LOGINI woke up the next morning with a headache that felt like someone was hammering nails into my skull. The room spun when I tried to sit up, and a wave of nausea pinned me back against the pillows. My eyes were swollen from last night’s tears, my throat raw, and every inch of me ached with exhaustion, I couldn't even think about school the memories of Jayden’s voice—low, hoarse, praising her—still echoed in my head like a curse I couldn’t shake.I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, too drained to move i didn’t want to bother the nanny she’d only returned from her family emergency yesterday. Let her rest I could handle this alone, like everything else lately sometime later, I heard Jayden’s door open down the hall, followed by his footsteps descending the stairs. My chest tightened at the sound good leave, don’t come near me.A soft knock pulled me from my thoughts the driver, Mr. Gomez, stood politely at my door.“Young master Troy, you’re not ready for school, is everything alri
I tried to climb the stairs, I really did but my legs refused to move, rooted to the spot like my body needed to witness every second of my own destruction. I stood there, one hand gripping the railing, the other clutching a cold bottle of water like it was the only thing keeping me from shattering.Jayden noticed me of course he did, the girl on his lap faced away, her back arched toward him, completely oblivious but his eyes—those dark, piercing eyes—locked onto mine over her shoulder. For one desperate heartbeat, I thought he’d stop, that seeing me broken, tears already spilling silently down my cheeks, would make him push her away and remember what we were.He didn’t.Instead, a slow, cruel smirk tugged at his lips like my pain amused him. Like it fueled him he lifted her legs higher, wrapping them around his waist, exposing the smooth, tempting skin of her thighs, his hand gripped her ass firmly—the exact same possessive hold he’d used on me. The one that had made me feel wan
The moment I stepped through the front door, the house felt too quiet very quiet no nanny humming in the kitchen, no distant clatter of dishes just the low hum of the AC and the heavy thud of my own heartbeat.Jayden was there, lounging on the couch like he owned the silence my so-called big brother the one who’d turned my world into a storm of secrets and confusion.“Where’s the nanny?” I asked, voice steadier than I felt.He shrugged, not even looking up from his phone. “Urgent family issue,she left.”I nodded, swallowing the unease crawling up my throat parents gone. Nanny gone just us the thought sent a dangerous shiver down my spine — part fear, part something I refused to name i turned to head upstairs, desperate for space.But he moved fast.His arms wrapped around my waist from behind, strong and warm, pulling me back against his chest. His head rested on my shoulder blade, breath hot against my shirt for one weak second, it felt… comforting. Like the hug I didn’t know I ne
I spent the rest of that evening at home trying everything to erase Jayden from my mind, I buried myself in homework, blasted music through my headphones, even stared at my phone screen until my eyes burned. Nothing worked every few minutes, I caught him staring — those dark eyes following me like a shadow I couldn’t shake. He didn’t say a word he didn’t have to, the weight of his gaze alone made my skin heat and my stomach twist.At dinner, I sat across from him and pretended everything was fine I smiled when Mom asked about school, laughed at Dad’s lame jokes, and forced food down my throat. But inside, I was screaming all I could picture was that girl from the cafeteria wrapped around him like she belonged there. Her hands on his chest his lips on her forehead while he stared straight at me the image replayed on loop, sharp and poisonous why her? Why not me — I could be...I stopped the thought before it finished, hating myself for even thinking it.The next morning, Mom and Dad
The next day at school, the hallways buzzed with the usual chaos—lockers slamming, laughter echoing, and the faint scent of cheap cafeteria food drifting through the air. My friends and I were heading to the cafeteria for lunch, shoulders brushing as we walked in a tight little pack. Brandon cracked a joke about our history teacher’s terrible breath, and Kylie was still giggling when we rounded the corner.That’s when I saw them.Jayden and his crew stood clustered near the corner like they owned the damn hallway. Sunlight slanted through the windows, catching on their sharp jawlines and styled hair, making them look like they’d stepped straight out of a magazine spread. Jayden leaned against the wall with that effortless charisma, arms crossed, a half-smirk playing on his lips as he listened to one of his friends. Tall, broad-shouldered, and radiating that magnetic pull that made heads turn—my brother looked every bit the king of this concrete kingdom.We tried to keep our heads
“…What did I just get myself into?”The house was too quiet,not the peaceful kind of quiet that lets you breathe. This was the heavy, waiting kind—like the world had pressed mute right before the drop in a horror movie. I stood in the middle of the living room, phone still clutched in my hand like a live grenade, the black screen reflecting my own wide-eyed panic back at me.“…What did I just get myself into?”The words tasted like regret and something sharper. Something electric, I should have deleted the message, blocked the number, called the cops, or at least Marbel, or my mom—anyone who wasn’t currently turning my bloodstream into a racetrack. Instead, I found myself walking upstairs, each step creaking like it was trying to warn me. My room felt smaller than usual, the fairy lights I’d strung up last summer now casting soft golden pools that somehow made the shadows deeper.I changed out of my school clothes into an oversized hoodie and shorts, telling myself it was just comfor







