Sarah POVThe week leading up to the Annual Gala had been a whirlwind of deadlines, meetings, and overflowing inboxes. I barely had time to breathe, let alone think about the event itself. Thankfully, Ester, ever the organized whirlwind, had taken charge of the logistics. She had coordinated with Adrian’s assistant regarding our outfits, ensuring that we would arrive at the venue simultaneously, a strategic move to maintain the illusion of marital harmony. Since I was finishing work late, I would get ready at the office, a plan that saved precious time.My last meeting of the day finally wrapped up, leaving me exhausted but relieved. I dismissed my team, promising them a less hectic week ahead, and retreated to my cabin. The door clicked shut behind me, and I sank onto the plush cushion of my chair, kicking off my heels with a sigh of pure bliss. While they certainly added a touch of sophistication, heels were instruments of torture after a long day. I propped my tired feet up on the t
Sarah POVA tap on my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to see Noah, smiling warmly at me. He took the empty seat beside me."Why are you sitting here all alone?" he asked."These parties aren't really my scene," I admitted. "But being married to Adrian, I guess I have to attend these things now.""Perhaps a dance will make the evening more bearable?" he suggested, extending his hand.I hesitated for a moment. A dance might be a welcome distraction. I placed my hand in his, and he led me to the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I placed mine on his shoulders as we swayed slowly to the music."I've heard a lot about you from Jessica and Adrian," Noah said, his voice casual."Oh, I'd love to hear those stories," I replied, a touch of irony in my voice. "It's always interesting to learn new things about oneself.""Haha, I can only imagine how challenging it must be to be with Adrian," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement."It's definitely a challenge
Adrian POVI was circulating among the various businessmen, engaging in polite conversation, when I heard Sarah’s voice. I turned and was momentarily speechless. Her dress…it was exquisite. It fit her perfectly, accentuating her curves in a way that was both elegant and provocative. Her hair, cascading down her shoulders, framed her face, making her look incredibly desirable. I noticed every male gaze in the room lingering on her, their eyes filled with admiration, and something possessive stirred within me. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arm around her waist, a silent declaration that she was mine.As I spoke with Mr. Groff, I saw Sarah excuse herself and head towards the bar. I watched her take a seat, a slight frown on her face. Just as I was about to make my way over to her, Jessica appeared at my side, her hand slipping possessively onto my arm."You look beautiful, love," I whispered to Jessica, offering her a small smile. She blushed, clearly pleased by the compliment.Jessic
Sarah POVThe car screeched to a halt in front of the imposing gates of the mansion. I flinched as Adrian’s hand, which had been gripping mine tightly throughout the ride, loosened. I quickly pulled my hand away, the lingering pressure a reminder of his barely controlled fury. I stepped out of the car, the cool night air a stark contrast to the simmering tension within me. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked towards my room, a sense of unease settling in my stomach. I was confused, troubled. Adrian’s outburst had been so sudden, so disproportionate to what I perceived as a harmless interaction with Justin. To me, the hug had been nothing more than a friendly farewell, a gesture of closure. But Adrian had twisted it into something ugly, something malicious. His unpredictable moods were a constant source of anxiety, and I knew that confronting him in his current state would be futile. It was best to avoid him, to give him time to cool down, before attempting to understand the root
Sarah POVWith a chilling finality, he threw me onto the bed, the impact jarring my already fragile state. He moved with a terrifying swiftness, stripping off his clothes, his eyes never leaving mine. Panic clawed at my throat. I knew what was coming, and I scrambled off the bed, desperate for escape. The bathroom, the nearest sanctuary, was my only option. I ran towards it, but he was faster. He grabbed me by the waist, his grip like iron, yanking me back towards him. The force of his pull sent me stumbling, and his hand connected with my cheek in another stinging slap. He had already shed all his clothes except for his boxers, his body radiating a menacing heat. His eyes, a mixture of lust and hatred, were fixed on me, sending shivers of fear down my spine.He forced me back onto the bed, his weight pinning me down, trapping me between his legs. No, this can’t be happening, I thought, my mind reeling. This can’t be real."Adrian, please," I begged, my voice trembling. "Don't do this.
Sarah POVThe assault continued, his movements brutal and relentless. He flipped me onto my hands and knees, his grip on my hair painfully tight. I braced myself, anticipating the next wave of his rage, but instead, he…he entered me. From behind. The pain was immediate, sharp, and excruciating. It felt as though my soul was being ripped from my body. I cried out, a strangled sob escaping my lips, but he paid no attention. His reflection in the mirror showed his enjoyment of my suffering, his face contorted in a mask of cruel satisfaction. He continued to thrust, his movements merciless, each one a fresh wave of agony. His nails dug into my lower back, leaving deep, red marks that burned like fire.When he finally reached his climax, a guttural groan escaping his lips, he pulled out, the sudden absence of his presence almost as painful as his intrusion. He flipped me back onto my back, his eyes cold and detached. He released his seed onto my neck and breasts, the warm, sticky fluid a f
Adrian POVThe aftermath was a blur of raw emotion. I lay there, on the bed, my body aching, my mind reeling. I didn't know what had come over me. The images of Sarah and Justin, the whispers of their past, had ignited a firestorm of rage within me. The thought of her with another man, of her giving him what I craved, drove me to madness. I heard her pleas, her cries, but they were muffled by the roaring in my ears. I was determined to punish her, to make her understand that she was mine, to control, to possess. She is mine to love, to hate, to torture. The thought echoed in my mind, a twisted justification for my actions.Seeing her smooth, white skin, and feeling her body beneath mine, ignited a desire within me, a perverse satisfaction that I hated myself for feeling. Despite my anger, despite the revulsion I felt for my actions, I couldn't deny the pleasure I derived from dominating her, from hearing her moans, even though they were cries of pain. After the brutal encounter, I lef
Adrian POVThe mansion loomed before me, a stark reminder of the previous night’s events. I parked the car and walked towards the imposing front door, my footsteps echoing in the silence. Inside, the house felt empty, devoid of Sarah’s presence. A wave of unease washed over me. I rushed upstairs to her room, my heart pounding in my chest. I knocked on her door, calling her name, but there was no response. A knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.The room was eerily silent, the air thick with unspoken tension. The sight that greeted me was disturbing. Her dress from the gala lay discarded on the floor, a crumpled heap of velvet. Her undergarments, torn and ripped, were scattered nearby, stark reminders of my anger, my violence. The bed sheets were rumpled and stained, a dark, crimson blotch marring the pristine white. My blood ran cold as I stared at the stain. She couldn’t be… The thought echoed in my mind, a confusing mix of guilt and disb
Sarah POVI gazed at my reflection in the mirror, wrapped in my robe, with Alessandro's text shining like a ray of hope in my hand."I understand we've had a rough patch. But if you can spare one night, I'd like to attempt to fix things.No expectations. Just you, me, and a little honesty. I’ll be waiting.”My heart ached. The sincerity in those words hit something raw inside me. I missed him, missed us. Missed the warmth of our mornings, the soft laughter that once filled our home. But pain changes things. Doubt makes strangers of the people you love most.Just then, there was a knock.“Come in,” I called, not looking up.I recognised the perfume before the door fully opened. Chanel No. 5. Chloe's signature. Of course.She stepped inside like a queen visiting a kingdom she meant to burn down.Silk robe fastened with precision, wine glass clutched like a villain in a sad drama. She always loved to put on a show."Going out tonight?" she inquired, her eyes sparkling as they darted to th
Alessandro’s POVIt had been ten days since we returned from the farmhouse. Ten days since everything unraveled.I sensed Sarah drifting further away from me, bit by bit, like sand slipping through an hourglass.She hadn’t raised her voice. She hadn’t lashed out. But her silence said more than any screaming match could. The way she avoided eye contact. The way her footsteps always trailed toward the guest room instead of ours. The way she smiled politely, but not warmly, when I handed her coffee in the mornings.I’d made a mistake. A big one.Not because of Mira, not entirely. That chapter of my life had been over years ago. And Mira’s accusations had never made sense to begin with. But I should’ve told Sarah everything the moment we got serious. I should’ve trusted her with my truth before someone like Adrian could twist it.God, Adrian.Even now, the thought of his smug face as he dropped that bomb still made my jaw clench. He’d timed it perfectly right when we were finding peace. W
Adrian’s POVThe city still felt cold, but the chill in my bones had shifted not from warmth, but from purpose. I finally had a plan.I sat at my desk, eyes fixed on Alessandro’s digital trail. His online presence lit up like a roadmap—threads of the past just waiting to be pulled. But I knew better now. Whispers and half-truths wouldn’t be enough. If I wanted to break them, I needed more than suspicion. I needed leverage. Misdirection.And I needed someone on the inside.That’s when it clicked.Chloe.Sarah’s perfect little world had always been cracked at the edges, and Chloe was one of those cracks. They were step-sisters in name, but anyone who spent five minutes with them knew there was no love lost. I remembered the subtle digs Chloe made at family dinners, the way Sarah would force a smile and pretend not to hear. But I heard them. I felt the tension.Chloe didn’t just dislike Sarah, she resented her.That kind of bitterness? It could be moulded. Turned into something useful.I
Sarah’s POV New York City’s noise had always been oddly comforting, the honking cabs, distant sirens, and hurried footsteps on pavement. But today, it felt too loud, too sharp, like it was echoing the storm still raging inside me. It had been a week since we’d returned from the farmhouse. Seven days of strained silences, clipped conversations, and the kind of emotional distance I never thought I’d feel between Alessandro and me. I still hadn’t fully processed everything. I had hardly gotten any sleep. Whenever I shut my eyes, I envisioned the expression on his face as I turned to leave.But how was I meant to simply act as if it never occurred? He had kept something huge from me. Not just about Mira, but about how little he must have trusted me—to think I couldn’t handle the truth, to let someone like Adrian be the one to reveal it. After everything we’d fought for, the secrets still found a way to wedge themselves between us. And it hurt. Today marked my return to the office aft
Alessandro’s POVI stood there, watching the woman I loved crumble in front of me, her eyes scanning that godforsaken document Adrian had handed her like it was a grenade. AAnd maybe it was due to my awareness of the explosion the moment her face shifted from confusion to disbelief to something that scared me more than any anger. Proximity. Although she was merely a few feet distant, it felt as if she stood across a canyon, unreachable. God, I wanted to fix it. But how do you fix something you didn’t even know was still broken?In the past, I thought I’d buried it. That nightmare with Mira... it had happened years ago, in a life that felt a million miles away from who I am now. I had been young, foolish, and too trusting. I never touched her. I never crossed any line. But when things ended, Mira spiralled. I tried to reason with her, but she twisted everything. She wanted revenge. And she got it in the worst way.I never expected it to follow me here, to this life. This future I’d bee
Sarah POVA few steps back, I noticed a captain whose face was completely devoid of colour. Words seemed to want to escape from his lips, but they were nowhere to be found.His still figure, rigid and motionless, also changed his hands into fists, which revealed the stress he was holding.This was simply too much to handle. My thoughts were fragmented, unable to reach a coherent conclusion. “Do tell me this isn’t the case,” I spoke in my flat voice. “Please tell me this is some unexpected blunder that someone made. That this… this woman is lying. Alessandro took a slow step toward me, but stopped when he saw me flinch not in fear, but in raw emotional recoil. That hurt in a way I couldn’t describe.The reflection of his features contorted with agony. "Sarah," a soft admission escaped as his throat felt like it was choked with raw feelings. “That's not the case.”We were close once, back in college. Yes, we dated for a few months, but when things didn’t work out, she didn’t take
Sarah’s POVThe paper trembled a little in my hands as if it knew what it held was too much for me to handle, and I stood motionless. My breath became trapped in my chest, in that agonising space where heartbreak and incredulity collide. I read it again, slower this time, praying I’d misunderstood. But every word sank deeper, each one a blow I hadn’t been ready for.Mira Solanki. Sexual harassment complaint. Alessandro’s name… tied to it.I looked up at him—the man I had let into every part of my life. My heart, my home, Gabriel’s world. The man who’d been my safe place after everything fell apart… was Alessandro. The person I trusted with my son, my recovery, and dreams I was hardly brave enough to share aloud.His gaze was directed towards the ground, pale, and his lips parted open like he was contemplating speech, but the words were not forthcoming. The tension was evident as he held up his arms and kept his fists in place, trying to conceal the strain. I couldn't take it in. Non
Sarah’s POV As I packed the last of Gabriel's small sweaters into his duffel bag, the late afternoon sun spilled gentle light into the room. I smiled as the fresh laundry's lavender scent clung to the fabric. He’d had such a beautiful time here. We all had. For the first time in weeks, things had felt… steady. Like the ground beneath my feet wasn’t constantly shifting. I glanced over my shoulder at Alessandro and Gabriel outside. Before we left the farmhouse, Alessandro had Gabriel sitting on his shoulders as they took a final stroll around the garden. The pure and contagious sound of Gabriel's laughter filled the air. A reminder that love wasn’t always about fireworks and chaos. Sometimes, it was about the way Alessandro always remembered how I took my coffee, or how he brushed Gabriel’s hair back before bed like it was second nature. It was safe. It was deep. Seeing them together made my heart feel full. It reminded me of the life I've always dreamed of—something genuine, cozy,
Adrian’s POVThe sun was slipping from the sky, casting a mellow light across the land; it felt like a reprieve. I stood in the hallway in my guest-sister’s room, peering through a silken curtain at them. Sarah, Alessandro and Gabriel had gone into the garden for a final evening together. To an outsider, it must have seemed like bliss – that scene of a perfect family.I couldn’t bear it.Alessandro was chasing Gabriel around the wildflower patch while he was laughing loudly and freely. He then effortlessly caught him again after swooping him into his arms and throwing him into the air. Gabriel's laughter reached me exactly where I was standing, resonating through the silence of the area. And then I saw it—the way Gabriel looked at Alessandro. Eyes wide with trust, with adoration. As if he were the safest place in the world.As if he were the father.Not me.A pain that was a mix of heartbreak, rage, and jealousy twisted sharply in my chest. I was descended from Gabriel. My son. Nevert