LOGINCHANDLERI had been searching for hours.The mansion felt like a cage. Every room I checked was empty. Every call I made came back with the same frustrating answer — no sign of her. My men were already scattered across the city, checking every camera feed, every street, every possible route she could have taken after running out of the estate. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing was enough.Roxette was out there somewhere. Alone. Scared. Possibly hurt.And it was my fault.I kept seeing it in my head — the way she must have walked into our bedroom and seen Dahlia on top of me. The betrayal in her eyes. The way she must have felt after everything we had been through. I had told her she was mine. I had promised to protect her. And now she was gone because of a trap my ex-wife and daughter had set.I slammed my fist against the wall of the security room, the pain barely registering. My phone was glued to my ear as I barked orders at Roland.“Expand the search radius. Check every traffic camera
ROXETTEI couldn’t stop staring at the photos.They were everywhere. Pinned to the wall in front of me, scattered across the small table to my left, even taped to the floor near my feet. Pictures of me at school. Pictures of me walking through the estate gardens. Pictures of me crying after Diana and her friends poured dirty water on me in the bathroom. Pictures of me and Chandler together — some taken through windows, some from far away like someone had been hiding in the bushes.My stomach twisted violently.This wasn’t random. Someone had been watching me for months. Following me. Taking photos of every moment of my life. My heart sank so hard it felt like it had dropped straight through the floor.No… this can’t be. This can’t be happening.I pulled harder against the ropes tying my wrists behind the chair, but they only dug deeper into my skin. My ankles were bound too tightly to the chair legs. I was completely trapped.
CHANDLERI tore through the entire mansion like a madman.“Roxette!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls as I checked every room on the first floor, then the second. The study. The library. The kitchen. Even the damn garden. Nothing. No sign of her. Her things were still in our room — her phone charger, the sweater she liked to wear around the house — but she was gone.My chest felt tight. Too tight.I kept seeing it in my head. The way Dahlia had been on my bed when I woke up. The smirk on Diana’s face. The calculated way they had both acted like nothing was wrong. They had set this up. I knew it. They wanted Roxette to see something. To believe something that wasn’t true.And now she was missing.I pulled out my phone and dialed Roland immediately. He answered on the second ring.“Boss?”“Find her,” I said, my voice low and sharp. “Roxette. She left the estate sometime this evening and she hasn’t come ba
CHANDLERI came home exhausted.Work had dragged on longer than expected, and the stress of everything else — Dahlia’s constant messages, Diana’s anger, the stalker still out there somewhere, and Roxette suddenly disappearing without a word — had worn me down to the bone. The house felt too quiet when I stepped inside. I called out for her once, twice, but there was no answer. Just silence.I checked my phone again. Still no reply from Roxette. My last message had been sent hours ago.Chandler: Where did you go? It’s already past 8. Are you okay? Please text me back.Nothing.I sighed heavily and loosened my tie as I made my way to the study. I poured myself a glass of wine — just one at first. Then another. And another. The rich red liquid burned slightly going down, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in my chest. I kept glancing at my phone, hoping for a reply that never came.Where the hell was she?I had told her she could take space if she needed it, but this felt different
ROXETTEI ran.I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, tears blurring my vision as I stumbled down the long driveway of the mansion. The image of Dahlia on top of Chandler kept flashing in my mind like a nightmare I couldn’t escape. My chest felt like it was being crushed. Every sob tore out of me, raw and broken.How could he?After everything.After he told me I was his. After the way he held me. After the baby growing inside me that he didn’t even know about.I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I could do was run.The night air was cold against my wet cheeks as I reached the street. Streetlights flickered above me, casting long shadows. I didn’t know where I was going. I just needed to get away. Away from that house. Away from the pain that was swallowing me whole.My phone was still in my bag, but I didn’t reach for it. I didn’t want to see any messages from Chandler. Not now. Not when my heart was sh
ROXETTEI couldn’t stay away any longer.After spending days at my mom’s penthouse, I had been drowning in my own thoughts. The pregnancy test still sat in my bag like a secret I wasn’t ready to share with anyone yet. I had cried, I had stared at the wall for hours, and I had tried to make sense of everything. But no matter how much I tried to think things through, one feeling kept pulling at me stronger than the rest.I missed him.I missed Chandler.I missed the way he held me, the way he called me “baby girl,” the way his presence made the chaos in my life feel a little less heavy. Even with everything falling apart around me — Diana’s hatred, the bullying, the stalker messages — being away from him had started to feel wrong. Like I had left a part of myself behind.My phone had been on silent for most of the day, but when I finally checked it that evening, my heart skipped when I saw his messages.**Chandler:** Where did you go? You didn’t say anything before leaving.**Chandler:*
ROXETTEI couldn’t stop staring at the test.The two pink lines stared back at me, clear and undeniable. I had taken three more tests just to be sure, lining them up on the bathroom counter like little soldiers confirming the same terrifying, overwhelming truth.I was pregnant.Chandler’s baby was
DAHLIAI slammed the door to my hotel suite so hard the walls shook.That arrogant bastard.Chandler had looked at me like I was nothing more than an inconvenience. Like I was some pathetic ex-wife begging for scraps. The nerve of him — sitting there in that expensive lounge, sipping his whiskey li
DIANAThe moment we stepped into the condo, I didn’t even bother turning on the lights.Calvin kicked the door shut behind us and I was already on him — mouth crashing into his, hands yanking at his shirt like I could tear it off his body. He met me with the same rough energy, lifting me up and pre
ROXETTE“Roxy! Send me money right now. Dave’s coming over, and I don’t have anything to buy the wine he wants,” my mom said urgently over the phone.The second I heard her voice, I regretted answering.“Mom, please… not now.” Tears streamed down my face. “I don’t have any money. I just paid half t







