Chapter: Ch: 126 The Last Gift.Her hand was cold.She led me to the altar without a word.Behind me, I could hear Ares's breathing. Shallow. Wet. Slowing.Don't listen, I told myself. Don't look back. If you look back, you won't be able to do this.So I looked forward instead. At the stone. At the dark, ancient symbols carved into its surface that seemed to writhe in the flickering candlelight. At the shallow basin in its center, stained black from centuries of blood."It won't hurt long," Perla said softly.The laugh that came out of me was half a sob. "You know, for someone who claims to love me, you have a very strange definition of comfort."She didn't answer.I placed my palm flat against the cold stone. The Mark on my hand blazed immediately—white-hot, furious—as if it recognized what I was about to do and wanted me to stop. I felt it pulse against my skin like a second heartbeat. Like a warning.I know, I told it silently. But what choice do I have?Ares made a sound behind me. Something broken and desperate
Huling Na-update: 2026-03-10
Chapter: Ch: 125 The Choice.The wind picks up, howling through the ruined temple like a living thing. The candles around the altar flicker wildly but refuse to go out, as if held by invisible hands."Yara." Perla's voice has taken on a desperate edge. "Please. Just listen to me for one moment—""We're done listening," Ares snarls. His body is coiled tight, ready to strike. "We're leaving. Now.""You can't." Perla's hand moves to her belt, and suddenly she's holding a blade of her own—longer than the ceremonial dagger, wickedly sharp. "I won't let you."I feel the Mark on my hand flare hot, responding to the threat. Energy surges through me, the ancient power of my bloodline rising to the surface. "You're going to stop us? Your own daughter?""I'm saving us!" Perla's voice cracks. "Don't you see? This is the only way we can be whole again. The only way our family can be complete.""Our family?" I laugh, the sound bitter and broken. "You don't want a family, Perla. You want a resurrection. And you were willing to
Huling Na-update: 2026-03-05
Chapter: Ch: 124 Blood and Stone.The temple appeared like something out of a nightmare.It wasn't grand or beautiful like I'd imagined. It was ancient—older than anything I'd ever seen. Crumbling stone pillars rose from the earth at odd angles, covered in moss and vines that seemed to move even when there was no wind. In the center stood a circular platform, and at its heart, a stone altar stained dark with something I didn't want to think about."This is it?" I asked, my voice sounding small in the heavy silence."This is it," Perla confirmed, dismounting from her horse with fluid grace. "The Temple of Echoes. One of the oldest sacred sites in existence."Ares was already off his horse, his hand on the dagger at his hip. His silver eyes swept the clearing, cataloging every shadow, every potential threat. "It's too quiet."He was right. No birds sang in the trees. No insects buzzed in the grass. Even our horses shifted nervously, their ears pinned back."The veil is thin here," Perla said, walking toward the temple w
Huling Na-update: 2026-02-10
Chapter: Ch: 123 The Temple of Echoes.The two weeks passed too quickly.One moment I was agreeing to the ritual, feeling brave and certain, and the next I was standing in our chambers watching Ares pack supplies for the journey."We don't need that much," I said, watching him stuff another set of daggers into his travel bag. "Perla said the temple is only a day's ride from here.""I don't care what Perla said." He didn't look up, his jaw set in that stubborn way that meant arguing would be pointless. "We're going into unknown territory to perform an ancient ritual that requires your blood. I'm bringing weapons."I couldn't exactly fault his logic. I moved to the twins' bassinet, looking down at Lyris and Aldron. They were awake. In two weeks, they'd grown so much. Lyris's eyes were starting to look more green than blue, and Aldron had Ares's dark hair coming in thicker."I don't want to leave them," I whispered.Ares stopped packing. He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my should
Huling Na-update: 2026-02-09
Chapter: Ch: 122 The Gift of Trust.The four months passed in a strange blur of sleepless nights and precious firsts.Lyris smiled for the first time at six weeks old—a real smile, not just gas—and Ares nearly cried. Aldron discovered his hands at two months and spent hours staring at them like they were the most fascinating things in existence. By three months, they were starting to develop distinct personalities that went beyond "screaming" and "sleeping."Lyris was bold and demanding, always reaching for things just beyond her grasp, frustrated when the world didn't bend to her will. Aldron was quieter, more observant, but when he wanted something, he was just as stubborn as his sister. He just went about it differently."She's going to be a warrior," Ares said one afternoon, watching Lyris grab at a dangling toy with fierce determination. "Look at that grip. She's got her mother's stubbornness.""And Aldron?" I asked, rocking our son gently as he dozed against my chest."A strategist. He watches everything, figures
Huling Na-update: 2026-02-08
Chapter: Ch: 121 The Weight of Two Months.The weeks that followed blurred together in a haze of sleepless nights and stolen moments of joy.Lyris had her father's temperament—fierce, demanding, refusing to sleep unless someone was holding her. Aldron was quieter, more contemplative, but when he cried, it was with a fury that shook the walls. Between the two of them, Ares and I were running on fumes and adrenaline."She's doing it again," Ares muttered one night, or maybe it was early morning—time had lost all meaning. He was pacing the room with Lyris against his shoulder, patting her back while she wailed. "I've fed her, changed her, burped her. What else could she possibly want?""She wants to make sure we know who's in charge," I said from the bed, where I was nursing Aldron. "She's establishing dominance early.""Well, it's working." Ares looked down at his daughter with an expression that was equal parts exasperation and pure adoration. "You're a tiny tyrant, you know that?"Lyris responded by spitting up on his shoulder
Huling Na-update: 2026-02-07
Chasing The Wife He Discarded
For five years, Nerissa Vane was the perfect, silent wife to Lysander Blackwood. She endured his coldness, his family’s disdain, and the humiliation of taking birth control every night to ensure she didn't "trap" a man who hated her. She was the woman who secretly saved his family from ruin, yet he saw her as nothing more than a desperate social climber.
When Lysander’s first love returns and falls pregnant, the mask finally slips. Lysander doesn't hate children—he only hates the idea of having them with Nerissa. After a tragic accident where Lysander leaves a bleeding, pregnant Nerissa behind to save his mistress, Nerissa realizes that love cannot be begged for.
She leaves behind a wedding ring, a positive ultrasound, and the truth about the debt he can never repay. By the time Lysander realizes he chased away the only woman who truly loved him, the "placeholder wife" is gone, and the powerful Vane Heiress has risen in her place. He wants her back, but this time, Nerissa isn't playing by his rules.
Basahin
Chapter: Ch: 5 The Disappearance of Nerissa Vane.Nerissa’s POV"Is anyone home?" I asked the empty foyer as I stepped into the Blackwood mansion, my voice bouncing off the marble walls. The silence was absolute because the family was still at the hospital fussing over Seraphina, but I didn't mind the quiet at all, so I walked through the halls where I had spent five years playing the part of the obedient wife. Everything looked different to me now, like I was looking at a house where I had never truly belonged.I went straight to the master bedroom and pulled a small suitcase from the back of the closet, tossing in a few changes of clothes that I had actually bought with my own money. I didn't touch the designer bags or the diamond jewelry Lysander’s parents had gifted me over the years, because none of those things belonged to the woman I was becoming again. I reached into the back of my vanity, pulling out a small, heavy lockbox that contained the original debt agreements from five years ago."You really thought you were the
Huling Na-update: 2026-06-17
Chapter: Ch: 4 The Woman He Chose.Nerissa’s POV"I really don't see why I have to be here, Malia, especially since Lysander has made it clear he only has eyes for one person on this trip," I said while I smoothed the fabric of my dress, sitting on the edge of the bed. Malia sighed and stepped closer, taking my hands in hers."Please do it for me, Nerissa, because if the shareholders see him wandering around this resort opening with Seraphina while you're nowhere to be found, the scandal will be irreversible," she pleaded, her voice trembling slightly. I just nodded slowly, following her out to the yacht where the afterparty was being held."You look like you're having fun, Lysander, I'm glad one of us is enjoying this forced public appearance," I muttered as I walked past him toward the bar, but he just tightened his grip on Seraphina."Nobody forced you to come, Nerissa, so if you're going to stand there with that long face, you might as well have stayed in the hotel room," he snapped, turning his back on me. I
Huling Na-update: 2026-06-17
Chapter: Ch: 3 The Child He Wanted.Nerissa’s POV"Is the soup not to your liking, Seraphina, you've been pushing it around your bowl for ten minutes and I’d hate for the kitchen's effort to go to waste," Malia said with a polite but tight smile while she watched Lysander’s guest at the Sunday family dinner. We were all gathered in the formal dining room, the atmosphere heavy because Lysander had insisted on bringing Seraphina along, claiming she was feeling under the weather and shouldn't be left alone."I’m so sorry, Malia, I think the heat in the gallery earlier just got to me and my stomach has been doing somersaults all afternoon," Seraphina replied in a faint voice, leaning slightly toward Lysander. He dropped his spoon and placed a hand on her shoulder, his face etched with a level of concern that I hadn't seen him show for anyone in years."Maybe you should go upstairs and lie down for a moment, or I can have the driver take you home right now if it’s that bad," Lysander suggested, but before she could answ
Huling Na-update: 2026-06-17
Chapter: Ch: 2 The Debt That Bound Them.Nerissa’s POV"Have you seen the morning headlines, Lysander, or were you too busy enjoying the 'undeniable chemistry' the press is raving about to care that your wife is being dragged through the mud by every gossip blog in the city?" Xander asked while he slammed a business magazine onto the breakfast table, staring directly at his son. I kept my eyes fixed on my coffee cup, trying to ignore the glossy cover where Lysander and Seraphina were pictured laughing together at a corporate gala."The press writes what sells magazines, Father, and if they find Seraphina more interesting than a woman who barely speaks two words at dinner, that isn't my problem," Lysander replied while he casually buttered a piece of toast, his voice completely calm."It becomes your problem when it makes this family look like a circus, and Malia and I didn't raise you to treat your wife like a placeholder while you parade an old flame around town," Xander snapped back, but before he could continue, Talia
Huling Na-update: 2026-06-17
Chapter: Ch: 1 The Wife He Never Chose.Nerissa’s POV"You look breathtaking tonight, Nerissa, that shade of blue really brings out your eyes and I'm so glad you decided to wear the family heirloom I sent over this morning," my mother-in-law, Malia, said while she squeezed my hand and I offered her a small, practiced smile, but before I could find the words to thank her, Lysander stepped up beside me."She would look good in anything, Mother, but perhaps we should focus more on the guests who actually contributed to the foundation tonight instead of fussing over a dress," Lysander said with a sharp voice, his eyes already scanning the room until they landed on Seraphina Vale, who was standing just a few feet away."Don't be so dismissive, Lysander, Nerissa has been the backbone of this charity’s organization for three years and you know it," Xander added while he joined us, his expression stern as he looked at his son. Lysander let out a dry chuckle and tucked one hand into his pocket, reaching out to signal a waiter.
Huling Na-update: 2026-06-17
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