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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Breaking Point
AriaWhen I heard the sound of the metal above us groaning like it might give way at any second, I was so petrified by fear that I didn’t know what to do or how to even react. It felt like this was unreal. This could not be happening, but as I heard the metal overhead creak more, that’s when it hit me, this wasn’t a dream. It was real.After I shook off the fear, I scrambled forward, trying to loosen the knots around his arms, but Ellen’s voice stopped me cold.“You know, I could end this right now,” she said. Her tone was light, almost casual, like we were talking over coffee instead of standing in a room where Zion’s life was hanging by a literal metal thread.I turned toward her instantly, my eyes raw with desperation. “What are you talking about?”She smirked softly, and it was calm in a way that made my skin crawl. “The beam, ropes. All of this. I could stop it right now. If you do one thing for me.”My heart dropped at the mischief in her tone. “What thing?”“Let him go.” She sa
Fractures
AriaYou know when someone looks you dead in the eye and starts pulling out things you didn’t even know you’d said out loud? No? Well, I’ll tell you what it’s like. It’s like having someone pull off your skin, your privacy, and your deepest, most intimate fears to the very person that made you have these fears. That was what Ellen was trying to do to us. She stood between us like some twisted host of a game show, with a smug face, acting like she was about to reveal the grand prize. Only, in our case, that prize was pain. “You know what’s funny?” she said, and I swear my skin crawled. “Neither of you really trusts the other. You put on a pretty picture, all hand-holding and soft looks. But underneath? Oh, it’s nothing but cracks.”Zion stiffened beside me, and his voice turned sharp. “Ellen, stop!” He yelled, but she just steamrolled right over him, like always. “Do you want to know what he told me, Aria?” She asked, leaning in, then glanced at him again before looking back at me.
The Darkness Lifts
AriaI think I may have been unconscious for a long time, because when I opened my eyes, it felt like I had been underwater too long. Everything was blurry, my ears were ringing, and for a second, I couldn’t remember where I was. I blinked slowly, trying to pull the pieces back together. What was I doing here? How did I get here? And that was when the pounding ache at the back of my head reminded me.The warehouse. I was at the warehouse for Zion!I was lying on the cold floor, with my cheek pressed against the rough concrete. My hands felt heavy as I pushed myself up, and the effort made my head spin so hard I almost collapsed again. I took in a deep breath and forced myself to stay upright, even though my body begged me to lie back down.The room was dim now, lit only by a single bulb that swung slightly overhead. I could see shadows stretched across the walls like long fingers, and for a second, I wondered if I was alone. That was when I heard it again. The faint sound of Zion’s vo
Shadows and Silence
AriaBy the time I reached the warehouse, my hands were already hurting from how hard I had been gripping the steering wheel. I parked the car a little way off, because I didn’t want anyone to notice a vehicle that didn’t belong in this deserted part of town. For all I knew, if Ellen was really here, she could have some of her goons staking out the perimeter. Come to think of it, it’s what she probably wanted. For me to walk into a trap. The silence outside didn’t help either. Everything felt eerie, felt strange, heavy, almost like it was staged, and it made me move more slowly as I climbed out of my car and shut the door quietly.The air was damp and sharp with the smell of rust. The ground crunched under my shoes as I walked toward the building, and every sound seemed so much louder than it should have been. My heart was pounding in a way that felt impossible to control, and I kept whispering to myself to breathe, to stay steady, even though I felt anything but calm.The warehouse
Missing
AriaI knew something was wrong the second the clock ticked past midnight, and my phone still hadn’t buzzed. Zion had said he needed some time to think things over and would let me know what he had settled on today. He was never late without a reason, and he always made sure I knew where he was. Even if he was too busy to call, he would send me a quick text, just to let me know. He had never left me waiting like this, and the silence pressed heavier with every passing minute.At first, I told myself not to panic. I made tea and sat by the window, trying to calm down. Maybe he had been caught up in something, I thought. Maybe he was sorting through everything in his head after what I told him about Ellen. He would need time, I told myself. He would come back with answers. But as the minutes dragged into hours, my chest grew tighter, and the tea went cold, untouched.I scrolled through my messages again, even though I already knew I hadn’t missed anything. I called him once, then again,
The Lock on the Door
ZionThe room went quiet after my words. My chest was still tight, and the echo of Ellen’s last outburst hung heavy in the air. Still, she stood there, her eyes wide, and her lips trembling, like she wanted to speak but couldn’t decide which version of herself to let out, the furious one, or the soft one she thought might convince me.I remained standing and couldn’t sit, not with my heart racing the way it was. My arms were crossed tightly over my chest, though I wasn’t sure if I was protecting myself from her or from the way her words had cut.“You think I’m crazy,” Ellen finally said, looking up at me. Her voice was lower now, steadier, almost eerie after the shouting match we had just gone through. “But I’m not. I’m the only one who’s been honest with you, Zion. I’m the only one who sees what’s real.”I shook my head slowly and heaved a tired sigh. “You’re holding me in some hidden place, Ellen.” I began softly. “You staged a hack to ruin Aria. You tried to steal her identity. Tha
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