ZANEArms crossed, back pressed to the wall, I wait.The bastard’s taking his time. Every second that ticks by grates at my nerves, winding them tighter. When the suite door finally creaks open, Stone stumbles out like he’s got somewhere urgent to be — duffel bags slung over each shoulder, head down, avoiding the world.He doesn’t see me right away. Fumbles with the door like it’s giving him a hard time. When he finally clocks me standing there, his body goes rigid. “Za—”Too late.My fist snaps forward and cracks against his already bruised jaw. The force knocks him off balance, sending him stumbling into the hallway wall with a grunt of pain, one hand clutching his face.He’s still upright. Shame.I close the distance, grab him by the collar, and slam him hard against the wall. The bags hit the floor with a heavy thud, but his grip on them is stubborn, like they’re his last damn lifeline.“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I growl, my voice low and sharp, heat rising in my
EMILIASomehow, I never seem to learn from my mistakes.My head is pounding like it’s trying to crack itself open from the inside — embarrassing, considering I barely drank half as much as Lacey did last night, and yet I ended up twice as drunk. Story of my life.Maybe it’s time I finally admit that alcohol and I just aren’t a good match.I’m still sifting through the fog of my bad decisions when a flood of light slices through my eyelids. I hiss and groan, dragging the covers higher over my face.“Rise and shine, beautiful,” Liam sings, his voice far too chipper for a human being. I squint one eye open to see him standing by the window, sunshine pouring in behind him, grinning like it’s Christmas morning.“I hate you,” I mutter, dragging the blanket higher — only for him to yank it off me with no remorse.Now would be a good time to mention a deeply unfortunate discovery I’ve made: Liam is a morning person. A fully functioning, smiling-before-coffee, chipper-at-dawn kind of morning p
LIAMEmilia snorts against my shoulder but pulls away gently, nudging me with a quiet smile before moving to sit next to Lacey. She doesn’t say anything — neither of them do — but they fall into a kind of easy silence, the kind that doesn’t need permission or apology.They drink. Slowly. Quietly. Shoulder to shoulder, not facing each other, but not alone either.By 3:47 PM, I’ve got two women sunk into their own exhaustion, tipsy on cheap beer and heavier thoughts. Lacey’s cup is on the ground, empty. Emilia’s head rests lightly on her friend’s shoulder. Neither of them is crying, but it’s the kind of silence that comes after you’ve felt everything all at once.I sit with them. I don’t speak. Just stay close and keep an eye out, in case either of them needs a refill — or a reason to keep going.It’s peaceful. For maybe five minutes.Then Emilia hiccups.“But… but…” she starts, blinking slowly at Lacey like her brain’s buffering. “If whales are mammals… does that mean they have belly b
LACEY“There’s no gun,” I say, voice calm, smile stretched tight across my face. “But it doesn’t really matter, does it?”My fingers twitch, aching to hurt her in some way — something to make her feel a fraction of what she’s done to me.Then I catch Liam’s look — worried, wary — and watch him press a kiss to Emilia’s palm before guiding her away. It douses the fire just enough to remind me I’m not completely unhinged. Not yet.Still, it kills the high. Like someone switching off the music at a party just when the beat drops. Sanity — boring, exhausting sanity — pulls me back in before I get the satisfaction I want.But I stay. I face her.Céline’s eyes flicker. She doesn’t know what I’m capable of, and that’s enough. The fear is real. I can see it.She tries to scoff, but her voice is tight. “You’re fucking crazy.”I tilt my head, the smile never moving. “Thank you.”I step closer, slow and steady. A final warning.She knows I could still burn everything down. And maybe one day, I wi
LACEYOut of the corner of my eye, I see Liam heading toward Emilia, but my focus doesn't budge.Céline.She stands there like she’s the one who’s been wronged — wide-eyed, trembling, like she just stumbled onto a stage she didn’t know she was standing on.I wonder how many nights actresses like Jessica Monroe have spent in front of the mirror, trying to perfect that exact look. The helplessness. The carefully measured innocence. Céline wears it effortlessly, like it’s second nature.Maybe it always was.Maybe the entire friendship was just another performance.No. No, I can’t—I can’t believe that.Because if I do, it means none of it was real. Not the late nights, not the laughter, not the way she used to cry in my arms and say I was the only person who ever stayed. It means I made it all up. Like some desperate idiot chasing love in a house full of mirrors.“Tell me it’s not true, Céline,” I say, but it’s not really me speaking. It’s some broken part of me trying to crawl out. The
LACEYThe call ends, and I force myself into a sports bra and joggers from one of the brands I endorse. I throw on a cap, hoping it screams stay away.Spoiler: it doesn’t.By the time I grab a can beer and head toward the gym, I’ve already heard too many “Hi Lacey!” and way too many “Where’s Céline?”I pretend not to hear any of it.Then— bam. I round the corner too fast and crash right into someone.“What the fu— oh. Hi, Lacey.”Tonia.She’s holding her nose — right where it slammed into my shoulder — and giving me a strained smile.She’s wearing less jewellery than usual. Just the nose piercing. And even though she dyed her hair last week, her roots are already peeking through. That’s not like her.I’m clear-headed enough to pull myself out of my self misery and take a look at her. I’ve never seen her roots show before, if that isn’t a call of help I don’t know what is. “Hey, Tonia. Are you okay?”She doesn’t look okay. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes puffy. Her lips tremble a little.
EMILIA“So that’s what all of this was about?” I ask, barely recognising my own voice. “Money?”Everything clicks.Liam’s weird reactions to everything involving Céline. Lacey’s offhanded comment about her being a gold digger.How Céline latched onto Tonia’s boyfriend so fast.Was it really about stealing him away from Tonia? Because he’s some crypto millionaire.God, I really should have listened to Liam and stayed away from her, but in the face of Irma, his warnings had completely left my mind.Now, I’ve walked straight into this mess.And I’m left wondering — how long has Liam known? What exactly did he know?Céline’s face twists. “You wouldn’t understand anything I go through,” she snaps, like I’ve just insulted her mere existence. “You don’t know what it’s like to have nothing. To wake up every day knowing you’re stuck while someone else gets everything.”Her voice rises. Her eyes burn.“To sit there and think: What does she have that I don’t? Why does she get the perfect life? A
EMILIA“So that’s what all of this was about?” I ask, barely recognising my own voice. “Money?”Everything clicks.Liam’s weird reactions to everything involving Céline. Lacey’s offhanded comment about her being a gold digger.How Céline latched onto Tonia’s boyfriend so fast.Was it really about stealing him away from Tonia? Because he’s some crypto millionaire.God, I really should have listened to Liam and stayed away from her, but in the face of Irma, his warnings had completely left my mind.Now, I’ve walked straight into this mess.And I’m left wondering — how long has Liam known? What exactly did he know?Céline’s face twists. “You wouldn’t understand anything I go through,” she snaps, like I’ve just insulted her mere existence. “You don’t know what it’s like to have nothing. To wake up every day knowing you’re stuck while someone else gets everything.”Her voice rises. Her eyes burn.“To sit there and think: What does she have that I don’t? Why does she get the perfect life? A
EMILIA“Have you seen this before?” I breathe, my eyes glued to the mural on the wall. We were just walking to the convenience store to grab some of Céline’s essentials, but then this caught my eye — a huge swirl of colours, like a painting from a dream.The mural stretches across the hallway, all soft pastels and golden light. It's full of pictures — painted versions of Zane and Becca, laughing, dancing, holding hands, kissing. It’s romantic in a way that makes your chest ache a little.Would be better if the groom didn’t have more than a few screws loose.“Wow,” I whisper. “The cruise really was made just for them.”Céline glances over, smiling a little like she’s not surprised. “Yeah. I was actually there when Becca and Margot planned the whole thing. They got the mural commissioned months ago.”“Wait— months?” My eyebrows lift. “They were planning this cruise that far back?”She nods, pulling her hair over one shoulder. “Becca’s a planner. And Margot’s got crazy connections.”I no