LOGINZara Adams thought the worst thing that could happen to her had already happened. She was wrong. After catching her boyfriend of three years kissing another woman in front of a room full of people, Zara walks out with nothing but her dignity and a phone full of messages confirming the betrayal was never a mistake. It was a pattern. Desperate to disappear, she takes the first place her best friend finds for her… and ends up in the wrong apartment. The wrong bed. With the wrong man. Bastian Cole is quiet, controlled, and far too observant for someone living such an ordinary life. He offers Zara three days to fix the mistake. She ends up staying. What starts as a temporary arrangement quickly turns into something neither of them planned. Shared space becomes shared silence. Then laughter. Then something far more dangerous. But Bastian is hiding a life Zara knows nothing about. A life that includes power, expectations… and an engagement he never chose. When the truth surfaces, Zara is forced to confront a question she has spent years avoiding. What happens when the person you are falling for is another version of the life you were trying to escape? And this time… will she choose differently? ***Author's Email: elaravine130@gmail.com
View MoreThe SUV smelled like fast food and diesel. James drove with two hands on the wheel. Speed limit exactly. No sudden turns. Nothing that would get them pulled over. Zara sat behind him. Bastian next to her. Bisi in the back with the bags that weren’t bags. Just the burner, the cup from the on-call room, and Harris’s card. The windows were tinted. The world outside was bright and blurred. People on phones. People pointing. They passed Mercy General at 1:47 PM. No one followed. Yet. “Status,” Zara said. James didn’t look back. “Cousin’s place is six hours. We stop once. Gas. Bathroom. No food inside. I’ll pay at the pump.” “Money,” Bastian said. “Eighty two dollars,” James said. “Cash. Pulled it before I left. Account’s frozen now. Same as yours.” “Views?” Zara asked. Bisi held the burner. Screen cracked worse now. “402K. Nurses union reposted. National. Hashtag SaveMartha is number three trending. Mercy General’s page is locked. Comments off. Reviews off.” “Vivienne?”
The bus smelled like disinfectant and old coffee. Same as the on-call room. Different cage. Zara sat by the window. Bastian beside her. Not touching. Bisi across the aisle. Burner in her lap, screen up. Views climbing. 1,402. 1,889. 2,311. No one on the bus looked at them. Not directly. But the driver watched in the mirror. The woman with groceries watched the floor. The kid with headphones watched the window. Everyone watched. Vivienne’s photo was already out there. Someone had to post it. By now it was on Twitter. By now Richard had it. Zara’s phone buzzed. Not the burner. James’s burner. He left it with Bisi. Bisi read it. “James. He’s in Des Moines. Cousin says yes. One week. Garage apartment. Above the shop. No questions.” “When,” Zara said. “Says he can be back by nine,” Bisi said. “He’s driving straight through. Wants us at the Mercy north lot. He’ll swing by. No stopping.” “That’s four hours,” Bastian said. “We can’t stay on this bus four hours.” “We won’t,”
The alarm was Bisi’s burner. A sound like a hospital monitor flatlining. Zara was awake. Had been since 5:47 AM. She didn’t move when it went off. Neither did Bastian. He’d been on the floor all night. Back to her bed. Awake. James was gone. Left at 4:02 AM. Note on the mini fridge: `Iowa. Back by 18:00. Keep door locked.` No signature. He didn’t need one. Bisi killed the alarm. Sat up. Hair flat on one side. Eyes clear. “Noon.” Zara sat up. Foot tested. The gauze was dry. Blister was a scab. Pain was data. Data said yes. “News,” Zara said. Bisi held up the burner. “Martha Lewis is trending. Hashtag SaveMartha. Nurses posting black squares. Unions reposting the clip. Mercy General turned off comments.” “Walter?” “Booked. Released. 8:41 AM. No ankle monitor. OR. Harris must have pulled strings.” “Vivienne?” “Silent,” Bisi said. “No post. No statement. That’s what scares me.” Zara stood. The room swayed. One second. She locked her knees. It stopped. Bastian stood
The on-call room door clicked shut at 5:23 AM. James locked it. 0451. Again. The sound was the only normal thing left. Daniel wasn’t with them. Booked. Processing. Ankle monitor by noon, Harris said. That made four people in a room built for four. Zara took her shoe off. The gauze was soaked through. Not blood. Just water and sweat. She peeled it back. The blister was flat now. Angry. Red. Healing. Pain was data. Data said she could walk another ten blocks. Bisi dropped onto her bed. Burner on her stomach. Screen up. TMZ refresh. Channel 7 refresh. Twitter refresh. Her thumb moved like a metronome. “Nothing yet,” Bisi said. “Walter’s booking isn’t public. Harris is sitting on it.” “Good,” Zara said. “Gives us head start.” Bastian stood by the window. Same spot as before. Watching the glass. Not the city. The reflection. Zara. Always Zara. “You should sleep,” he said. Not to her. To all of them. “You first,” James said. He sat on the floor by the door. Back to it. Lap
Martha didn’t run.She couldn’t. Bisi was between her and the hallway. James was by the ER doors. News cameras were glass against the lobby windows. Running made guilt. Standing still made guilt too. She chose still.“Zara,” Martha said. Her voice was a nurse voice. Calm for patients. Not calm now.
The Door Locks First Zara woke to silence.Not the empty kind. The listening kind.For three seconds she didn't know where she was. Then it all came back: the wrong floor, the wrong bed, the wrong man. Right lock on the door that wasn't hers.She sat up slowly.The room was empty. The bed was made
Bastian woke before the alarm.He did not move immediately.Something felt off.Not loud. Not obvious. Just a shift in the room that did not belong to routine.He opened his eyes slowly.The ceiling came into focus first. Familiar. Unchanged.Then the weight beside him.Bastian stilled.He turned h
The building was quieter than Zara expected.That was the first thing she noticed.Not silent. Just… contained. The kind of quiet that did not invite questions, did not offer anything either. It stood there, neutral, as she pushed through the glass door and stepped into the lobby.The lights were b
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