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.

The room was quiet, the only sound was the soft hum of the AC and the occasional rustle of my clothing as I moved around. I had just returned to the hotel after a long day, and though the business deal was finally wrapped up, I couldn't shake the feeling that things were moving too quickly. My mind kept drifting back to Elara. She'd been on my mind constantly since that day I collected her number.


I hadn't expected things to go as smoothly as they had between us. I'm no stranger to relationships, but Elara was different. Apart from being my mate, there was something about her that made me want to keep talking to her, even after we had only exchanged a few messages. I had called her immediately when I got back to the hotel the day I took her number, and we'd been talking almost every day since then.


Chapter 158 - 158