Sweat gathered on Camilla’s palms. She brushed them over her dress and nodded. “Yes.”
Their eyes met, and he nodded. Pulling her into a brief hug, he said, “I really tried, Cam.”
Camilla smiled against his neck and broke the hug. He stayed back in the car while she sashayed to the entrance with as much confidence as she could. Calvin was watching her, so she couldn’t fuck up. One of the men at the door stretched out an arm to stop her from entering the church.
They didn’t speak to her, their lips tilted in a grim smile. Everything in her head yelled at her to turn back and join her brother. It wasn’t too late. But she ransacked her bag for the invite Calvin gave her and offered it to the man on her left. He took a long look at it and nodded. The man on the right opened the door, and she stepped into the church. The doors shut behind her, and her heart drummed faster.
Why did she feel like she had walke
Maksim was livid. He had been since they left Nightfall Hills. He paced his office, going unbelievably still when his right-hand man, Ivan, entered. The curtains were closed, how he liked it, and the entire place was dark, save for the corner light and lamp on the table. He snapped his fingers, a sign for the man to talk immediately.“Did you find her yet?” he asked.Ivan stood at ease, a wire curling from his ear to inside his suit collar. “Not yet, boss.”Rage coursed through Maksim’s veins. He sank into his chair and laughed bitterly.“Boss?” Maksim said, disgust slithering into his voice. He gripped the armrests so hard his nails broke. God help that lady because if he found her, he would wipe her off the face of the earth. She should have taken the subtle warning the priest gave him. No one, not even the don, the Grand Sinner himself, could end a wedding. “You have twelve hours to find that young
Photos was the first app Maksim checked. She had too many pictures for him to sift through. Nothing in there showed her name. Just tons of pictures of her in different poses and various hairstyles.She was pretty. But weren’t the evil ones always the prettiest? Who sent her to him?Soft knocks on the door had him shoving the ring and test into his drawer. He asked the person to enter, and a maid walked in with her head bowed down. Her black-and-white uniform creased as she bent to tilt the dead man’s head. He never killed senselessly, but Boris’ death would serve as a warning to everyone. If he could kill his own men, how much more a foe?Two men entered after the maid. He waved off their greetings as they dragged the dead body out of his office. The maid quietly cleaned as he resumed searching the phone. He could easily guess who the maids next subject of gossip would be. Him. As long as they served the meals and made themselves availabl
Maksim spat out blood. Poor maid. She would have to redo the cleaning. Pinching his nose to ease the bleeding, he grabbed the tissue box on the table and stuffed some of it up his nostrils. Papa drew closer, but Maksim stood his ground, ready for another attack. He should have expected the first.“She was right,” Papa said, stabbing him in the chest with his finger. “You’re a bastard.”“Papa.”“Don’t call me that.”“I. Don’t. Know her,” Maksim said.The lines on Papa’s forehead deepened, a sign that this was a futile conversation. His father always believed the worst of him. Why should today be different? He had long accepted that fate. Gently pulling out the soiled tissue, he tossed it to the trashcan by the door and sank down on the table.“One bastard is enough for the family,” Papa said. “You don’t know her, yet she&rsq
Revenge was a dish best served cold. Camilla didn’t agree. Revenge was a dish best served in the church with a fake pregnant test result and an astounding slap. To celebrate her successfully executed revenge, she was on a shopping spree today. The clothes she didn’t get the day Vanya interrupted her, she would get them today.Stomping out of her room with her purse swinging from her hand, she paused in front of Faye’s door. She wanted her best friend to join her on the spree. Faye was lively this week, but she wasn’t satisfied yet. Her friend loved movies, but they had watched nothing new this week.“I’m coming in,” she said, already opening the door. Her best friend was sprawled on the bed, her laptop and books open in front of her. The thought of being in the same position made her shudder. “Seriously? What’s all this? I don’t envy you.”Faye laughed. “I don’t envy me, ei
Vanya smirked, and Camilla inched closer to her door. That meant she had really seen him earlier. It wasn’t her imagination at the window. It was him.Was he stalking her? What did he want now? To take her new phone? She wasn’t releasing it.“I’m not giving you my phone,” she stated. Hitting the back of the driver’s seat, she told Alvin, “Why did you let this fool into my car? You should have at least called me.”“A fool?”“Look, Vance or Viper or Vagabond or Villain or whatever your name is,” Camilla started, turning to the man with a look akin to disgust. “I don’t have time for this.”“Your life stopped being yours the moment you walked into that church,” he replied. Camilla could only stare at him in shock because he had a lot of nerves breaking into her car. Smashing her phone wasn’t enough, and now, this? She retrieved her ph
Calvin would die if anything happened to his pregnant wife. They were lucky that she didn’t lose her pregnancy after that nasty incident with Hana’s father. She couldn’t take the risk. But she couldn’t go with him.“Van—” The glare he cut her made her shut up momentarily. “Let’s say I agree to your crazy offer. How long will this last?”“Until we get that child out of your womb. It’s mine, right? We slept together. How dare I choose to marry someone else?” he teased. Camilla’s blood froze in her veins. That… would be impossible because she wasn’t pregnant. She hadn’t even seen this man naked. “Be ready. I’ll come pick you up by 4 pm tomorrow. No luggage. Just you.”Vanya exited the car and shut the door. She didn’t relax, and when he opened her door, she was surprised one of her arteries didn’t burst. Too tensed to move
Camilla had to call her twin brother. She had contemplated leaving without telling Calvin, but it wouldn’t end well. She had to at least let him know now, so he could get her replacement for the series. He had a few days until production and rehearsals started. He might not understand it, but she was doing it for him. For Hana. For the rest of their family. They always joked that she was the least responsible McKenna. It was time to prove them wrong.The phone shook in her hand. She brought up his contact but delayed hitting the call button. Her bed, which usually brought her comfort, filled her with fear. She wouldn’t be able to sleep in this bed for as long as Vanya was after her. But he wouldn’t find her. She would run far, far away from him.Camilla was about to call him when a scream rang out from the living room. Her phone clattered to the floor, and her blood ran cold. Was Vanya in the house? No, he couldn’t be. It was a few hours until 4
The call ended before Camilla could plead her case. For a moment, all she could do was stare at her screen. Kenna Prime, KP, her brother’s streaming company, had been through a lot in its first year. The one thing that had remained a constant success was the series she starred in. Her social media popularity also contributed to it. More than that, she knew how upset people might be if they found out she had been replaced without good reason. But what else could she do? Vanya killed Alvin. He could kill Hana. She couldn’t let things get that far. That thought brought her back on track. She dabbed her cheeks dry and finished packing. All done, she went to Faye’s room. Her best friend was asleep, so she dropped a note on the table and stepped out after kissing her cheek. Time would tell if she ever saw her friend or this room again. Purse strapped over one hand, duffel bag over the other, she left the house. Doubts returned when she was in the elevator, but she didn’t l