ROMAN FOUR DAYS AGO… The sketch in my hand trembled as realization crashed over me like a wave of ice water. Those familiar features, that seemingly warm smile that had never quite reached his eyes – Vincent. Pierce! Our fucking neighbor?! The man who had wormed his way into our lives after
ROMAN My finger tightened instinctively on the trigger as I studied my cousin, but something in his relaxed posture made me hesitate. He moved with an uncanny grace as he stepped closer, his cane barely touching the ground, more an accessory than a necessity. When he removed his sunglasses, I under
"Are they?" Nikolai asked softly. "Look at yourself, cousin. Six days of sleepless nights, running yourself ragged, letting your emotions cloud your judgment. You're playing right into their hands." "Then what do you suggest?" I snarled, taking a threatening step forward. Nikolai didn't flinch. In
ROMAN The mining complex loomed before us in the early morning light, a hulking mass of concrete and rusted metal that seemed to devour the shadows around it. I crouched behind a piece of machinery, my body coiled tight with anticipation as I watched the guards make their rounds through my scope.
AMELIA Over a week had passed since I'd first woken in this goddamn bedroom, though time had begun to lose all meaning. The hope I'd initially clung to – that Roman would find me, that someone would notice my absence and come to my rescue – had slowly withered away like flowers left too long with
AMELIA A FEW DAYS LATER… Isabella had kept her word. After the meeting with Mr. Rossi and a few others who Isabella failed to mention, she didn't send me back to the building I was locked up in. She gave me two flight tickets and told me to make a choice, one sent me back home and the other…was
AMELIA I cried myself back to sleep, my body was far too exhausted to do anything else. When I came to, Roman wasn't in the bedroom with me. Our bedroom. I was back home. It felt surreal seeing the familiar walls, the sheets, the scents. Everything made my eyes prickle with tears and the iron
The thought of Roman losing control made my chest ache. I knew how he could get when his emotions overwhelmed him, knew the darkness he fought to keep at bay. "How bad was he? Really?" Maria led me toward the kitchen, her grip steady and supportive. "Bad enough that when this cousin appeared, even
AMELIA TWO YEARS LATER… I was twenty-seven years old, younger than my mother was when she had me, and five years older than she was when my grandfather entrusted the Guerrero family's responsibility to her. Despite trying my best not to think about her, everything I did, everywhere I walked in It
"And sitting back and doing nothing is better?" My voice rose, a mixture of frustration and desperation. "I'm tired of being the victim. Tired of being passed around like a piece of property, like something to be traded and bartered." His blue eyes flashed. "I would never let that happen to you aga
AMELIA Why was I so hesitant? I had been sure of my choices, I had accepted that it was what I really wanted and what I needed. But sitting here, with his head on my shoulder and his eyes looking so distant, I couldn't bring myself to say a word. Nothing. “Amy?” “Hm?” Roman raised his hea
Hi! Its me Dchenemi but you already know that lol. I want to thank you for sticking with this book this far and answer a few questions. Firstly O would like to apologize for the lack of updates, I have ongoing exams and I'm unable to focus on writing while the pressure of getting good grades are
AMELIA My mother had always told me I was destined for great things, and at some point in my life, I thought it was being a well-established painter or perhaps a tycoon like she wished to be. But now I realized what she truly meant. No matter how much she had tried to escape it, her past still cau
"I don't want anyone near you right now," he admitted quietly. "The thought of letting anyone close after what happened..." "Rome," I reached up to cover his hand with mine. "We can't live like that. I won't live like that – trapped in fear, suspicious of everyone." I wasn't going to tell him what
The thought of Roman losing control made my chest ache. I knew how he could get when his emotions overwhelmed him, knew the darkness he fought to keep at bay. "How bad was he? Really?" Maria led me toward the kitchen, her grip steady and supportive. "Bad enough that when this cousin appeared, even
AMELIA I cried myself back to sleep, my body was far too exhausted to do anything else. When I came to, Roman wasn't in the bedroom with me. Our bedroom. I was back home. It felt surreal seeing the familiar walls, the sheets, the scents. Everything made my eyes prickle with tears and the iron
AMELIA A FEW DAYS LATER… Isabella had kept her word. After the meeting with Mr. Rossi and a few others who Isabella failed to mention, she didn't send me back to the building I was locked up in. She gave me two flight tickets and told me to make a choice, one sent me back home and the other…was