LOGINBree’s dirty secret was pain.Her dopamine was pain. Her sugar fix was pain. Her medication was pain. She could reach heaven and stay there if she was in pain.Bree’s eyes were closed. She was breathing deeply and regularly, her mind was blank, and her senses swayed with the rhythm and beat of music coming from the speakers. Voi Che Sapete from Figaro was playing. The AC was cold on her skin, her delicate wrists and ankles were chained to a circular, wooden frame standing in the middle of the large room, her legs wide open. She only had panties to cover her nakedness, but she didn’t feel any shame at all that her body was exposed like this to the eyes of the man who held the whip in the communal room here in the chapel of Sinful Saints. He was the most important person in the world to her at the moment.The first lash of the whip at Bree’s back would have brought her to her knees had she not been chained. She managed not to ma
But instead of moving away, his hand slid down my body, to the small of my back, and he pulled me closer. Our bodies collided and I gasped, looking up. Now our faces were so close… too close. “Where do you think you’re going? I told you, I’m going to kiss you.”"I..." My mouth hung and I felt like an idiot. He had never held me like this. I’d never felt like this. I was in a robe and it was so large it covered me like a tent. But suddenly, I was so aware that I only had undergarments under it. It wouldn’t take much to disrobe me. And if I was thinking it, he must have thought it before me. That was the Gian I knew. He wouldn’t do something he had calculated first. “Gian…”His lips lowered to my slightly opened lips. He kissed me, a mere touching of the lips. He raised his head and stared at me as if telling me, ‘There you go, I did it.’And then he swooped down for the kiss,
"Because... you're the only man I've ever really liked... more than Brandon. He's got nothing compared to you."Any minute now, he’s going to burst into laughter, I thought. Of course, he would never take what I did and said last night seriously because I was dead drunk even if, in my heart, everything I confessed about my feelings were dead true. But he didn't laugh. He kept watching my face. And as the seconds ticked by, my heartbeat went faster. I was so nervous I raised my mug to drink, forgetting how hot it was.“Aww!”He quickly came to my rescue—no surprise there. He immediately took the mug from my hand and placed it on the table next to his while my fingers gingerly patted my scorched lips. "Are you okay?"Ahh... the timbre of his voice. It tickled me, like a gentle touch on the surface of my skin sending electrical currents down my spine. My whole body was suddenly buzzing—and he wasn't even touching me
EliseThe next day, I arrived early at the office.Work hadn't started yet, but some people had stopped by to check on me. I was supposed to have fallen down my apartment stairs and gotten injured as an excuse for my leave. Janet, my secretary, told me that so far, she hadn't felt that anyone at the office knew about the revelation in Tagaytay regarding the Schultzes. I had already told her about it so not to keep her in the dark, given how closely she worked with me. This way, she could also try to look out for me and see what everyone was saying about whatever gossip found its way to work.Of course, I didn't mention the development between Gian and me. No one outside our families needed to know about that. Or at least, not yet.It made sense that no one here still knew about the formal breakup between Brandon and me. These employees weren't connected to people who would hear the news. Their concern and curiosity were the reasons they checked on me in my office, especially those old
Prelude FOURTwo drunk men staggered along the beach, singing drunkenly while one of them waved a bottle of gin in his hand. After a while, he lifted the bottle to his mouth and drank, only to be disappointed when he realized it was empty.He said something to his companion, and they both laughed. The man then tossed the useless bottle onto the sand, and they continued their unsteady walk.After a few moments, one of them stopped and pointed towards the water, close to where the waves were crashing onto the sand. He let go of his friend's shoulder and waded in to retrieve whatever was floating there, pulling it towards the shore. It was a large sack tied with a rope, and something was inside.They struggled to untie the rope. From inside, something round began to emerge from the sack's opening.Suddenly, both men sobered up and started shouting, for there on the sand lay the head of a lifeless woman. Her long hair spread out on the sand, played with by the waves as if wanting to pull h
Elise“For real? My God, Elise! Poor Tootsie! What kind of heartless person would do that to a poor dog?” exclaimed Alia on the other end of the line, shocked and on the verge of tears. I had called her first thing when I woke up in the morning.I sighed, massaging my forehead. “I don’t know. Anna was the first to find her, so she’s been crying nonstop. She even needed to take a tranq to calm down and rest.”“What about you, and Inay and Itay?”“We’re still in shock. But Tootsie has already been buried in the garden.” I realized tears were streaming down my face. I had been so worried about Anna that my own grief over what happened to our pet was just catching up with me now. “Alia…?” I said, wiping my tears. “Is it okay if we… if we have a pet there at our house?”“You’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking!” she exclaimed.I smiled. “I want to take one of the puppies once they’re stronger. I want to help take care of Tootsie’s remaining puppies.”“Please, pretty please?! I want to he







