Semua Bab Contracted: Love In The Shadow: Bab 41 - Bab 50

~~~~Rick never showed his face again for the rest of our lunch.It was only later that I found out he was actually Lucian’s cousin …. more like a brother, really.My stomach twisted with guilt. I’d been trying to play along, but I’d unwittingly poked at a real wound.But the day wasn’t over.Neither were the reporters. They were like shadows, tucked into every corner, snapping photos from every possible angle. It was exhausting.Then came the shopping spree.I quickly learned that Lucian Creed is the king of holding grudges. His warning about "paying the price" for my stunt with Rick wasn't just talk.He spent two hours lounging in a plush chair with a glass of wine and a magazine, looking perfectly relaxed while I was hauled in and out of the dressing room.Every few minutes, he’d give a lazy nod to the seamstress like he was judging a dog show."Seriously?" I snapped, stepping out in the tenth outfit… black leather pants, a pink see-through top, and high-top sneakers. "Are you tryin

~~~~~Lucian raised a brow and looked between Tyler and me.“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” he asked again.I immediately moved closer to him, wrapping my hand around his arm like I needed protection.“It’s nothing serious, my love,” I said sweetly. “Your cousin here was just crying because he didn’t get invited to our wedding, and I was trying to explain that not everybody qualifies for such an important event.”Lucian looked down at me.That smile. He already knew I was lying.Tyler stared at both of us like he had just swallowed poison.“Seriously, Lucian?” he asked. “This is real? You’re actually married?”“We fell in love,” I started to say. “That’s how it happened, you ass…”“Yes, Tyler,” Lucian cut in before I could finish.Tyler blinked twice. Then his eyes widened.“Oh my God,” he breathed out. “You are completely screwed.” He pointed at Lucian. “Does Mama know about this?”I frowned. Mama?“Not yet,” Lucian replied calmly.Tyler laughed under his breath

~~~~~~ Lucian could not even arrange his thoughts properly anymore. For the past three weeks, he had deliberately kept his distance from Mira. Not because of any misunderstanding between them. He simply wanted his head clear before Aunt Amelia arrived. Whenever that woman came close to him, every sane thought inside his head turned into chaos. At least, that was what he had believed until tonight. Now he was no longer sure of anything. The image of Mira storming into that room refused to leave his head. The black-silver dress. The cold glare in her eyes. The fearless way she stood before Amelia and Tyler without backing down for even a second. God. The woman had walked into a room full of Creeds and spoken to them like they were children. And somehow... instead of angering him, it made him want her even more. It drove him insane. He could still remember the way she grabbed his face and kissed him in front of everyone. The look in her eyes when she defended him. The wa

~~~~I could not believe my eyes. I was actually holding him.My hand wrapped around his length, feeling the slow, heavy throb against my palm. The heat from his skin sent a sharp shiver racing down my spine.Jesus Christ.It felt insane.Like I had crossed some dangerous line I spent my whole fucking life avoiding.Lucian’s breathing turned rough inside the bathroom, and when I looked up, his dark eyes were already locked on mine. There was so much desire in them that my stomach twisted.We were both completely new to this.Neither of us knew what we were doing anymore, and somehow that only made everything feel hotter.Being an IED patient stole every normal part of my life. At eighteen, while other girls were busy obsessing over dumb college boys and meaningless crushes, I was trying not to fucking kill somebody.Or myself.That condition followed me everywhere like a curse.Every day felt like standing on the edge of a cliff, trying not to fall off. While everyone else worried abou

PARIS ~~~~~The morning in Paris carried a quiet kind of luxury, the kind that looked peaceful from the outside but always hid something restless underneath it.Inside a glass-walled office overlooking the city, Noah Bamford, a striking figure with raven-black hair and devilish charm, was already buried in work he was not truly seeing.His mind was elsewhere. Far elsewhere.Then… the door burst open.Nora rushed in without warning.Her heels barely made it halfway across the floor before she stopped, breath broken, chest rising and falling too fast as if she had been running for more than just a few seconds.Noah did not even look up immediately.He only sighed, he wasn’t surprised.“Nora,” he said, voice controlled, “how many times do I have to remind you that this is an office and not your personal hallway?”Nora tried to speak, but her breath kept cutting through her words. “I know… I know… but this is important.”Noah raised an eyebrow. “So important that you could not use those p