Temptation of her Flame ✔️

chapter thirty six

i am in shock omg. i woke up today with 7k reads on this story and the day is ending with 9.5k. this is insane 😭 thank you so much for reading. i'm appreciate the votes & comments.

chloejwroberts your comments made my entire day.

i keep extending this story lol. i said it'll end at chapter 30, then 33, then 36 but nope. oops? i realise while writing that i have too much to write about. but very soon everything will wrap up real nice. i'll write another smut scene+a bonus future scene.

edit: no bonus smut scene sorrey i replaced it with bonus shorts 😇

ily all. you've made me fall in love with my own characters.

(everybody dies by billie eilish)

ARIA

The tension in the car was so thick it could be sliced with a shard. Vincenzo was hesitating. If Cole didn't have the upper hand with Emma held at gunpoint, I didn't have a single doubt that he'd be dead.

The entire situation was a mess, and I was barely in the state to comprehend it. I was tired, covered with grime, and yet I had to force my mind to function. It was a difficult feat, but I managed to grasp a brief outline of what I could do.

The main priority was getting Emma and Damon out of the building safely. If their lives were secured, Vincenzo could deal with Cole without risking anything. Once Cole's plans were down, the organisation planning to steal Vincenzo's precious weapons would meet an inevitable doom. If his uncle's children had no interest in pursuing Vincenzo's armoury, then it would all be over.

But I couldn't get rid of Cole so easily. I doubted I had the capacity. He'd been a friend much longer than he'd been an enemy.

"Let me go in the house after we arrive," I told Cole.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Do you think I'm stupid, Sweetheart?"

"Do you expect me to stand outside the mansion, covered in dirt?" I seethe.

The car only consisted of Vincenzo, the driver, me, beside him, and Cole at the back. He couldn't be trusted with Emma's life in his hand.

Cole considered me. "You're going to try something."

"Well, what a genius. You know damn well you've got a plan that covers all possibilities."

Correction: he had a plan that covered all possibilities he could come up with.

"So do you."

Correction: I know you have a plan.

"I have no interest in hurting you. You know I can't bring myself to," I said. It was a lie. He'd ambled past the limit of my patience and positioned our friendship in a guillotine to be beheaded. He'd gone behind my back and conjured sick schemes that shoved numerous lives in the path of risk.

He'd taken my adoration, my gratitude for him, and fragmented it with his bare hands. He was visibly concerned about the shards of my love slicing into his palm, but not nearly enough. It wasn't enough to stop his ludicrous plan.

Within seconds, Cole became someone new. I couldn't gaze at him without thinking of my father.

When the vehicle halted on its track towards the mansion and I soaked the sight of it, an audible gasp left my lips. The exterior was an utter mess; I couldn't imagine how the interior must appear.