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
Last Updated: 2025-09-20
Chapter: PROUDLY SPONSORED Ethan picked up and lifted Avery high into the air, spinning her once as her giggles rang through the school yard. Her glittery face shone bright in the sunlight, little stars pasted carefully on her cheeks, and the purple dress flared around her knees like a ballerina's skirt.“Wow, look at you,” Ethan said, beaming as he settled her on his hip. “My princess. Purple’s definitely your colour. And those glitter stars, did you do that yourself?”Avery giggled, shaking her head so her pigtails bounced. “Mommy helped! But I picked the purple. Purple makes me happy!”Ethan kissed her cheek. “You’re right. You shine brighter than everybody here.”She leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Do you think the judges will like my butterflies?”“They’re gonna love them, baby girl” Ethan promised, his voice soft but firm. “Just like I do.”Jessica watched from a few feet away, her parents beside her. The warmth in Ethan’s voice twisted something inside her, but she stood straighter when he app
Last Updated: 2025-09-20
Chapter: ALL I DO IS WINThe morning air had the smell of coffee and toast in it, the hum of chatter filling the dining room as Joseph read the news on his iPad and Janet fussed with her teacup. Jessica paced lightly between the kitchen and dining table, straightening napkins more than once, her nerves barely hidden.The sound of small footsteps pattered on the stairs. All eyes turned as Avery appeared at the top, holding her project board proudly to her chest. Her eyes sparkled, though her lips pressed tight in a nervous smile.Joseph immediately sprang up to his feet, clapping his hands together so loudly that Avery giggled. “Damn! Take a look at our little champion!” he boomed, his grin as wide as the morning sun.Janet rushed over, crouching low as Avery reached the bottom step. She smoothed her granddaughter’s collar, tilting her head to admire her. “You look like the smartest girl in the whole school,” she said warmly.Avery’s cheeks pinked under the attention. She glanced toward her mother, half sh
Last Updated: 2025-09-17
Chapter: GRAND ENTRYThe front door swung open with the sound of rolling suitcases scraping lightly against the entryway tiles. Jessica’s head snapped up from the dining table, her pulse leaping. She hadn’t expected them home for another two days.“Mom? Dad?” Her voice carried surprise in it as she rushed forward. She wrapped her arms around Janet first, then Joseph. “You’re back early. I thought you weren’t due to come back until the weekend.”Janet returned the hug quickly, but her eyes were already wandering. The moment they landed on the living room, her smile dropped away like a mask. Ethan stood there awkwardly, shoulders tensed up, hands buried in his pockets. Avery hovered close to him, her cheeks pink and her eyes still glossy with tears.Janet’s lips thinned, her voice sharp as a whip. “What’s he doing here?” Her gaze darted to her granddaughter. “And why is Avery crying behind him?”Ethan straightened immediately, forcing a polite smile even as discomfort rippled through him. “Good evening
Last Updated: 2025-09-16
Chapter: LOVE IS A VERBThe dining table was a battlefield of supplies; tubes of glue, scattered scissors, and stacks of colored paper spilling across the wood. Jessica straightened the poster board at the centre with deliberate precision, her movements sharp, her tone brisk.“We’ll keep it simple,” she said, tapping the board as though stamping it with authority. “Poster board, neat markers, maybe a title with glitter if Avery insists on it. Easy to handle. Manageable.”Ethan leaned back in his chair, his arms stretching over the backrest like he had all the time in the world. A half-smile tugged at his lips, both amused and challenging. “Simple won’t cut it, Jess. You’re thinking too small. This has to stand out. A 3D volcano, or maybe a moving solar system. Something that makes the judges stop and her peers stare.”Jessica’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing. Her arms folded tight against her chest, like she was shielding herself. “This isn’t about you winning, Ethan. It’s about Avery learning. It’s abou
Last Updated: 2025-09-13
Chapter: A-TEAMThe morning sun made its way through the windshield, covering the eyes of everyone in the vehicle. Jessica’s fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, the leather feeling smooth under her palms, her eyes fixed on the road in front of her. The steady hum of the engine was the only sound until Avery’s small voice rose from the back seat, cutting through the calm ride.“Daddy,” she asked, her tone curious, “why don’t you live with us?”Jessica’s heart thudded at the sound of her question. Her shoulders stiffened, and for a moment she thought about pretending she hadn’t heard what her daughter had said. But Avery’s wide eyes blinked at her through the rearview mirror, expectant for an answer.She forced her voice into something light, careful. “That’s not how all families work sometimes, honey. Some mommies and daddies live in different houses, but they both love their children very much.”Avery frowned, kicking the back of Jessica’s seat gently with her sneakers. “So… we’re still a fam
Last Updated: 2025-09-10
Chapter: ALL ROADS LEAD HOMEThe door to my room burst open without any warning, slamming against the wall with a loud thud. I jolted upright, holding the blanket tighter around my half-naked body as Alex stormed in for whatever reason on earth. Without hesitation, he yanked the curtains wide up. The hooks rattled against the rod as sunlight exploded into my bedroom, stabbing at my already pounding head.I groaned and dragged the blanket to cover my face. “Are you insane?!” I snapped, my voice muffled. “Do you know what knocking is?”“Get up,” Alex barked, his tone sharp enough to slice through the haze of my hangover. “We’re leaving in an hour and thirty minutes. The plane is already waiting.”I peeked out from under the covers, eyes squinting against the glare. His shirt was perfectly pressed, his hair neat, not a single line out of place, as if barging in on people at the crack of dawn was part of the morning routine of effective people.“Would it kill you to give me some notice before dragging me halfway
Last Updated: 2025-10-02
Chapter: THERAPY SESSIONThe door clicked shut, loud against the stillness in our suite, and Alex’s footsteps across the suite’s tiled floor felt like a drumbeat closing in on me.I didn’t bother moving to hide what I looked like at the moment. I was sprawled across the couch, legs basically falling off the edge, the half-empty expensive bottle of wine tipped sideways against the cushion. A dark wet ring bled into the pale fabric, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a damn. Snack wrappers were littered on the glass table, with my greasy fingerprints smudged on the surface, and plates of half-eaten food sat there forgotten after a while. An overturned glass lay near my feet, the last drops staining the carpet like blood from the people I wished were my victims.His sharp intake of breath broke through the cloud I was currently floating on.“What the hell is this?!” His voice cracked like a whip, so loud it forced me to return to earth. “Christ, Chloe! Are you a woman or a freaking tornado? Look at this plac
Last Updated: 2025-10-01
Chapter: MEET 'N' GREET IIThe words “Allow me to reintroduce you both to each other” still rang loudly in my head as Alina’s arm looped tighter around him, her smirk annoying the hell out of me.She didn’t pause or give me a moment to take what was happening, she just twisted the knife deeper. “This,” she announced proudly, “is one of my boy toys. I keep a few close by, you know, to relieve… ‘stress’. Travelling can be so exhausting without them.” Her tone was airy, cruelly casual, as though she were talking about handbags, not a living, breathing man who had just wrecked my insides two nights ago.The world tilted under me. My throat dried up instantly, my pulse rising to the point I could hear it in my own ear. Stress relief. I began to see flashes of his hands on me, his lips, the way I’d whispered his harder into his ears. My knees wobbled under the memory and shame burned up my chest, threatening to choke me.Alina tilted her head, eyes narrowing as if she could read me like one of her reports. Her smi
Last Updated: 2025-10-01
Chapter: MEET 'N' GREETThe silence in the suite had been a strange comfort that I had been enjoying all afternoon. Letting wrap its arms around me as I lounged on the couch with Fifty Shades of Grey balanced loosely in my hands. The pages remained glued to my eyes as I followed every sentence written for my pleasure.I was reading this to occupy my day because this was a hundred times better than replaying Alex’s dumb conversation from breakfast, his voice still lingering in the back of my mind as I tried to picture Christian Gray doing all those things to me. “Now I know you’re not some liability.”A sudden buzz caused the coffee table to shake. My phone had lit up from a notification from an unknown number.I hesitated, thumb hovering, before swiping it open.[Can we meet later tonight? Just to talk. B.S.]My chest tightened, an ache blooming where anger and exhaustion usually lived for Alex. I stared at the words, the memory of his voice still so fresh from the elevator a few days ago, lying to my
Last Updated: 2025-09-28
Chapter: PERKS OF THE JOBThe sweet smell of coffee pulled me out of my room before I was even fully awake. My head felt like it had been smacked on the floor several times, heavy from the mess I put myself through in the last twenty-four hours, but the sharp scent of roasted beans and buttered croissants was impossible to ignore.I stepped into the suite’s living room and froze.Alex was already at the table. Perfectly composed, not a single hair on his head out of place, a white shirt fitted to his frame, sleeves rolled neatly at his elbows. He sat with one hand holding his iPad, the other casually cutting into his breakfast like it was just another morning. He looked so calm that, for a second, I wondered if I’d dreamt everything that had happened to me yesterday. I was begging God at this point to make sure it wasn’t real.He looked up the moment he sensed me. His eyes softened so unexpectedly that I felt my guard drop in his presence. “Good Morning, Chloe. Sleep well?”My throat was dry, but I forced
Last Updated: 2025-09-25
Chapter: SOSI slipped into the farthest corner of the hotel’s lobby while walking to clear my mind. I felt the cold wall against my back as I pressed my phone so tightly to my ear which might’ve cracked it. My hands shook, my pulse racing like I’d just run a mile.Lois picked up on the second ring. “Chloe? How are you?”A loud sigh left my mouth immediately after her questions entered my ear. “I’m just overwhe...”“Why are you whispering like you’re hiding from the cops?” Lois cut me off without allowing me to make my point.I squeezed my eyes shut. “Because I might as well be hiding from the devil himself. You wouldn’t believe, he gave me an ultimatum.”“Who did?” “Alex, of course. He said I have to set up a private dinner with the investors tonight because I missed the meeting this morning. If I don’t do it, then I lose my job.”There was a pause on the call, then Lois burst out laughing loudly in my ear. “You’re kidding. Tell me you’re exaggerating, Chloe. How does he speak to you lik
Last Updated: 2025-09-24
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