Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bella\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment Maya walked out of our home, the air in the room felt different, like the walls would crush me. Her words hung in the air like poison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood where I was, staring at the closed door for a long time, because my mind was s mean by those words? Was he nuts? An hour before the wedding he wanted Craf\u00a0<\/p>\n
come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
to catch up. What did Scott take the money?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to Scott, my surprise turning quickly into anger. \u201cI\u2019m not letting you do this,\u201d I blurted in a sharp voice. \u201cI will never let you give Craig fifty million dollars. That\u2019s not a deal, Scott. That\u2019s blackmail. It\u2019s disgusting. And you know it! I hate that you\u2019re yielding to this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even as Scott\u2019s expression stayed controlled, I could see the tension in his jaw as he looked at me. It seemed like he was choosing words that wouldn\u2019t explode this conversation into angry exchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can get twenty million once we\u2019re married,\u201d I continued, because if I stopped talking I might start shaking. \u201cThat inheritance will be released the moment we are married. I can negotiate with Craig. I\u2019ll handle him. I can tell him to take the twenty and get out of our lives. I\u2019m sure he would agree.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott exhaled roughly and when he spoke, his voice came out strict. \u201cYou will not talk to Craig,\u201d he ordered. \u201cYou won\u2019t pick up any unknown calls, you won\u2019t reply to\u00a0<\/p>\n
and messages, you won\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
until all this is over. Millie will be with go anywhere alone you always. I\u2019ve put a team of my wolves who will escort you everywhere!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mouth fell open. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBella,\u201d he pressed, \u201cI\u2019m not taking chances. Craig is dangerous, and he\u2019s unstable. He is not someone you bargain with. As far as I can perceive, he has nothing to lose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt heat rush into my face, feeling terrified. \u201cYou\u2019re acting like you\u2019re helpless,\u201d I snapped. \u201cCraig will-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze pinning me. \u201cYou\u2019re but my back also. You can\u2019t put yourself in front of a man\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed. \u201cYou don\u2019t want your reputation ruined,\u201d the video is fake.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
my mate and\u00a0<\/p>\n
my wife. And there\u2019s a fucking target on not just yours\u00a0<\/p>\n
like Cand hope he\u2019ll suddenly develop a conscience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
red, because that was what it sounded like. \u201cEven if you know\u00a0<\/p>\n
Irritation flickered in his eyes. Like he was dealing with a petulant child. \u201cYes,\u201d he admitted plainly. \u201cI don\u2019t want it ruined, and I don\u2019t want you dragged through that either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know it\u2019s fake,\u201d I challenged, stepping closer, \u201cthen why are you bending to his demands? Why are you entertaining him at all? It makes it look like he\u2019s right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He held my gaze for a moment before replying. \u201cBecause there is no way to prove it\u2019s fake. We don\u2019t know the origin. We don\u2019t know who created it or where it was edited. It\u2019s buried somewhere we can\u2019t access, and Craig has done a good job making it believable enough that people would doubt you even if you screamed the truth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room tilted. I stared at him like I had misunderstood. \u201cNo,\u201d I whispered, because the idea was unbearable. \u201cThere has to be a way. There has to be something you can show, some proof, some-\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t,\u201d he cut in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My legs suddenly felt weak. I grabbed the back of the couch pressed and I sank down, fingers curling into the fabric like it could hold me steady. My heartbeat thundered. I could feel the nausea rising, that sick wave that had been hitting me every time I thought of the video and every time I imagined people seeing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we should postpone the wedding,\u201d I blurted, because they were the only logical thing to do. \u201cWe can make an excuse\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:55 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
DL40 you here\u00a0<\/p>\n
about your work or illness. Anything. If we postpone, you can solve this without\u2013without inviting him into our lives right before we stand in front of everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott shook his head immediately. His jaw flexed, and I could tell he had already decided this before I even spoke. \u201cNo,\u201d he replied with certainty. \u201cI want this behind us. I\u2019m not giving him more time to play games.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hands trembled. \u201cHow has everything gone wrong so fast?\u201d I muttered, staring at the carpet like it had answers. \u201cWe were\u2026 we were happy. We were fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott didn\u2019t respond. He stabbed his fingers in his hair. Then he turned away, walked to the office door inside the penthouse 1 and closed it behind him with controlled finality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, I just sat there. For the first time in days I felt truly alone, even inside a home filled with people. Panic lodged inside my chest strongly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wedding was in two days. Those two days felt mechanical. I didn\u2019t want to leave the penthouse, and I didn\u2019t want to talk to anyone, but Millie refused to let me disappear into my room the way I wanted. She arrived every morning with that relentless energy she had, carrying folders and her phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can panic, but you can panic while walking,\u201d she announced briskly, herding me toward the elevator like I was a runaway puppy. \u201cCome on. We have to check the venue, confirm the seating. The flowers. The lighting. You want it to look perfect, don\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even care,\u201d I whispered, and I meant it. My stomach churned, empty and sour, because even water felt hard to keep down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Millie\u2019s face softened for half a second, but then she squeezed my hand firmly. \u201cYou care,\u201d she corrected. \u201cYou\u2019re just scared. But we have to keep moving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I went. I followed her to the venue, listened to an event manager describe arrangements and timelines. I nodded at questions I barely heard, and watched my own life like it was happening to someone else. Every time my phone buzzed, my pulse jumped. I barely ate, and when I forced myself to swallow soup or toast, it came back up not long after.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Father called several times. I didn\u2019t pick up his calls. I knew why he was calling. I knew he wasn\u2019t suddenly concerned about me. He was calling because of money, because of inheritance. To convince me to give up on it and give it to him. I ignored him every time because I had to give that money to Craig.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when my grandmother, Isla, called, I couldn\u2019t stop myself. I answered on the second ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u7530\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown 114 Chapter 114\u00a0 Bella\u00a0 The moment Maya walked out of our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-new-world-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23079\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}