MasukBIANCA[Stephanie: Please tell me you're coming for the party tonight.]Despite myself, I couldn't help but smile at that message.[Me: I'm pretty sure we both know the answer to that question, Steph.][Her: Oh come on, it's a Freshers Party. Literally my only chance to see you before the interning thing chokes me up. Please come][Me: Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be a student, specifically a fresher, to get invited to one of those things? How on earth does an interning graduate get an invite?][Her: I have my ways]You know what, I sort of believed her. And low-key, I was actually happy she hadn't changed from the wild coursemate that had a threesome with Max and me a couple months back. Not that she knew it was him, of course.Another text bubbled up.[Her: So, should I take your silence as a yes?]As if she knew what my answer would be, yet another text bubble appeared before the final message landed.[Her: Please? Can't we just reconnect? For old time's sake?]Hmm.
SABRINAThe Ashen Circle landed in New York last night.For all I knew, they’d probably been in the city even longer than that. They weren’t the kind of people that made moves out of nowhere or moved pieces just for the sake of doing so.They were meticulous, patient, and trained to a hilt. A group of top shots that controlled every mercenary firm in the country from Lang Corp down to Agnes, and even our enemies at Yoshen. Everyone reported to the Circle.My one job was to keep an eye on them and report back to my husband every step of the way. He never told me why, but honestly, he never told me anything.Everything with Matt was a maze I wanted nothing to do with… until he came to me with a proposition. One that would make sure I got my revenge against Brian.So what if this marriage was a hoax and my position as his wife and personal assistant was built on a bed of thorns and an iron contract?In the end, I’d have the last laugh. Right?“Mrs. Majors, your husband would like to have
THEO (AN HOUR AGO)“Sir,” she blocked me off. “We’re going to politely ask you not to stir up a ruckus here. This is a distinguished—”“Get out of my way,” I cursed, only for another man to step in front of me.“Sir. Please.”Tiffany disappeared past the doors a second later, and before I could even choose a next course of action, I suddenly realised I was surrounded by a swarm of workers.Blocking the entrance. Blocking the exit.Not a single one of them was attending to anyone else in the restaurant.No, even worse. Every single customer was looking at me. But their expressions were far from concerned or suspicious. They were calm. As if the argument just a couple seconds ago never happened. As if they hadn’t even noticed.Then… why were they looking at me?“Go after the girl,” I suddenly heard. “Make sure everything goes according to plan.”My eyes snapped to the figure so quickly everything else turned bleak.A man in a long dark coat. Pouring himself some tea as though the
MASON She was perfect. Every inch of Tiffany Reese was fucking perfect. She slid her tongue into my mouth like she didn’t even need permission to. And she didn’t. Cause holy hell, she tasted like nothing I’d ever had before. Sweet, with a subtle hint of cocoa and something strangely stronger underneath. It drew out a soft groan just as my body started to respond to the heat of hers. I grabbed her close. Close enough to feel her nipples needle against my shirt. Close enough to bring her tongue even deeper into my mouth. One hand stayed at the small of her back. The other softly cupped her cheek. Every nudge of her hips or roll of her tongue sent pulses down my spine that settled at my gut and spread further down. I picked her off the floor like she weighed nothing and settled her against the bathroom sink. Now, it was my turn to roam. I pushed my tongue deep into her mouth and sculpted her body with my hands. As if I was trying to memorize every detail of her like this
TIFFANYMason was right.Alcohol was definitely not a good decision. Especially for someone who’d never had a sip in her life.Did it always taste this bitter, or was it just me?Ooh, who was I kidding. Bitter, sweet, sour — it didn’t matter. For some annoying reason, every time it hit the back of my throat, the memories I’d been trying to suppress were the same ones shooting back up again.Yet I kept drinking. Maybe because the taste wasn’t that bad and I was just lying.Or maybe I was lying about something else. Lying about wanting to forget.Maybe… I wanted to remember.I grabbed the bottle off the floor again, then leaned further into the bathtub and let the bubbles come up to my neck.Just as I tipped the bottle toward my mouth, the thought came.*Why wouldn’t he choose Mika over me?*Her dark hair was longer. Her skin, fairer. Her eyes, a peculiar shade of grey.She was a little more curvy than I was, and even without saying it, I knew she’d give him a much better time
MASONHerr date with Brian went to shit.I should've been happy. But between the shudders and sobbs and the sound of her choking on her own tears, I was starting to wonder how bad the date could've possibly been. I turned the heater a bit higher and glanced at her again. She wasn't soaked, but still huddled herself as though the cold had seeped deep into her bones. Tsk.“Do you want to take my jacket?” I asked, already shrugging it off while one hand remained on the steering wheel. “It's still raining. I'm not sure it’ll be over by the time we get to your house.”I'd pulled the jacket off completely now, but when I gave it to her, she didn't move. She stayed huddled. Didn't say a word. Didn't make a sound. Until…“Can I crash at your place tonight?” She asked.Something hot and fast shot up inside me.“W… what?”She put it her head against the window, slowly releasing herself from the huddled position. I could see the dried tear marks on her face now.. “I don't feel like going







