Novels by Ifyquinn

Chapter 17The Borrowed Crown Vivian Holt had always had the believe that attention was a birthright. To her, it wasn't something earned. Not something begged for, not even when necessary. It was simply hers...the way air belonged to the lungs and mirrors also belonged to her face, to So when she posed as the camera flashes, a diamond the size of a small promise blazing on her finger, Vivian smiled like a woman stepping back into her natural habitat.“Smile wider, Miss Holt!”“Vivian, over here!”“Is this the happiest day of your life?”She laughed, light and musical, bending her head just enough for the ring to catch the light. Lucas stood beside her, handsome in a tailored suit, one arm wrapped possessively around her waist. He leaned in, kissed her temple for the cameras, and murmured, “You’re doing great.”Vivian didn’t look at him.She was too busy looking at herself...reflected in a hundred lenses, magnified by envy.“It’s not just an engagement,” she said smoothly, voice pitc

Chapter 16“I expect you to survive,” he said. “Not worship me for it.”Her throat tightened unexpectedly. No one had ever said that to her.“I’m not used to this,” she confessed. “Being helped without being owned.”“That’s why I left,” Julian said.She looked up sharply. “You left because of me?”“I left so you wouldn’t confuse proximity with permission,” he corrected.The honesty stunned her.“And now?” she asked.“Now,” he said, setting the glass down, “you’ve learned to exist without leaning. Which means I can stay without corrupting that.”He moved toward his office, then paused.“You don’t owe me gratitude,” he added quietly. “Or affection. Or obedience.”She met his eyes.“I know.”For the first time, she truly did.When he disappeared into his office, closing the door behind him, Iris didn’t feel abandoned.She felt… respected.She returned to her room later, lying in bed with a strange calm settling in her chest.Julian was not a savior. He was something rarer.A man who buil

Chapter 14No explanations“Do everything within your power to keep Lucas comfortable,” Julian continued. “Comfortable men has be verified to always make careless mistakes that would cost their lives.” After that, Julian vanished without ceremony.There was no goodbye, no explanations of what was going on. No reassuring promise that he would be back by morning, or the day after. For Iris, she only realized he was gone when the penthouse fell into a deeper kind of silence, the kind that felt intentional, dine on purpose.The first day passed in complete confusion for her, but she didn't put much thought to it.She had woken up early, half-expecting to hear movement beyond her door, the faint approaching footsteps or the clink of coffee cups. Instead, there was nothing of such. It was as if the air was instructed to remain still, like a museum sealed before opening hours.She stepped into the corridor cautiously, expecting a change. Then, she saw that Julian’s office door was closed.

Chapter 14No Assumptions “You’re not,” he said. “But you also don’t get to decide that right now.”That made her lips twitch, as she was already blaming herself for talking. The penthouse seemed to blur. Even her footsteps felt too loud as she followed him down a long corridor, fearing to say anything. Artwork lined the walls, from abstract, expensive, emotionally distant. Nothing here felt lived in, nothing felt human.“This way,” Julian said, stopping at a door on the left. He opened it carefully.The guest suite was almost as large as her old apartment. It has soft grey walls. A bed that looked untouched. There was also a sitting area with books she was almost certain had never been read since they were arranged.It was beautiful, and it made her chest ache so badly. She stood frozen in the doorway.“You can use anything in here,” Julian said. “Clothes will be delivered to you tomorrow, and for basic things, it will start tonight. Food is already stocked. The bathroom is...”“I k

Chapter 13“I’m sorry,” she choked, pressing her palm to her mouth as if she could stop it. “I...I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...”She couldn’t finish what she was doing. Her body folded forward, shame crashing into fear, exhaustion dragging everything down with it. The whispers from the hotel, Helena’s accusation, Vivian’s phantom smile...all of it hurting her at once.Julian pulled over without hesitation.The car came to a smooth stop on a quiet side street lined with darkened shops and closed cafés. He put it in park, turned off the engine, and only then did he turn to her fully.She was crying like she had been holding it in for years.“I feel disgusting,” Iris whispered hoarsely. “Like… like everyone saw through me. Like I deserved it.”Julian’s jaw tightened...not in anger, but in restraint. He reached out, slow and deliberate, and placed his coat around her shoulders. She hadn’t even realized she was shaking until the warmth hit her.“You didn’t deserve any of it,” he said ev

Chapter 12Complications “It’s…rather complicated,” he replied. “There are certainly corporate structures you wouldn’t understand, even if I try to explain them.”That was always his favorite excuse, these days. Helena closed her eyes, holding herself tfrom getting furious, pressing the phone tighter to her ear. “Julian was there also,” she said suddenly. “With another woman, and that was humiliating.”Lucas inhaled sharply, like he was fast running out of words to say to her“A woman?” he repeated, like he didn't hear her the first time.“Yes,” Helena said, bitterness flooding her tone. “And she had the right keys to the oentlhoy”That, finally, shook him, as he never expected that to happen.“I’m sure you misunderstood what transpired there,” Lucas said, though the confidence had suddenly showed down. “Julian as we all know is irrelevant now. He signed the divorce papers without getting any dome, or didn’t he?”“Yes,” Helena snapped, still trying to hold herself. “But he looked… co