2024-10-28 14:54:23Liam gave a wry smile. It seemed that he wasn’t very welcome in the Stevens family. However, to fulfill the promise his grandfather had made, he still had to marry Mia, unless both his grandfather and David agreed to cancel the marriage.
Liam knocked on the door, and a sharp voice came from inside. "Who is it?" The door opened, and a middle-aged woman frowned as she looked at Liam. "Hello, I’m Mia’s fiancé, Liam Moran," Liam greeted politely. The middle-aged woman looked at him with disgust. "Mia doesn’t have a fiancé. Get out of here!" Liam frowned. Just as he was about to speak, he heard David’s voice from inside the house. "Stop this nonsense! Is Liam here? Let him in!" Reluctantly, the middle-aged woman opened the door and allowed Liam to enter. "Well, well, isn’t this Mia’s fiancé? I thought you wouldn’t dare come to our family gathering. For a country bumpkin like you, this must be your first time at such an occasion, right?" Yona said sarcastically as she saw Liam walk in.Liam glanced around the hall, which was already set with a lavish spread of food, including seafood and other luxurious dishes.
The middle-aged woman shot Liam a harsh glare and turned to David angrily. "Dad, Mia can’t marry this stranger from the countryside. There are plenty of suitable men in the city for Yona..." It turns out, this woman is Mia's mother, Melissa! Mia stood to the side, looking awkward. She didn’t want Liam to come to her family gathering at all, but he had still shamelessly followed. Mia quickly walked over and whispered, "Didn’t I tell you not to come?" Liam shrugged. "But Mr. David invited me. How could I not come?" Mia was about to say something else when Yona spoke with a mocking tone, "Mia, what are you whispering to your fiancé?" Mia replied flatly, "What does it have to do with you?"“My daughter cannot marry him!” Melissa Stevens stormed in, her face flushed with indignation.
Her gaze landed on Liam, and her lips curled in disdain as she took in his modest shirt and scuffed shoes.
“Is this some kind of joke? My beautiful Mia with this... this nobody?” Melissa said, her voice rising as she pointed at Liam.
She turned toward Lord David, standing composed behind her, and snapped, “Father, have you lost your mind?”
Lord David’s expression remained calm, though his tone carried a weight of authority as he replied.
“Melissa, enough.”
The tense exchange was interrupted by the arrival of Yona, Mia’s elder sister, who entered hand in hand with her husband, Carl.
Yona’s sharp eyes scanned the room, lingering on Liam before her lips curled into a sly smile.
“Grandpa wants Mia to marry him for real? That’s... I thought he was joking.”
Yona said, her tone neutral but her eyes gleaming with malice.
Melissa whirled toward Yona, her frustration mounting. “Do you hear this nonsense? Your sister marrying that?”
Yona tilted her head thoughtfully.
“If Grandpa believes this is best for Mia and the family, I won’t oppose it.”
"After all, Grandpa just slapped me for...my future brother-in-law, he must have his idea."
Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
So, the old lord had made the final decision? He even slapped Yona, just to show his support to this poor guy?
Melissa’s anger flared further, her voice trembling with frustration as she shouted, “This is ridiculous! What will people think of this family?”
Yona stepped closer to her, she smiled evilly.
Even though she failed to frame Mia for being indecent, but marrying a poor guy like Liam? It was even better for her!
After all, her husband Carl was way better than Liam.
In this way, David Lord would definitely reconsider who would inherit the Stevens family!
“Liam may be poor, but we should respect grandpa's decision, right?”
She smiled hypocritically.
Mia looked at her sister warily, sensing ulterior motives behind Yona’s unexpected support.
Melissa, however, was unmoved, declaring loudly, “This marriage will not happen! Mia deserves someone worthy of our name.”
Lord David raised his hand to silence her, his voice turning firm. “This decision is final, Melissa. Liam is my choice.”
Yona smiled evilly, satisfied that the arrangement would harm Mia’s position in the family.
Feigning concern, Yona said, “But shouldn’t Liam have brought a gift to show his sincerity?”
Her husband, Carl, chimed in smugly, “I gave Grandpa a rare Chinese red emerald worth a fortune. Surely Liam has something to offer?”
Mia lowered her head in quiet embarrassment, the weight of the situation pressing heavily on her shoulders.
"Grandpa, it all happened in a sudden..." Mia tried to explain for Liam.
But Liam smiled faintly interrupting Mia's words.
“My apologies, Lord Stevens,” he said evenly.
“I wasn’t prepared to meet your family so soon, but I hope this will suffice.”
“This card has a credit limit of one hundred million dollars. Please accept it as a gift to the family.”
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Fracture
Aria“Please,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Just let me go.”For a moment, the man didn’t move. Neither of us did, we just stood there in silence torn over what to do next. But then, his jaw tightened and he stepped closer, not aggressively, more like someone approaching a cliff he didn’t want to fall from.“You don’t understand,” he muttered. “You shouldn’t be out of your restraints.”“I can tell you don’t want to do this.” My breath shook. “I saw it that night. You hesitated. You’re not… you’re not like the others.”He flinched like the words stung him.“Don’t say that,” he said quietly. “Don’t make this harder.”I took another step, slow and cautious, keeping my hands where he could see them. “You’re a good man. I can feel it. Whatever Ellen told you, whatever she promised you, this isn’t who you are.”He shut his eyes, but still I could see the pain ripping across his expression as he ran a shaking hand over his face. “You need to stop talking.”But his voice cracked even as
The Meeting
AriaMy eyes were closed for a long time after Ellen walked out of the room following her threat, but my mind was clawing at every sound.I laid on the cold concrete floor exactly where Ellen had left me, and my body twisted at an angle meant to suggest unconsciousness. My wrists burned where the rope dug into my skin and my cheek stung from the slap she’d given me when I refused her ultimatum.‘Leave Zion or destroy him.’The madwoman actually believed threatening the man I loved would bend me. But Ellen made one mistake. She must have thought I couldn’t still hear.I listened through the slow and shallow breaths as two of her new allies entered the warehouse. Their boots echoed between the steel beams.“She’s not going to talk,” one said.“She doesn’t need to,” another replied. “Tonight fixes everything. Ellen’s meeting the guy at the abandoned shipyard.”My pulse stopped the moment I heard them. Shipyard. Right then, the thought suddenly occurred to me. She’s luring Zion.My stomac
The Deadline
ZionI couldn’t sleep or even blink after George gave me the information on the mercenaries, or as it turned out, a hidden network. Every second without Aria felt like someone carving pieces out of my ribs. I paced the length of the woods endlessly, trying to piece things together. Who were these men? What did Ellen have to do with them?Detective Mallorwe had guards stationed around the estate, and drones sweeping the grounds, units patrolling the city border… and still, nothing. Nothing but the echo of Aria’s scream in my skull.Suddenly, my phone buzzed. At first, I stared at it like it was a hallucination. But the second I saw the attached video thumbnail of Aria unconscious, tied, and bruised, my breath left me suddenly. I hesitated for a moment, but then opened it. It was truly her. Her breathing was shallow and her wrists bound.And Ellen’s voice could be heard behind the camera. “Zion… if you ever want to see her alive, you’ll come alone. I’ve sent you the coordinates.”The vi
Ellen’s New Game
AriaI sat on the concrete floor with my wrists tied behind my back and the faint hum of generators echoing somewhere behind me. Every now and then, I heard voices, they tried to be quiet and sounded professional, not like street criminals. These men moved like they were trained for war. And for some reason, they ended up working for Ellen… I still couldn’t process that part.But then the metal door creaked, and my entire body tensed as I heard the footsteps approach delicately, almost graceful. Only one person walked like that in this nightmare. It had to be her.Ellen stepped into the dim cone of light, folding her arms with an eerie calm. She looked refreshed, almost peaceful, as if she’d slept well knowing she had me trapped here.“Good morning, Aria,” she said softly.I glared at her. “It’s still night.”“Well,” she tilted her head, “for you, it doesn’t make much difference, does it?”She walked closer, and her heels tapped on the concrete with a rhythm that made my skin crawl. T
Unleashed
Aria“Ellen,” I whispered, trying to keep myself steady even when her name tasted like poison on my tongue. She stood in front of me, emerging from the darkness of the room like she’d been carved out of the shadows themselves. The faint, sickening smile on her lips told me everything I needed to know. That she wanted this. She wanted me.Before I could speak again, the masked man behind me shoved something over my nose, a cloth drenched in something chemical and my vision spun as soon as I inhaled it, and my strength started fading. Ellen watched me with quiet amusement, like someone observing a struggling insect.“Sweet dreams, Aria,” she murmured.And then the world stopped.ZionWhen Aria’s scream tore through the safehouse, my blood ran cold. I sprinted so hard down that my legs barely felt like they were going to break off. The guards were shouting into radios, and all the alarms were blaring. The air was thick with panic, but I heard none of it. All I heard was Aria. And then no
The Vanishing
AriaThe moment I screamed, everything exploded into chaos. The cold air from the broken window whipped across my skin, and before I could even process the sound of boots thundering toward my door, something…someone yanked me backward. My body hit the jagged edge of the frame, and the pain shot through my ribs as my legs kicked uselessly at the air.“Let go!” I shouted, clawing at the gloved hand clamped around my mouth. My fingers scraped the fabric but it wasn’t enough to keep me in place.Zion was shouting my name somewhere behind me. The guards too. The whole place had gone loud, frantic, but all I could hear clearly was the violent thud of my own heart slamming in my ears.The masked intruder didn’t waste a moment. They hoisted me through the window as if I weighed nothing. My elbows scraped the concrete as we dropped to the ground outside. I gasped, and fought the stars sparking in my vision.“Let me go, you psycho! I swear…” I twisted, trying to break free.“Quiet.” The voice s
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