The High Price Of Father's Freedom

I was at a high-end law school mixer, hiding behind a pillar and eyeing the shrimp buffet because my bank account was empty and my fridge contained nothing but expired milk. My father’s name was a national headline for all the wrong reasons, and my only goal was to survive law school without being recognized. That’s when the room went silent for the arrival of Armond Woodward, the billionaire COO of a global media empire. I froze, because seven years ago in Paris, he was Armond Chevalier, the sweet art student I’d shared a life with. Now, he was a cold-eyed predator in a bespoke suit, and he was staring directly at me like I was a missing asset he’d finally located. I tried to escape, but the walls were closing in. My tuition payment was forty-eight hours late, and my father was facing a new indictment that would keep him in prison for the rest of his life. While a rich classmate named Miles tried to "save" me by parading me around like a trophy, Armond was working in the shadows. He didn't just offer help; he bought my student loans and my father’s legal liens, effectively making himself my sole creditor. The realization hit me like a physical blow when Armond cornered me in his private elevator. He knew about my broken apartment lock, my ramen-noodle dinners, and every cent I owed. He hadn't just found me by accident; he had been watching me drown for years, waiting for the exact moment I became desperate enough to be useful. "I've been waiting for you to hit bottom, Rose," he whispered, using the private name from our past as he trapped me in the back of his black SUV. With the threat of a two-million-dollar restitution fee hanging over my father's head and the prosecutors closing in, Armond laid out his final terms. He didn't want an apology or a second chance at love; he needed a wife to secure his family trust and defeat a hostile takeover, and I was the only person with enough debt to be completely controlled. "Marry me, Abbey. A three-year contract, and I make all of this go away." I looked at the man who had destroyed my life just to own it and realized that to save my family, I had to walk straight into the golden cage he had built for me.

Chapters

Chapter 5

The air in the Diamond Lounge smelled of cedarwood and aged tobacco. It was a masculine, oppressive scent that instantly triggered a memory in Abbey's hindbrain-Armond's cologne.

Armond didn't stand up. He remained sprawled on the leather, flanked by three other men in suits who were murmuring about market shares. In the far corner, near the window, Abbey saw Sophie. She was sitting on a stool, looking dazed, while a balding man with a red face leaned uncomfortably close to her, whispering in her ear.

Abbey started to lunge toward Sophie, but Miles clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy," Miles whispered. "We have to pay respects first."

He steered her toward Armond. Abbey felt like a doll being dragged by a toddler.

"Armond," Miles said, extending his hand with a practiced, politician's smile. "Thanks for the pass. Appreciate it."

Armond didn't take the hand. He let Miles's hand hang in the air for three agonizing seconds before he finally, lazily, shifted his gaze from Abbey to Miles.

"Sterling," Armond said. His voice was a low baritone that vibrated in Abbey's chest. "You're wet."

"Ah, yeah, the rain," Miles laughed nervously, dropping his hand. He pulled Abbey closer, his fingers digging into her hip through the silk jacket. "This is Abbey. She's... with me."

Armond's eyes snapped back to Abbey. He looked at Miles's hand on her hip. His expression didn't change, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

"With you," Armond repeated. The words sounded like he was tasting something rotten. "Your taste is... unique."

"She's special," Miles beamed, oblivious to the razor blades in Armond's tone.

"Indeed," Armond said softly. He took a sip of his whiskey, his eyes never leaving Abbey's face. "Very special."

Abbey couldn't breathe. She pulled away from Miles. "I need to get Sophie."

She walked toward the corner. The balding man had his hand on Sophie's knee now.

"Hey!" Abbey said, her voice shaking but loud. "Get away from her."

The man looked up, annoyed. "Excuse me? We're having a conversation."

"She's drunk," Abbey snapped. She grabbed Sophie's arm. "Sophie, stand up."

"Abbey?" Sophie blinked, her eyes unfocused. "Is that you?"

"Who invited the wet dog?" the man sneered, standing up. He blocked Abbey's path. "This girl is on my tab. She goes when I say she goes."

"She's leaving," Miles said, coming up behind Abbey. "She's a friend of mine."

The man squinted at Miles. "Sterling? The kid? Go run to daddy. The adults are playing."

Miles flushed red. He opened his mouth to retort, but he looked unsure, weak.

Abbey saw the man reach for Sophie again. Pure, white-hot rage flared in her chest. She grabbed a heavy crystal ice bucket from the table.

"Touch her again," Abbey warned, lifting the bucket, "and I will break this over your head."

The man laughed. "You wouldn't da-"

CRASH.

The sound of shattering glass exploded through the room. But it wasn't the ice bucket.

Everyone froze.

Armond had thrown his whiskey glass against the wall. The shards glittered on the carpet.

He stood up. He unfolded his height slowly, towering over everyone in the room. He adjusted his cuffs, his face a mask of bored lethargy, but his eyes were burning.

He walked toward them. The crowd parted instantly. The balding man took a step back, his arrogance evaporating.

Armond stopped in front of the man. He didn't shout. He didn't posture. He just looked down at him.

"Get out," Armond said.

"Mr. Woodward, I was just-"

"I said get out," Armond interrupted. "And take your trash with you. If I see you in one of my properties again, I'll have security break your legs before they ban you."

The man turned pale. He grabbed his jacket and scrambled toward the elevator without a backward glance.

Armond turned to Abbey.

For a moment, she thought he was going to yell at her. Instead, he reached out and plucked the ice bucket from her hands. He set it down on the table with a gentle clink.

"Violence, Rose?" he murmured, using the name only he knew, a private joke from a Parisian summer about the blush on her cheeks. "That's new."

"Don't call me that," Abbey whispered.

"Armond, man, thanks," Miles interjected, stepping between them again. "I owe you one."

Armond ignored Miles completely. He snapped his fingers. Two massive bodyguards materialized from the shadows.

"Take Miss..." He gestured to Sophie. "Take her to Lenox Hill. Private room. Make sure she's hydrated and safe."

"I'll take her," Abbey said.

"No," Armond said. He took a step closer to her, invading her personal space. He smelled of whiskey and power. "You're staying."

"I'm leaving with Miles," Abbey said, though her voice lacked conviction.

Armond leaned down. His lips brushed her ear. The intimacy of the gesture made her knees buckle.

"Do you really want to owe him for tonight?" Armond whispered. "Or would you rather owe me?"

Abbey looked at Miles, who was checking his reflection in the window. Then she looked at Armond.

It wasn't a choice. It was a trap.

Continue to next part

‎ ‎ ‎Sophia Hayes has perfected the art of control. In the high-pressure world of The Metropolitan, she's the youngest senior journalist ever hired-an achievement built on ruthless discipline, flawless execution, and a reputation that makes even seasoned reporters double-check their facts before speaking to her. She is sharp. Unshakeable. Precise to the bone. Her life runs on deadlines, color-coded calendars, and emotional walls tall enough to withstand anything. ‎ ‎Dean Mercer is everything she isn't-and everything she doesn't have time for. A wildly successful illustrator whose comic series Love Is a Mess has a cult following online, Dean lives in a world where structure is optional and inspiration is everything. His apartment is chaos. His sleep schedule is chaos. His heart is chaos. He creates brilliance in messy strokes but hides his deepest truths behind humor, charm, and a smile that masks more wounds than he lets on. ‎ ‎So when the magazine pairs them for a high-stakes project-a revolutionary feature blending investigative journalism with illustrated storytelling-everyone expects disaster. Sophia expects worse. ‎ ‎Their assignment: explore modern love through real stories across the city. Raw, unfiltered, unpredictable love. ‎ ‎Exactly the kind of assignment that makes Sophia want to run. ‎ ‎Dean arrives late to their first meeting with coffee stains and excuses. Sophia arrives with a binder thick enough to double as a weapon. Dean studies her timeline like it's written in a foreign language. Sophia studies Dean like he's a problem she needs to solve before he derails everything she's built. ‎ ‎Their partnership begins in sparks-sharp, heated, dangerous sparks. ‎Arguments disguised as discussions. ‎Discussions disguised as power struggles. ‎Power struggles disguised as creative differences. ‎ ‎But tension has a habit of twisting into something else when the nights grow long. ‎ ‎As they dive into the city-interviewing strangers whose love stories survived decades, storms, heartbreaks, second chances-something shifts between them. Slowly. Quietly. Against both of their wills. ‎ ‎Sophia begins to see past Dean's easy humor to the man underneath-the one who fears failing the people he cares about, who draws comics because it's the only way he knows how to tell the truth. And Dean sees the cracks in Sophia's armor-the vulnerability she protects like a secret, the softness she doesn't show, the fire in her that the world misunderstands as coldness. ‎ ‎Their conversations deepen. Their arguments soften. Their laughter blends. ‎And the chemistry-the kind they both pretend not to notice-tightens around them like an invisible thread. ‎ ‎But the closer they get, the heavier the air becomes. Because both of them are hiding something. ‎ ‎Sophia hides her fear of losing control. ‎Dean hides his fear of being the reason someone gets hurt. ‎ ‎And the feature they're creating-meant to uncover the truth about modern love-begins exposing truths they never meant to reveal. About each other. About themselves. ‎ ‎Their late-night work sessions grow intimate, electric. Their stories blur with the stories they're collecting. Dean sketches Sophia without meaning to-capturing expressions she never lets the world see. Sophia writes notes about him she can't bring herself to delete. Something real starts forming in the space between them, fragile but undeniable. ‎ ‎Until the past they both buried finds them. ‎ ‎A mistake from Dean's life-one he thought he'd left behind-reaches the editorial floor at the worst possible time. A detail with enough weight to derail the feature, shatter their progress, and wound the one person who finally saw him clearly. ‎ ‎Sophia's instinct is survival. Run before she gets hurt. Seal her heart before it cracks open. Dean's instinct is retreat. Protect her from the version of himself he fears is still true. ‎ ‎Deadlines tighten. Trust fractures. ‎Their work stalls, their communication splinters, and the connection they've been dancing around threatens to snap under the strain. ‎ ‎But desire doesn't listen to logic. ‎And hearts don't obey deadlines. ‎ ‎Even as they pull away, they keep orbiting each other-drawn back together by an ache neither can extinguish. Their arguments deepen into something rawer, heavier. Their silence holds more meaning than their words. ‎ ‎They must choose: ‎fight for the story that could define their careers... ‎or fight for the connection that could rewrite their futures. ‎ ‎And when an unexpected message, a truth revealed too late, and one irreversible decision collide, they're forced to confront the question their feature was meant to answer: ‎ ‎What does love look like today- ‎and can two people living at opposite rhythms find it before it slips through their fingers? ‎ ‎On the edge of losing their partnership... ‎their second chance... ‎and each other... ‎ ‎

Action Modern Romance

8.9

Called to School for My Son's Fight

8.9

When a mother is summoned to the principal's office because of her son's schoolyard fight, she never expects to face her ex-boyfriend, who is now a police officer. During the tense confrontation, she fires back at his remarks by accidentally revealing that her son's rebellious streak is half his. As the noisy room instantly falls silent, she is left desperately wishing she could take back her words. Can she navigate the chaotic aftermath of this unexpected reunion?

Modern Romance

8.2

Divorce After Husband's Betrayal

8.2

After discovering her husband's secret infidelity, a devoted wife is forced to confront the collapse of her marriage. Reeling from the betrayal, she decides to reclaim her independence by filing for divorce. Navigating the complexities of wealth and social status, she seeks a fresh start away from her billionaire spouse's lies. This modern romance follows her journey of self-discovery and resilience as she leaves behind a toxic life to find true happiness.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.1

Left To Die: Now The CEO Begs

8.1

On our third anniversary, my husband Marcus walked out on our dinner because his "best friend" Izzy had a crisis. That was the ninth time he chose her call over my presence. According to the sick bet I made with her years ago, it was game over. But the true end didn't come in a restaurant. It happened inside a plummeting elevator. When the cable snapped and the emergency brakes slammed us to a halt, I lay trapped under debris, my leg fractured and head bleeding. Izzy, terrified but scratched-free, screamed for help. Marcus didn't even look at me. He stepped over my broken body to scoop her up. "I've got you, Iz," he whispered, carrying her out to safety while I lay alone in the dust, gasping his name. He left me to die in that metal box. Later, when I confronted him, he called me "unstable" and "jealous." He claimed I was a burden, a placeholder he married just to pass the time until Izzy was ready for him. He even shoved me into a freezing lake to protect her from a confrontation she started. He thought I would always be there, the pathetic wife waiting in the shadows. He thought his love was a prize I would endure any torture to keep. He was wrong. I signed the divorce papers, threw my ring into the ocean, and vanished without a trace. Three years later, I returned to New York as a celebrated artist, with a man who treated me like a masterpiece, not a prop. Marcus, now ruined by Izzy’s lies and stripped of his fortune, found me. He knelt in the rain on the city street, weeping, begging for one more chance to fix us. I looked down at the husband who had let me drown. "There is no 'us', Marcus," I said calmly. Then I turned my back on him and walked into my future.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.6

Life Is So Much Sweeter Without You

9.6

Noelle Rutherford is eager to share her pregnancy news with Chester Gray, the man who has cherished her for three years. However, while waiting outside a private club room, she overhears a devastating secret. The man she intends to marry is part of a cruel game involving an identical twin. As laughter erupts behind closed doors, Noelle realizes her entire relationship was a lie orchestrated by a boyfriend's brother. This mystery explores the fallout of a life-shattering deception.

Modern Mystery Romance

8.5

Our Last Fall

8.5

Commander Samson Gardner married the protagonist to honor a deathbed wish, despite his love for a childhood sweetheart. When Samson sides with his lover after she destroys a precious heirloom, the protagonist decides to leave. She cancels their marriage application and resigns from the military to become a foreign correspondent. By the time Samson tries to make amends, she has already vanished. Now, he can only watch her from afar, haunted by the marriage he threw away and the woman he can never win back.

Action Modern Romance

The High Price Of Father's Freedom

Chapter 5

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