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105: Bonding
Last Updated:
2025-03-24 03:50:22
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Cole's POV.I stood outside Emily’s bedroom door, one hand braced against the frame. I had knocked. I had called her name. I had waited. But all I got was silence.She was in there. I knew it. I could hear the occasional rustle, the shift of footsteps, the creak of the bed. But she wouldn’t answer me.Smith had clung to her the morning he left. He had turned back three times before Lena had finally ushered him into the car. And Emily? She had just stood by the window, watching. Her face was unreadable.I had expected her to break down afterward. Maybe cry. Maybe scream. Maybe throw something. But she didn’t. Instead, she shut down completely.Now, it had been two days. Two days of her not coming out. Two days of her refusing to eat.I exhaled sharply and leaned my forehead against the door. “Emily,” I said, my voice lower this time. “I know you’re in there. And I know you’re not okay.”Nothing.I raked a hand through my hair. Fine. If she needed space, I would give it to her. But that
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Vanessa’s POVThe car’s headlights cut through the rain, but the world outside felt dark, suffocating. Ronan didn’t say a word. Neither of us had spoken since we left the officer's body on the roadside. That was. Fucking week ago.It was like the silence between us had stretched so thin it could snap any second.I couldn’t stop replaying the look on Ronan’s face…the disbelief, the anger. He was looking at me like I was a stranger. Like I wasn’t the woman he’d followed across states, gone into hiding for. Like I hadn’t meant everything to him once.I could see it now. He wouldn’t stay. He wouldn’t stick around after everything I’d done. And honestly? I couldn’t blame him.The flashes of the police lights danced across my memory, and something inside me clicked. I’ve gone too far.Then, my phone buzzed. I hesitated, then snatched it from my pocket. It was a news alert. A headline with Emily’s name caught my eye: Business Mogul's Father Found Dead in Possible Attack by Rivals.I froze.T
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Vanessa's POV.It was midnight when everything changed, when everything shattered into pieces that I could never put back together. The sound of boots stomping on wet concrete outside the small, crumbling building echoed in my ears before the door was slammed open. Flashlights pierced through the darkness, and I felt my heart stop for a moment."Freeze! Hands up!" The commanding voice of a police officer cut through the air, followed by the pounding of more boots. The scene exploded with chaos as they flooded the room, their guns drawn, their faces hard and unforgiving.I didn’t hesitate. Ronan was already moving, his eyes scanning the room for an exit, his hand reaching for his gun. “Vanessa, go!” His voice was urgent, but there was something in his eyes, something I hadn’t seen before…fear. He was afraid. Not for himself, but for me.I wasn’t going anywhere. Not without him.I reached for his hand, pulling him toward the back door, but as soon as we made it halfway across the room,
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Emily's POV.I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I last ate, or when I’d finally fallen asleep, but the world around me felt like it was spinning. I wasn’t sure if it was the stress or the dizziness or the baby, but I knew that the nausea had been hitting me hard. Every time I stood up, my stomach churned, and I had to force myself not to fall over. Cole was always by my side, his hands steady, his eyes calm. He was like an anchor, holding me in place when the world felt like it was breaking apart.I tried not to show him how much I was struggling, but I couldn’t help it. He always seemed to know when something was wrong. He’d catch me before I could fall, steady me when my legs threatened to give out.I was pregnant, and not a soul knew except for Cole and me. It was the one thing I hadn’t told anyone, not even my mother. I hadn’t found the words yet, and maybe I wasn’t ready. It didn’t seem to matter, though. Every day felt like a battle. Every day felt like I was drowning in a
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Emily's POV.It was one of those meetings that left the air thick. Everyone had just cleared out of the Hart estate's private conference room, their footsteps sounding down the hallway like reminders of how much I had just shaken the room.I’d done what none of them expected. I signed over a share of the Hart family inheritance to my four-year-old half-brother, Smith. There were gasps, awkward shuffling, and the kind of silent judgment that burns hotter than words. But I didn’t care. Not one bit. I walked out of that room with my head held high, my heels clicking against the marble like gunshots. I could feel Cole’s gaze behind me, steady and proud.As I reached the staircase landing, I heard her."Emily."I stopped.Lena.I turned around slowly, my arms still crossed from the adrenaline. She looked... nervous. No smugness, no fake polish. Just real. Her hands were twisted together in front of her, and her eyes, usually blank, were glassy."Can we talk?" she asked.For a second, I con
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Cole's POV.I didn’t tell Emily what I was working on. I just asked her to stay in bed a little longer this morning. She gave me that look…eyebrows drawn together, mouth slightly pouted like she was ready to interrogate me…but I kissed her forehead and mumbled something about it being a surprise.She was already exhausted. Between the dizziness, vomiting, and her quiet crying in the bathroom at night, she needed a break. So I told her to rest. And surprisingly, she listened.I went straight into the spare room across the hall. The one she hadn’t opened in weeks. Boxes were still in there from when we moved in. I’d been slowly clearing it out every night while she was asleep. One box at a time.The nursery wasn’t done yet. Not even close. But I managed to paint the walls a soft green…not too bright, not too dull. Somewhere in between. We didn’t know the baby's gender yet, and honestly, I didn’t care. I just wanted them safe. Healthy. I assembled the crib myself, even though the manual
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Emily's POV.I woke up on a Wednesday morning with this weird taste in my mouth. Like metal and sour milk had a baby. It was sharp and disgusting and I hated it instantly. I blinked twice, disoriented, then groaned into Cole’s chest."What’s wrong?" he murmured, voice hoarse with sleep, his hand tightening around my waist as he pulled me closer.I tried to answer, I really did, but my stomach twisted violently. Panic surged through me, and before I could get a word out, I was throwing the covers off, legs scrambling off the bed, and rushing straight for the bathroom.Cole was right behind me, barefoot and half-awake, calling my name in alarm.It wasn’t morning sickness. It wasn’t just nausea. It felt like my body had hit some sort of wall. Like I was running on nothing. Like the energy had just evaporated. I dropped to the floor, knees hitting the tile, and clutched the cold edge of the sink, trying to steady myself. Everything was tilting.Cole crouched down in front of me, panic etc
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Married To The Billionaire I Hate 128: Deadlines And Dead Men
Smith POV.I was 27. Young. Cold. Successful. Ruthless.CEO of the Hart Enterprise.People feared me. And that was fine. Fear keeps people in check. I didn’t have time for emotions or second chances. Not in this world. Not in business. One mistake could bring it all crashing down.I sat behind my office desk…black, clean…just like everything else in my life. The skyline of New York stood outside my glass window. Everyone out there had a dream. I was already living mine. But it didn’t come easy.I wasn’t even supposed to be here. I wasn’t meant to exist.My father, Richard Hart, never wanted me. He wasn’t married when he met my mother, Lena. His first wife…Emily’s mother…had already left him. Walked away. No cheating involved. That chapter had ended.Eight years later, he met my mother. It was just a one-night stand. Nothing more. A stupid decision. When she found out she was pregnant and told him, he turned into a monster.He tortured her. Pressured her. Told her to get rid of me.But
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Married To The Billionaire I Hate 125: The Endgame
Emily's POV.I could feel the tightness in my chest as I walked into the hospital room. The usual weird smell of the hospital hit me instantly, but it didn’t matter. My feet were heavy, like each step took more out of me than it should. I didn’t know what I expected walking in here, but seeing him like this…injured, bruised, bandaged…was almost too much.Cole was sitting upright in the bed, his broad shoulders hunched slightly as he adjusted the position of the IV that was attached to his arm. His face, though familiar, looked a little different. His skin was pale, almost sickly, and his hair was messy, falling loosely across his forehead. His eyes…those eyes that could melt anyone with a single glance…were narrowed at the screen in front of him. His left hand was holding a small tablet, and I saw the footage of the trial. It was the video of what happened in court …Vanessa, shackled, dragged in like she was nothing. I saw the shot of her standing in the courtroom, struggling to keep
Married To The Billionaire I Hate 124: Five Life Sentences
Vanessa's POV.They brought me in through the back. Shackled. Dressed in orange. I could feel every damn eye in that courtroom the moment the doors opened.Phones were out. Cameras. People whispering. Judging. Hating.I used to walk through halls with power in my step, people hanging onto my words, afraid to cross me. Now, the guards shoved me forward like I was nothing. Like I wasn’t the Vanessa Monroe.The courtroom was colder than I remembered. The lights too bright. Too many people. Too many eyes. My throat was dry, and not a soul here gave a damn.The judge didn’t look up as I was led to the defendant’s table. He was flipping through a file…my file…thicker than a Bible.I sat. Hands cuffed. Ankles chained. Heart racing. Face burning.And then I saw her.Emily.Sitting there in the front row like she owned the damn place. Like she wasn’t two months pregnant with the child I tried to erase along with her.Her head was high. Shoulders back. Lips painted blood red. Her arms crossed l
Married To The Billionaire I Hate 123: A Good Sign
Emily's POV.Hours passed. Again.The ICU lights didn’t dim. Nurses kept coming in and out. Adjusting tubes. Checking monitors. Writing things down without saying a word to me. One of them offered me a blanket. Another brought me water I didn’t touch. I couldn’t drink. Couldn’t eat. My stomach was twisted into a hundred knots.Cole hadn’t moved.Not even a twitch.I kept waiting for something. A flick of his fingers. A twitch of an eyelid. A miracle.But the machines kept beeping the same way. Monotonous. Cold. Consistent.My fingers stayed laced with his. Even though he couldn’t squeeze back.The door creaked open again.Footsteps. Not rushed. Not hesitant. Just... steady.I turned, and there she was.Lena.Smith's mom.She looked like she’d driven straight from hell to get here. Hair in a bun that had long since given up. Dark circles under her eyes. Clothes wrinkled, boots dusty. Her eyes locked on me, then flicked to Cole. Her jaw clenched."Is he…?" she didn’t finish the question
