LOGINEver since meeting Aidan and living under the same roof as him, Malikha had grown accustomed to existing in two completely different worlds — one real, the other painfully fake.
The real world only existed when it was just the two of them alone inside the apartment. In that world, Aidan treated her like nothing more than a servant, while he played the role of an untouchable master who controlled every aspect of her life.
But the fake world was entirely different.
Wh
GREENWICHBruce Caldwell awoke on the hardwood floor with a splitting headache. Groaning, he reached instinctively for the back of his head where it had struck the edge of the table the night before. Then the memories came flooding back."Malikha..."His eyes snapped open. Ignoring the dizziness, Bruce forced himself to his feet."Malikha!"Holding his aching head, he searched every room in the house, calling her name over and over. It wasn't until he reached the front door that he realized daylight had already flooded the property. He had been unconscious all night."Damn it..." he muttered through clenched teeth. "Where did that bastard take her?"A sharp throb shot through his skull."My head..."Outside, only his own car remained parked in front of the vacation home.Bruce hurried back inside just long enough to splash cold water on his face. After grabbing his jacket, he climbed into his car
Aidan's hand continued to stroke Malikha's hair while his lips wandered gently from the curve of her jaw to her mouth again and again. He paid no attention to her tears or to the pleas that trembled from her lips. He couldn't bring himself to stop. To him, she was unbearably precious, and every moment with her only intensified the love and desire he had carried for so long."Please... let me go, Aidan..." Malikha sobbed, refusing to stop pleading.Instead of answering, he brushed away her tears with his thumb, caressing her face as though trying to erase every trace of her pain."You belong with me..." he murmured softly, completely consumed by his emotions. "I love you so much, my Babydoll."The overwhelming joy of finally having the woman he loved eclipsed the guilt he should have felt for the wounds he had left on both her body and her heart."Liar..." Malikha whispered between broken sobs. "You're a liar..."A faint smile tugged at Aidan
Aidan kept raining punches down on Bruce while Malikha, frozen in shock and panic, desperately tried to stop his violent outburst."Stop! Please, stop fighting!" she cried, grabbing Aidan's arm.Blinded by rage, Aidan shoved her away with enough force to send her crashing to the floor before turning back and striking Bruce across the face several more times.Seeing Malikha thrown to the ground only fueled Bruce's anger. He immediately fought back, landing a hard punch of his own.The two men exchanged blows until Aidan suddenly drove a powerful kick into Bruce's stomach. Before Bruce could recover, Aidan followed it with a crushing punch that sent him staggering backward.Bruce lost his balance. His head slammed against the sharp edge of a nearby table. His body collapsed onto the floor, motionless.For a moment, the room fell silent except for Aidan's ragged breathing.Chest heaving, he stared at Bruce's unmoving body before kneeling
Bruce carried a bottle of champagne in one hand and two glasses in the other. Meanwhile, Malikha was relaxing outside, admiring the beautiful flower garden beside the vacation house. After inspecting every room and reviewing the property's interior, Bruce wanted to celebrate by treating her to a drink. He set the bottle down on the small table beside her."Oh, I don't usually drink, Bruce. I tried beer once when I was in France, and I regretted it immediately," Malikha said with an embarrassed smile, politely declining his offer.Bruce laughed at her confession."Really? Why?" he asked, chuckling."I only had one glass, and I got completely drunk. I started acting strangely and couldn't remember a single thing afterward. I have no idea what embarrassing things I did. If Aidan hadn't come to pick me up, I probably would've ended up sleeping on the street." She giggled softly at the memory.The moment Aidan's name slipped from her lips, Bruce's smile
The morning had barely settled into its usual rhythm, yet Glenn Matthews was already in a foul mood.His patience—never particularly abundant to begin with—had finally snapped.The moment he pushed open the door to Aidan's executive office, the sight before him made his blood boil. Once again, Lucy had found another excuse to throw herself at Aidan before he left to pick up Lea, Raphael Augustin's girlfriend.Without bothering to hide his irritation, Glenn strode across the room and slammed a thick stack of documents onto Aidan's desk with enough force to make the polished wood shudder.The sharp bang echoed throughout the office.Lucy, who had been casually perched on the edge of Aidan's desk while chatting with him as he signed several contracts, whipped her head toward Glenn with an irritated frown.Aidan merely glanced up for a brief second before returning to the paperwork in front of him.He didn't scold Glenn.Frankly, he had grown exhausted by Lucy's increasingly shameless beh
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUTBruce’s car arrived after nearly an hour and a half of driving from Noxtrot. The two of them stepped out onto the front grounds of a housing development company called Ranallo Construction & Housing Developer.The scenery surrounding the office was absolutely breathtaking. It was the kind of view Malikha had never imagined she would find so close to a city as crowded as New York.“This is so beautiful,” Malikha said softly as she looked around.Bruce smiled, pleased to see how much she was enjoying the trip. He then led her inside the construction company’s office, a firm that specialized in residential developments and custom housing projects.“This company hires us for exterior and interior design services. Noxtrot has worked with Ranallo Construction on several luxury homes. Now they’ve asked us to design a retirement house project,” Bruce explained proudly.
The next morning, Aidan cut their trip short and rushed their return to New York, even though they were supposed to stay for two more days. He barely spoke a word. He didn’t explain why they were leaving early, nor did he mention anything about ending their honeymoon ahead of schedule. Mean
The mission to escape the estate had failed, and Malikha returned to the villa with Aidan once again. Eugene had already ordered all the guards to stand down after they found her. Throughout the entire journey back, neither Aidan nor Malikha spoke a single word.Aidan’s hand continuo
The grayish-white shadow streaked with black fur lunged from the left just as Aidan sprinted forward and leaped over a fallen tree. The beast was thrown violently to the ground after a bullet from Aidan’s gun struck it before its paws could even touch the earth. Aidan quickly regained his footing,
Malikha continued walking toward the villa on foot. Moving as quietly as possible, she kept glancing in every direction to make sure no one was following her. The moment she entered the villa, she immediately ran toward the bedroom.She had prepared her escape carefully.With her pa







