MasukClara and Emma walked through the front door just as the sun dipped low, painting the living room in soft orange light. I’d been waiting for them, tea already cooling on the table. Lila and Elias ran to greet them first, Elias tugging at Clara’s sleeve with a big grin.“You’re back!” I said, standing up. “Tell me everything. How did it go at the branches?”Clara dropped her bag on the couch and sank into it with a tired sigh. Emma followed, looking pleased but worn out. “It was busy but good,” Clara started. “The east branch had a small mix-up with the new supplier order. They sent the wrong shade of yarn twice. I sat down with the manager, went through the invoices line by line, and got it sorted. Called the supplier right there. Promised them a better discount if they fixed it by morning. Customers were happy once we explained.”Emma jumped in, eyes bright. “The west branch was smoother. We ran a quick training session on the new inventory system. A couple of the girls were nervous
The doctor’s words hung in the air like a heavy curtain. Adrian stood frozen outside the ICU, his jaw tight. Madam Laurent is stable for now. But the next twenty-four hours are critical. He watched the doctor walk away, white coat flapping slightly, before turning to his father who was pacing around the ward worried.“Dad,” Adrian said, voice low. “What really happened?”Victor looked up, eyes tired. He rubbed his face with both hands. “I wish I knew, son. My phone just rang last night while I was on a business meeting with some clients. It was the hospital. They said there’d been an accident. Your mother’s car… hit hard. I didn’t ask questions. I just grabbed my keys and drove here as fast as I could. The police hadn’t even arrived yet when I got the call. That’s all I know right now.”Adrian paced a few steps, hands clenching at his sides. “No details? No one saw anything? A side impact at high speed? That doesn’t sound like a normal crash.”“I know it doesn’t,” Victor replied, voic
I waited for Adrian for a while. I sat in the hallway outside the ward, my hands clasped in my lap, staring at the floor tiles. The hospital was quiet at this hour, the lights dimmed for the night shift. I expected him to come back with questions. After all, he had just learned he had children he never knew about. He had seen the twins. He had donated blood for Lila. I thought he would want answers. I thought he would demand to know why I had hidden them. Why I had run. Why I had become Elena Voss instead of staying as Serena Laurent.But the minutes stretched into an hour. Then two. He didn’t return. The nurse who had taken him for the blood draw walked past once, but she only gave me a small smile and kept going. I stood up eventually, my legs stiff from sitting so long. I needed to clear my mind. I needed to see him, even if it was just to tell him to leave us alone after this. I couldn’t sit there wondering what he was thinking.I walked down the hallway, my shoes soft on the floo
Lia turned to leave. But before she could reach the door, footsteps approached fast from the hallway. Heavy, urgent footsteps. Someone was coming really fast.The head maid burst into the room, her face pale and her uniform slightly disheveled from running. She stopped short when she saw Lia adjusting her dress, her hair messy, her cheeks flushed. The older woman’s eyes widened for a brief second, but she didn’t comment. She had worked in this house long enough to know when to stay silent.“Master,” the head maid said, her voice shaking. “There’s been an accident. Madam Laurent, was in a car crash on the way back from her trip. She’s at the hospital now. The doctors say it’s serious. They need you there immediately.”Victor stood up so fast his chair fell backward. His face went white, then red with shock and anger. “What? How did this happen? Where is she?”The head maid gave him the name of the hospital and the details she had received from the call. Victor didn’t waste time. He gra
Victor Laurent sat in his large leather chair, the weight of the day’s failures pressing down on him. The company was bleeding. Investors were pulling out. The family name was a joke after the wedding disaster. And now this girl, Lia, was standing in front of him in a thin nightdress that left almost nothing to the imagination. Her body was on full display, the fabric clinging to her curves, her nipples visible through the material. She had come to him with information about Serena, but her eyes told him she wanted more than just talk. Lia stepped closer, her voice soft and pleading. “Uncle Victor… I know I made mistakes. But I can make it right. Let me show you how loyal I can be.” Victor’s eyes moved over her slowly. He was tired. Angry. But the sight of her body stirred something in him. He had always kept his distance, but tonight the house was quiet. Adrian was gone. His wife was away. No one would know. “Come here,” he said, his voice low and commanding. Lia walked around th
Lia knew Victor didn’t like her at the moment. The thought sat heavy in her chest as she stood in front of the mirror in her room. The mansion felt colder than ever, the silence pressing down on her like a weight. She had spent the last few days crying in private, begging for Adrian’s attention, only to be ignored. Her parents had tried to comfort her, but even they could see the Laurent family was slipping away from her grasp. She couldn’t let that happen. She had sacrificed too much. She chose her clothes carefully. A light, transparent nightdress that clung to her body. No bra. No panties. The fabric was thin enough to show the outline of her curves, soft enough to look innocent but revealing enough to tempt. She brushed her hair until it fell in smooth waves down her back. She sprayed a light perfume on her neck and wrists, the one Adrian used to like. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time. Her eyes were still red from crying, but she forced a small, seductive smile.
I stared at the phone in my hand, my heart still racing from Clara’s sudden message. The words “Call me immediately” kept flashing in my mind. I didn’t hesitate. I dialed her number with shaking fingers. It rang once. Twice. Then she picked up. “Serena?” Clara’s voice was barely a whisper, low an
My eyes fluttered open.Nathan was between my thighs, his mouth on me. He was licking me slowly, lovingly, his hands holding my hips. When he noticed I was awake, he looked up at me with dark, hungry eyes but didn’t stop.“Shh,” he whispered against my skin. “Just relax. Let me take care of you.”I
The days in the cabin had started to feel almost normal. I woke up every morning with the same routine now. The nausea was still there, but it was manageable if I ate small portions of ginger biscuits Emma kept on the bedside table. I would sit by the window with a cup of weak tea, my hand resting
The nausea kept hitting me like a wave every single morning. I woke up before the sun rose, my stomach already turning. I barely made it to the bathroom before I was on my knees, vomiting into the toilet. The taste was bitter. My body shook with each heave. When it finally stopped, I rested my for







