Every room I entered felt foreign, like I was walking through someone else’s life, someone else’s story. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt truly at home anywhere. Not with Aiden, not here.I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, staring at the woman who had once been me. The woman who wore a face that was hers, but not hers. A woman who was no longer recognized by her past, who now wore a mask of someone else’s making.The weight of it, the weight of everything, pressed down on me. And as I reached for the toothpaste, I found my hand trembling.I hadn’t expected it to hit me like this. The quiet, the stillness, the way Dylan kept slipping in and out of my life. Always there, but never truly there. I thought the quiet would soothe me, would give me a sense of peace. But it felt more like a cage. One with no bars, no chains. Just walls that kept closing in.I squeezed the toothpaste onto my brush, the cold metal of the tube feeling too heavy in my hands. The sound of
Something I couldn't quite name, had been building between us ever since the surgery, ever since I first woke up in Dylan’s care. I’d seen the way his eyes lingered on me, how he looked at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. There was always a moment when our gazes would lock, and I’d feel something in the pit of my stomach twist, like we were both standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for the other to fall.I wasn’t sure if I was ready for whatever this was.But I also wasn’t sure I could keep ignoring it.That morning, the house felt different. More silent than usual. I could hear the rustle of his clothes from the other side of the hallway, the soft thud of his boots as he moved around. It should’ve been comforting. But there was something about the way he moved that made my skin tingle, something predatory in the way he shifted between spaces, never fully looking at me but always aware of me.I took a breath and tried to center myself. I needed to get through the da
The morning after didn’t feel like morning at all.The light leaking through the curtains was soft and forgiving, but everything else was sharp. The weight of what we’d done pressed down on my chest like a stone. I hadn’t slept much. I doubted Dylan had either. He hadn’t said a word when he got out of bed, just pressed a lingering kiss to my shoulder before disappearing into the bathroom.Now I sat on the edge of the mattress, clutching the sheet to my chest, listening to the sound of running water.It should have felt like something good. Like a release.Instead, it felt like a beginning I didn’t ask for.The bathroom door creaked open. Dylan stepped out, towel slung low around his hips, hair damp, eyes unreadable. He paused when he saw me still sitting there, like he wasn’t sure how to break the silence between us.I beat him to it. “You called me Emily.”His jaw tightened. “Last night?”I nodded, eyes locked on him. “More than once.”He rubbed a hand down his face, then turned awa
Dylan sat next to me, his hand resting on the seat between us, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to touch me but was unsure whether to do so.I kept my gaze fixed out of the window, watching the city lights blur into a haze of color. It almost felt like I was in a dream. But it wasn’t a dream, it was my life now. Or at least, a life I had to pretend was mine.I wanted to ask Dylan a thousand questions. I wanted to scream, to demand answers. What was he really asking of me? Why was he so insistent that I become Emily, that I wear her life like a second skin? But every time I opened my mouth, the words felt too heavy to speak.Instead, I turned to him, just enough to catch his profile in the dim light of the car. His jaw was tight, his brow furrowed in a way that suggested he was lost in his thoughts as much as I was in mine.“Dylan,” I said softly, breaking the silence. “What happens when they see through it? When they realize I’m not her?”He glanced at me, his eyes flickering wit
Every corner of the ballroom whispered wealth, status, and power. This was a world I had never wanted, a world I never wished to belong to.But tonight, I was here. Again.My breath hitched in my throat as his gaze locked with mine across the room, his expression unreadable. His dark eyes were intense, piercing through the crowd as if nothing else existed but the space between us.For a moment, everything else faded. The music, the chatter, the clinking of glasses, they all disappeared, and it was just him and me, locked in this unexpected confrontation.I could feel the blood drain from my face. My fingers tightened around the glass of champagne in my hand, my knuckles white. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to face him, not like this, not in front of all these people.I tried to swallow the panic that rose in my chest, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t just the shock of seeing him again. It was the way he was looking at me. Like he knew exactly who I was.“Caitlin,” Dylan’s voic
Dylan shut the door behind us with a soft thud, the sound feeling too final. Too much like the world outside was still pressing down on me.The car started moving, the soft hum of the engine doing nothing to ease the storm inside me. I stared out the window, the city lights blurring by, but I wasn’t really seeing any of it. My thoughts were consumed by one thing, and one thing only.Aiden.I had spent so long running from him, escaping the life he’d built around me, and yet here I was, with him still somehow right there in front of me. Like some fucking ghost, haunting me.And Dylan?Dylan was his cousin.I couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” My voice was raw, barely above a whisper, but it still felt like a shout inside the car. “How could you not tell me that?”Dylan didn’t look at me. His hands were clenched tight on the wheel, his jaw set like granite. He kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his posture tense. But I could feel the shift
I stayed in the car for a long time after Dylan killed the engine, staring at the house, the quiet stillness of the night pressing down on me. The lights from the streetlamp outside cast long shadows across the driveway, but it wasn’t the darkness that felt suffocating, it was the weight of everything I was trying to ignore, trying to outrun.Finally, Dylan spoke, his voice softer this time, as though he could feel the distance growing between us.“Come inside, Caitlin,” he said gently. “You need to rest.”I shook my head, the exhaustion in my bones telling me that he was right. But my mind wouldn’t stop spinning, the image of Aiden, his presence still burning in my veins. I didn’t want to go inside. I didn’t want to face this house, this life. I didn’t want to feel like a ghost in my own skin.But there was no escaping it. So, I opened the car door, stepping out into the cool night air, the sound of my shoes crunching on the gravel beneath my feet. Dylan was already a few steps ahe
The Next Day,Morning light filtered through the blinds, casting long shadows across the room. I woke with a start, my heart racing, the memory of the previous night’s events flooding back. Aiden. Dylan. Lily. The ballroom. Everything felt like it was closing in on me.I pushed myself out of bed, the weight of what I had to do pressing down on me. Emily’s office. The words echoed in my mind. I had to do this. There was no other choice.I didn’t take long to get ready, just a simple black dress, no makeup, no frills. I wanted to look invisible. I didn’t need to draw any attention to myself today.When I stepped downstairs, Dylan was already waiting, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He didn’t look up when I entered, but I knew he was aware of me. He always was.“I’m heading out,” I said, my voice steady but tired.Dylan finally glanced up at me, his expression unreadable. “You're not having breakfast?.”“I’ll be fine,” I said, forcing a smile, though I could feel the h
The drive back to Dylan’s house felt surreal. The air seemed to shimmer with a sense of possibility, but there was still an undercurrent of caution running through me, as if I was unsure whether I could truly trust the peace I felt, or if it was just a fleeting illusion. My hands rested on my lap, and for the first time in ages, I didn’t feel the urge to clutch my body in a defensive posture. I didn’t feel the weight of Aiden’s presence looming behind me, controlling my every move. The physical relief was immense, but the emotional burden was still there, heavy and complex.Dylan glanced at me as we drove, his face drawn, like he was balancing a thousand thoughts, but he didn’t rush me. He didn’t push me for anything more than what I was willing to give. His silence was comforting, as if he was giving me space to breathe, space to think, while also showing that he was there, unwavering in his presence.The road seemed to stretch endlessly before us. The soft hum of the tires on asph
The sun had barely crested the horizon when I awoke, the faint glow of early morning casting long shadows across the room. My head throbbed with the remnants of a restless night, and I felt the familiar ache of exhaustion in my bones. But the events from yesterday played over and over in my mind.Aiden’s betrayal, his anger, the helplessness I’d felt in his presence.I wasn’t sure how long I had been lying there, staring at the ceiling, trying to force myself to wake up from this nightmare. But as the minutes passed, I felt a new determination settle in my chest.Suddenly, the sound of the front doorbell echoed through the house, pulling me from my thoughts. My heart skipped a beat. Was it him? Was Aiden back? Coming to f**k me again?I froze for a moment, listening to the sound of muffled voices outside. But then, a familiar voice rang out, and I knew it wasn’t Aiden."Caitlin?"Dylan.I rushed to the door, my pulse quickening with both relief and anxiety. As I opened it, Dylan stoo
My heart raced in my chest, but I refused to let it show. I had told myself I wouldn't be afraid of him anymore. That I was done hiding. But the reality of it was much more complicated.Aiden’s gaze sliced through the room, sharp and commanding. He had a way of looking at you that made it feel as though he could see straight through you. And right now, I could tell he wasn’t happy to see me. But that was fine. I wasn’t here to please him."You called for me," I said, my voice surprisingly steady for someone who had been running from him for years. The words felt like a challenge as they left my lips, and I didn’t even flinch. I could feel his eyes on me, studying me in a way that made me want to shrink, but I stood firm.Aiden’s lips curled into a tight smile, but there was nothing friendly about it. His eyes darkened with irritation. "Yes, I did," he replied, his voice low and smooth, but there was an edg
The room was quiet after Aiden left, the silence oppressive, heavy like a blanket draped over me. My mind was a storm, still reeling from everything that had happened, the gun, the threats, the violence. Dylan’s arms around me felt like the only steady thing left in my world, but even that didn’t calm the chaos inside me.We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, Dylan holding me, his hands gentle as if afraid I might break. I could feel his heartbeat against my cheek, steady and strong. But it only served as a reminder of how fragile everything had become.Finally, he pulled away slightly, enough to look down at me, his face set in that familiar expression of concern that made my heart twist. "Cait," he said softly, but there was a certain finality in his voice. "I think it's time for you to quit your job."I blinked up at him, stunned. "What?" I asked, my voice hoarse from the crying."
My heart pounded so hard in my chest, I thought it might burst. The gun in Aiden's hand was still pointed at Dylan, and every second that passed felt like a thousand years of agony.I could hear my own voice in my head, begging for some kind of resolution, some way out of this nightmare. But everything seemed out of reach. My mind was spinning, trapped between the man I had once loved and the man who had risked everything to protect me.Aiden's eyes were locked on me, calculating, waiting, daring me to do something, anything, that would prove I was still his, that I still belonged to him.But I didn’t belong to him. I hadn’t belonged to him for a long time. And yet, here we were, teetering on the edge of something that could shatter all of us.The silence stretched, broken only by the rapid beat of my heart and Dylan’s labored breathing. I couldn’t keep looking at Aiden. I couldn’t.But I couldn’t look away either.“You think this is over, Caitlin?” Aiden's voice was quieter now, al
Time seemed to slow, each heartbeat stretching out painfully as I watched the gun's muzzle flash. I heard the deafening sound of the shot, a sharp crack that echoed through the room like a thunderclap.Oh God! Everything went still, except for the frantic thumping of my own pulse in my ears.Dylan pushed me down, shielding me with his body, and I could feel the heat of his skin pressed against mine. His arm was around me, protectively, but it was the desperation in his grip that scared me more than anything.The world tilted on its axis as I tried to comprehend what had just happened.Aiden stood there, the gun still in his hand, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. His eyes flickered between Dylan and me, calculating, assessing, waiting for some sort of reaction.Dylan’s breathing was erratic, his hand pressed to his side, where I could already see the red stain spreading across his shirt. The bullet had grazed him, but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was
The two grown men.. adults ...full grown adults, were tearing into each other, their grunts and curses drowning out everything else. I could barely process the speed and force of their movements, fists slamming into flesh, bodies crashing against the walls. But no matter how hard I tried to focus, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the violence unfolding before me.Aiden’s face was a mask of fury, blood dripping from his split lip, but the fire in his eyes burned brighter than ever. Dylan, too, was relentless, his jaw clenched tight, his knuckles white from the force with which he struck. My heart was in my throat, my hands trembling, not knowing who to protect, not knowing how to stop this.But then, things went from bad to worse.Aiden broke free from Dylan’s grip and stormed toward the small dresser across the room. My breath caught as I saw him pull something out of the drawer. The metallic gleam of a gun.How did hell did a gun get into that fucking drawer?I froze, panic flood
Caitlin's POV:Before I could understand what was going on, the door swung open with a force I hadn’t expected, and there he was...Aiden. His presence filled the room like a storm breaking through the calm, and my heart slammed against my chest as I tried to steady myself.I had barely enough time to process what was happening before he was in front of me, his eyes burning with something primal, something desperate. I should’ve been scared. Yes!I told him to leave. But there was something about the way he looked at me, like he was seeing through all my defenses, all the years I’d spent running. It made me freeze, my breath catching in my throat.I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him to get out again, but the words caught, dying on my lips.“Caitlin,” he whispered, and his voice, deep and raw, sent a shiver down my spine.He took a step closer, his hand moving to my arm before I even knew what was happening. The skin where his fingers brushed felt like it was on fire. I pulled back
Aiden's POV:I couldn’t shake the feeling. It had been gnawing at me all day, like a low hum I couldn’t ignore. Something about Emily, something in the way she held herself, the way she moved, reminded me so much of Caitlin. It was unsettling. I’d tried to push the thought away, to convince myself I was imagining things, but I couldn’t. The more I thought about it, the more the connections between them began to form in my mind.There had been something this morning, something small. A mark on Caitlin’s arm. I hadn’t thought much of it at first, just a brief glimpse of her skin as she moved her sleeve up, a faint, jagged scar just below her elbow. But it wasn’t the scar itself that had caught my attention, it was how familiar it felt. It was identical to one Caitlin had, just a few inches lower on her arm. The mark I’d tried to forget. The mark I’d seen on Caitlin countless times. A scar from an accident four years ago.It was her.I couldn’t breathe as the realization hit me, as