Chapter: Chapter 15: The Long Way Home Chapter 15: The Long Way Home(Zara POV)At some point I stopped pretending it was a coincidence.Dominic no longer just appeared “in the area.” He showed up like it had become part of his routine always at the same time, always after I closed, always parked a little too close to the entrance, as if he already knew I would walk toward the car.He never explained it. I stopped asking, because every time I almost did, I already knew what the answer would sound like.And I was not sure I wanted to hear it.That night I spotted the car before I even reached the gate.Same place.Same quiet waiting.I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and walked toward it anyway.The passenger door was already unlocked.I got in.The car smelled faintly like him now, something clean and expensive mixed with the night air coming through the slightly cracked windows. It should not have felt familiar, b
Last Updated: 2026-04-20
Chapter: Chapter 14: He cannot stay still Chapter 14 — He Cannot Stay Still(Dominic POV)I stare at my phone after sending the message.Goodnight, Zara.It is a simple line. I have sent thousands like it in my life without thinking twice.This one stays with me.I set the phone face down on the desk and try to return to the documents that need my signature. The words on the page blur. I read the same paragraph three times and still cannot tell what it says.Work has always been the place where everything else disappears. Tonight it does not work.I lean back in the chair and rub my eyes. The penthouse is quiet except for the low hum of the city far below. I should go to bed. Instead I pick up the next folder and force myself to focus.It lasts less than ten minutes.My mind keeps drifting back to her. The way she looked when she stepped out of the car earlier. The quiet way she said goodnight.I close the folder har
Last Updated: 2026-04-19
Chapter: Chapter 13: Jane forced the callChapter 13 — Jane Forces the Call(Zara POV)Jane was already awake when I came out of the bathroom, sitting on the couch with a mug of tea balanced in both hands like she had been waiting there for a while. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and she didn’t even bother to pretend she wasn’t watching me.I slowed down near the kitchen counter, already knowing what this look meant. Jane had a way of sitting very still when she was trying not to explode with questions. It usually meant I had about thirty seconds before she stopped pretending.I dropped my bag near the chair and leaned against the counter.“You’re going to ask,” I said.“I am,” she replied immediately. “But I’m giving you the chance to speak first so you don’t later say I attacked you emotionally.”I let out a small breath through my nose, not quite a laugh, not quite anything else.“Nothing happened,” I said.Jane tilted her head slightl
Last Updated: 2026-04-19
Chapter: Chapter 12: The Drive Home Revised Chapter 12 — The Drive Home(Zara POV)By the time the event finally wound down, the hall had emptied into that hollow kind of silence that follows too much noise. Staff moved quickly, clearing glasses and resetting chairs, while I stayed behind to double-check every last detail. No one asked me to. I just needed something simple to focus on, something I could actually finish.I was reviewing the final seating chart when I heard steady footsteps approaching.I didn’t look up immediately. Then his voice cut through the quiet.“Still here?”Dominic.He had removed his jacket, sleeves rolled up to his forearms in that effortlessly controlled way of his. The sight of him, broad shoulders, open collar, the faint edge of his tattoo visible, sent an unwelcome spark through me. My pulse jumped, and I felt a familiar warmth low in my belly.I looked back at my tablet. “I’m finishing up.”He didn’t move
Last Updated: 2026-04-18
Chapter: Chapter 11: The Fashion launch Chapter 11 — The Fashion Launch(Zara POV)When I got back to Jane’s apartment that evening, the place felt emptier than usual. I dropped my bag by the couch and stood there for a moment, letting the weight of the day settle.Dominic’s offer refused to leave my head. Three times my old salary. A real styling coordinator role. A way out of the bar, out of scraping by, out of feeling like I was always one bad shift away from breaking.But every time I pictured myself saying yes, my mind snagged on the same dangerous thought: him. The man whose voice still made my thighs press together. The man whose hands I could still feel on my skin if I let the memory surface.I sat down slowly, pulling my knees to my chest. My body betrayed me even now, a low, unwelcome warmth blooming between my legs as I remembered the way he’d brushed that strand of hair from my face on campus. How close he’d stood. How my panties had grown slick just from the s
Last Updated: 2026-04-18
Chapter: Chapter 10: Accidental Collision Chapter 10 — Accidental Collision(Zara POV)The next morning felt heavier than it should have for something as simple as walking to class.I kept replaying Dominic’s voice from the night before while moving across campus, like it had gotten stuck somewhere behind my thoughts and refused to leave. It wasn’t even what he said that unsettled me the most. It was how easily he said it. Three times the pay, like it was nothing. Like my entire life could be adjusted with a sentence.I told myself not to think too much about it. It was just a job offer. A way out of the bar. A way to breathe a little easier. That was all it should have been.But the problem was that nothing about him ever felt like “just” anything.I tightened my grip on my folders as I crossed between buildings, my attention split between lecture notes and the same thought circling again and again. Why me? He didn’t need to offer me anything. He barely knew me. An
Last Updated: 2026-04-17
LOGIN
