تسجيل الدخولIsla’s POV I’m shaking when Silas leaves.Not the dramatic kind or the visible kind where someone might notice and ask if I’m okay. It’s the quiet shaking—the kind that settles deep in your bones and makes your teeth ache if you clench your jaw too hard.If anyone ever tells you a man won’t use your past against you, that it won’t come up when it’s convenient for him, that it won’t be sharpened into a weapon the moment he feels like he’s losing—That's a lie. A beautiful lie. A dangerous one.I stand there in the backyard long after his footsteps fade, my arms wrapped around myself like I’m trying to keep my insides from spilling out. The air feels colder now, freezing cold. Or maybe that’s just the weight of the memory he dragged back into the light and left bleeding at my feet.Call girl. The word echoes in my head like a slap. It wasn’t something I was proud of. It wasn’t some twisted ambition or rebellion. It was survival.After high school, after watching my dad pretend everythi
Isla’s POV I’m still standing outside when the black car pulls into the driveway. For a second, my brain doesn’t register who’s inside—just the headlight reflecting through the dusk, the crunch of gravel, the slow inevitability of arrival. Then the doors open.Aurora steps out first, composed as ever, her posture immaculate like chaos doesn’t dare touch her. Ronan follows, already scanning the scene with sharp, calculating eyes. Marco comes last, phone still in his hand, jaw tight, expression unreadable. They look like they were interrupted mid-life. Dinner or a meeting. Something normal.My chest tightens. Because nothing that happened here forty five minutes ago was normal. Before they arrived, Silas had been staring at me. Not casually or absentmindedly. Staring.The kind that crawls under your skin and settles there, heavy and annoying, like he’s memorizing me again. Like he’s reminding himself I exist. Every time I shift my weight, every time I fold my arms tighter around mysel
Zayne’s POVThe moment I heard Italian, I knew exactly what this was about. This was about the hit-and-run. And whatever they’d found in that car.I stepped away from Isla before she could grab my arm again. Her eyes were already sharp with panic, mouth parted like she was about to say my name—say don’t—say please.I didn’t let her.I approached the officer who was speaking Italian into his radio, his posture stiff, his gaze scanning the property like he already owned it.“Scusi,” I said calmly.He turned, surprised for half a second before his face smoothed out. He sized me up—plain black shirt, flip-flops, bruised arm, expensive watch still on my wrist.“Sì?” he replied.“If you’re looking for a suspect,” I said evenly, “you should arrest me.”The words landed exactly how I wanted them to.The officer’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “You’re confessing?”“I’m saying,” I corrected, “that whatever you think happened that day, whatever vehicle you’re tracing, whatever mess you’re trying to
Isla’s POV I didn’t conclude anything, not yet.Suspicion was easy. Fear made it tempting. But accusations—especially against someone like Zayne—required proof. I’d learned that the hard way. Jumping to conclusions had a way of detonating everything before the truth even had a chance to surface.So imagine I end up accusing him and I find out it was Silas all long?So instead of spiraling, I chose something harder. I chose peace for now.I stepped into the closet and pulled one of Zayne’s shirts from the drawer he’d pointed out earlier. It smelled like him—clean, faintly spicy, something warmer underneath. I slipped it over my head, the fabric grazing my thighs, grounding me just enough to steady my thoughts.If my phone was compromised, then someone had been careful. Which meant I needed to be the same.“Isla,” Zayne called from the kitchen. “Food’s getting cold.”“I’m coming,” I replied, forcing my voice to sound normal.I left the phone on the bed. That alone felt like a small reb
Isla’s POV I woke up reaching for my phone.It was instinct, muscle memory more than thought—my hand sliding across the sheets before my eyes were even open. The space beside me was still warm, the mattress dipped where Zayne had been, but my phone wasn’t there. That alone snapped me fully awake.I pushed myself upright, hair falling into my face, heart thudding for no reason I could immediately name.The last message I’d sent Sienna still hadn’t been replied to. I knew that because I’d checked it obsessively yesterday morning before stepping out. Something about the silence felt wrong now, heavier this morning.I swung my legs off the bed and stood. I didn’t bother looking for clothes.The apartment was quiet in that early-morning way that felt private, insulated from the rest of the world. Sunlight filtered in through the tall windows, pale and soft, catching dust in the air. I followed the faint sound of movement toward the kitchen.Zayne was there.Shirtless. Barefoot. Standing a
Zayne’s POV I wake up to heat.Isla is pressed against me, bare and warm, her body fitted to mine like she was made to be here. Her breathing is slow, deep. Completely out.Her chest rises and falls softly, and every time she shifts—even just a fraction—her nipple brushes mine in a way that makes sleep impossible.I don’t move, I just watch her.Morning light filters in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, turning her skin golden. Her lashes rest against her cheeks, her mouth slightly parted like she’s dreaming of something good. There’s a crease between her brows that wasn’t there before she fell asleep—something leftover from the night, from fear, from adrenaline.I reach out without thinking, thumb tracing that crease until it smooths out. She relaxes instantly. That does something ugly and permanent inside my chest.I’ve watched her sleep before—once, twice, more than I’ll ever admit—but this is different. This is knowing exactly how she breathes when she feels safe. This is see
IslaI walked out of the corridor, adjusting my blazer with shaking fingers, trying to calm the burn still crawling up my neck. My lips still tingled. Silas had really— God, I couldn’t even think it without my stomach twisting. One more minute in that room and I might’ve forgotten where I was. He h
Isla’s POV I shot up in bed so fast the sheets tangled around my legs and yanked me sideways. My hand was already sliding down before my eyes even opened all the way, pressing against the wet spot in my underwear as the memory hit like a freight train. Last night. Silas. Me telling him no. “Shit
ZayneI hated rain. Always had. But tonight, as I pulled into Dustfield, I didn’t even notice the slick, wet streets or the faint drizzle settling on the windshield. I parked outside the house, hands tight on the wheel. My chest was a little tighter than usual, and I hated the faint pulse of relie
Isla’s POVI slipped on a puddle and caught myself against the brick wall, rain slamming down so hard it blurred everything into streaks of neon and shadow. My glasses fogged over completely, turning the alley into a smeared mess of reflections. Every step splashed water up my calves, heels wobblin







