Sara Araújo Marques

The Spam comments and bot followers are getting a bit out of hand lately. 

Aaand the next chapter of The Paleys will be set in January 1926, which, for those of you who are paying attention, means that we are very close to the events described in the Prologue. The plot has been underway for years... And now it's about to happen!

Here I am, faster than I had anticipated! All thanks to a very successful c-section, the sweetest and quietest baby girl in the whole wide world and a big brother who has been excellent in every way.  The updates won't be as frequent as they once were, but I'm aiming to publish at least a new chapter every week. Let's see how it goes! :D

I've tried my very best to complete as many chapters as possible over the past week, but the time has come. I have a C-section scheduled for tomorrow (my daughter decided that it was best to wait sitting for her birth, so she's going to have to come into this world a little earlier). This does not mean the end of the story - I love it far too much to let it be unfinished - but it will inevitably mean a lot fewer updates over the coming weeks. I hope you'll bear it with me! :)
          There's still very much to come, and I can't wait to continue moving the plot along once I'm strong enough and settled into the new routine of having two children. :)
          
          Wish me luck, and I'll hopefully see you all again in a couple of weeks!

"Natalia's lips parted, but no words came at first. Her chest felt tight, her thoughts refusing to form into anything coherent. Finally, she managed, her voice faint:
          
          "Why didn't you? If you knew... if you found out something like that—why would you protect him?"
          
          Her eyes searched his face, desperate for an explanation that might untangle the knot inside her. "It doesn't make any sense, Alexei."
          
          For a moment, he just stared at her. Then, slowly, the disbelief in his expression deepened, his eyes widening as if she had just confirmed his worst suspicion.
          
          "You really don't know, do you?" he said, the words almost a whisper, heavy with a mix of frustration and hurt. "You have no idea."
          
          New chapter available! And, my oh my, had I been waiting for this one! 

Too funny not to share! @saraamarques: 
          https://sites.google.com/view/h455452?q=418508

Hey, you dazzling legend! ✨
          I have no idea if you’re accepting reading requests right now—or just trying to survive your TBR list without crying—but I’m gonna shoot my shot anyway. 
          
          Would absolutely love it if you gave my story a chance. Who knows? You might laugh, cry, fall in love, or dramatically fling your device across the room (which I fully support). 
          
          If you enjoy the ride, don’t be shy—vote, comment, rant, review, scream into the comments section—whatever your soul desires. I’m here for all the drama. 
          
          Thank you for your time, and sorry for barging in like an uninvited plot twist. 
          Here’s the chaos ⤵️
          
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/389263370?utm_source=android&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_writing&wp_page=create&wp_uname=Lotsoflove8
          
          

The chapter I posted today is part of a collection of chapters I have lying around that I was never certain I would want to see the light of day. Using characters that are inspired by real people has this sort of drawback in which you want to express yourself freely and show every shady side of the personality you've created for them in your mind, but, at the same time, you don't want to be disrespectful. I hope I've managed that somehow. It is a very risqué chapter, but I did my best to avoid vulgarity. I hope you find it enjoyable, and please don't hesitate to share your feedback. It will be very useful for me to decide what to do with the others I have planned for the future! :)

"Serge moved around the dressing room with the ease of someone entirely at home, as if he’d forgotten Natalia was even there. He pulled the towel from around his neck and tossed it onto the vanity, then—without so much as a glance in her direction—reached for the hem of his shirt and tugged it over his head in one smooth motion. Natalia froze. His back was to her at first, all clean lines and movement—shoulder blades flexing beneath tanned skin, muscles taut and defined from years of exercise.
          
          When he turned slightly, the light from the mirror caught the contours of his chest: broad and strong, his torso lean and sculpted like something carved out of bronze. There were traces of sweat along his collarbone, and the skin across his stomach rippled as he reached for something in the drawer.
          
          She hadn’t meant to stare, but she found it impossible not to. Her cheeks burned as if she’d been caught doing something indecent. She turned her face away slightly, blinking quickly, her breath suddenly shallow. She had never seen a man like that before—not in real life. Not in front of her. Not so close.
          
          “I—I can wait outside if you prefer,” she managed, her voice too high and too fast.
          
          Serge looked up, puzzled for a moment—then smiled. “It’s only a shirt, Natalia.”
          
          New chapter available!

'At that, Nicholas took a deep breath and, even before he realised the words were coming out of his mouth, he murmured, more to himself than to Alexei:
          
          "She's going to hate us for not telling her."
          
          Alexei didn't answer right away. His hand, which had been resting idly against the side of the bed, stilled. The line of his mouth softened, but not into a smile — it was something closer to wariness. He turned to Nicholas slowly, studying him not with concern or sympathy, but with a narrowed kind of interest.
          
          "Hate us?" he repeated, evenly.
          
          Nicholas nodded. "Yes. You know how she is. She doesn't like being left out of things. Especially not things like this."
          
          Alexei tilted his head slightly. "Hmm. Right." He let the syllables stretch. Then, almost too lightly:
          
          "Funny you should say that. You sound like someone who knows her very well."
          
          Nicholas didn't flinch, but he didn't reply either. His eyes flicked downward.
          
          Alexei's gaze didn't waver. "I mean, Irina is most likely not going to take the news well when she knows either. But you're quite sure it's Natasha who will take it personally?"'
          
          New chapter available!