Part 1 – Julian's Web
Julian's plan did not begin with bullets or blood.
It started with whispers.
An anonymous report to the media about Liana's past research and a suspicious disappearance. Untraceable emails sent to global medical boards questioning the integrity of her findings. Anonymous threats slipped into hospital inboxes where Liana once worked.
It was psychological warfare at its most elegant tarnishing reputations, fraying nerves, sowing doubt in the one thing Alexander and Liana fought hardest to protect: her credibility.
"She's being discredited, piece by piece," Elena reported to Alexander. "It's not about proof it's about perception."
Julian's timing was precise. While Liana's pregnancy and their public bond grew, so did the attempt to paint her as unstable,dangerous, a liability.
Julian was sending a message: I won't touch her not yet. But I will unravel her.
Part 2 – The Fortress Within
Alexander stood in his command wing, overlooking security footage from every angle of the estate. A blueprint of defense scrolled across his screen, from sniper nests camouflaged in the cliffs to reinforced panic rooms buried underground.
"She will not be touched," he told his operatives. "She will not be seen."
He ordered full background checks on every estate employee even the ones with clean files. Rotational patterns were randomized.
Communications encrypted again.
Still, his eyes betrayed the truth to Elena: fear.
That night, as he returned to Liana, he found her in the training room. She stood in front of a matte-black pistol on the table, staring at it as if it were a foreign object.
"I want you to teach me," she said.
He blinked. "Liana"
"I'm pregnant, not paralyzed," she said calmly. "If someone gets past all this, if I'm alone... I don't want to be helpless."
Part 3 – Bloodline Training
Over the next week, Alexander taught her every evening basic marksmanship, disarming techniques, situational awareness. She learned to load and reload, to breathe before firing, to fight if cornered.
To Liana, it wasn't just about combat. It was about reclaiming the control her enemies were trying to take from her.
Between target practice and prenatal care, their bond deepened. In quiet moments after training, he kissed the sweat from her brow, cupped her stomach, and whispered, "You are the fiercest thing I know."
But in Julian's mind, the war was only beginning.
He watched surveillance of the estate's new perimeter defenses and smirked.
"Let him train her. Let her hold a gun. It won't stop what's coming."
Julian reached into a folder labeled Project Eden a secret connected to Liana's father, long buried.
"Let's see what the doctor's daughter does… when her past walks through the door."
Unbeknownst to them in their own world while Julian is planning something else.
Part 4– Fire and Flesh
The training room was dim now, bathed in the soft amber glow of recessed lights. The sharp scent of gun oil still lingered in the air, but it mixed with something more intoxicating desire. Liana had just finished her final drill, her breath steady but her body pulsing with adrenaline.
Alexander stepped closer, taking the pistol from her hands, setting it down on the velvet-lined case.
"You're a natural," he murmured, brushing her damp hair back.
"I had a good teacher," she said softly, looking up at him.
Their eyes locked, and in the silence that followed, everything spoke. Fear. Desire. Triumph. Longing. The realization that each moment they had could be the last made every touch feel like a rebellion against fate.
He leaned in slowly, letting her respond first and when she met his kiss, it was with the
urgency of a woman who knew time could be stolen.
Their lips met, slow and deep, and she let her hands trace the muscles beneath his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her carefully, cradling her against him like something sacred. The fierceness was still there but now tempered with reverence.
As he carried her to their bedroom, he whispered, "Tell me if anything hurts. I'll stop."
She shook her head. "Only if you stop loving me."Their clothes fell to the floor with silent ease. He moved with restraint, every kiss down her body slow, every touch measured. She arched beneath him, her breath coming in short, soft gasps.
He took his time, learning her again learning her changed curves, her sensitivity, her heartbeat. The baby was their future, but this moment was theirs.
When he finally entered her, it was with a gentleness that made her moan against his mouth, their bodies moving together like music like something ancient. Each movement was mindful, careful not to put pressure on her belly. But it didn't stop the intensity it only focused it.
She clung to him as waves of pleasure built, his name a whisper against his neck, her body trembling from a different kind of fire now.
When they finally collapsed against the pillows, skin to skin, she curled against him,
his hand sliding instinctively over her stomach.
They lay in silence, the night wrapping them in something raw and intimate.
He kissed her temple. "You're my strength now. You, and the life inside you."
"And you're mine," she whispered back. "All of you."