Chapter: KARMA'S SHADOW“Alex… so you won’t be attending the meeting?”My voice sounded like a child in need of her father’s help, even to my own ears. I stood near his desk with my folder pressed to my chest, trying to hide the twist of anxiety forming inside of me.Alex didn’t bother looking up at first. He just fastened his cufflinks with that annoying, cold look he was born with. “No.”I walked closer. “But these are the last two names on the list. We should both be there. You can’t leave me now after we started this together.”He paused long enough to give me a single glance, one of those looks that said he’d already decided and nothing I said mattered. The corner of his mouth moved faintly. “You’ll be fine.”He turned away and added, almost casually, “You should be used to firing people by now.”The comment punched the air out of my lungs. My body stiffened, swallowing hard. “That’s not something you ever ‘get used to,’ Alex.”He shrugged, completely unbothered by whatever was happening in my li
최신 업데이트: 2025-11-17
Chapter: TEACHER'S PET“So about your daughter,” she said, starting even though he had warned her not to. “She’s such a sweet girl. You didn’t tell me she looks just like you.”Alex sighed in frustration but didn’t respond. His hands stayed fixed on the steering wheel, knuckles pale against the leather.“I don’t talk about my family with people from work,” he said finally with a distant voice.Chloe frowned, glancing at him. “I wasn’t asking for details, Sir. I...she actually seems like a good kid. You must be proud of her every day.”He finally looked at her, sending a quick, sharp glance that made her pulse skip. “Well she’s the only part of my life that still feels like mine,” he said with a low voice, colder even. “And that’s exactly why I keep her away from my world.”The words hung between them like fog.Chloe studied him, the hard line of his jaw, the way his eyes stayed locked on the road like the conversation didn’t deserve any attention from him. “But she’s part of what makes you human,” s
최신 업데이트: 2025-11-13
Chapter: MORNING FACEA blast of music shattered the silence in my new room, causing me to sit upright in bed within seconds with my heart pounding, pillow half over my head. A heavy beat thudded through the walls like there was a marching band attacking the compound.“What the hell is that?” I managed to voice out with a rough voice.Before I could fully open my eyes, Alex’s voice came through the speaker system, sounding loud and active for how early it was in the morning.“Rise and shine, Stone. Your breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes. If you’re not down by then, I’ll assume you’ve died in your sleep and send the chef to drag you out.”I groaned, dragging the blanket over my face. “You’re insane!” I muttered into the pillow but the music only got louder the more I complained. “Unbelievable,” I grumbled, fumbling to find the speaker’s off switch but there was a knock at the door that stopped me completely.I looked around, hair sticking out in every direction. “If that’s you, I swear...” T
최신 업데이트: 2025-11-12
Chapter: WITNESS PROTECTION “Daddy, what’s going on?”Alex turned toward the sound, changing his tone. “Viv?”A small figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs, a little girl with tangled dark hair and a pink nightgown that was just a size too big for her. She rubbed her eyes, squinting toward the light. Behind her, a woman hurried down the steps; it seemed like she was the girl’s nanny, hair tied in a messy bun and an apology ready and waiting to fall off her lips.“Sir, I’m so sorry,” the nanny said out of breath. “She heard voices and thought something had happened.”Alex’s voice softened, warmer than I had ever heard it since I had come back into his life. “That’s my question, sweetheart. Why are you still awake?”Viv blinked up at him, speaking with her tiny voice. “I heard you talking and I came down because I missed you.”I rose quickly from the couch, guilt twisting in my stomach. “Oh no, I’m so sorry. We didn’t mean to wake you. We were just...” I stopped when Alex looked at me, warning me with
최신 업데이트: 2025-11-11
Chapter: GLASS WINDOWS“Welcome to my home,” Alex said as he pushed open the heavy glass doors that sealed his mansion off from the rest of the world. He spoke like someone who hadn’t just watched one of his employees attack another.The faint scent of cedar and citrus filled the air, mixing with the cool air from the air conditioning that brushed past my face. My hands tightened around the strap of the bag I packed, as the events from a few minutes ago continued playing in my head.“Alex, I..”He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “Ugh. Come in, Chloe.”The living room was bathed in soft lighting, with the wooden floor so clean that it felt like someone could fall asleep on it. Two staff members appeared almost instantly, bowing slightly when they saw Alex.“Prepare a room for her,” he said curtly. “East wing.”The staff nodded and reached for my bag.I stepped back instinctively. “That’s not necessary. I can handle it. It’s...”Alex’s voice cut through my protest. “You were nearly attacked tonight, Ch
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-23
Chapter: MIAMI'S KNIGHT My...the apartment Alex had let me stay in was quiet...almost too quiet. The kind of silence that is weird in one’s ears. I kicked off my shoes immediately, wincing as my feet finally hit the cold floor. The day had drained every energy from me. I sank into the couch, sinking deeper into its cushions like it might swallow me whole.After taking a cold shower and getting ready for bed, I poured myself a glass of wine for surviving the first day of execution in the office. I promised to take one sip, okay maybe two sips to get the edge off.That’s when the first bang hit the front door so hard the glass nearly slipped from my fingers. A second hit followed immediately, louder this time, shaking the door’s frame.“Open up!” a voice roared from the other side. “You think I’ll let you live after this?”“Daniels?” I whispered to myself when I realised that the voice sounded familiar.“Open the damn door!” he shouted again. “You ruined my life, you bitch! You and your boss destroyed eve
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-22
Chapter: EXTENDED ROOTSThe Mitchell estate still had its tall windows glowing against the evening sky. Jessica stepped out of the car, smoothing the front of her dress while Avery clutched her hand tightly. The air smelled faintly of pine and wood polish which gave the environment an elegant, distant, and far too familiar scent. Ethan stood by the grand doorway, his hands tucked in his pockets, trying to look casual but looking every bit as nervous. Behind him stood his parents, Charles and Eleanor, and the man with a walking stick, William Mitchell.Ethan’s smile faltered, then steadied. “Hey, Jess. Thanks for coming.”Jessica felt Avery’s grip tighten. Joseph and Janet flanked her, both standing a little taller than usual.Charles stepped forward first, extending a hand to his friend Joseph. “Joseph, my old friend. It’s been a long time.”Joseph clasped it firmly, his voice low. “A very long time. The last time we met, our kids were tearing each other apart.”Charles’s jaw flexed, but his tone stayed
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-23
Chapter: LAKE COMOIt was late in the evening, and the house was quiet except for the annoying ticking of the clock in the living room. Avery was already asleep upstairs, after a long day of being a menace. Jessica sat curled on the couch with a mug of tea that had long gone cold, her laptop open but forgotten. The glow from the table lamp cast gentle shadows across the room, brushing over family photos on the shelf.She scrolled absently through old pictures of her and Avery in Italy, bundled in coats, laughing by the canals. Her chest tightened at the memory. The house felt too still, too heavy with what-ifs.Then came a knock at the door.Jessica frowned, glancing at the clock. 9:47 p.m.Her stomach sank knowing that hardly anyone visited at this hour. She reached for her phone, opened the security camera app, and froze.Ethan.He stood on the porch in his work clothes, tie loosened, sleeves rolled to his elbows. His hair was slightly tousled, his expression unreadable. For a brief moment, she
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-22
Chapter: STORM'S COMINGThe evening light slanted through the half-drawn curtains, drawing gold lines across Jessica’s bedroom wall. She sat on the edge of her bed, the cream envelope resting heavy on her lap like a decision she didn’t want to make. Her thumb kept tracing the raised letters of the Mitchell name, over and over, until the motion felt like punishment.The door creaked softly. Janet, her mother, stepped in, her voice low. “Still thinking about it?”Jessica didn’t look up. “Thinking, regretting, overthinking. It’s one of them or maybe all?”Janet smiled faintly and sat beside her, the mattress dipping slightly. “You’ve been staring at that thing for almost an hour.”Jessica sighed, setting the envelope aside. “I’m scared, Mom.”“Of what?” Janet asked gently.“Not the trip,” Jessica said in a quiet voice. “Of what it means if I say yes.” She picked at the corner of the envelope. “Every time I start trusting him again, he proves and gives me reasons why I shouldn’t.”Janet watched her daugh
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-09
Chapter: JINGLE BELLSThe hum of orchestral music filled the air in Jessica’s studio, was alive with colour, bolts of silk spilling over tables, the scent of fabric glue and coffee blending in the air. She leaned over her sketchpad, pencil gliding quickly as she murmured to her assistant, “Tell Maya to adjust the hemline by half an inch on this dress.”A knock followed almost instantly.“Ma’am,” her assistant said from the doorway, slightly breathless. “There’s a man here. He says his name is Mr Ethan Mitchell, and he is here to see you.”Jessica froze. Her pencil paused mid-stroke. “Did you say...?”“Yes, ma’am. Mr Mitchell.”A dozen emotions formed in her chest. “Goddamn it. Send him in,” she muttered, her tone cool, clipped.Ethan stepped inside, looking oddly out of place among all the pastels and chiffon hanging around. His suit was dark, his presence heavier than the air itself. “This is a nice setup, Griselda.” he mocked, scanning the mannequins and the photos pinned to the mood board. “You’ve
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-08
Chapter: LONG ENOUGH The morning air was cold enough to sting. Dew clung to the windshield as Ethan parked across from the Johnson residence, his engine ticking softly in the silence. Avery’s doll, with its frayed yarn hair, was beside him on the passenger seat like a silent witness.He turned it over in his hands, thumb brushing the crooked smile stitched across its face. “You really forgot your favourite doll, kiddo.”For a moment, he just sat there, gripping the steering wheel as he prepared to go in. Every instinct told him to leave it with the guard, to avoid another confrontation now that Jessica’s parents were home. He exhaled, grabbed the doll, and stepped out. The gravel crunched under his shoes.When he knocked, the door opened not to Jessica, but Joseph.Jessica’s father filled the doorway in a dark sweater, his silver hair well-combed out. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were sharp enough to cut glass.Ethan forced a polite smile. “Good morning, Mr Johnson.” He held up the
최신 업데이트: 2025-10-06
Chapter: CHAMPThe buzzing of voices in the auditorium dropped as the principal stepped back up to the microphone. “Parents, teachers, and students,” he announced, his voice echoing through the hall, “thank you all for your hard work and creativity. Today has been extraordinary. But as with every competition, there can only be one winner.”The audience leaned forward in anticipation. Jessica straightened in her seat, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Beside her, Janet dabbed her eyes with a tissue, while Joseph’s arm rested protectively across the back of his wife’s chair. Ethan sat at the edge of his seat, his hands clasped together, every muscle in his body tensed as if he were the one being judged.“Third runner-up…” the principal read, pausing for effect. Cheers rose from the crowd as a small boy trotted on stage to collect his ribbon. Then came the announcement for second runner-up, and another child beamed proudly as applause filled the air.Jessica’s breath caught. Her eyes darted towar
최신 업데이트: 2025-09-20
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