Chapter: Chapter 51: What Game You PlayHe lifts me properly and helps me stand on my own two feet, which threaten to wobble if he lets go. His hands retreat slowly, making sure I’m steady.“I’m good,” I assure him. “And I accept your condition. I’m not leaving until our contract is over and until I get my revenge.”He stares at me intently, as if searching for even a trace of doubt on my face, but I hold his gaze, unshaken.As if satisfied with what he sees, he smiles. “Good girl,” he says, patting my head like I’m a creature he’s finally tamed. The heat of it lingers on my skin long after he turns toward the kitchen. We eat in silence. I watch him feast on the salmon, his movements graceful, and I realize he isn’t just eating to prove he isn’t mad. He’s eating because I asked him to. It’s a terrifying realization of the kind of power I’m not sure I’m allowed to have.“Did you always have magic hands?”I blink, suddenly shy, wondering if he caught me staring. “What?”“You cook incredible dishes,” he says. “You’re just ama
Last Updated: 2026-04-26
Chapter: Chapter 50: The PunishmentI push myself up. “I already apologized.”He looks at me, disappointment written all over his face. He steps closer but doesn't touch me.“You don’t get to leave,” he says quietly. “Not when the people who ruined your life are still breathing down your neck.”The truth lands heavily. I freeze, my mind suddenly going quiet. Zayn’s with me because of the things I must have said that night at the hotel. Not because he loves me—because he wants to see me safe. “Zayn—”But he’s already walking out. He doesn't slam the door or care to close it. He just walks out silently as if he couldn't stand me anymore. I collapse onto the bed, weeping softly, my palms covering my face.Hours later, the house is still quiet. Zayn isn't speaking to me. It feels wrong not to exchange words with him, not to try to win the challenge I’d set up against him in my head. I like to prove that I’m right. But this time, I don't because I’m not right.My mom used to say the way to a man’s heart is through his stoma
Last Updated: 2026-04-26
Chapter: Chapter 49: Me and the DevilThe sound of sirens cut through the chaos. It sounds very close. The boy with the knife snaps. He lunges—either to prove a point or because fear made him stupid. Zayn catches his wrist mid-air and slams it into the wall. The knife clatters to the ground. “You shouldn't have done that,” Zayn snarls. Another twist. Another sickening snap. The boy crumples, clutching his arm, screaming. Kendall stumbles free, scrambling toward me. I grab and embrace her tightly. The third guy runs. He barely makes it two steps before Zayn grabs him by the collar and hurls him straight into a metal dumpster. The impact echoes through the alley. Red and blue lights flash across the walls. “Police! Don’t move!” Officers rush in, weapons drawn. They take in the scene instantly—three men down, one pinned, two barely conscious, one woman bruised, another shaking, and one man standing tall, totally unharmed and unfazed. Zayn steps back. Not because he has to. But because he’s done. “I called it in,” he pr
Last Updated: 2026-04-25
Chapter: Chapter 48: Is It Worth It?My hand goes still. I don’t process what he just said. Suddenly I do. Nice ring. Give it to us. And we let her go. The world narrows instantly. My fingers instinctively curl over my hand before I even look at it properly, like I’m shielding it from them. The ring is the only thing holding me in place, a reminder of the man I just realized I can't live without. The leader smirks when he sees my hesitation. “Come on,” he says softly. “It’s just a ring.” Just a ring? My throat tightens. Kendall shifts in their grip, a small sound of pain escaping her when the knife presses a little deeper. “Don’t—” she chokes out, eyes locking on mine. “Don’t listen to them.” “Shut up,” the other guy holding her snaps, then covers her mouth with his free hand. “Hand over the ring,” the leader coerces. “No,” I say, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. “I’ll transfer the money. I’ll write a check. But you’re not touching this ring.” He laughs, darker this time. “A chec
Last Updated: 2026-04-25
Chapter: Chapter 47: The Ring on My HandI turn slowly, taking it all in. It’s not exactly a “fair,” but it might as well be. String lights hang lazily overhead even though it’s still daytime. Booths line the street—food, games, random pop-up vendors selling things no one actually needs but everyone somehow wants. There’s a small crowd gathered around a performer doing something impressive with fire. Who could have known there are so many couples? They’re basically everywhere I turn. A guy feeds his girlfriend a bite of something dripping in sauce. She laughs and they kiss. Another pair walks past me, fingers intertwined like they’ll die if they let go. I scoff and keep moving. My traitorous brain starts pulling me back to the kitchen. The stupid high-five. The way Zayn had looked at me like I’d just handed him my heart. I shake my head like I can physically throw the thought away. I stop walking for a second, pressing my lips together. I left. That’s the point. To start over elsewhere. So why does it feel like I’m ca
Last Updated: 2026-04-25
Chapter: Chapter 46: Running Without Direction ~JADE~ I have the perfect plan. Really. Step one: take my suitcase and leave—but it’s going to slow me down, so no. Leave without the suitcase. Step two: Leave the phone so the GPS doesn't turn me into a tracked animal. Step three: Walk until the smell of sea salt and Zayn Hemsworth is out of my lungs. I spend all night wondering why I’m going insane over him—why a man I barely know is making me question my morals. I can’t rest. I wake before the sun, only to realize that my midnight plans no longer make any sense. Run away? That’s just ridiculous. Instead, I do something that surprises even me—I cook. I make breakfast, humming under my breath like fucking Snow White. I’m not doing this because I’m domestic. I'm doing it because I need something to do with my hands before I do something stupid… like knocking on his door and asking him why he looks at me like that. Then I start wondering if he’ll even like what I’m making. I don’t know what Zayn’s favorite food is. Maybe
Last Updated: 2026-04-24
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