"One body: A death, a suicide, and now a murder.
Lunacy is settling over, leaving its fingerprints on them, while breathing down their necks.
The warm kiss of air is mistaken for nothing but a midnight breeze, and finger prints not much more than dirt.
"Are you worthy enough, huh? Do you think I'm such a fool? You'll die there. Ashton Kahn. Mark my words. You are going to die and your family is going to live a dead life. You know what grief is? Of course, why would YOU know? You haven't been miserable for once in your life, have you? You have always been the super-star, haven't you? Of course you'll die. You deserve nothing but a deadly, rotten grave. You are such a chick, aren't you? Huh. I hate you Ashton Kahn. You are so mean. You think wealth is the world. You think beauty is the world. Don't you find having the best muscles, having the best grades, having the perfect eyes, having the perfect clothes, shoes-"
Her words were so powerful, her expression meaner. She meant it. And how right she was. There I was, living a beautiful life.
Of course I had no idea what misery is. I'd never been miserable for a second. Hah. She was giving me a lesson. The feeling was so intense, her words ruling my brain, empowering my veins. I was so useless. Have I ever cried? Have I ever thought why people say Life is just a Lie? Did I ever care why was the guy behind the coffee shop shutters crying? Did I ever gave it a second thought what did that guy felt when I called him Bozo? Or what was going on with that girl I heard of whose parents died a day ago?
Of course, what was I capable of feeling?
And there I had always thought I was the perfect me. The boy who could do anything. The boy who ruled. The boy who lived.
Life is just a Lie.
And for the first time in ever, I felt it to be so, so real. The reality of this was ever-awakening, it's power would have killed a soul.
Life is just a Lie.
Kalia's POV : Freedom ain't real. It's just a pretty lie people tell themselves to sleep better at night.
Me? I've never been free.
Not when I was born into a life where people used me like a tool. Not when I thought I escaped, only to get dragged back in. And sure as hell not now, trapped in a marriage I never wanted with a man who loves me like an addiction-obsessive, toxic, suffocating.
Easton swears I belong to him. Calls me his, like I'm a possession, not a person. But I was never meant to be owned. Not by him. Not by anyone.
And yet...
I'm craving the one person I can't have. The one man I shouldn't want.
Jay Kim.
My husband's best friend. The only person who looks at me like I'm more than a pawn in someone else's game. The only man who's ever made me feel safe.
But love in this world? It don't come without consequences.
And choosing Jay? That'd be the kind of mistake that gets people killed.
Jay's POV: I never wanted this empire. It was my uncle's before me-a kingdom built on blood, corruption, and greed. But when he fell, I had two choices: take control or let worse men have it.
So I took it. And now? I'm doing what he never could. I'm fixing the mess he left behind. Cleaning up the dirt while keeping the wolves from tearing it apart.
But then she came back.
Kalia Gomez.
The only woman who's ever made me want something outside of this life. The one I can't have-because she belongs to someone else. Not just anyone, either. Easton.
My friend. My brother in arms.
I should walk away. Should forget about the way she looks at me when no one's watching. Should ignore the way my pulse fucking riots every time she's close.
But it's too late for that.
Because I might be trying to clean up this empire...
But for Kalia? I'd burn it all down.