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WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 57
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-03-08 23:57:21
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WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 58
The air within the Carlston estate was heavy with an inexplicable tension — as if a predator stalked its prey.But the predator?Vandaulf Carlston.And the prey?The woman who departed from his bed — faceless, nameless — the one who had dared to escape his grasp.But what Vandaulf did not know…She was already residing in his house.And that woman… was Lily.Upstairs, Lily stood in front of her bedroom mirror, watching her reflection — but all she saw was Ina."You shouldn't have gone out last night Ina," she whispered to herself. "You’re pushing him too far."But deep down, Ina's voice rose like smoke.He deserves it.The door suddenly swung open. Vandaulf stood in the doorway, his eyes burning with suspicion."You were out," he accused.Lily's heart fluttered, but she calmed herself. "No, I wasn't.""Don't try to lie to me." His voice deepened. He took one step into the dwelling. "I woke up, and you were missing.""I was sleeping in my room," she said, her tone steadier than she was
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-10WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 59
The evening was quiet.But Vandaulf's mind. was turmoil.Vandaulf sat isolated in his office, a half-empty glass of untouched scotch sitting on the mahogany tabletop. His hand clenched in a fist as his jaw tautened, teeth grinding against sheer rage.Her perfume remained on his flesh. The female from that evening. The one who crawled into his bed, consumed him, and disappeared like a phantom.And no matter how he tried — he couldn't eliminate her.Her touch. Her flame. Her rebellion.But it was something more than that — it was the way she refused to shatter under his control. It was the way her body flamed for him even as she despised him.And now… she was gone. Vandaulf growled in frustration, slamming the glass onto the desk, breaking it into shards.But the infuriating thing?Each time his mind's eye saw her — it was Lily's face he saw."No," he snarled softly, stalking. "She can't be. Lily's weak. Submissive. Weak. She'd never—"But his own voice betrayed him. Because last night
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-11WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 60
The air between them was heavy—a silence war, a war zone of tension and breath.Lily's chest heaved and fell with rough gasps, but her eyes—Ina's eyes—seethed with suppressed anger.And Vandaulf?He took a slow step forward.She didn't move.He took another.And yet, she didn't move.And then without warning—he pinched her chin and made her meet his gaze. His hand was merciless, but not strong enough to smash her, but hard enough to stifle her breath."I should break you for this."* He spoke low, his voice thick with something ugly, something to abhor. "Play games with me? Lie to me?"Lily's eyes spat, lips twisting into a wicked smile. "Oh, poor Vandaulf." She leaned forward; her breath against his lips. "Did I hurt your pride?"Her skin was pale, her nails pressed into his palms. "I should kill you."She laughed again: gentler, but just as deadly. "You already have."Vandaulf's breath faltered.For the first time-he saw it.The mask slipping away.The cracks in her armor.The pain b
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-13WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 61
The air between them was heavy—a silence war, a war zone of tension and breath.Lily's chest heaved and fell with rough gasps, but her eyes—Ina's eyes—seethed with suppressed anger.And Vandaulf? He took a slow step forward.She didn't move. He took another.And yet, she didn't move.And then without warning—he pinched her chin and made her meet his gaze. His hand was merciless, but not strong enough to smash her, but hard enough to stifle her breath."I should break you for this."* He spoke low, his voice thick with something ugly, something to abhor. "Play games with me? Lie to me?"Lily's eyes spat, lips twisting into a wicked smile. "Oh, poor Vandaulf." She leaned forward; her breath against his lips. "Did I hurt your pride?" Her skin was pale, her nails pressed into his palms. "I should kill you." She laughed again: gentler, but just as deadly. "You already have." Vandaulf's breath faltered. For the first time-he saw it. The mask slipping away. The cracks in her armor. Th
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-13WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 62
Vandaulf, A big guy,ebony and inscrutable, stood over her, his taut body vibrating with some strange mix of fury and an unholy obsession. She hadn't witnessed him this angry in years."You find this game amusing, Lily?" he drawled in a wickedly chilly tone, as if savoring each syllable himself. "Let me show you what losing feels like."She swallowed hard, her heart thudding at the back of her throat."I never agreed to your game, Vandaulf," she stated with some confidence. His mouth curled into a phony smile. "Oh, but you did."He took one step closer.She moved back. One step. Another step back. Until—Her back was against the wall.Vandaulf had her cornered, his arms at her sides, his body pushed into hers—too close."Where were you going, sweetheart?" He sounded mocking, deadly. "Out to look for another man?" Lily's fists rested on her hips. "Let me go."He did not budge."Why?" He slanted his head to the side. "So you can escape back onto the streets? Vanish once more?" His jaw
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-14WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 63
Lily stood in the desolation of her room, her body still shaking from Vandaulf's touch, from the manner he had trapped her in like an animal playing with his quarry.Her heart was still racing uselessly, her head reeling.She should have been intimidated.She should have been defeated.But all she could feel—a slow grin spreading to her lips.This was not ending.And she was not going to lose without fighting.As she calmed her breathing, her phone rang on the bedside table.She picked it up.Brenna James.Her grandmother.The only living creature left in this world who cared.She accepted the call and held the phone to her ear."Lily." Brenna's strained voice cut through the silence. "We don't have much time Lily."Lily sat up stiffly, shoving aside the whirlpool of feelings Vandaulf had left her with."What is it?" she demanded, her voice harsh, all vestige of Ina gone."Brigs Carlston has returned."Lily's belly knotted up.Brigs Carlston.The man who had destroyed her family.The
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-15WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 64
Her heart pounded against the cage of her ribcage like a hammer, but she restrained herself from flinching, from moving.Because if she let herself be afraid, then she was already lost.Vandaulf's hand still clasped around her wrist, his fingers curled as if attempting to hold onto her in place. His face remained static, but his eyes—those dark, storm-worn eyes—contained a pleading something.A warning.A threat.A plea."Let me go, Vandaulf." Her voice was sharp, tight, but the thud of her pulse betrayed her.Vandaulf did not budge."You have no idea what you've done Lily." Vandaulf's voice was menacing and low.Lily pulled her hand free from his, defiance dancing in her eyes. "And you don't have an idea that I don't care."A cold, cruel laugh burst out of him. "Of course you don't." One step he took forward, slow. "Because you believe you can win at this game. But you're playing with a man who has no rules to play by, Lily."She stood firm."And what of you, Vandaulf?" she flung at
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-16WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 65
Lily would not allow her terror to be expressed. She locked eyes with him, her backbone stiff, face unyielding.If a power game this was, it was not her that would concede."I have lived through more," she countered, her words suave with veiled provocation.Brigs laughed again, his head wagging with the motion before he took yet another deliberate gulp of his liquid. "They all say so, my darling." Lily battled to keep her hands from forming into fists. Condescension dripped from his voice; he was speaking as though he were already had won-and that made her furious."I've heard you and my father were friends," Lily-Ina said, cocking her head. "You must be missing him terribly."Brigs' sneer failed by a moment.Then he sat back in his chair. "Roosevelt was a genial man." His fingers drummed against his glass. "He and I shared a vision. The James and Carlston empires becoming one? It was destiny.""Destiny?" Lily echoed, her lips twisting into something cold. "Or compelled to be?"Brigs
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-17
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WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 95
The courthouse loomed like a monolith, its towering shadow sweeping over the cluster of reporters spilling onto its steps. Flashbulbs popped. Microphones pushed their way forward like swords. Voices clashed in argument."Is it true Brigs Carlston planned the James family crash?""Ms. James! Will you testify?""Do you think justice will now be served?Lily was at the rear of the tinted windows of the bulletproof vehicle, her heart pounding. The burden of a thousand unsaid things pressed in her chest like concrete. She hadn't dressed in black, not today—today she'd dressed in white. Not because she forgave. But because she had to be heard."Don't say anything to anyone," Brenna cautioned, gripping her hand tightly. "Let them prattle on. What happens in here is all that matters."Vandaulf, seated opposite them, was a storm bottled on fragile threads. Jaw set, fists curled in his lap. "I wish him to look into your eyes when the truth comes out."The car stopped. The door opened.Lily step
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 94
The hospital room was silent—too silent for the tempest that seethed within the man who lay motionless beneath white blankets. The machines beeped continuously. But Brigs Carlston's breathing was no longer continuous.His eyes flew open.The world dissolved and throbbed, sound coming back in waves. He attempted to rise, winced as agony constricted his chest. A nurse screamed."He's awake! Call Dr. Yashir!"Brigs blinked, struggling to recall why his throat was as dry as sand, why his muscles felt pulled through the fire. Then… the memories filtered in.The girl.The car.The fire.The screams.Lily.His jaw clenched. The last shred of the James family. A thread he'd thought long severed.She lived.A rasp tore his throat as he ripped the oxygen mask away. "Where… is she?" he croaked.The nurse took a step back, eyes wide. "Sir, please—don't move too much—""LILY JAMES." His voice cracked into a harsh cough. "Is she alive?""I—I don't know—please, sir, lie back, the doctor—"He shoved
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 93
But faith is an ephemeral quality. It is a candle lit in a storm of untrammelled air, waiting to be extinguished the moment there is darkness within.She slept better that night than she had in months. No darkness quiet. No sudden heat flash, no clatter of high heels thrumming in her bones. Only quiet. Terrible, holy quiet. And when she awoke, the sun was already bright in the windows, warm and gentle. Her body was leaden, but not with fear—simply with being human.Vandaulf rolled over beside her, his eyes snapping open. His voice was gravel and fire. "Morning."Lily blinked at him, letting the quiet fall before she breathed, "Still me."He wrapped his hand tight around hers, interlacing their fingers. "I know."They sat in silence for a while. Breathing. Holding. Waiting to see if the shadows stirred.They didn't.After breakfast—a peaceful, fluffy session with Helena phoning in to drop over tea and today's hottest cuttings from the paper (none of which Lily actually read)—it was tim
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 92
The apartment was dark when they arrived back. The city skyline was swept by a late autumn storm outside the window, its soft rumble the echo of the storm within Lily's heart. She stood at the center of the living room, arms at her sides going limp, gaping into the stillness as though it might speak.Vandaulf hovered behind her. He didn’t speak. Not yet. He just watched her with that same relentless steadiness that had begun to unravel her in ways she hadn’t expected.Lily let out a slow breath. “The therapist said I’m making progress,” she murmured, her voice barely a thread. “That talking about Ina… naming what she was… was a step toward reclaiming myself.”"More than a name," Vandaulf said softly. "Survival."Lily spun around, her gaze tattered, lashes wet. "That's what frightens me."He edged closer carefully. "Because losing her feels like losing the only version of you that was able to survive what occurred?"She nodded. "Every time I talk as plain Lily. there's this echoing rin
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 91
There was a sweet scent of lavender and stale leather. Walking inside was to enter into a world of memory that the tenant had actively sought to forget. Lily folded into the end of a straight chair, her clenched tightly into her lap fingers. The rigidity with which she was clutching her fingers caused her knuckles to become pale. The corner hummed a gentle tick of a sound. A metronome. A tick that tolled within her as a challenge. A challenge to speak. To break the silence.She sat in her office across from Lily, as calm as a summer day. She wasn't old, but looked old, no. She did, however, have eyes that had witnessed it all. They were fixed on Lily with no suspicion, no disdain, but only impatience. As if to wait for her to draw breath before unspooling what she had stored inside.Dr. Valez leaned forward, just slightly. "Do you mind keeping your mouth shut for a bit longer," she said, talking slowly, "or do you need to tell me what you're thinking?"Lily's mouth opened. No noises
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 90
Lily sit up. He looks at her quizzically, but She smile into his eyes, before leaning down to kiss him deeply, sucking gently, sucking his passion and desire into her body, becoming keenly aware of all that he is and all that he wants, and sensing strongly his need for her. They kiss, pushing their tongues against each other, touching each other's soft lips, then pull away a centimeter and let tension between them mount, their warm breath on the other's lips, teasing, bringing us in, until.They kiss again, more passionately, but still slowly, taking it out, enjoying it. Sometimes they are madly passionate and their lovemaking is energetic and ardent. But tonight, She want to slow down, to feel everything strongly. "Hmmm..." She stroke his flat belly, her fingers tickled by the hair around his belly button. He is pulling her to him, kissing her hard and long, and slow, and his hand is sliding down toward her butt. He uses it to pull her toward him, pull her into him, breathing her in
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 89
The sunlight seeped gradually through the half-closed drapes, creating delicate patterns of light on the hotel suite floor. It was quiet—stunned, complete quiet.Lily sat up from the bed, her breath stuck in a catch.No voice in her head.No mocking insults. No laughter taunt. No Ina.Somewhere close by, Lily's knuckles went white with the sheet-clutching. She lay out flat, waiting for that same curl, shiver of chill, take-over—but nothing stirred.Nothing but her. Lily James. Alone in her own head."Arm." Vandaulf's voice was low in the kitchenette. "You're awake?"She nodded, forgetting he could not see her. "Yeah. I… I think I'm okay."Vandaulf bowed his head against the doorframe, crooked smile twisting across his lips, hair still disheveled. "Coffee? Tea? Or… quiet?"Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Quiet?"He smiled. "I thought it would be something of a luxury for the time."Her lips shook. "Really… yes. Quiet would fit perfectly."Vandaulf vanished once more, and the scent of fr
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 88
The rain beating on the hospital window had the cadence of a slowly building bomb, slow and steady and coiled, ready to explode. The lights in the room were only partially on, the weak light of the lamplight sitting beside the bed. Lily was huddled at the edge of the bed, panting at the border, with her wet hands bunched around the thin blanket. She could again sense the presence. Ina.Not in some remote corner of her mind, not like a ghost—no. Ina was near. On her back. Whispers on her nerve endings."You can't erase what you needed to live."The voice curled around her ear, too close. Too close."Lily, Lily—you can't erase me. You are me."No, Lily breathed, staring into the mirror in the next room. Her face met her, but it was wrong. Her eyes—Ina's eyes, no—smiled and not one muscle in her mouth moved."I made you strong," Ina asserted, her voice unyielding. "I protected you when they abandoned you. When they died. When he wedded you and told you it was duty. I was the one who stol
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 87
The therapist's office was a sanctuary of gentle light, calming grays, and muffled throbs—faux quiet that wrapped itself around broken pieces. Lily sat stiffly on the couch, too plush, too lenient, to sit on. Across from her, Dr. Mariel Kaine jotted something into her notebook before looking up."Lily," she answered softly, "how have you been since that experience in the warehouse?"Lily curled her fingers over the cuff of her sleeve, voice trembling. "I had her in check. I thought… it was over."Dr. Kaine did not respond at once. She let the silence linger between them—tense, awkward. Then, "When did you last feel her?"Lily looked away. Her own face was captured in the lip of a mirrored sculpture on the shelf. She couldn't look at it. "Last night," she whispered.Flashback: The Night BeforeThe bathroom light flickered above her as Lily stared at her reflection, breasts straining. Her fingers clenched the cold porcelain sink, knuckles white. Something had triggered it—maybe the manne
