༺RAYNE༻ Sabrina scrambles out of her seat and quickly goes to Lucas, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other hand on his chest, trying to comfort him. At the same time, Liam supports Lucas’ back with his hand, wrapping his arm around him gently. “Grandfather!” Liam yells again, his hands frantic, his voice tainted with panic. I get up as well, my mouth falling open. I feel bad for the old man as I watch him still struggling to breathe, his face turning a scary shade of purple. “Get the doctor!” Sabrina screams painfully at a maid, “Quickly, he’s not breathing, oh God, hurry!” The maid takes a step back, her hands fluttering up to her mouth as if to stifle a scream, her eyes fixed on Lucas’ purple face. It’s Liam’s turn to shout at her, “What the fuck are you still standing there for, move! Get the doctor, now!” Her eyes dart around the room and she starts running towards the door. She knocks over a chair in her haste, causing a loud clatter to echo in the dining room. S
༺RAYNE༻ The view from the balcony is breathtakingly expansive unlike ours which is more intimate and secluded. Ours is beautiful nonetheless. I get to see the sunset over the gardens whenever I'm relaxing on the chaise lounge there, but here I see the entire city skyline stretching out before me. I'm sitting on a gold-coloured luxurious lounge chair in the balcony all alone. Liam suggested we spent the night here and I couldn't complain. He was on the phone and the conversation seemed to go on forever so I slipped out here for some fresh air. The chilly air seeps into my skin and I shudder, feeling goosebumps on my body. I rub my arms and snuggle up in the chair, my eyes glued to the glittering city lights. “I see you found my favourite spot,” Liam's voice jolts me a little. I turn to see him stepping into the balcony. His eyes crinkle at the corners as he gazes at the view. He settles in a chair beside me, his elbow softly brushing my arm and then bores his eyes into mine. “Thi
༺RAYNE༻ “You're so cold,” Liam soughs after pulling away from me. I'm breathless from our intense kiss. Our lips have been glued together and our tongues have been rolling with each other for quite a long time now. My head is spinning and my breathing is shallow yet I want to taste him again. “Why'd you stop?” I whine and put my hands on his neck, tugging his body back to mine. His lips graze my trembling ones before he pulls back again. “We really need to get you inside. You're freezing.” “Fine, but I want you to warm me up,” I whisper against his lips, digging my nails in his hair. “Take me inside and fuck the chill off me.” God, I sound like a desperate nymph! But do I care? No, not at all. I want this man so badly right now like a person on fire wants water, like a drowning person wants air. He hasn't touched me since we came back from Paris. It's been two weeks. Two weeks of torture, with him so close yet so far away. I'm so freaking turned on now. I might be freezing on
༺RAYNE༻ “What about the way you look at me, Liam?” I gulp and search for the right words to carry on. “The way you're looking at me now like I'm the only one that matters and how you stared at me a while back when you called me your wife... It's like you're hooked on me now, as if you can't get enough of me like you said. And that's a lot different from how you used to look at me.” He can't keep warning me not to fall for him when in fact, he's acting like he's head over heels in love with me. “This is exactly why I had to keep you at arm's length. You mistake my duties for love, Rayne. You think I'm invested in you but I'm just doing my job. I'm protecting you, providing for you, and yes, satisfying your needs as well as mine. But that's all part of the arrangement, not some romantic feeling.” Liam can be such a party pooper! One minute he's kissing me like he means it and the next he's pushing me away. He's telling me not to fall for him, but his actions say otherwise. But of
༺RAYNE༻ One Week Later... Waking up naked in Liam's arms is such an incredible feeling. It's surreal, like I'm dreaming. But the way his arms curve around my body, his fingers grazing my breasts and the soft beating of his heart against my ear tell me that it's real. I smile and gaze at his face. He's still asleep, his tousled hair falling over his forehead, giving him a perfectly imperfect charm. His chest rises and falls with each slow breath. I place my forefinger on his forehead and trace light patterns down to his nose and then to his lips, tracing the soft outline of his mouth. Liam suddenly stirs awake, his eyelids flutter open and his lips part slightly, letting out a sleepy, sensual sigh. Immediately, I take my hand off him and rest my head on the bed, shutting my eyes. I let out a soft, fake snore, trying to convince him I'm still asleep, hoping he won't notice I was just touching him. Liam gets up a little and drops his head to my ear. “I know you're awake, Rayne. And
༺RAYNE༻Liam comes out of the bathroom stark naked and starts towelling off. Afterwards, he begins to get ready for work. I stare at him longingly, slightly sad that I won't be seeing him until tonight.Does he have to go? I get so bored all alone in this huge mansion and it makes me think about him even more and how much I wish he was here with me. I feel empty and restless whenever I see him walk out the door.I don't know when I started to feel this way. I wonder if he ever feels like that too when he's at work, far away from me.Now wearing a pair of black Calvin Klein briefs, Liam strides to his walk-in closet. The muscles in his broad back ripple as he moves, making my heart flutter. Despite my best efforts, my heart is doing somersaults in my chest, refusing to listen to reason. I'm falling for Liam and it scares me. I don't know how to handle these feelings, especially when I'm supposed to be keeping this all casual.I watch Liam take out a grey suit and a black one, glancing
༺RAYNE༻ Before Liam gets back from work, I prepare him a nice dinner, his favourite meals—jellied eels, a beef and ale pie and a side of mashed potatoes with a drizzle of gravy. And for dessert, a warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. As soon as I finish setting the table, I hear the sound of the helicopter landing on the private helipad outside. My heart skips a beat and does a little flip. He's home. Finally! I take a deep breath, smoothing out my dress and head to the entrance hall to greet him. I try not to let my excitement get the better of me so I put on a chill face in order to downplay it. But inside I'm eager to see him. “Welcome home,” I say the moment he enters the house. The nonchalance in my voice is so evident Liam gives me a once-over and stops in front of me. “Thank you.” We don't say anything else to each other before he goes to the bedroom to freshen up. Jonathan walks in with the lunchbox that I had packed for Liam's lunch. I take it from him and
༺RAYNE༻ I insert the keys into the locks, my hands slightly shaking in fear or what I'd find inside. This is just like the stuff I read in novels, where the wife discovers her husband is a serial killer with a room filled with the gruesome remains of his victims, female dead bodies. “No,” I mutter, shaking my head. That's impossible. There's no way Liam is a serial killer. But then the way he acts sometimes, his mysterious and dangerous aura and his unapologetic behaviour makes this even more plausible. I open the locks one by one with ease and then remove the chain around the door. And that's when his footsteps approach, heavy and deliberate. They come to a stop right behind me, his presence making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I freeze. My heart drops on the floor and I spin my head around to see who I already know is standing there. “Liam,” his name comes out in a barely heard whisper. “I see you found the keys,” he says calmly and in a completely neutral ton
༺RAYNE༻ Liam catches me from behind and wraps his big arms around me, his lips finding their way to my neck. My lips curve into a full smile and I lean back against him, my hand instinctively reaching up to hold his head. My heart does a triple flip, like a gymnast performing an impossible routine. It’s always been like this—this magnetic pull between us, the chemistry that could launch a thousand ships. He's really here. “Liam?” I breathe, not quite believing my eyes (or ears). I mean, how can this be? He's not back until two months from now. That's what he told me. But now, here he is, arms wrapped around me and smelling like home. He chuckles against my neck, his lips tickling the skin. “Surprise.” “Daddy!” Lucas squeals as if only just seeing him. Liam's arms tear away from me and spread out to our son as he leans down. Lucas jumps into his arms, giggling like a little maniac. Liam lifts him up and tosses him up a bit, making the kid laugh even harder. I just smile at the
༺RAYNE༻ FOUR YEARS LATER... “Lucas! Get down from the couch right now!” I shout, trying to catch my son's attention as he climbs and jumps around on the furniture in our living room. My little ball of energy is at it again. He acts like the house is his personal jungle gym, always trying to give me a heart attack with his death-defying antics. It's like he thinks he's part monkey. “No, Mummy! King of the mountain!” he booms, smiling and puffing his chest. “Lucas! You're going to break something, either the furniture or yourself! Get down, this instant!” I sprint across the living room, my feet pounding the marble floor. Lucas' loud giggles fills the room when he darts to the left, his brown hair bouncing with each jump. Just as I think I've got him cornered, he leaps on the coffee table and uses it as a springboard to launch himself on the floor. I swoop down, arms outstretched but he's too quick. He zigzags around the couch cushion, his grey eyes glinting. “Look, Mummy!” He's
༺LIAM༻ “You'll only get it over our dead bodies,” a voice booms from the shadows, making everyone snap their heads in that direction. Finally. They're here. Thanks to the distraction, I snatch the gun from the fucker who's supposed to keep me in check and point it at him. He staggers backwards, his hands up in surrender when I point it at him. “Took you long enough,” I say to none other than Daniel and Leo as they walk in. Both their heads are held high, shoulders straight and their faces contorted in rage. They take their places at my sides, flanking me. Sabrina's goons all aim at us, ready to fire but none of us are fazed. “Better late than never,” Daniel replies, his furious gaze darting between Sabrina and Oscar. “You turned out to be a bottom-feeding leech after all, Oscar, a worthless nobody, like I thought you were from the very first day I saw you. But I never would've thought that you were Sabrina's pussy-munching weasel, feeding off her cunt and her scraps just to kee
༺LIAM༻ “I'm here,” I rasp, holding my phone to my ear and staring at the papers in my hand. I've just gotten out of my car, now in front of a crumbling shithole of a building that's barely standing. It's the location I was given. It seems like a rat-infested dump with broken windows, rusty metal beams, and a door that looks like it hasn't been opened in years. There are overgrown weeds and trash around it, the perfect hideout for the sick fuck who's got my wife. I can't fucking believe that they'd bring Rayne to this shithole of a place. It makes my blood boil. The son of a bitch on the other end of the line, the same altered, robotic voice, chuckles and then replies, “Good. Now follow the lights inside. Walk straight, don't look around.” I do what I'm told. Not because I'm scared, but because they’ll harm Rayne if I don't. It's the only reason I'm not charging in and getting my wife out. It's the only reason I'm not burning this building down to the ground. And it's the sa
༺RAYNE༻Fuck! My head hurts!That stupid bodyguard hit me hard on my cheek with his freaking sledgehammer of a fist. I fell and hit my head on the ground. I can swear I heard my own brain rattle against my skull.I'd kicked him in his groin while trying to get away and that's what earned me the slap that knocked me out cold. Thankfully, my baby is safe, or so I pray, since I don't feel any sharp pains.Opening my eyes, I realize that I've been brought to an unknown room with dingy walls and a single flickering light. I'm tied to a chair with ropes too thick and rough to slip out of.How long have I been out? And Liam! I know he's definitely looking for me right now. My heart squeezes painfully at the thought that I might not make it out of here alive. That I might never see him again.I'm scared for myself and for my baby. After seeing how Sabrina disrespected Lucas and after overhearing her and Oscar, I don't think she would think twice before getting rid of me. She might not even ba
༺LIAM༻ “We've searched the entire building, boss. We couldn't find her.” Another useless report. I drive my fist into the nearest wall and clench my teeth as I feel my knuckles burn from the impact. This is nothing though, compared to the pain of not being able to find my wife. And my unborn child. “What do you mean you couldn't find her?” I glare at the imbeciles in front of me. “She's in the goddamn hospital, not a fucking maze! How hard is it to track down one woman?” The men around me look down, avoiding eye contact like a bunch of fucking idiots. Useless, every last one of them. I don't even know why I bother wasting my time with these incompetent fools. “Get out of my sight!” I bark at them. Pacing like a caged animal, with my fists clenched and my hair ruffled, my mind is going all ape-shit with worry. I'm losing my mind, in fact! Everything was fine minutes ago. Rayne went back to my grandfather's room to get her purse while I answered a call from the office. I stayed
༺RAYNE༻ Lucas Everhart. The man who took Liam as his own and raised him to be the confident and successful man he is today. That same man is actually my grandfather, my only living blood relative. It still sounds unbelievable. I'm sitting beside him, holding his hand in mine and watching his chest gently expand and contract. The hospital monitors are tracking his every heartbeat. There are so many tubes and wires attached to him. The sight is heart-wrenching. “I just found you,” my voice breaks in a fragile whisper, “please don't leave me now. You can't.” This man has been kind to me since day one and now that I know I'm his granddaughter, I feel a deep connection to him. But Lucas... He's always felt that kind of connection to me. It's like he sensed it all along. Even Liam was stunned by how Lucas treated me. I still remember the old man's reaction the very first time he laid his eyes on me. He froze, wide-eyed and dropped his cane. Then he told me I looked familiar and asked
༺RAYNE༻ “Do you remember what Dr Gareth said about your HLA compatibility with Grandfather?” Liam asks, after keeping me in suspense for almost a minute. I nod and muse, “Yes, he said I was an exact match, 10/10 HLA compatibility, which is extremely rare, especially since we're not biologically related.” That's exactly how the doctor said it. But I don't understand why Liam's suddenly interested in that. Could it be that the doctors made a mistake and the transplant wasn't successful, like we all thought and Lucas' condition is worsening? Oh God! “What has that got to do with what you're about to tell me, Liam? Did the doctors find something abnormal in the tests they ran after the transplant, something that changes everything?” That has to be the only explanation. It's Liam's turn to nod. “Yes but it's not what you think. It's a lot more complicated. I don't even know how it's fucking possible.” He sighs and clasps both of his hands around mine. “Rayne, you're not who you thin
༺RAYNE༻ “Well, Doctor? What does it say?” My anxiety is killing me. Despite Liam's refusal and the doctor's warnings, I got tested for the bone marrow transplant. The results are out, apparently and Dr Gareth has been frozen since he summoned us all. “Are you going to speak or not?” Liam's impatient, angry voice snaps, making Dr Gareth almost jump. “Come on, doc, spill it already!” The doctor lifts his eyes from the reports and stares at me. “Ma'am, the results indicate that you are a match.” A loud gasp tears out of my lips. Even though I hoped I'd be a match, it's so hard to believe it. I'm an actual match! Liam's eyes are too wide, he's having a harder time believing it. And the same goes for the rest of the family. None of them can process it either—they're all stuck in shock, staring at me like I'm the miracle they never thought would happen. And I am. “Did you just say that my wife is a match?” Liam's face crumples. Dr Gareth nods in astonishment. “Yes, that's right. And