LOGINTristan The first report arrives before sunrise. Belladonna again. Another warehouse. Another empty building. Another trail that goes cold. I stare at the photograph spread across my desk, burned documents, discarded weapons. Fresh tire tracks. Nothing useful. Nothing. My fingers drum against the desk, “Find them.”The men standing in front of me nod immediately, “We are trying boss.”“Trying is not enough.”Silence falls. Good. “You can leave.”They obey, and the office door snaps shut behind them. Leaving only me still sitting behind the huge desk.I should be working. Instead, I realize I’ve read the same report four times. Without remembering a single line. Fucking annoying. I throw the file aside and grab another. Accounts. Weapon shipments. Money transfers. The numbers blur altogether as I stare. My eyes drift toward the window. It’s raining. Again. My jaw tightens. Mexico had been raining too. “Enough.” I force myself back to work. Anything that will remove my mind from
Roxana The door closes behind him. Not loudly. Just quietly. The soft click somehow hurts more than every shout that came before it. I don't move. I can't. My body remains exactly where it fell, my knees pressed against the cold wooden floor, my palm trembling beneath my weight. For a long time, I don't hear anything. No footsteps, no voices. No sound of breeze rustling the flowers. Nothing. It’s as though the entire world has stopped breathing. Then my own breath catches in my throat. A sob tears free. Another follows. Then another. Until I can't tell where one ends and the next begins. I curl into myself. Small. As small as I can become. Maybe if I disappear, none of this will ever happen. Maybe if I close my eyes long enough, I will wake up the morning Tristan left for Italy. Back before I opened that file. Back before I believed the worst of him. Back before I ran. My chest tightens so painfully I clutch at my shirt. No. Not my shirt. The oversized white shirt Tris
TristanThe metal door to the torture room groans open and I step inside. The room smells of damp concrete and old blood. The kind of smell I'm used to. Daniel looks up immediately. He’s sitting on a wooden chair, wrists restrained in front of him, not beaten. Not yet.The moment our eyes meet, fear drains every ounce of color from his face. Good. He should be scared, because there is a certainty that he may not walk out of this room alive. I walk further into the room. Slowly, deliberately. The door clicks shut behind me. And silence settles between us. Heavy. Oppressive. The only sound in the room is the pounding of his breath. Daniel swallows, “ I.… I didn't know she was married.”I don't answer. I keep walking. Until I'm standing directly in front of him. The man my wife left me for. I stand close to him, so close he has to tilt his head back to look at me. My voice rings through the silence in the room, “You have been saying that.”His breathing becomes uneven. “It’s the tr
Tristan The tiny bedroom door slams shut behind me, the sound echoes through the hallway. I don't stop walking. One step. Two. I continue down the corridor without looking back. My jaw aches, I realize too late because I've been grinding my teeth together so hard I might crack them. The guards lower their heads as I pass. No one speaks. No one dares. Good. Because if anyone says a single word, I might kill them. The corridor stretches endlessly before me, every step should make me feel better. It doesn't. My hands still smell like her. My clothes. My body. Every single thing. My knuckles clench beside me. Making sharp pain jolt through my body. I stop and look down, blood. Mine. The cuts across my knuckles have opened again. I don't remember the last time I hit the wall that hard. I don't remember the last time I got so angry that I could have killed her right on that spot. The pain in my hand is nothing. In fact, not enough. Not enough to numb the one spreading through m
Roxana My entire body trembles violently. What the hell is going on? Another knock rumbles through the room. My legs dash to the door, before I reach it, the door opens from outside and I come face to face with Tristan. Looking disheveled. Exactly like a devil set to ruin and destroy. I take a step back instinctively, “W…. what’s the problem?”He doesn’t answer, instead, he steps into the room and slams the door shut, locking both of us inside the tiny room. Silence falls until it becomes uncomfortable, the only sound in the room is the thumping of my heart. I try again, “Is there a problem?”He says nothing, only walks further into the room, straight towards me. I take a step back again, then two, I keep taking until my back hits the wall.“You think you can keep running away from me right? You fucking slut.”Something painful crashes into me, my gaze drops to my feet as I try to force back the tears threatening to fall. “I’m sorry.”Tristan stands in front of me, so close our b
RoxanaThe gates open silently. The mansion rises from the darkness exactly as I remember it — cold, silent, beautiful. Home.No. Not home anymore.The SUV rolls to a stop beneath the entrance. Nobody comes outside to greet us. No lights flood the front steps. No warm voices. Nothing.The engine dies. For several long seconds, no one moves.Then Tristan opens the door and steps out. I follow because I know better than to hesitate. Panic races through my body within seconds.Neither of us speaks as we climb the marble steps. The guards outside straighten immediately.“Boss.”Tristan doesn’t answer. He walks past them without slowing.The front doors open. The familiar entrance hall stretches before me — chandeliers, the grand staircase, the polished marble floor.Everything looks exactly the same. But I don’t belong in it anymore. I stop walking.Memories hit too fast — laughing with Texas on those stairs, his mother teasing us at breakfast. It feels like someone else’s life.“Move.” H
Roxana This is a nightmare! What did he say? Claim me? He’s acting like I’m something to be claimed. I open my mouth to argue but snap it shut. I know better than to argue with Tristan. “Don’t punish me, please….” My voice breaks, my pulse pounding loudly in my ears. “ I will.” With
Roxana I slam my hand over my mouth to stop from screaming as the scene unfolds before me. Tears choke me. My knees buckle, and my entire body shakes uncontrollably. Is this a nightmare? A lump forms in my throat. I can already feel wetness staining my cheeks. This is the man I love so much—th
Tristan My phone buzzes, waking me. I ignore it, opening my eyes for a moment and staring into the blank space. It buzzes again. This time, I stretch my hand to the bedside drawer and pick it up. There are several texts from my brothers, my mother, and all the family members. *We are in your li
RoxanaI keep turning on my bed, Aaron’s words replaying in my head. I have to leave this house tonight. That’s the only way I can escape this arranged marriage and be with the man who truly loves me.Checking the time for the hundredth time today, I get out of bed.It’s 6pm.Almost dinnertime.Onc







