LOGINNicholas gave her a dry look. "Then tell them I'm your very strict older cousin." Rose laughed. "That will make it worse." "Why?" "Because now they'll think I have a handsome rich cousin who comes to pick me up from school." Nicholas shook his head. "You talk too much." Rose smiled. "You're onl
The weekend passed without any serious events, other than the fact that Rose turned off her cellphone just to avoid any phone calls from anyone, including Alex. Strangely, she wasn't truly angry with him. At least, not because of what he had done in the underworld. What hurt her was that he had kep
The drive away from the warehouse was unusually quiet. Eric kept his attention on the road while Rose sat in the back seat, staring through the window without really seeing anything outside. The city passed by in a blur of lights and buildings, but her mind remained trapped in the warehouse she had
For a moment, neither Rose nor Alex moved. The warehouse remained unnaturally quiet, and even the men inside seemed to understand that whatever had just happened between the two of them was more important than anything else in the room. Alex slowly lowered the gun in his hand and handed it to on
Rose carefully looked inside and what she saw made her breath catch. Alex stood in the middle of a large warehouse, surrounded by numerous men. The atmosphere inside was completely different from the polished world Rose knew. The concrete floor was bare, heavy crates were stacked along one side of
--- The journey took longer than Rose expected. The city gradually disappeared behind them as Eric followed the directions written on the note. Rose remained unusually quiet. She felt a bit nervous because she was heading toward a location someone had deliberately given her because they believ
“Clara?” Rose repeated, puzzled. “Yes — my personal secretary,” Nancy confirmed, her tone brimming with pride. Again, Rose was taken by surprise because this wasn't the answer she was expecting from Nancy. She trusted Nancy's capabilities because she had seen them in action first-hand but she do
By the time she reached the teacher's wing, the mask felt heavy on her face. Groups of students clustered together, all of them murmuring. She heard her name over and over, threaded through words like liar, fake, and snake. She had hoped to sneak in unnoticed, but the moment she stepped into the h
As expected, even though the vice principal wanted to keep what had happened in the office quiet, the story spread like wildfire before lunch was even over. At first, students thought it was only about Coach Drew and a handful of juniors. That alone was enough to keep the halls buzzing. “Did you h
“Rose,” William’s smooth voice came through, dripping with feigned affection. “It’s been so long. How are you, my dear?” Rose’s grip on the wheel tightened. She forced her tone to remain light, slipping easily into the same game. “Father. What a surprise. I’m well. How are you?” William chuckled







