MasukHis dark eyes followed every tiny movement I made, tracing the line of my jaw, the tremble in my fingers, the way my breath hitched every time I had to lean in closer. It wasn’t a casual glance. It was heavy and unblinking. The silver hoop in his ear caught the bathroom light every time he tilted his head just slightly, and up close the tattoos crawling up his neck looked even more intimidating. I swallowed hard and tried to focus on the wound instead of the way his stare made my stomach twist. “You’re still bleeding a little,” I whispered, mostly to say something, anything. “Yeah?” he grunted as I pressed a fresh piece of gauze to the cut, trying to stop the trickle of blood, my fingers brushing the warm skin of his temple. “But is this how you usually greet every sorry bastard you meet?” Smack them in the head with a kitchen utensil?” My hand froze mid-dab. I pulled back slowly, the gauze still pinched between my fingers, and stared up at him. “Excuse me?” He tilted his
“Yes,” I breathed out, the word shaky and small. He finally loosened his grip just enough for me to twist my head and get a clear look at his face for the first time. My stomach dropped. He spoke my name like he already knew me—like it left a bad taste in his mouth—but I’d never seen him before in my life. If I had, I would’ve remembered. No one could forget a face like that. Sharp, angular features, dark brows slashed across his forehead like they’d been cut with a blade, and a small silver hoop piercing glinting in one ear. Ink crawled up his neck and along his jaw in patterns that disappeared under the collar of his black t-shirt. He was… he was very handsome. He still hadn’t let me go. His narrowed eyes locked onto mine and then his lip curled, that low, humorless laugh turning into something crueler. It was terrifying. “What the fuck are you doing here, Saraphina?” he demanded, voice edged with disbelief. “In this house, what do you mean you live here?” I swallowed hard,
My hand flew to my pocket on instinct, reaching for my phone so I could call the cops, call Dad, call Markus, just anyone. But my fingers found nothing but empty fabric.Darn it.I’d left it upstairs on the nightstand while I was unpacking. I spun toward the hallway, ready to sprint back up the stairs and grab it, but before I could even take two steps, I heard the unmistakable sound of the heavy front door creaking open.He was already inside.Panic shot through me like ice water. I immediately darted back into the kitchen, pressing myself against the wall beside the fridge where the shadows were deepest. The water on the stove was roaring now, boiling furiously as I reached out and twisted the knob off with shaking fingers, but the sudden silence only made everything feel louder — the creak of floorboards in the entrance hall, the soft click of the door shutting behind whoever had just walked in.Footsteps.I squeezed my eyes shut for half a second, trying to steady myself. Then
He set the last bag down on the bottom step and finally met my eyes. For the first time since the airport, he actually looked at me straight on. “It’s very safe, Miss Saraphina,” he said, voice calm. “I promise you that. If it wasn’t, your father would never have let you stay here. Not for a single night. This house has been in his family for a long time. It’s secure, private, and completely off the grid from the city noise. You’ll be fine here.” He bent down, picked up both heavy suitcases like they weighed nothing, and started up the wide stone steps toward the front door. I followed a step behind, the gravel crunching under my shoes, still trying to wrap my head around the sheer size of the place. “A cleaner comes every Wednesday morning,” Markus continued as he unlocked the heavy wooden door with a loud click. “She’s very thorough and discreet, been with the house for years. You won’t even notice her unless you want to. And your room is already prepared for you. Top floor, the
The flight was long and I had my headphones in the whole way, staring out the window as the ground changed from familiar green hills to unfamiliar mountains and then to the sprawling city that was going to be my new home. When the wheels finally touched down, the air felt different the second I stepped off the plane.I collected my suitcases at baggage claim, wheels rattling against the polished floor, and pushed through the arrivals doors into the bright, bustling terminal. And there it was.A ride waiting for me.A sleek black car idled right at the curb, exactly where Dad had promised it would be. A tall man in a crisp dark jacket stood beside it holding a small sign with my name printed neatly in bold letters: SARAPHINA. He looked a little older than Dad, with kind eyes and salt-and-pepper hair, and the second he spotted me he gave a small, respectful nod and opened the back door.“Miss Saraphina,” he greeted warmly, voice carrying the faint accent of someone who’d lived here a l
After that day, I made a quiet promise to myself: I wouldn’t be the weight on my family anymore. I started showing up for dinner without being called. I laughed at Micah’s terrible jokes even when they weren’t funny, let Mom hug me longer than I wanted and told Dad I was “fine” every time he asked. On the outside, I looked like I was healing. On the inside though, I was already packing my bags for somewhere else. College became my escape hatch. I didn’t aim for any of the safe schools near home and went straight for the hardest ones, the competitive programs on the opposite side of the country where the acceptance rate was barely above single digits. Places where no one knew my name, my face, or the story that still followed me. And that was exactly what I wanted. New faces. So I buried myself in applications. Late nights at my desk with the door cracked just enough for Mom to see I was “trying.” Essays rewritten until my eyes crossed. Test scores chased like they could er
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ The drive home was quiet, but not the awkward kind. Gage’s hand stayed on my thigh the entire time, thumb tracing slow, absent patterns through my jeans. Every once in a while he’d squeeze lightly, a silent reminder that he was thinking about me. I stared out the window, watching the
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, the tension in my shoulders easing as his words sank in. “Okay,” I whispered, squeezing his hand back. “I believe you.” The waiter appeared then with dessert menus. Gage released my hand only long enough to take one, then passed it to me with
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ The morning light sliced through the penthouse windows like a hangover headache, unforgiving, and way too bright. I’d gotten back sometime after three, showered off the night’s residue, and collapsed into bed still tasting sweat, and Amelia’s fear. Sleep had been shallow, fractured b
“So you’re in a relationship with Caleb,” he murmured, voice so low it almost disappeared into the wind. I opened my mouth to explain—to spill the whole ridiculous, humiliating truth—but he cut me off before the first syllable could escape. “Did you know?” I blinked. “No… No! I swear I didn’t kn







