For the next few weeks, my team and I were working on the resort, revamping it so that by the end of the day, I'd be too tired to lift a finger, let alone think about anyone before sleep would claim me. But tonight, it was different. My day didn't go uneventful. Someone came to disrupt my day, but it wasn't the person I was secretly expecting, but the monster who thought I owed him the air I breathed. Lying on the bed, my mind couldn't stop replaying the moment his shadow darkened the entrance of the resort. I had barely turned around, concluding with an interior decor of the color and design I wanted for the lobby, when his voice cut through the noise.“Adele.”Just one word, but it coiled around my spine like ice. I hadn’t heard from Ryan in months…except for that time in the auction house. I hadn’t wanted to see him. Not until I was ready for revenge. But there he was, in the flesh, wearing that smug smirk like he owned the ground I walked on.I didn’t let my face crack, not in
I snickered, “That sounds weird coming from you.” The two girls giggled. Glancing around the dusty lobby. “First, we clean. Then…” she turned towards Mark. “Manager…?”Mark stepped forward, grabbing the folder once more from the desk. “There's a lot to do. I'll suggest we make changes.” He paused, as if searching for the right words. “Not just in structure, but in the way we work. No more running this place like it’s the 90s. If we’re going to compete with the giants, we need to evolve. Digitize. Modernize. Make this place feel like a secret paradise… something no five-star chain can replicate. At the same time, maintain a bit of originality.”“Like, you want the resort to be both modern and traditional?” Sarah inquired. Mark nodded. “Exactly. We don’t need to copy what everyone else is doing. People don’t come to a place like this to feel like they’re in another corporate hotel. They come for peace, authenticity, and warmth. We keep the charm—the old garden trails, the handmade de
Her voice cracked at the end, and she stopped pacing, turning back to face me with wide, helpless eyes. “What if we fail again? What if this place ends up in ruins because we stayed? You'll lose every dime—”“Fifty million.” Emily said softly. All eyes turned to her. “She's going to lose fifty million because of us.”The silence that followed was suffocating.Sarah blinked. “Wait… what?!”Emily’s gaze was fixed on me now, her expression a mixture of awe and horror. “She got this place back for fifty million.”They drew in sharp breaths and Mark yelled. “Are you out of your mind?!” His jaw clenched. “They ripped you off! This place, since the beginning till now, has never been worth half that much! Even in its prime, it wasn’t worth fifty million!”His voice echoed off the hollow lobby walls, almost stirring the dust in the stale air.“This is not good.” Sarah facepalmed and resumed pacing with one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead, looking like her world has fallen apart
Adele~My arrival at the resort made my skin crawl. Sarah and Emily sat quietly at the ‘ghost’ lobby, staring into space. Even Mark leaned on the wall, ankle crossed over the other, lost in deep thought.The silence and sadness was deafening.My step slowed just as I walked in through the door. The sound of my arrival, of my heels clicking against the dusty floor echoed too loudly in the hollow stillness.Three sets of eyes turned toward me, and I saw it. Grief. Real, raw grief that hit me like a punch to the chest.However, I knew why… they must have been informed that the resort was sold and they all had to leave. Maybe they hadn't left yet because they were waiting for me.A soft smile graced my lips as I thought of the property deeds that was dangling on my right hand. As if to be sure it was still there, I glanced at it – the black folder still firm in my grasp. The black leather cover with gold lettering gleamed under the morning sun pouring into the resort.They didn’t know yet
The helicopter touched the ground in the yard. The instant the blades slowed down, Detroit got out, hair dancing in the air. Two men in black tactical gears met him at the helipad and bowed. “He's awake,” Elias said. “And he's been asking who he pissed off.” Detroit didn't reply as his steps devoured the distance. Behind him Elias and Elijah followed. They took an elevator to the underground facility in silence. Minutes later, the elevator chimed. When the doors opened, the sound of muffled cries and flickering fluorescent lights filled the underground hall. Two guards flanked the heavy door at the end of the hallway. They straightened the moment they saw Detroit approaching. “Is he talking?” Detroit asked. “No, sir. He’s been quiet since the sedation wore off. Just sweating… a lot.” said one of the guards. Detroit gave a single nod and entered the cell once the heavy, metallic door was pushed open. Inside the dimmed cell with the acidic smell of blood, rot, and dirt,
Adele~He stepped closer, but this time, I didn’t flinch or retreat. I held his gaze like it was the only solid thing keeping me upright.“You said not to lump you in with him. Fine. Then don’t act like him,” I whispered.He reached for me, but I stepped back before he could touch me. “Go,” I said. “You’ve got an emergency. Wouldn’t want to keep the world waiting.”A long silence passed between us. His breathing was heavy now, his eyes turbulent, and that perfect composure of his? It was crumbling.Good.Maybe then he’d see me not as a body to devour but as a person who could burn.“I’ll have my assistant take you to the resort,” he said finally, voice low, rough, almost strained.My heart trembled and shattered like fragile glass. That was all he had to say? I felt a sting in my eyes but I forced myself to not cry. Damn him! Damn Ryan! Damn men! I nodded, the sheet clutched tight to my chest like armor. “Okay.”And then, I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Not slamming it