258. Amanda twisted and turned in bed, sighing. Her eyelids opened as the heavy fog of sleep started to clear up slowly with the light coming in through the curtains. For a second she lay still, breathing as carefully as she could, as her body stiff with pain. Every muscle in her body was aching like she had been dragged across the earth and stitched back together with fire or something. She blinked again, forcing herself to sit up. The bandages wrapped around her ribs held her body together in a most uncomfortable manner, and she winced. Her throat was dry, and she ran her tongue along her lips. "Dry." She croaked, looking around. The door opened gently, and she came face-to-face with Devin. "Wow." She whispered, her voice raspy. "It's really you." "I didn't know because I thought you'd still be asleep." Devin said, still standing at the door, shaking his head. Amanda smiled at him. "Well, I'm not asleep. And you're not a dream, I'm really glad to see you." Devin no

260. The mansion was extremely quiet, more quiet than Devin had seen it to be for a while. For the first time in about two weeks, Devin sat alone in his study with no noise, no yelling reporters outside the gates, no Dmitri pacing in the hallway and no Max asking for orders. It was like everyone else had already moved on to other things, and left him to live his life how he wanted. If only, that would be blissful. But Devin knew better than to believe that it was over. That didn't mean that he would deny himself of the joys that came with the temporary silence, though. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling with a cold glass of whiskey sweating in his hand. "Fuck." He muttered. "How the hell did it come to this?" Every piece of his life felt like it was unraveling in his hands, and the more he tried to hold on, the more it slipped through his fingers. There were so many people to handle and take care of. Petra was his priority, and ensuring that she was in a secu

262. Petra sat in her room, staring out the window. The days of weakness and dizziness had finally passed. Her body no longer felt like it was dragging her down, and strength had returned to her bones. She wasn't the same fragile woman anymore. That relief alone made her breathe easier. She had moved back to her mansion too, her mother never leaving her side, always hovering around like a hen. She hadn't even asked her about what happened and why she was suddenly back in her life, but she could do that any other time. Petra had a feeling that that discussion would stress her out greatly, and she would rather not be involved in anything stressful.Her thoughts were all over the place too. She knew what she had overheard at the hospital, and she knew Gloria had been speaking to the Mayor, and that her pregnancy had been dragged into this web of madness that they had been spinning. "The child might be the key to controlling Devin." Gloria had said. Not only had they dragged her,

264. Devin's took a few steps back, unable to believe what was happening. Gloria just watched him with a smug look on her face. He forced himself to walk out of Petra's mansion, feeling like he was leaving pieces of himself behind. He didn't even look back, because he knew if he did, he would break completely. The front doors slammed shut behind him. He looked at his car, suddenly wishing he had allowed his driver to bring him here. He didn't have the strength to do anything at all. Inside the mansion, Gloria turned to look at Petra and smirked. She leaned back comfortably against the couch, her voice calm but laced with arrogance. "Wow." She said, shaking her head like she was impressed. "I didn't expect you to actually go through with it. For a moment, I thought you'd cave when you saw him looking at you like a lost dog. But you did it. You're so strong." Petra stood at the bottom of the stairs, her arms folded tightly against her chest. She didn't look at Gloria right away.

266. The city streets had been closed off long ago, and there were barricades on every corner, guards pacing in full gear, and banners flying all around in the evening wind. There was music coming from many sides, aided by drums, trumpets, and the harmonic voices of trained choristers singing melodiously. The delicious smell of roasted meat, soups, stews, and breads filled the air so thickly it might have as well had all who took it in floating in the air to take one of the many seats at the table. It wasn't merely a feast, no. Gloria had made sure of that. This was a once-in-a-lifetime sight, and she had called upon everyone to come and enjoy the good fortune of having a great meal. She stood tall on the raised platform at the centre of the town square, wearing a pretty crimson dress that was glittering under the evening lights. Her gold bracelets jingled each time she waved to the crowd and there were people shouting her name, but she raised her hand and gestured toward the tal