Chapter 250 The university campus buzzed like a living thing—students pouring across the walkways in colorful streams, laughter bouncing off old brick walls, someone yelling about a missed lecture while sprinting past with a coffee they were absolutely going to spill. It was chaos, but the familiar kind. The kind
Chapter 249 She sat up slightly, her honey-brown eyes widening with conflict. Her naive heart wanted to say yes, but the contract marriage loomed like a shadow—the one-year deal, born from necessity, not love. “Rafael, I… I’m not ready. This is all so fast. And besides, we’re in a contract.
Chapter 248 The morning sun slipped through the grand windows of Rafael Vexley’s London townhouse like an uninvited but very welcome guest, painting the kitchen in soft gold. Eliana Bennett stood barefoot near the island, wrapped in one of Rafael’s absurdly expensive robes—far too big for her, sleeves threatening to
Chapter 247 Eliana Bennett sighed blissfully, her body melting under the touch. “This feels amazing. I didn’t realize how much I needed it p> Rafael turned his head toward her, his voice laced with tenderness. “You deserve this and more, Eliana. Every day, I think about how I treated you
Chapter 246 The sleek black SUV slid to a graceful halt in the driveway of the opulent London townhouse, its tires crunching softly over the gravel like they were trying not to announce their arrival. Eliana stepped out carefully, one hand instinctively resting on the gentle curve of her pregnant
Chapter 245 When Eliana descended the stairs, looking fresh and determined, Rafael’s eyes softened. “Ready? I’ll ride with you. Jax—er—James will drive.” (He corrected himself mentally; old habits from misremembering names in his web of operatives p> She nodded, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. “You don’t have to
Chapter 244 Dawn slipped quietly into Eliana’s bedroom, thin fingers of gold pushing through the heavy curtains and spilling over the tangled sheets. In the armchair by the window, Rafael stirred. He’d spent the night there—half-guard, half-penitent—and his body definitely had complaints. His long legs were cramped, his back stiff,
Chapter 243 Eliana bit her lip, warmth blooming across her brown skin under the weight of his gaze. The air between them thickened, humming with something unspoken and dangerously familiar. She should pull away. She knew that. Retreat into the safety she’d built brick by brick. But her body, traitorous
Chapter 242 Eliana sat perched on the edge of the bed, her swollen feet resting in Rafael’s lap like precious cargo. The position felt far more intimate than she was prepared for, and the emotions swirling inside her were anything but cooperative. The bedroom was dim, lit only by the
Chapter 241 A soft knock echoed at the door, pulling Eliana from her misery. She froze, wiping her eyes hastily with the back of her hand. Who could it be? She didn’t feel like answering, didn’t want to face anyone in this state. But her innate politeness, born from years
Chapter 240 The kitchen—normally a pristine battlefield of stainless steel and quiet efficiency—looked like it had survived a mild culinary hurricane. For the past two hours, steam curled from the simmering pot in soft, ghostly spirals, carrying the soothing scent of ginger and vegetables through the air like a peace
Chapter 239 James held up his hands in a placating gesture, his voice calm and steady. “Rafael, if you’re happy being married to Eliana—and I know you are, deep down the most happiest man on earth because of her—then you need to go right away and apologize for making her
Chapter 238 The dining room, once a sanctuary of golden light and herbal aromas, now felt like a battlefield strewn with the remnants of a shattered meal. The roast chicken sat half-carved, its crispy skin cooling into a sad, untouched crispness. Steamed vegetables wilted in their porcelain bowls, and the
Chapter 237 Kai leaned back in his chair, a lazy smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Not much to tell,” he said, though the spark in his eyes suggested otherwise. “There was this guy sizing up a woman’s bag at a crosswalk a few weeks ago—right before the
Chapter 236 The bell tower struck two, each chime rolling across the university grounds like a slow exhale. The sound drifted over the red-brick buildings and wide lawns, tugging students out of the nursing complex in a wave of chatter and clattering footsteps. Laughter, complaints, the rustling of bags—all of
Chapter 235 James gunned the engine, peeling out of the driveway with the bodyguards’ vehicle tailing close behind. The city blurred past—towering skyscrapers, bustling streets— but Rafael saw none of it. His hands shook as he dialed Eliana repeatedly, each unanswered ring twisting the knife in his gut. “Pick up,
Chapter 234 The pretty rays of morning sunlight slipped past the heavy velvet curtains of Rafael Vexley’s master bedroom, washing the room in a muted, golden haze. The silk sheets were a mess—evidence of a night that had offered everything except rest. Rafael lay across the king-sized bed, his tall,
Chapter 233 As her car finally disappeared down the street, Henry shut the front door and leaned against it for a moment, breathing in the silence she left behind. Then, with a heaviness that dragged at his bones, he made his way upstairs to his bedroom. The room felt wrong
Chapter 232 After the gut-wrenching conversation at the restaurant yesterday—the kind that tears something vital out of a person and doesn’t give it back—Henry Jackson felt like he’d been hollowed out from the inside. Eliana’s words still echoed in him with vicious clarity, each one a splinter digging deeper the
Chapter 231 Outside, the morning air greeted Eliana like a cold slap—brisk, sharp, and brimming with the unforgiving honesty that darkness often concealed. She wrapped her thin shawl tighter around herself as she stepped through the tall iron gates of the Vexley estate. The guards nodded at her, but even