All Chapters of THE DONS' SURROGATE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

65 Chapters

REALITY

LIAA knock rattled the door. I froze, every nerve on edge, my failed escape still burning shame into my skin.“Come in,” I said stiffly, half expecting Dimitri’s smirk or Salve’s cold stare.But it wasn’t either of them. It was the girl. The same one I’d brushed into in the hall earlier. Her dark hair was tied back, her eyes too steady for a servant. She carried a neat stack of folded clothes over her arm, and when she smiled, it was faint—like she didn’t quite mean it.“The don is ready to accompany you for shopping tomorrow,” she said, her voice even, clipped, professional.Shopping. The word sounded foreign on my tongue. Freedom wrapped in silk. My pulse leapt before I could stop it. Another chance. Another door. Another plan. But before I could answer, she set the clothes on the chair and looked at me. Really looked. The kind of look that stripped through excuses, through defiance, and went straight to the raw ache beneath.“If I were you,” she said softly, “I’d stop trying so ha

A BEAUTIFUL CAGE

LIAI said nothing.Salve’s hand was still heavy on my arm, his grip steady but not cruel. He didn’t need to be cruel. The weight of his words was enough. I forced myself to look away from the girl in the collar. Back to the glossy marble floors. Back to the people who glanced at us with envy, admiration, fear. I willed my face into something blank, something they couldn’t read.If I broke now, in the middle of this palace of glass, I’d give them the satisfaction of seeing just how fragile I was. I wouldn’t give him that. I wouldn’t give anyone that.So I nodded once, short and sharp, like I understood. Like I accepted.Salve released me, his expression unreadable, but I caught the faintest flicker of approval.“Good,” he said simply, and walked ahead.Sia lingered behind me. I felt her eyes on me, curious, searching. Then she leaned close, her whisper threading into my ear. “You’re stronger than you think. Just don’t waste that strength on foolish escapes.”I didn’t answer her either

HIS REST PLACE

Salve pushed the bedroom door open, shoulders heavy from the performance of the day. He’d meant only to collapse, to retreat into silence. But the moment his gaze landed on the bed, his breath stalled. Dimitri was already there. He lounged against the pillows like he owned the room—shirt discarded, chest bare, hair tousled just enough to look dangerous. A half-smile curved his lips, seductive and sultry, as if he’d been waiting hours just for this moment. “About time,” Dimitri drawled, voice rich with mischief. His eyes raked lazily over Salve, devouring him without shame. “The empire’s king finally comes to bed.” Salve didn’t answer. Words were useless against the way his pulse thundered. Dimitri shifted, the satin sheets sliding off his body in a whisper, revealing more of him, lean and carved. He crooked a finger. “Come here.” Salve obeyed. He always did with him. The air thickened as he crossed the room, every step slower than the last, as if gravity pulled harder with e

A SUDDEN WARMTH IN THE HEART

QUAN “I heard you finally saw the reality,” Quan’s voice cut through the quiet of Lia’s room before she even realized the door had opened. He leaned against the frame, casual as always, a half-burnt cigarette dangling from his fingers. The smoke curled lazily in the air, carrying with it the sharp bite of his presence. Lia stiffened. Sia, who had been pouring tea for her, glanced between them but said nothing. Quan’s gaze pinned Lia, sharp but not unkind. “The collars. The faces. The little cage they keep you in. It hit you, didn’t it?” Her lips parted, but no words came. She hated how exposed she felt under his stare. Quan snorted, shaking his head. “Don’t bother lying. I can see it in your eyes. You finally realized this world doesn’t give a fuck about your feelings.” He tapped the ash into a tray on the dresser, his tone laced with his usual roughness. “Welcome to the real stage, princess. You’re just lucky you landed here, and not with some bastard who’d have broken you

DISTANCE

QUAN Avoidance was easy. I’d been doing it all my life. You learn early, when you grow up in a family like mine, that silence is safer than words and distance is safer than touch. Keep moving, keep working, keep your hands busy, and nobody notices the thoughts you shouldn’t be having. Since that kiss, I’d made damn sure not to be around. I left the house before she woke, came back long after she’d gone to bed. And when I couldn’t avoid being inside those same walls, I slipped down side corridors, lingered in rooms she never used, smoked on balconies she didn’t dare approach. It was easier that way. For her. For me. For everyone. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. Because the truth? Every time I thought about her lips—soft, tasting faintly of defiance—I wanted it again. Not out of love. Not out of any damn fairytale. Just because it felt real. But she wasn’t mine to touch. She was theirs. Salve’s mask. Dimitri’s shield. The so-called bride of an empire. And I was thei

CORNERED

LIA I’d noticed it long before I admitted it to myself. Quan had begun disappearing. At first it was subtle—missed breakfasts, his voice echoing down the hall just as I turned a corner. Then entire days would pass without a glimpse of him. No teasing remarks, no half-smile thrown my way. The house felt emptier for it, even though the walls were still crowded with guards and silent staff. And the strangest part? I missed him. The man who had once called me “trouble in silk.” The man who had kissed me when neither of us meant to. That memory burned like a secret under my skin. Every time I thought of it—of his breath, the startled sound he made before pulling away—I felt the same strange mixture of guilt and longing. I had no right to miss him, not when I was bound to Salve, not when Dimitri’s eyes saw everything. But want doesn’t care for rules. So when I finally found him, I didn’t think. I moved. He was in the courtyard, sleeves rolled up, cleaning his gun. His shirt clun

ATTACK AND ATTRACT

QUAN The night was eerily quiet. I’d spent enough years under Dimitri’s wing to know quiet was just the pause before hell opened up. I’d been patrolling the back courtyard, trying to shake off the weight of my thoughts. Lia.Every time I saw her, I felt like I was walking into a storm I couldn’t control. And ever since that kiss ,I had done my best not to breathe the same air as her. Dimitri would probably laugh his head off if he knew how twisted up I was over the girl. Hell, he already knew . He always did. I was about to call it a night when I saw it — movement near the southern wall. A shadow where there shouldn’t have been one. I froze, instincts snapping into place. Then came the first shot. The crack of gunfire split the still air. One, then two, then a hail of them. The estate lights flared to life, alarms blaring. Guards shouted from every direction. My hand was already on my gun. I sprinted toward the main building. Smoke grenades rolled across the lawn, and the air

GLIMPSE OF HELL

LILY The attack had ended. Smoke still lingered in the air, and the ground outside the estate was covered in broken glass and the smell of gunpowder. I stood beside Quan, my hands shaking even though I tried to hide it. My ears were still ringing from the gunfire, my heart still racing. Dimitri stepped out of one of the cars, brushing dust from his black coat like unfazed as always. His men spread out behind him, checking the area. He looked at me first, then at Quan, then back at me again and that smirk of his curved slowly across his face. “Well,” he said, his voice smooth and sharp all at once. “I hope that little show gave you a proper taste of the world you keep trying to run to.” I flinched. “What—” He cut me off, stepping closer. “Out there, kotyonok, men don’t offer silk and gold. They take what they want and burn the rest.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You haven’t met real ones yet.” Dimitri’s tone softened slightly, though the edge never left. “Be grateful t

DEVIL'S SMILE

QUAN The courtyard was still, lit only by the dim glow of the lamps. Dimitri was waiting, like he already knew I’d come looking for quiet. He leaned against a pillar, sleeves rolled up, a cigarette burning slow between his fingers. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asked, voice lazy. He smirked, exhaling smoke toward the night sky. “Or maybe you didn’t want to sleep.” His eyes flicked to me . “She’s got you twisted up, doesn’t she?” I clenched my jaw. “You really have nothing better to do than play mind reader?” “Not when the story’s this good,” he drawled. Then his smirk softened, barely, the teasing slipping into something else. “You like her. I can tell.” It wasn’t an accusation. It wasn’t even a threat. Just fact. I turned away, but Dimitri kept talking. “You know, you can have her if you want. As long as you don’t forget—she’ll always be part of us. Our world. Our purpose.” Normally, I would’ve taken it as a jab, another one of his cruel jokes but something in his voice stoppe

STRINGS PULLED

DIMITRI The thing about control is that most people mistake it for strength. But real control—the one that bends people without them realizing—is all about patience. And I’ve always had just enough of that to make the world dance. The morning after the shopping trip, the house was unusually quiet. Salve had locked himself in the study again, doing whatever gods of empire-building demanded. Lia, predictably, had disappeared somewhere into the gardens. And Quan—our golden boy — was pretending not to look for her. I watched from the balcony, cigarette dangling from my lips, the taste of smoke and sunlight sharp on my tongue. Below, Lia sat under the olive tree, a book open but unread in her lap. The wind teased strands of her hair across her face. She looked softer today. Weaker, maybe. Or maybe that was the illusion she wanted us to believe. Either way, she didn’t belong here, and yet she did.Then there was Quan. He lingered near the fountain, phone in hand, pretending to scroll.

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