Novel-novel oleh Faithi nice

The ring was still cold in my palm when I realized I had never said yes.The dinner had been all candlelight and crystal, with a dozen powerful strangers smiling at me like I was already one of them. Damien had stood beside me, his hand on my back, his voice smooth as glass. "Meet my fiancée." Then, while I was still staring at him, he had taken my left hand and slid a diamond onto my finger in front of everyone."Smile, Jane," he had murmured against my ear. "Just for tonight."I smiled. God help me, I smiled, and I let the applause wash over me while my heart pounded with something I refused to name. In the car afterward, I asked him why. He said only, "It was necessary." That was all.At home, I tore the ring off and hurled it across my bedroom. It hit the wall and rolled under the bed, and I sank onto the floor with my hands over my face. I had a boyfriend. I had a family counting on me. And I had just promised the wrong man a lie that felt far too real.The next morning, I walked

I didn't sleep. I lay awake staring at the ceiling, hearing that distorted voice over and over. *Ask him about school.* By morning my eyes burned, and I was angry enough to forget I was afraid.I walked into Damien's office without knocking.He was sitting behind his desk, jacket off, sleeves rolled to his forearms. He looked up at me, and he didn't seem surprised. He looked like a man who had been expecting this."Someone called me yesterday," I said. "They told me to ask you about school."His fingers stilled on the keyboard.It was small, but I saw it. For one long second the only sound was the hum of the air conditioner."Who?""I don't know. What happened at your school, Damien?""Nothing you need to know.""That's not an answer.""It's the only one you'll get.""Stop doing that." My voice rose before I could stop it. "Someone is following me. Someone is sending me photographs. And every time I come to you, you hand me silence."He leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes locked o

I typed my resignation letter at six that morning, at my kitchen table, with my father's hospital bills stacked beside the laptop. I deleted it twice. The third time, I let the cursor blink over the send button until my eyes burned.Then my little sister walked in, yawning, and asked if I could sign her school form. She said it like it was nothing. Like she trusted me to keep the world steady.I closed the laptop.By nine, I was sitting at the far end of the conference table, hands folded, spine straight, pretending I couldn't feel two dozen pairs of eyes on me. Every whisper from the past few days followed me into that room. The car. The photographs. The message still sitting in my phone like a thorn. *He never gives anything for free.*Damien sat at the head of the table, reading quarterly numbers in that flat, controlled voice. He never looked at me once. I told myself I was grateful."Excuse me, Mr. Blackwood."The voice came from the middle of the table. A senior manager named Ha

By Monday, the whole office had changed. Two women from accounting stopped talking the second I stepped into the elevator. A man at the coffee machine looked me up and down, then smirked into his cup. Even the colleague who had helped me with my work now crossed the hall whenever he saw me coming.I told myself I was imagining it. I was tired, and my nerves were already stretched thin.At ten o'clock, I walked toward the restroom and heard my name through the half-open door."Jane? The secretary?""Who else? She appears from nowhere, and suddenly she's Mr. Blackwood's personal assistant. He doesn't let her out of his sight.""I heard she slept with him to get the job."My feet stopped moving."Honestly, it's obvious. Nobody gets that close to him by filing paperwork.""And what about the car?""Don't even start. Some of us worked four years for ours. Sales targets, overtime, perfect reviews. She's been here a few weeks, and he just handed it over for free.""Who gives a new secretary

I didn't sleep. The black car had swerved away the moment Damien's headlights turned onto my street, tires screaming, and by the time I stopped shaking, it was gone. Damien sat outside my house until sunrise. I know because I checked the window every twenty minutes, and every time his car was still there.By eight, I was standing in his office with my arms crossed and my nerves in pieces."Who was in that car?"He didn't look up from his laptop. "I'm handling it.""That's not an answer.""It's the only one I have.""You knew before I did. You watched them for hours." My voice trembled, and I hated it. "Do you have any idea how that feels?"That made him look up. Something flickered across his face, guilt maybe, but it vanished before I could name it."Yes," he said quietly. "I do."I opened my mouth to ask what that meant, but he had already returned to his screen. Typical.I thought that was the end of it. Then I left work that evening and found a man in a dark suit standing beside m

My phone rang at 12:47 a.m. I squinted at the screen, half asleep, and almost ignored it until I saw the name. Damien Blackwood. Who calls an employee at this hour? I answered with a tired sigh. "What is it?""Did you finish the report?"I blinked, then sat up slowly. "You called me at twelve forty-seven in the morning to ask about a report?"There was a short silence. "Yes."I checked the clock again, hoping I had misread it. "You're unbelievable.""Have it on my desk by eight.""It's already finished.""Good."The call ended. No goodnight, no apology, nothing. I stared at the dark screen, irritation burning in my chest. "Insane," I muttered, and dropped back onto my pillow.That should have been the last midnight call. It wasn't.The next one came three nights later, at 1:16 a.m. "Hello?""Are you awake?"I frowned. "Obviously. You called me."Another silence, longer this time. "Go back to sleep."I pulled the phone away from my ear. "Then why did you call?" He didn't answer. The li