Chapter: Chapter 4Arianna"Sorry. You're no longer working with us."Those were the words that kept circling in my head. Within less than twenty-four hours, I had lost both jobs.First S&M Publishing House shutting down overnight after the fraud investigation. Then walking into the club and getting informed the boss from above gave orders to fire me.Surprisingly... I wasn't very much shocked after I found out Damien owned the club I worked at. A man like him owning places like that made perfect sense now.Still, one question kept burning through my head.Why? Did he really hate my existence that much?I leaned back against the chair tiredly, rubbing my eyes.Losing one job was painful enough. Losing two at once felt cruel. And the worst part was that I couldn't stop myself from thinking Damien had something to do with all of it. A warm cup suddenly appeared beside my laptop."Take a break, girl," Tessa said as she sat down next to me. "You've been job hunting for almost half the day."I shut the lapt
Last Updated: 2026-05-28
Chapter: Chapter 3DamienPower changes people. Sometimes it hardens you slowly until you stop recognizing yourself. Other times, it turns you into exactly what the world feared you would become in the first place.Two months.That was how long I had been out of the country handling shipments, negotiations, and problems that couldn't be solved over phone calls. Men feared distance in this business. They thought leaving your territory for too long gave enemies confidence.They were right. Which was exactly why I came back personally.Not because of the wedding preparations my mother wouldn't stop talking about. Definitely not because of Vanessa constantly sending venue pictures.I only came back because there was a deal I needed to finalize myself. A shipment moving through the docks by the end of the week and too much money involved to trust anyone else with it.The plan after was to check on the operation of my club. Velvet Noir. As the manager has been an asshole with low sales for three consecutive m
Last Updated: 2026-05-28
Chapter: Chapter 2Ariana It took me a few seconds, maybe longer than that to convince myself that I wasn't imagining things. That this wasn't some cruel trick my exhausted mind was playing on me.Because once upon a time, those same eyes used to look at me like I was something precious. Like I was the only person in the world that mattered. There used to be warmth in them. Life. A softness that made me feel safe whenever he looked my way.Now all I could see was darkness. Danger. And emptiness in a way that didn't feel human anymore.A shiver crawled down my spine. It made my skin tingle with a traitorous kind of heat, and I hated myself for it. Because that man—this man—was no longer the one I loved. No longer the boy I gave myself to on the night of our graduation.He was power wrapped in an expensive suit. Commanding. Cold. A stranger with familiar eyes.Damien stood slowly, the scrape of the leather chair behind him sounding louder than it should have in the suddenly quiet club.His gaze dragged o
Last Updated: 2026-05-28
Chapter: Chapter 1ArianaI used to think survival was about strength... about smiling through pain and standing tall no matter how hard life pushed you.But life doesn't work like that. Now I know survival is just getting through the day without falling apart.The city lights blurred past the taxi window as I stared ahead in silence. I don't know why I was feeling nervous. As if something was going to happen. The taxi pulled up in front of the familiar building. The Velvet Noir. I paid the driver and made my way out. A exasperated breath left my lips as I stared at the club signboard. Working two jobs every single day was slowly draining the life out of me.During the day, I worked as an editor at S & M Publishing House, spending hours buried under manuscripts, deadlines, corrections, and a boss who acted like salary deductions were part of his daily vocabulary. Then at night, I came here.The exhaustion from staring at a computer screen all day still burned my eyes. But beneath all the stress and ex
Last Updated: 2026-05-28
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