Chapter 1
“stri Im requesting to reactivate this badge and join the Peacekeeping that!–]]
Stella’s voice not through the stence of the conference room in front of her sat her brother’s former teammates, all decked out in their dress uniforms, the stars on their shoulders glinting in the afternoon sun.
When Captain Hayes handed her brother’s badge, his hand shaking slightly_[]
“Stella, you sure about this? His voice was rough with emotion. “Your brother… be–]
Im sure. The mission Mike couldn’t finish. I’m gonna finish n
Stella stared at the flag on the wall, suddenly remembering how her brother used to teach her to salute when they were kids]
He’d always say, “Stella, ! your hand needs to go higher.“]
Captain Hayes turned away, waping his eyes. “Alright then. Welcome to the unit. We’ve got a Middle East deployment in two weeks–you’re coming with us.”
Stella nodded firmly and walked out of the precinct. The moment she stepped outside the precinct, her phone buzzed. It was the Hayes famdy’s housekeeper.
“Mrs. Hayes, you gotta get back here right now! Mr. Adrian’s been dragged to the study and the old man is he’s going to beat him within an inch of his life!!”
Stella went quiet for a moment, she hesitated and finally flagred down a cab toward the Hayes estate.||
When she pushed open the heavy oak doors of the study, she walked straight into the sight of old Mr. Hayes’s leather bell cracking hard across Adrian’s hack.
PA
The sound of flesh splitting echoed through the silent study.
Adrian kell rigid, his back a mess of blood and torn skin, but he didn’t make a sound.
“You went behind my back and brought Paige back from overseas–how’s that honoring your d
dead parents?!” The old man’s voice shook with rage as again, “after all these years, you still can’t get over her?”
Adrian stayed silent
“I’m talking to you! Answer net His grandfather’s fury bolled over, the belt tracking down again, “after everything–you still can’t forget her?!“]
Adrian still said nothing._
With such picture, Stella stood frozen in the doorway.
y, her nails digging deep into her palms.[]
Every crack of the belt against Adrian’s back felt like it was tearing straight through her chest, making it nearly impossible to breathe
The man snill wouldn’t say a word.
But his silence was more brutal than any answer could’ve been.]
Because not denying was the same as admitting everything.]
The beating continued, strike after strike, until he finally collapsed face first onto the floor, unconscious
The old man’s hands shook with rage as he
rage as he pointed at Adrian’s crumpled form and barked at the housekeeper, “Gat has to the hospitalr“]]
At the hospital Stella tended to his wounds]
She dabbed the cotton wah in antiseptir and gently cleaned the cuts on his back. His muscles tensed from the pain, but he still hadn’t woken up
Staring at his pale profile, her mind drified back years ago
parents had died when she was young, leaving just her and Mike to fend for themselves
she raged the belt
Mike was a peacekeeper, deployed overseas most of the time. The day he was supposed to come home, she’d waited excitedly at the airport, only to get the call that he was dead.
A car accident on h
on his way back–he’d died saving old Mr. Hayes’s life
Wracked with guilt, the old man took in Stella, who was still just a student at the tinie, and raised her as his own]
Those first few months at the Hayes house, tried herself to sleep every night missing Mike ||
The first time she met Adrian was late une evening ||
Back then, she was hiding in the garden crying, when he happened to come back from outside. Seeing her there, he froze for a moment, then crouched down and handed her a handkerchief
“Hey, don’t cry,” he said softly. This is your
home new
In the moonlight, his face looked impossibly gentle.]
She fell for him right then and there.]]
But she knew the only saw her as a little sister,
And she also knew his heart belonged to Patge–his childhood sweetheart.||
He was so good to her–so good that everyone asumed they’d eventually get married.
She thought so too, figured she’d watch them the the knot and have kids, till that terrible accident-
At that time, Adrian’s parents and Page’s parents had gone on a ski trip together. When an avalanche h, Paige’s parents instinctively grabbed Adrian’s parents, using them as human shields, then ran away without trace
Tinally, Adrian’s parents were buried in the snow. By I
by the time rescue teams found them, they were already gone
that accident, old Mr. Hayes forbade Adrian from seeing Paige ever again.||
And Adrian obeyed.]
Soon enough, the old man shipped Paige’s entire family oversens ||
Adrian acted like nothing had happened, but every night he’d drink himself into oblivion
cow night, drunk out of his mind and calling out Paige name, he stumbled into Ste’s bed by missk
The next day, the old man was totally furious and forted them to get married ||
After the wedding, he came to her room every night, but Stella knew his heart was always with Paige
wasn’t like Stells hadn’t tried to win him over:]
But her hope slowly died each time she caught him searching for any trace of Pake||
Including this time.
exactly why his grandfather had beaten him.]
Because Paige was struggling overseas, so Adrian had secretly brought her back and set her up in a private villa.
Stella bad found out even before the old man did
Something felt off one day, so she followed him. And then she watched him cook for Palge with his own hands, plant her favorite flowers in the garden….[]
Thats when it hit her–she’d probably never have his heart ||
So she decided to leave.
She wanted to vuit the place where Mike had worked, where his dance stilled–a mülzary doctor.||
Mike was coming house that day to plan their wedding. He’d promised the girl that after this peacekeeping mission ended, hed marry her
But he never made in back! ‘
She wanted to meet the woman her brother had loved, and more than that, she wanted to complete the mission he’d never gotten to finish ||
In the hospital room, Adrian frowned in his sleep, calling out a name.||
Hearing his voice, Stella sat by his bedside, her fingers hovering in the air before finally settling on his forehead, soothing away the wrinkle between his brows.
over the years, what she’d seen most was that permanent furrows in his brow
It wason that he treated her badly. He remembered her favorite foods, covered her ears during thunderstorms, brought her Lesle cakes after business dinners||
But marrying her made him miserable.||
Every day, every hour, every manure–just miserable
At lead this marriage would be over soon, and he’d finally be free
The hospital room door suddenly burst open. Paige rushed in crying, her voice shaking “Adrian” She was so frantic she didnt even notice Stella standing by the bed.
She shoved Stella aside and threw herself toward Adrian
Sirila stumbled backward from the force, her head slamming hard against the wall Warm blood trickled down through her hair.
But Paige didn’t even glance her way–not a hint of apology
Stella steadied herself against the wall, looking at Adrian still unconscious on the bed, and suddenly realized–maybe he’d rather see Paige when he woke up.
So she quietly left, went to the nurses station In get her head wound treated. Then she wandered around outside for a while, eventually picking up some porridge and light dishes, thinking Adrian might be hungry when he woke up
But when she gently pushed open the hospital room door, what she saw was-
Paige had fallen asleep at his bede:||
And Adrian propping himself up slightly, stealing a tender, restrained kiss on her hair.]
Chapter 2
