CHAPTER 625. FIGHT FOR YOU. The StarfishIt seemed impossible. Madness. But the entire night boiled down to this moment. Everything Kyle had trained for—to recover and give the best cage fight of his life—had a single purpose: to get this man in front of him.“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you can’t…!” Wexler spat, and Kyle almost looked at him with pity.“Greed got the better of you, as always,” Kyle retorted. “A man with common sense wouldn’t have walked into the lion’s den tonight, knowing exactly who I am and what you owe me.”Wexler pressed his lips together, summoning all the ego of an English lord as he raised his chin.“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”“Yes, you do! Of course, you do, so spare me the act. Vance Burgges—or whatever his name is—spilled everything,” Kyle growled. “Your greed got the better of you when you had a bunch of professors killed over Quantum…”“And you have it!” Wexler barked, going pale. It seemed pointless to deny it any longer.“Yes…
CHAPTER 626. FIGHT FOR YOU. Fighting for YouThe starfish. The tiger leap. The tired hippo. The OCD squirrel. And the scorned cat. Not a single animal was left unremembered or a position unexplored as Kyle put her through them all that night. By the time dawn broke, the Hellmand mansion gardens were pristine, the gym showed no trace of blood, and every remnant of Sir Lionel Wexler in the world was turning to ashes in Mrs. Hellmand’s personal furnace.Adriana opened her eyes and felt the bare body pressed behind her. She snuggled closer because there was no better place in the world than the arms of her personal brute.“Aren’t you hungry?” she heard his sleepy voice and nodded.“Starving.”“And for food?” he laughed.“That too. That too.”Kyle turned her around to look into her eyes and gently brushed a strand of hair aside to see her smile.“I love you. What you did yesterday, the way you set everything up… it was incredible, babe.”“What I did?!” she exclaimed, as if Kyle had complet
CHAPTER 627. RED PROMISE. PROLOGUESYNOPSISMauro was just a teenager when he made a promise to love forever, only to have his heart shattered upon discovering that she was part of a bet—one made by his closest friends to ensure that the perfect heir, Mauro Keller, lost his virginity to a cheap girl.Finding out he’d been deceived served only to turn him as cold and cruel as a man could be. It taught him how to hurt, how to wound, and how to mistrust all women equally.But perhaps the worst part was seeing the woman of his nightmares reappear years later, in a vulnerable position that gave him the perfect opportunity for revenge. Because if there’s one thing Mauro won’t do, it’s keep the promise he made all those years ago.RED PROMISE: PROLOGUE“I’ll love you until my last breath.”It was the sweetest phrase an eighteen-year-old could say to the girl he had shared his first time with, but God knew Mauro Keller had meant it from the depths of his heart—a heart that had belonged to Ain
CHAPTER 628. RED PROMISE. HOW BAD IS IT?TEN YEARS LATER.Everything had changed for Mauro in the last ten years: his university, his friends, and anything that could remind him that his first love had only been a prostitute bought for him by a couple of idiots.First, it had been England—Cambridge, of course. Then long stays in Italy and France, until he finally settled permanently in Lucerne with his grandparents.Rarely did he need to go to Zurich to see his parents. However, they had moved there in recent years, and with Loan Keller’s heavy workload, his father had practically demanded that Mauro spend his birthday with him.“It’s getting harder and harder to see you!” his father grumbled, feigning irritation, though it was clear he felt nostalgic. “You never want to come!”“And you visit Lucerne less and less!” Mauro shot back.“That’s because I’m drowning in work, all because my eldest son prefers running his uncle’s company over taking charge of his father’s!” Loan complained,
CHAPTER 629. RED PROMISE: AFTER SO MUCH TIME…Silent. Stunned. His heart hung by a thread, threatening to snap and shatter into pieces on the ground. It was strange how, after so much time, after a decade of forgetting her (because hatred had been far too generous a sentiment for her), the news of Ainara Jáuregui’s impending death could have such an effect on him.“Excuse me…? What do you mean dying?” he whispered hoarsely. The hospital director motioned for him to step aside.“The young woman was in a severe car accident,” the director explained. “They barely managed to pull her out, and by the time they did, she was rushed into emergency surgery. Her liver was perforated, and they did their best—they removed part of it—but they didn’t realize she was still bleeding internally. That’s quite common with liver injuries because the organ has large blood vessels.”“Okay, but when… when did this happen?”“Three days ago. They only discovered the hemorrhaging today. The senator had her tra
CHAPTER 630. RED PROMISE. CONDITIONS“Do you want to survive?”It was a cruel question, and though Ainara was fully aware of the coldness and contempt in Mauro’s tone, her answer was still “Yes.”“To me...” she repeated, her gaze drifting to the ceiling of the room. “And what could Mr. Keller possibly want from a dying woman?”They hadn’t seen each other in ten years, but she had followed his career every step of the way. Perhaps out of spite, perhaps because she still couldn’t understand how someone who had seemed like the perfect guy—kind and sweet—had broken every promise he made to her by sleeping with another woman. Unfortunately, Mauro’s history only confirmed what she already knew: he was still a bad boy, occasionally seen surrounded by women but never committing to any, including his darling Charmaine.“What I want is simple,” Mauro murmured. “I want you. I need a full-time mistress, and it’s not like I can’t afford to pay you... though I doubt you’re worth as much anymore. Th
CHAPTER 631. RED PROMISE. A Strange NightmareBetween Mauro Keller's determined gaze and Senator Russo's bewildered one, it was clear who held the upper hand. No matter how much Loan tried to steer the situation toward a reasonable outcome, it was evident that his son would relent and that the senator was genuinely invested in Ainara's survival."Why are you doing this?" he asked. Before Mauro could respond with a curt, "That's none of your business," Loan widened his eyes just enough to make him rein it in a little."I’ve known her for many years. She’s a smart woman; she knows what’s best for her. So, you can be sure she’ll be fine," Mauro stated firmly.No one dared say anything more. The only thing left was the senator’s nod as he walked away."Do you want to make our lives miserable?" Loan exclaimed as soon as they were alone. "What are you doing, Mauro?! Are you really going to donate half your liver? Just like that?! Do you want your mother to kill me?!"Mauro took a deep brea
CHAPTER 632. RED PROMISE. A ProfessionalAinara was dazed. Maybe it was just a pleasant dream induced by the anesthesia. Perhaps the way Mauro was holding her hand was nothing more than one of those alternate universes where he hadn’t turned out to be the complete jerk who cheated on her and called her a “prostitute” without even giving her a chance to explain.Because unfortunately, if anything was seared into her memory even after ten years, it was the image of Charmaine naked on her bed.“You’re not dead,” she whispered, and Mauro leaned in with concern, thinking she was rambling. “You’re not dead. I’d be your damned paradise, and you don’t deserve that.”And in that instant, any romantic illusion shattered. Mauro’s smile turned sarcastic and dangerous, and Ainara took as deep a breath as she could, knowing she was stepping into her new reality as this man’s captive.“I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor,” he said, releasing her hand and leaning back in the chair.