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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: CHASE GRAYSON.
Last Updated:
2025-01-11 11:23:43
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AXEL’S POV:Chase’s hand hovered awkwardly in the space between us for a moment longer, his smile faltering. He didn’t retract it right away, as though hoping I’d reconsider, but I didn’t. Instead, I folded my arms across my chest and said, "I don’t do handshakes." The words came out like steel, cutting clean through the fake pleasantries he’d tried to establish. His face flushed slightly before he tucked his hand into his pocket, attempting to hide the embarrassment that even his demeanor couldn’t mask. Recovering quickly, he cleared his throat and gestured to the couple standing behind him. "Allow me to introduce you to my parents." His mother stepped forward first, her smile wide and artificial, as though it had been practiced in the mirror before this meeting. She gave a small, excited wave, punctuated by a giggle that grated on my nerves. "Hello, Mr. Blackwood!" she chirped. "It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. Chase has told us so much about you!" Her overly eage
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AXEL’S POV:"I’m sorry about that," he said, his voice dripping with insincerity. "It seems you were too lenient with her. She needs to know who is in charge. However you want me to compensate you for her troubles, I will." There was so much venom in his tone that it caught even me off guard. This was a man who had spent five years married to Avery, and yet there wasn’t a shred of care or remorse in his voice. To him, she was nothing more than an object—a tool to be used and discarded at his convenience. I studied him for a moment, my eyes falling on the black band on his wedding finger. "I see you replace them like clothes," I noted, mockery in my tone. "Already onto your second marriage, and to her sister, no less. What’s so special about that family that you keep taking their daughters?" Chase’s chest puffed up with pride, as though he had accomplished something worth celebrating. "They’re just pawns in the bigger game," he said, his tone smug. "The kids are gullible."
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AXEL’S POV:The flashlight’s beam cut through the dimness, revealing rows of neatly stacked bags, each meticulously labeled. I opened one, inspecting the dried herbs within. They were fragile, their leaves a unique shade of deep green with veins that shimmered faintly under the light. This plant was rare—found only in the most remote corners of the world. Its value lay in its potential, though few knew the extent of it. Satisfied, I exited the container, stripping off the gear and tossing it aside. Bruno stood a few inches away. His short, stout frame seemed to expand, taking up more space than his actual size warranted. His broad shoulders and barrel chest strained against the seams of his tight-fitting shirt, giving him a faintly menacing appearance.His overbearing presence was suffocating. The faint scent of his overpowering cologne further amplifying his already overwhelming presence. His very proximity was almost unbearable. I hated it. “Everything’s in order,” I announced
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AXEL’S POV:From the moment the door creaked open, humiliation poured in like a flood. They hadn’t just locked me away—they’d stripped me of every shred of dignity, leaving me stark naked and freezing in this damp concrete cell. Axel’s men treated me like a toy, their sickening laughter echoing as they took turns hurling crude comments and vile advances my way. Even now, their eyes raked over my bruised, filthy body with revolting hunger, as if my brokenness made me more desirable. My skin reeked from days without a shower, my teeth unbrushed, my breath stale. I could feel my bladder screaming, the pain sharpening with every second I couldn’t relieve it. I prayed for death—but death didn’t come. And here I was again, cornered by two of them. One grinned as he unzipped his pants, exposing himself like it was a joke. "I don’t know why the boss hasn’t let us have our fun yet," he sneered. "I can’t wait to tear you apart with my big dick." The other, a hulking figure with dreadloc
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AVERY’S POV:“Follow me,” Axel ordered, the first words he’d spoken since entering the room. Without another glance, he turned his back to me, striding toward the door with the unyielding confidence of someone who expected obedience. I stood frozen, my mind a whirlpool of indecision. My gaze flitted between the lifeless bodies sprawled on the ground, the coat draped over aching skin, and Axel’s broad shoulders retreating ahead of me. Should I stay here, in this concrete hellhole where at least I knew what to expect? If death was inevitable, would it be easier to face it here, where I could see it coming? Or should I follow him, trading one unknown for another, gambling on the faintest possibility of survival? I inhaled shakily, perceiving the metallic tang of blood and my own sweat. My knees screamed in protest as I forced myself to stand. My legs wobbled beneath me like a newborn fawn’s, unsteady and weak after days of immobility. Every muscle in my body felt as though it had
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AXEL’S POV:The door creaked slightly as I pushed it open, revealing a modest bathroom. I clicked the door shut behind me and leaned heavily against it despite the sting in my legs. My chest heaved as I exhaled, eyes darting over the bathroom's simple layout. The tiles were spotless, gleaming under the soft glow of recessed lighting. A simple shower stall stood in the corner, its glass door streak-free. On the counter beside the sink, neatly folded towels and small bottles of shampoo and body wash awaited me, their clean, floral scent a reminder of how desperately I needed them. Stripping off Axel's jacket, I tossed it onto the floor and grabbed the new toothbrush sitting on the counter. For the first time in what felt like days, I allowed myself the luxury of slowness. Each stroke of the toothbrush over my teeth was methodical, each swish of mouthwash a small victory. I even took my time flossing, savoring the strange normalcy of it. The shower beckoned next. Stepping under the
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AXEL’S POV:"You missed a spot," Avery muttered, her audacity stretching as she reached up with her small, trembling hand. Before I could react, she brushed at the edge of my eyepatch, her fingers skimming the streak of egg that clung there. The slap came before I even registered my own movement, a crack that reverberated in the room. She staggered, clutching the edge of the bed for balance, her lip now split and bleeding. Crimson beads welled at the corner of her mouth, and she swiped at them with the back of her hand, glaring up at me with those fiery, rebellious eyes. Damn her. She knew exactly how to push me to the brink, poking at corners of my patience I didn’t even know existed. I wasn’t one to raise my hand to women—if punishment was needed, my men handled it. But Avery was different. Something about her grated against every carefully maintained wall I had, stripping away my control until all that remained was untethered rage. I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling. I hadn
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AVERY'S POV:There was always more to Axel Blackwood. He was a maze of secrets, each one more shocking than the last. But this? This was the mother of them all. Laurent was his father. Chase, his stepbrother and Zora, the witch, his stepmother. Which meant Axel was the true firstborn. The rightful heir to everything Chase thought belonged to him. I wanted to confront him. Badly. And for once, I felt like I actually could. Probably because I was three bottles deep into a very fine wine. Maybe four. My head was fuzzy, my limbs light, and my courage… well, let’s just say it was making some very questionable choices. Ryan didn’t seem to care. He stood in the corner, arms crossed, his gloved hands tucked beneath his sleeves as he watched me with his usual unreadable expression. He had long since stopped trying to take the glass away from me. "Let's go," Axel’s voice disrupted my thinking.I barely had time to blink before Devon was at my side, steadying me before I could make a compl
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AXEL’S POV:Ryan was there to bitch around.Typical. Yes, I trusted him—hell, he was my second in command. But there were lines, boundaries between what I carried alone and what I shared. Some things rotted better inside me. But lately, keeping him in the dark felt less like protection and more like betrayal. If I shut him out again, I wouldn’t just be undermining his position. I’d be spitting on our friendship.Before he could even part his lips, I cut in. "I know you're about to ask what the hell is going on." Leaning against the wall, arms crossed tight over his chest, Ryan narrowed his eyes like he was staring down a puzzle missing half its pieces. "That's right. Make it make sense, Axel. Why the obsession with the Grayson empire? Why put her in charge? And why the hell risk exposing our intel like that? You know better. Now we’re a damn target." I turned away, walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Afternoon sunlight poured through, casting long shadows across the floo
THE WIFE YOU LEFT CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN: SERVING JUSTICE.
The enmity between us was thick enough to choke on—and I could feel every single eye in the room pinned on our collision. My voice cut through the tension like a razor. "You're not my mother. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you’re even a mother. Which mother sleeps with her son-in-law?" My words thundered over the murmurs. "I should've known something was awry all those times you and that radical went on 'business trips.' They were nothing but excuses—a time and place for your adultery. You deserve to be skinned alive and tossed into a hole with the wolves. You’re a filthy whore." Before her venom could settle, she spat back, voice dripping with rage, "Just because some man is in your life, you think you're untouchable? Avery, I'll destroy you." Her threat barely had time to echo when a deep, authoritative voice interceded. "At least you got one thing right—she’s untouchable." I turned slowly toward the source, and there stood Axel. His eyes burned with fury, and his
THE WIFE YOU LEFT CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX: CUTTING TIES.
AVERY’S POV: As I stepped away from the murmuring crowd, the soft click of my sunglasses slipping into place was like a switch, switching off voices and opinions that threatened to consume me. The opulent room, with its lavish furnishings and subtle scent of old money, seemed to fade into the background as my mind began to reel. The question that had been bothering me finally boiled to the surface: why was Axel, the puppeteer, pulling the strings with such leniency? Oh my god, it was like he was setting me up or something! Axel had always been a master manipulator, but this was on a whole different level. He had basically handed me the keys to Grayson, a company he had funneled millions into. It was just... too easy. Axel wasn't exactly known for his altruism. He was enjoying this particular drama. There had to be a catch, right? But what if I had just been paranoid? What if he had really wanted to keep to his words. Ugh, my head had spun just thinking about it. I felt like a pawn
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AXEL'S POV:The more I tried to run from this little, 4-foot-8-inch woman, the more she dragged me in. Trapped me. Like gravity itself had shifted and Avery was now the center of it all. I've sat at tables with men who built empires and women who could make nations bend. But none of them ever made me pause. None of them ever made me watch the way Avery did. Tonight, power looked good on her. Too good. The way she stood behind that podium, shoulders square, chin tilted slightly upward as if daring the room to challenge her—God, it was magnetic. The chandeliers above across the room couldn’t outshine her. Arms folded across my chest, I observed her every move with rapt attention. She exuded power—elegant yet unyielding—and it was as if the entire room had shrunk in comparison to her presence.A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. I already knew she was going to turn this room inside out. And when she greeted Chase with, “Hello, ex-husband,”—just like that, I knew the game w
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AVERY'S POV:I couldn’t keep still. Every nerve in my body vibrated, adrenaline pulsing under my skin. My heart pounded so loudly it practically echoed in the back of the limousine. I kept telling myself to calm down, but that was impossible. This was it. All night, I’d gone over the documents Axel left for me. I read every word. Every clause. Every line that spelled out the downfall of my enemies especially Chase. And by morning, my decision was easy. Now, dressed in the designer outfit Axel had picked out, with diamonds on my wrist and revenge in my heart, I knew exactly how today would end—no matter what the headlines said. Because the headlines... God, the headlines were a joke. "Grayson Empire Bounces Back!""Astrid Grayson Saves Husband from Ruin!""Power Couple of the Year!" I nearly rolled my eyes. We pulled up to Grayson Empire’s headquarters. The press swarmed the front entrance. Cameras flashed nonstop. Reporters barked out questions as if Chase was some war he
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AXEL’S POV: Sea would one day ask for my already dying heart, and I wouldn't hesitate to give it to her. First, she asked for a baby brother or sister while we cooked yesterday. And today, just as I settled into my home office to review the documents from my lawyers concerning the Grayson empire—my gift to Avery—Sea walked in with her usual sunshine. After wrapping her little arms around me in greeting, she made her requests. “Daddy, let’s have a family day today. I want to spend time with you and Avery. Also… I don’t like being far from Avery. I need to be close to her,” she said, pouting slightly. “Could you get her to move closer to us? Maybe into the empty room next to ours?” It was impossible to deny her. So here I was, already dressed and heading out to meet them by the car. The shock on Avery’s face when she spotted me was satisfying. No one had expected me to tag along, and I kept our security detail minimal—Devon, Baron, and five others. I didn’t want Sea to feel o
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AVERY'S POV:I lay on my bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, trying to make sense of it all. My throat still ached from Axel’s grip, the phantom sensation lingering like a cruel reminder. But the pain wasn’t just physical. It was in the way he’d looked at me—as if I had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed. I had taken this too far. Letting myself get comfortable in a world that wasn’t mine. I should have known better than to call Sea my daughter, even as a joke. Even as something that felt natural in the moment. But it wasn’t natural. None of this was. The flour fight, the laughter, the warmth of sitting at the dinner table like a family—it had all been an illusion. And I had let myself sink into it too easily. Like a fool. Axel wasn’t the kind of man who softened, and I had been stupid to forget that. I’d let his presence seep into my thoughts, let the accidental brushes of his touch unsettle me. And for what? A fleeting warmth that was never meant for me? For
