MATURE

Life hasn’t been kind to me. One moment, I was a carefree eighteen-year-old with dreams of a bright future. The next, I was a 28 year old lady and my world went up in flames. literally. My mom died in the fire that destroyed our home, my little sister is in a coma, and my brother’s in jail for trying to keep us afloat. My dad? He left us drowning in debt and despair.

I thought I’d hit rock bottom, but then I found myself working in a place where dreams go to die, doing things I never imagined just to survive. That’s when he walked into my life, Alex Romanov. Dangerous. Mysterious. And entirely out of my league.

He’s everything I should fear, but there’s something about him that draws me in. Maybe it’s the way he looks at me like I’m more than just another broken soul. Or the way he makes me feel alive when I thought I’d forgotten how.

But Alex has secrets, dark ones that could destroy us both. And as my past collides with his world, I’m left wondering: Can I trust the man who’s slowly stealing my heart, or will his darkness swallow me whole?

This isn’t the life I wanted, but it’s the one I’ve been given.

I shook my head slowly, my voice barely more than a fragile whisper. "I don't want to see him. Not now. Not ever." The words felt like lead dropping deep into my chest, heavy and unyielding. They caught in my throat, a mixture of bitterness and sorrow swirling inside me.


Tears started to spill over the edges of my eyelids, tracing hot, uneven paths down my cheeks. I cried out softly, more to myself than to Alex, "He hurt us so much, Alex. All those years… he wasn't there when we needed him. It's too much." Every word was laced with the raw ache that had settled inside me for so long, a wound that felt too fresh, too deep to ever truly heal.


Chapter 260 - 262