LOGINCHAPTER 7 – Crossing the LineAriana's POVThe moment I stepped into the living room, everything shifted. The air felt heavier, thicker. It wasn't just the quiet hum of the house, nor the cold marble floors under my feet. It was something deeper, something inside me that I couldn't ignore. The moment Victor’s eyes locked with mine, I knew: the boundaries that had once felt so clear were disappearing."Ariana," Victor said, his voice low, deliberate. He was sitting at the far end of the long, dark wood table, his usual calm, collected demeanor replaced with something darker. His gaze never wavered, following me as I crossed the room.I stood there for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest. "Victor," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Is everything okay?"“Everything is exactly how it’s supposed to be,” he replied, his eyes intense. He motioned for me to sit across from him, and though I wanted to refuse, my legs moved on their own, bringing me closer to the seat. His dark green
Ariana's POVThe house was quiet, too quiet, with only the sound of my heart pounding in my chest. I sat on the edge of my bed, the moonlight filtering through the curtains, but it felt like it might be the last night of peace I would ever know. Every night, I hoped that I would wake up and things would be different. That everything would go back to normal. That maybe I’d find a way to escape this suffocating feeling that had been creeping up on me since the day I moved in.But deep down, I knew better. Things could never go back to normal.The text had come again. From an unknown number, the words simple but deadly in their weight:“Midnight. The garden. Come alone.”A part of me wanted to ignore it. To tell myself it was just another one of their games. But I knew that the moment I ignored it, things would spiral further. If I didn’t show up, someone would get hurt. And I was starting to realize—terrifyingly—that I was the one everyone wanted to hurt.The clock struck midnight, and
CHAPTER 5 – The First Breaking Point Ariana's POV I'd spent the last three days avoiding all three of them. At breakfast, I ate quickly and left before anyone could corner me. At school, I took different routes between classes, ate lunch in the library, stayed late for study groups I didn't need. At home, I locked myself in my room, claiming mountains of homework. It was exhausting. But it was necessary. I couldn't keep living in that pressure cooker of tension and unspoken desires. Something had to give, and I refused to let it be my sanity. Thursday afternoon, I thought I'd made it through another day unscathed. I was heading to my locker, already planning my escape route home, when a hand closed around my wrist. Ethan. "We need to talk," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "I have to get to.." "Now, Ariana." He caught my wrist down the hallway, his grip firm but not painful. Students parted around us, whispering. I tried to dig my heels in, but he was too stron
CHAPTER 4 – House of Rivalry Ariana's POV The tension in the Sterling mansion had become a living thing, thick enough to choke on. I'd been living here for two weeks, and every day felt like walking through a minefield. One wrong step, one wrong word, and everything would explode. Tonight was no different. "Move," Ethan said flatly, standing behind Luca's chair at the dinner table. Luca didn't even look up from his phone. "I'm sitting here." "That's my seat." "Since when do you have an assigned seat?" "Since you decided to sit next to Ariana every single night." Ethan's voice dropped dangerously low. "Move. Now." I set down my water glass, my appetite vanishing. "Can we please just eat in peace for once?" "We could if Luca knew his place," Ethan said. Luca's chair scraped back as he stood, squaring up to his brother. They were the same height, both broad shouldered and intimidating. "My place? You mean the place you've decided I should have? News flash, brother, yo
CHAPTER 3 – Forbidden Territory Ariana's POV Monday morning came too quickly. I stood in front of my closet, staring at my fitted white top and pleated skirt like it might bite me. It was just a basic outfit I wore to lectures something I’d chosen for comfort, not attention but today it suddenly felt too short, too tight...toonoticeable "Ariana! Breakfast!" Mom called from downstairs. I grabbed my bag and headed down, each step feeling heavier than the last. The kitchen was full of morning chaos. Mom hummed while making coffee, Victor read the newspaper, and Ethan and Luca were already seated, dressed in their usual tailored jackets and dark jeans, the kind of sleek style you'd expect from billionaire heirs even on a university campus.”They both looked up when I entered. "Morning, princess," Luca said with that infuriating smirk. I ignored him, reaching for a piece of toast. "We're giving you a ride," Ethan stated, not asked. "I can take the bus." "The bus doesn't come out this
CHAPTER 2 – A New Home of Hidden Fires Ariana's POV The Sterling mansion loomed before us like something out of a gothic novel. Three stories of dark stone and tall windows, surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens that probably cost more to maintain than our old house's mortgage. Mom squeezed my hand as we stood at the base of the front steps. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. This is a fresh start for both of us."A fresh start. Right. Because nothing says “fresh start” like moving into your mother’s husband’s home at twenty—years after my biological father ruined everything. The front door swung open before we could knock. Victor stood there, imposing in a charcoal suit despite it being Saturday morning. "Welcome home, ladies." Home. This wasn't home. Home was our small house with the creaky third step and Mom's flower garden out back. This was a prison made of marble and money. But I smiled anyway, for Mom's sake. "Thank you, Dr. Sterling." "Victor, please." His hand settl







