LOGINLaura's POVMy heart refused to slow down.It hammered violently against my ribs as Elena's words echoed over and over inside my head."Now I have to kill you."The sentence repeated itself so vividly that I could still hear the coldness in her voice.Did she have any idea what she had just admitted?Did she even realize what she was saying?"Elena..." I whispered carefully, taking one slow step backward. "Listen to me. Whatever this is, we can talk about it, okay? We can fix it."For a brief second, the smile on her face disappeared.Not completely.Just enough for something darker to replace it."Oh, we had time to talk," she said quietly. "You never showed up.""What?""You remember?"I frowned."You weren't interested."Her words made absolutely no sense.My back continued brushing against the wall as she walked closer, one slow step after another.Every instinct inside me screamed at me to run.But where?There was nobody inside the house except me.For some reason Quinn had deci
Laura's POVMy heart refused to slow down.It hammered violently against my ribs as Elena's words echoed over and over inside my head."Now I have to kill you."The sentence repeated itself so vividly that I could still hear the coldness in her voice.Did she have any idea what she had just admitted?Did she even realize what she was saying?"Elena..." I whispered carefully, taking one slow step backward. "Listen to me. Whatever this is, we can talk about it, okay? We can fix it."For a brief second, the smile on her face disappeared.Not completely.Just enough for something darker to replace it."Oh, we had time to talk," she said quietly. "You never showed up.""What?""You remember?"I frowned."You weren't interested."Her words made absolutely no sense.My back continued brushing against the wall as she walked closer, one slow step after another.Every instinct inside me screamed at me to run.But where?There was nobody inside the house except me.For some reason Quinn had deci
Laura's POVI never thought burnt pancakes could taste this good.Maybe it was because Quinn had made them.Or at least... attempted to.I cut off another piece from the least burnt one on my plate before looking across the kitchen island at him.He still hadn't bothered putting on a shirt.His dark lounge pants hung comfortably on his hips, his hair still messy from sleep, and the morning sunlight pouring through the windows highlighted every line of muscle across his chest and shoulders.It should have been illegal for someone to look that good while failing so miserably at making breakfast."So?" he asked expectantly.I chewed thoughtfully."They're edible."His eyebrows shot up."'Edible?'""I'm trying to be supportive.""They're delicious.""They're... pancakes.""They're charcoal."I laughed."They're your charcoal."He pointed his fork at me."I'll remember this betrayal.""Oh?""The next time you cook, I'm criticizing everything.""I don't cook."He blinked."You don't?""I gr
Laura's POVMy heart refused to slow down.It pounded so loudly against my ribs that I was almost convinced Quinn could still hear it through the bedroom door.I leaned my back against the wood, pressing a trembling hand over my chest as I forced myself to breathe.One breath.Then another.Then another.The air still felt thick.Heavy.As though the tension we'd left hanging in the hallway had followed me into my room."What am I doing?" I whispered to myself.This wasn't the plan.None of this was.I had promised myself that I would keep Quinn at arm's length until the six months were over.That had always been the goal.Survive the agreement.Expose Hemsworth.Help Quinn accomplish whatever revenge he wanted.Then leave.Start over.Find myself.Build my acting career.Learn who Laura really was without constantly belonging to someone else.That had been the plan.So why was it becoming harder every single day?I closed my eyes.It wasn't even me.Quinn was the one blurring the lin
Quinn's POVI just sat there looking at her, speechless.I had nothing to say.She was right.I was the one crossing the line.I was the one blurring the agreement.It wasn't Laura.It wasn't circumstance.It wasn't some misunderstanding.It was me.Every single time.I kept pulling her close only to remind her that this was supposed to be nothing more than a business arrangement. I pushed her toward something that looked painfully close to love, then yanked her back behind the invisible line I'd drawn myself.God, I was an idiot.When the chandelier fell on her and I thought I was going to lose her...That was the first time I admitted the truth.I had feelings for Laura.Not admiration.Not responsibility.Not guilt.Feelings.Real ones.And once I admitted it, I stopped pretending I didn't want to be around her.That was why I visited every night in the hospital.That was why I'd leave work exhausted only to spend hours talking to her about absolutely nothing.Why I'd started telli
Laura's POVIn the last few weeks since I had been discharged from the hospital, I had looked forward to exactly one thing.The premiere of The Last Ember.It occupied my thoughts almost every waking hour.Sometimes I'd catch myself smiling for absolutely no reason before realizing I had been imagining walking the red carpet or seeing my face on the giant cinema screen.It still didn't feel real.Months ago I had been convinced my life was over.Now I was counting down the days until my very first movie premiered.It felt unbelievable.But recently, another date had quietly worked its way onto that list.Friday night.Dinner with Quinn.The realization made butterflies dance around my stomach every time I thought about it.I wasn't even sure why I was nervous.It was just dinner.Two adults.Two business partners.Two people bound together by an agreement.That was all.At least...That was what I kept repeating to myself.A few mornings ago, the maid had wheeled breakfast into my roo
Quinn's POVI had never hated silence more.The house was quiet.Too quiet.And every second that passed felt like someone was pressing a blade deeper into my chest.Laura was gone.The thought still didn't feel real. I kept expecting my phone to ring.I kept expecting her name to appear on the scr
Laura's POVThe first thing I noticed was the pain.Not fear.Not confusion.Pain.A sharp, pounding ache spread through my head, making it feel like my skull was splitting openfrom the inside.I slowly opened my eyes.The room was blurry.For a few seconds, I couldn't remember where I wa
Quinn's POVIt was past twelve.And Laura still wasn't home.Past fucking twelve.At first, I told myself not to overreact, not to read too much into what was happening.Set could run late.Scenes could take longer than expected.It happened.But then ten minutes became thirty.Thirty becam
Laura’s POVI must have fallen asleep because I couldn’t conjure up any more thoughts in my head.At some point, exhaustion finally dragged me under.That was until I heard a sound.My brows furrowed immediately.Footsteps.For a second, my sleepy brain tried convincing me it was nothing. Maybe one







