear, trying to be mi
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[Cordelia]The rest of that day went by in a blur. I insisted we rush back to the compound even though everyone had received the news that Tilly was gone. I couldn't believe it. My mind couldn't process the possibility of a world without Mathilda Madison. She wasn't just my best friend, she was my sister. So I couldn't let her go. Clark was distraught. He and Tilly took a while to find one another, and when they did finally make the right connection, they fell for one another hard. It was beautiful watching my two best friends fall in love--they were perfect for one another. But not all stories end with a happily ever after. That was a hard lesson for me to learn as well. I wanted nothing more than to watch Tilly raise her daughters. When we made it back an hour later, her body had already been collected. I had wanted to see her, to give it a chance to see if I could have brought her back: just one touch, one spark. I was convinced that I could have been the one to save her. The
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[Sydney]Why can't they just let me die? It would be so easy, I'm already cut and bleeding. Why bother with the IVs and the monitors? It doesn't matter anymore. Did it ever matter?My entire existence has been a fraud. If my hands were free I'd count the ways on my fingertips all the ways I've been lied to and used.A madman altered my DNA and injected me into the wrong mother. I was raised believing I was special only to discover I was the offspring of my enemy. The man of my dreams was married to the daughter my mother was supposed to have, and I was just a cheap copy of the woman he once loved, my genetic twin, Angelica. Was this life ever really mine to begin with? Even now they aren't honoring my desire to die. "She needs more blood," the doctor announces over my head, her clear voice cutting through the din of the operating room chatter. "Her blood pressure has dropped to dangerous levels. We can't use the anesthesia. She'll need to be awake for the procedure."Procedure?"I d
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 401
[Clark]The dissection of Magnus' brain was one of the most intensely fascinating and uniquely horrifying things I have ever experienced. Using my computer to guide the charge, we attached wires to his brain, fed through a divide that my mother had retrieved from her vault. "This will disrupt his signal. It will keep him from making a full memory transfer. Hopefully whomever he's jumped into will have a fighting chance." Everything my mother has said since I volunteered for this task has sounded like something from a science fiction movie. The duplicates we had seen in Delilah's footage of her father's secret lab were all designed to hold Magnus's memories in an artificial extension of his life. Not all of them looked like his current body, as often it was useful for him to become someone entirely different for spying purposes. "Is this how he always seemed to know everything?" I ask aloud. We had wondered how he managed to get around all of our codes, to find ways to learn about wh
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[Cordelia]"Wally?" Holding my hand above his head, I pause, hesitating. Just a moment before I was about to take this man's life without even the smallest shred of remorse. It was necessary to protect my family. My children and my husband. "Cordelia," He blinks, his eyes roving my face and the surroundings like a caged animal. Licking his dry, salty lips, his body is otherwise completely still. "I don't have much time. He's fighting me...I..."Wally's muscles spasm, shaking Atlas as well as he holds him in place. Closing his eyes, his body stills, as if the effort of keeping still is so great that he cannot do anything else at the same time. He whispers something that I can't quite make out, so I lean in, trying to capture his words.As my hair brushes his cheek, he repeats himself. "You need to end this, Cordelia. Don't let him escape to harm another. His other mind is gone, Suzanna saw to it, but he can still jump to someone else.""Wally, what are you saying," I shake my head. "No
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[Cordelia]Atlas and I raced down the hall to the exit, soldiers moving out of our way as we passed, nobody bothering to stop us as my husband's icy glare and dominant aura kept them pinned in place. Magnus is dead and I have never been more terrified in my life. The door to the outside pushes open and we are instantly blinded by the overhead sunshine that covers the beach with an oddly bright gray that stings the eyes. It is warmer than it had been earlier, the wind having died down, trapping the moisture of impending rain, held in place by the gathering storm. "Jasper," I call out gently, scanning the beach. "Wally?""Atlas do you see Jasper?" I grab my husband's arm. His pulse is rapid beneath my fingertips as we move forward as one and find the abandoned picnic blanket and Jasper's little galoshes next to a much larger pair. "Wally!" I scream out towards the waves and find him standing in the water, at the far edge of the beach. There is no sign of my son. None. It's as if the
