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Chapter 78: Not a Fairytale II
publish date:
2025-10-18 21:26:59
Latest chapter
All Shades of Passion Chapter 43: The Race
Bailey POVI woke up before the sun.Mark was still asleep beside me, his arm draped across my waist, his breathing slow and even. The hotel sheets were tangled around us, and the faint glow of early morning crept through the window.For a moment, I just lay there.Looking at him.His face was relaxed. Peaceful. The hard edges that usually sat in his jaw were gone. He looked younger like this. Softer.Then my brain kicked in.Today was the race.I slid out from under his arm carefully, grabbed my phone from the nightstand, and checked the time.5:47 AM.The men's two hundred meter heats started at 10:30. That gave us just under five hours to eat, warm up, and get his mind right.I showered quickly in my bathroom, changed into my coaching gear, and tied my hair back. By the time I came out, Mark was sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes."Morning," he said, his voice rough with sleep."Morning. How do you feel?"He stretched his arms overhead, rolling his shoulders."Good. R
All Shades of Passion Chapter 42: The Hotel II
Bailey POV"Your mother," I said. "I haven't heard anything about her."His grip on my hand tightened slightly, and I knew that whatever he was about to say wasn't going to be pleasant."She was a model from Europe. Deutch. Beautiful. The kind of woman who turned heads everywhere she went.""How did she meet your father?""At some athletic gala in New York. My dad was at the peak of his career at the time. Big name. Big money. Big everything. She saw an opportunity and took it."His voice was even, but there was something underneath it. Something old and bruised."They got married fast. Had me a year later. But my dad is... you've met him. He's controlling. Everything has to be his way. His schedule, his rules, his plan. She lasted four years before she couldn't take it anymore.""She left?""She took a fat cheque and went back to the Netherlands. Picked up her modeling career like nothing happened.""How old were you?""Three."The word landed like a stone dropping into water."I did
All Shades of Passion Chapter 41: The Hotel
Bailey POVHe sat on the edge of my bed. I sat on the chair by the window, legs pulled up, arms wrapped around my knees.The city lights painted soft patterns across the room. Neither of us reached for the lamp."Nervous?" I asked."A little," he admitted. "Not about the race. About everything else.""What do you mean?"He was quiet for a moment, rubbing his thumb slowly across his knuckles."After tomorrow, things change," he said. "If I run well, doors open. Scouts notice. My dad gets involved in a whole new way. Everything gets bigger.""That's a good thing.""Maybe. But bigger also means more eyes. More pressure. More people watching every move I make."He looked at me."Every move we make."My chest tightened."Mark.""I'm not bringing it up to start something," he said. "I just needed to say it out loud. To someone I trust."The word sat between us like a heartbeat.Trust.Silence settled over the room. Comfortable. Heavy with things unsaid.Then he spoke again."Can you tell me
All Shades of Passion Chapter 40: The Regional Championship
Bailey POV3 weeks later.The flight to Atlanta was two hours and fourteen minutes.I know because I counted every one of them.Mark sat beside me in business class, a seat his father had insisted on paying for. His legs stretched out in front of him, earbuds in, head tilted back against the headrest. He was wearing gray sweats and a black hoodie, and he fell asleep twenty minutes after takeoff like he didn't have a care in the world.I didn't sleep.I sat there with my clipboard on my lap, reviewing his race plan for the hundredth time, pretending the warmth of his arm resting an inch from mine wasn't making my skin tingle.This was a work trip.A competition.Nothing more.We landed in Atlanta just after noon. The air hit different the second we stepped outside the terminal. That thick, warm southern heat that wrapped around you like a blanket.Mark grabbed both our bags from the carousel before I could reach for mine."I can carry my own bag," I said."I know you can."He didn't gi
All Shades of Passion Chapter 39: Emotional Dependence
Bailey POVThree weeks into the new program, I noticed something I wasn't prepared for.It wasn't about training. Mark was performing better than ever. His times were dropping, his form was tightening, his confidence on the track was growing into something solid and real.It was about me.It crept in slowly. So slowly that I didn't catch it until it was already buried deep.I started looking forward to our sessions. Not as a coach, not as a professional reviewing a training plan and checking boxes.I looked forward to seeing him.His face, his voice. The way he said "morning, Coach" when he walked onto the track. The way he laughed when I pushed him too hard. The way he looked at me after a good rep, searching for approval, like my opinion was the only one that mattered.I looked forward to all of it.And it terrified me.It hit me on a Wednesday evening. I was at home, sitting on my couch, reviewing his training footage on my laptop. I had been at it for two hours, breaking down his
All Shades of Passion Chapter 38: The Competition
Bailey POVMark's possessiveness didn't stop after Thursday.If anything, it got quieter but deeper. A hand on the small of my back when nobody was looking. Standing just close enough during water breaks that our shoulders almost touched. Finding excuses to walk past my side of the track when he had no reason to be there.I told myself to shut it down. Told myself to keep the distance I promised I would keep.But every time I opened my mouth to correct him, the words died somewhere between my brain and my lips.So I did the only thing I knew how to do.I buried myself in work.And the universe gave me the perfect reason to.The announcement came during the staff meeting the following Tuesday morning.The USATF Regional Championships were six weeks away. This year, they were being held in Atlanta.Coach Mercer stood at the front of the room, reading through the list of qualifying events, age categories, and entry deadlines. I sat in the back row with my notepad, taking notes, keeping m
All Shades of Passion Chapter 17: Lost and Found
Sheila's POVIn the bathroom, the full weight of the situation hit me. I was drunk, alone, in a club I didn't know, and my cousin had vanished.I gripped the sink harder as another wave of nausea rolled through me. This time I made it to the stall, throwing up a little more. The tequila burned just
Last Updated : 2026-04-03All Shades of Passion Chapter 18: Dark Corners
Sheila's POVZuki was straddling the blonde guy's lap, her knees on either side of his thighs on the velvet booth seat. Their mouths were locked together in the kind of kiss that should have been private - deep, hungry, desperate. Her hands were in his hair, tugging hard enough that his head was ti
Last Updated : 2026-04-03All Shades of Passion Chapter 20: Smoke and Mirrors
Sheila's POVThe Uber pulled up to our gate at nearly 1 AM. The driver whistled low at the sight of the estate beyond the iron bars."Nice place," he muttered.Zuki was already typing in the gate code on her phone app. The massive gates swung open silently, revealing the long driveway lined with pa
Last Updated : 2026-04-03All Shades of Passion Chapter 9: Walking Practice
Sheila’s POVAfter the makeup test, I begged for a break. Zuki gave me exactly ten minutes.Then she clapped her hands. “Up. We are going to fix your walk.”“I thought we already fixed my walk,” I said from the couch.“That was basic spine survival,” she said. “Now we are adding attitude.”“I don't
Last Updated : 2026-04-02
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