Maria Dominic gave her husband everything—her love, her loyalty, her very soul—only to be discarded like yesterday’s news. Betrayed and abandoned, she never expected the man who would put her back together to be Luca Avancii—her late brother’s best friend, a man as lethal as he is untouchable. Luca never forgot the girl who used to chase after him and Johan, nor did he expect to find her on her knees, begging at another man’s feet. Maria was his. She always had been. And now? He’ll make sure she knows it. What starts as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes something much more dangerous. As Maria fights to heal from her past, she finds herself caught in the crossfire of a world ruled by power, secrets, and an ex-husband who refuses to let go. Luca built his empire with blood and fire, and he will burn the world to the ground before he lets anyone take Maria from him. But as old enemies resurface and the past refuses to stay buried, Maria is faced with an impossible choice: save the man who has become her world, or risk losing him to the deadly game of power that threatens to consume them both. A scorching romance filled with passion, betrayal, and ruthless devotion, this is the story of a woman reclaiming her strength and the man who would tear the world apart for her. WARNING: 18+ THREAD CAREFULLY.
View MoreMaria barely had the strength to push open the front door. Every inch of her body ached from the endless meetings, the relentless pressure of keeping the company afloat, and the sheer weight of existing without Luca's presence. She had tried—God, she had tried—to be strong, to hold up the empire while her husband drowned in grief. But every night, when she stepped through these doors, it became clearer that she was breaking, piece by piece.Tonight, however, something was different.The estate was darker than usual. There were no staff moving about, no distant hum of quiet conversation. The air felt thick, suffocating, almost unnatural in its silence.Then she saw him.Luca sat at the dining table, still as a statue, his back to her, staring blankly out the window into the cold abyss of the night. His usually immaculate appearance was a wreck—his shirt was wrinkled, half-unbuttoned, and his dark hair was a mess as if
By dawn, Hay Port City was in chaos.The museum explosion was just the beginning. The entire Corinder Art Museum had gone up in flames, reducing priceless paintings and sculptures to smoldering ash. First responders arrived to a scene of utter devastation—blackened ruins, bodies charred beyond recognition, smoke still curling into the night sky like the last breath of the fallen.The tabloids wasted no time."Terror Strikes Hay Port: Corinder Museum Explosion Leaves Dozens Dead!""Who Wanted the Elite of Hay Port Dead? Massacre at Exclusive Art Event!""The Mayor, The Minister, The Actresses—Who’s Behind the Slaughter of the City's Most Powerful?"The headlines screamed conspiracy. Politicians whispered behind closed doors, the wealthy holed up in their mansions with doubled security, and the police scrambled for suspects. But no one had answers. No threats had been made. No terrorist groups had clai
By 1 PM, the news broke."Gina Frazer, General Secretary of SpitFire Technologies, confirmed dead after a tragic explosion at a local hospital. Authorities suspect foul play."Her name was everywhere. On TV. In tabloids. On social media. A photo of her—cold, lifeless—flashed across every screen. People mourned. Investors panicked. And behind the headlines, enemies celebrated.It was the second tragedy in less than a week.Just days ago, Grace Kale—wife of Edwards Kale and Co-Ceo of Kale Industries had been found dead in her prison cell after being arrested for stabbing Gina Frazer. Some called it karma. Others called it cover-up. But now, both women were gone, and the war between SpitFire Technologies and Kale Industries was about to get bloodier.Luca didn’t attend the press conferences. He didn’t make a statement. He didn’t show up in public to demand justice.He did nothing.Not a single tear.Not a
The location of the prototype was a secret buried so deep that only three people knew the truth—Gina Frazer, Luca Avancii, and Horace "Horus" Hill, Luca’s right-hand man in the underground.No one else was supposed to know.But now, someone thought they did.The events leading to this moment had begun years ago, deep within the bloody hierarchy of Hay Port’s underworld. Back then, Luca had been a rising force, a young hitman and recruiter with an instinct for power. He had served under his boss, the second-in-command of the Hay Port gang, a man ruthless enough to survive but not strong enough to reach the top. That weakness had cost him his life.His death hadn’t been a clean one. It hadn’t been honorable.He had been executed—murdered by the son of the gang’s first-in-command in a power move meant to secure his own ascension. But if the son thought he could take what wasn’t his, he had made a fatal mistake.L
Luca’s hands gripped Maria’s waist as he lifted her onto the edge of her desk, his touch firm, commanding. His dark eyes drank her in, filled with an insatiable hunger.“You look good like this,” he murmured, sliding his hands up her thighs, pushing her dress higher. His fingers brushed over the small swell of her stomach, pausing there, possessive. “Full of me.”Maria exhaled, her breath uneven. “You’re staring again.”Luca smirked, fingers slipping between her legs, teasing the damp heat beneath. “Damn right, I am. You’re carrying my child, Marie.” His voice dropped, a rough, possessive rasp. “Do you know how fucking hot that is?”Maria shivered, gasping softly as he stroked her slowly, deliberately. “Luca—”“Shh.” His fingers curled, rubbing her just right, making her body tense. “I want to feel how much you need me.”She let out a breathless moan, hips shifting against his hand.Luca groaned, leaning in, his lips bru
Edwards Kale sat in his office, gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. The muted hum of the city outside did nothing to drown out the chaos storming inside his head. His wife was dead. His company was unraveling. And everywhere he turned, Luca Avancii's shadow loomed over him like a damn executioner.He knew Luca did it.Grace was a lot of things-jealous, possessive, reckless-but she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't have taken a knife to Luca's secretary without thinking she could walk away unscathed. But now she was gone. Shot dead in a police cell, with no evidence, no witnesses, and no trail leading back to her killer. The security cameras had conveniently gone into a system upgrade overnight, and there wasn't a single damn guard with a straight answer.It was Luca.But how?How much power did Luca Avancii actually have?A knock on the door shattered his thoughts. Edwards clenched his jaw, already knowing who it was before the man stepped inside."Mr. K
Luca had been nineteen when he found her.Back then, he was already making a name for himself in Hay Port’s underworld. A rising star in the mafia, one of the best hitmen they had, feared for his efficiency, respected for his brutality. He was young, too young to have as much blood on his hands as he did, but he had been climbing the ranks steadily, determined to carve a place for himself.Determined to find her.Maria.He had spent every spare moment searching for her, following trails that led to dead ends, chasing whispers that always faded before he could reach them. He had no family, no roots, nothing except the memory of the girl he had sworn to protect.And then, in the middle of all that chaos, he met Gina.That night had been another routine job—accompanying his boss, the second-in-command of Hay Port’s mafia, to an underground auction. It was nothing unusual. These men bought and sold everything: drugs, weapons, secrets. And people.Luca had been standing just behind his bo
Maria sat frozen in the hospital hallway, her fingers trembling as she stared at her hands. Gina’s blood had dried in streaks across her palms, dark and crusted against her skin. No matter how many times she wiped them against her skirt, the sensation wouldn’t leave.The scent of antiseptic filled her nose, but beneath it, she could still smell the metallic tang of blood. It clung to her, to her clothes, to her skin.She had never felt so helpless.The bright fluorescent lights overhead buzzed softly, the only sound in the eerily quiet corridor. Nurses moved in and out of rooms, their voices hushed, their steps careful. The world continued around her, but Maria felt stuck in place, unable to breathe, unable to move.Gina was in surgery.She had been rushed into the emergency operating room almost the moment they arrived, doctors and nurses working frantically to stabilize her before she was wheeled away. Maria had barely caught a glimpse of her face—pale, lifeless, her body unnatur
Maria leaned back in her chair, fingers drumming lightly against the smooth glass surface of her desk. The weight of responsibility never truly left her shoulders, but today, it pressed down a little heavier. She needed two assistants—one to help with A√ancii, and another to help her manage the HR division of SpitFire Technologies. Both roles were equally demanding, requiring people who were sharp, efficient, and, above all, trustworthy.She exhaled, tilting her head slightly as she thought about everything she had already accomplished. The SpitFire penthouse was her idea—one of the first major changes she had implemented as CHRO. Housing in Hay Port was expensive, and she had seen firsthand how employees struggled to keep up with rent while working long hours. Some lived far from the headquarters, and their daily commute often resulted in tardiness, exhaustion, and reduced productivity. It had been a problem no one had taken seriously, but Maria had.The penthouse changed everyth
Maria Dominic never thought she would end up on her knees. Not in front of him. Not in front of the man she had loved, trusted, sacrificed for. But here she was—kneeling on the cold, immaculate marble floors of Edwards Kale’s office, her dignity slipping away with every second that passed. Her hands trembled as she clenched them into fists against her thighs. She had come here for justice, for fairness, for something that resembled the years she had lost. But as she looked up at the man seated in his oversized leather chair, all she saw was apathy. Edwards leaned back, exhaling slowly as he swirled the amber liquid in his glass. The sound of ice clinking against crystal felt like a hammer against her skull. His navy-blue suit was perfectly tailored, his golden cufflinks gleaming under the warm office lights. Everything about him screamed power, wealth, control. Everything about her felt powerless. “Get up, Maria,” Edwards said, his tone flat, emotionless. “You’re embarrassing you...
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