Semua Bab Beg, or worse, Break: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Aelia’s POVSilk restraints bit into my wrists, keeping them bound above my head. Each tug only made them tighten.The air was heavy with the lingering scent of cologne, whiskey, and something faintly metallic. Every breath felt suffocating.The last thing I remembered was leaving the courthouse, the weight of another failed case pressing on my shoulders. A sharp sting at my neck then darkness.Now, I was here.The door creaked open.A chill ran through me as footsteps echoed against the floor. Slow and purposeful.The air shifted. It wasn’t just someone entering the room. It was something far more suffocating. A force. A presence that made the space around me feel smaller, like the walls were inching closer.Even before I looked up, I knew who it was.Pedro Montonio.A raw, instinctive terror gripped my chest.He stepped into view, his sharp blue eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my pulse stutter. He didn’t need to speak for the threat to be clear —he was power. The kin

Aelia’s POVWhat a way to start the week.I just got these glasses, and now they were broken. Frustrating, but not nearly as concerning as what I’d overheard earlier.If those women were right, then Pedro Montonio wasn’t just some powerful man. He was married. And his wife? A supermodel with a reputation so terrifying, people compared her to a demon in sleep paralysis.I clapped my cheeks, inhaling deeply. It’ll be fine. This is probably just a one-time thing.“BOO! Four eyes.”“Ahh!” I shrieked, too loudly. A few heads turned, and my scowl deepened at the culprit.Mike.“Can you be serious for once? We’re at work,” I hissed.He grinned, completely unbothered. “Wait, did you grow an extra eye? How many fingers? Quick, count!” He wiggled his long fingers in my face, his expression alight with mock delight.I swatted his hand away. “Are you enjoying yourself?”“Only if you are.” That smug smile of his could probably steal the breath of any woman in this office.Except mine.“I’m immune

Aelia’s POV“Where are you taking me?”My voice broke the silence between us, though I wasn’t sure if there had ever been silence to begin with.Pedro had been stealing glances at me the entire ride, as if I might vanish if he looked away.“Actually, we can talk right here in the car,” I added quickly, my unease growing. “I know this is about the lawsuit, so just state your claims now. I’ll answer—”His fingers brushed a stray strand of hair from my face.I jolted in shock.“Please refrain from touching me, Mr. Pedro.” My voice came out sharper than intended. “I’m listening to whatever you have to say about the case.”He laughed.Again.I swear, if I heard that damn laugh one more time, I might lose my mind.“What makes you think you’re here because of the lawsuit?”His question sucked the breath from my lungs.“…What?” My voice barely escaped my lips.Pedro’s gaze remained steady. “I told you before. You’re a replacement for what I lost. I could care less about the case.” He leaned b

Aelia’s POVPedro leaned against the corridor like nothing had happened, his shirt still wrinkled, his tie loose and dangling below his belt. He didn’t even bother fixing himself, as if my sudden intrusion hadn’t fazed him in the slightest. He glanced at me, his gaze slow, assessing, before his lips curved into a smirk.“Did you want to show me your dress?” His voice was casual, almost amused. “I personally selected it.”My breath caught in my throat. I had run here, demanding answers, expecting at least some explanation, maybe even the barest hint of remorse. But he looked at me like I was the one who had done something absurd. My emotions were all over the place, rage, shame, disgust but I forced myself to keep them buried, locked tight beneath the surface.Just one day. One single day of meeting this man, and I already felt like my life was crumbling.I swallowed down the chaos inside me and forced out the words that had been at the tip of my tongue since the moment I first stepped

Aelia’s POVI clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, but the sting was nothing compared to the disgust twisting in my gut. My voice came out hoarse, strained from the sheer effort of keeping my emotions in check.“Why?” I asked, staring at the blood still pooling on the floor from the man’s severed wrist. “Why bring me here? Why make me watch this?” My voice cracked. “Why are you doing this to me?”Pedro leaned back in his chair, legs spread apart like he owned the entire world—and maybe he did. He ran a hand down his jaw, amused by my question, as if my horror was a form of entertainment for him.“I used you,” he said smoothly, his gaze never wavering from mine. “Because I know of no other woman who can provoke a man so easily, make him lose all sense of suspicion, all control.” His lips curled into a smirk, as if pleased with his own cruelty. “Just pure, primal instinct.”He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched me.“And for feeling that way towar