Chloe "Tap-tap-tap." I knocked on the door gently, glancing over my shoulder, praying no one saw me like this—at least no one who knew Logan or my family. If they caught a glimpse, news would spread like wildfire. I would be a dead woman before I even realized what had happened. “Come on, Stella, open up.” I whispered, biting my lips. The door stayed closed. I knocked again, a little louder this time. I wanted to kick the door open. This girl was probably hungover. Stella was like a dead person in the morning when she was hungover, and getting her to open her eyes was a miracle in itself. “Damn it, why don’t you fix your doorbell? I told you to fix it!” I hissed, knocking on the door again. When she didn’t open it, I groaned in frustration. “Please, Stella, just open the doo—” I was just raising my hand to knock one more time when the door flew open. A very disheveled Stella stood in the doorway, her red hair a frizzy mess, her eyes puffy and bloodshot, and her entire expres
Chloe “Are you insane?!” Stella’s scream echoed through the apartment, making me wince. “Why are you yelling?” I said, holding my towel tightly around me. My hair was damp, and I had just taken a warm shower to clear my mind. I really needed it after last night’s madness “Why am I yelling?!” she shouted, sitting up on the bed. “How could you accept a drink from someone in a club? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” I sighed, rubbing my temple. “The bartender gave it to me, okay? Besides, I was already drunk by then. I didn’t know what I was doing.” “This is why you should never go to a club without me! I understand this was your first time, but there’s one rule every woman must follow if you want to stay safe.” I frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed as I pulled on the clean, presentable clothes she had lent me. “What rule?” “Never, ever drink anything that isn’t made in front of you. Don’t even think about trying something different unless you’ve seen people drink
Chloe “Where is your stupid friend?! Does she think she can hide it any longer? How dare she even think of doing that!” My heart dropped. Stella and I locked eyes, both wide-eyed and frozen in shock. I felt suffocated, it was as if the air in the room was closing up around me. I couldn't breathe as my mother-in-law's words echoed in my ear. “I know she is there with you.” She continued, her voice loud. “She left her phone here, so give the slut the ph—” Without a word, Stella hurriedly ended the call, her shaky fingers fumbling with the screen as she hung up. She clutched her chest, taking a step back. “Shit. H-how does she know?” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. “Was I right? Is she really a witch?!” I wasn’t listening. My thoughts were racing. Does she know? Does she know I cheated on her son, and slept with another man? My eyes darted around the room, and a chill ran down my spine as panic clawed its way through me. Was I followed? Had Logan sent someone a
Chloe Slam! Something struck the side of my head, hard. My vision blurred as I staggered back, a sharp pain spreading through my skull. The sound of shattering glass rang in my ears as the vase crashed to the floor, breaking into a hundred jagged pieces. I barely registered the warm, wet sensation trickling down my forehead until I saw it—drops of red splattering against the cold tiles. Blood. I blinked, my head throbbing, before slowly looking down at the growing crimson stain on the floor. “Woah, Mom,” a voice drawled lazily. “Your aim is better than before. I almost didn’t see it with how fast that throw was. Your personal trainer is really good.” I slowly lifted my gaze, my pulse pounding in my ears. Sitting comfortably on the couch, completely unfazed, were two women. My mother-in-law and Layla, my sister-in-law. My mother-in-law was casually admiring her nails, while Layla was smirking like she had just watched something mildly entertaining. “Really?” my mother-in-law
Alexander Power. What does it really mean? Does it mean having people under you, bending to your every whim? Does it mean standing on top, looking down at the world as if it’s your personal chessboard, where every piece moves at your command? Or is it something else entirely? Maybe if you’ve had power and wealth all your life, you’d see it as something trivial. It would be a birthright, an expectation, nothing more. But for me, power wasn’t just a concept or a status. It was control. Control over chaos. Control over people. Control over myself. Without power, you’re at the mercy of others. You’re a puppet, your strings pulled by hands you can’t even see. But with power, you hold the strings. You dictate how the world spins around you. With power nobody would dare mess with you. I was Alexander King, a man at the top of the world. Arrogant? Maybe. But that didn’t make it any less true. The door opened, and I stepped out of the car, the crisp morning air brushing against my f
Chloe I walked upstairs, one hand pressed against my throbbing forehead. At least it didn’t hit my eye, I thought dryly. That would’ve been a whole new level of pain to deal with. Lucky me. All I wanted now was to get to my room, shut the door, and block out the world, even if just for a moment. But as I reached for the door handle, it swung open before I could touch it. Amelia. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, a smug, knowing smile curving her lips. The kind of smile that said I’ve won. I stiffened, my eyes flickering past her, scanning my room, or at least, what used to be my room. It looked different. Slightly rearranged. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. Logan had given Amelia exactly what she wanted. She was in the master bedroom now. I inhaled slowly, trying to swallow the anger rising within me. All I wanted was to slap that smirk right off her face. Amelia leaned against the doorframe, smirking. “Now do you see how worthless you are t
Logan “What are you doing?” I stared at my wife, leaning against the wall with a deep frown. She gasped, startled, and turned her attention to me, quickly shoving her hand behind her back as if she were hiding something. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. Slowly, I let my gaze trail over her, taking in every detail. Her clothes. Something was different. She wasn’t wearing her usual plain white dresses—the ones that never stood out, never drew attention. Instead, she was dressed in an oversized shirt and jeans. And not just any shirt. A man’s shirt. My jaw clenched. When I came back, I hadn’t even had the chance to change my clothes before Amelia came to tell me that Chloe had spent the night outside. And knowing the type of family she had, I was certain she hadn’t stayed at their place. "You didn’t spend the night here. And you obviously didn’t stay at your father’s place, so where were you last night?" “I—” I stepped closer, my glare fixed on her. Then, that feeling I hated
Chloe “That dickhead. How dare he say that?” I sighed as Stella slammed her hand on the table, making the silverware clatter. I took another sip of my hot chocolate, letting the warmth spread through me. For the first time in a week, I felt calm. Unlike my best friend, who looked like she was about to flip the entire table over. “That motherfucker,” she spat, her dark eyes burning with fury. “He really told you to stay away from me? Me?! Like I’m some kind of bad influence?” I set my cup down, looking at her with amusement. Well, to be fair, Stella was a bad influence. Just not in the way Logan thought. Stella turned to me so fast that my drink almost spilled, but I caught it just in time, gulping it down before it could slosh over the table. “Wait,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “Is that why you haven’t been answering my calls for a week? Because that fucker doesn’t want us to be friends?” “Amelia was monitoring me like a hawk. She wouldn’t let me be alone for even a second. I
Chloe I saw my life flash before my eyes. No, really, I actually saw it. My heart skipped a beat. My ears rang so loud it felt like a bomb had gone off next to me. Every part of my body froze on the spot, too terrified to even breathe. The door swung open, and for a horrifying second, I thought it was all over. But Layla didn’t turn toward us. Instead, she stood with her back facing the room, yelling into the hallway, “Oh, I forgot, Mom, can I have that dress you wore last week? The white one—” She kept rambling about God-knows-what, but I wasn’t listening anymore. I jerked away from Tristan, who was still lying there with a unreadable expression on his face, as if kissing me in the middle of a crisis was normal. I didn’t have time to process that. I could scream at him later, but right now. I was in survival mode. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed his arm, yanked him up like he weighed nothing, and shoved him toward my wardrobe. He raised an eyebrow at me but didn’t resist as I
Chloe I stared at the man in front of me and shook my head slowly. How did it even come to this? What the hell is going on? Tristan stood there, arms casually crossed, that same annoying smirk playing on his lips. He tilted his head at me and said, "Are you not going to climb, Miss Perfect?" I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. I didn’t have a choice, did I? I had to climb him if I wanted to get into my window without anyone noticing. I sighed heavily, trying to convince myself it would be fine. Except, it wasn’t. It wasn’t fine at all. Because there was one tiny—no, not tiny, massive problem. I didn’t have any panties on. Yes, you heard right. I was naked underneath this dress because Alexander's brother threw my underwear away. If I climbed him, he would definitely notice. It would be impossible for him not to. Tristan raised an eyebrow at me, clearly growing suspicious. His eyes scanned my face, like he was trying to read my thoughts. I shuffled awkwardly on the sp
Chloe I looked at Stella, my heart thundering so hard it felt like it could punch its way out of my chest. I didn’t even need to say it, she could already read it on my face. I was screwed. “What should I do, Stella?” I whispered. “They’re—” Before I could finish, Stella shoved me straight into another body. I stumbled, nearly tripping, but an arm caught me around the waist. I froze against the hard plane of Tristan’s chest, his grip firm around my waist. His scent hit me like déjà vu, clean and infuriatingly comforting, a smell that always seemed to calm me down. I stared at Stella, eyes wide. “What the hell?” “There’s no time,” she said, already backing away. “What…Stella, no, you can—” “My car is wrecked,” she snapped, already waving me off like she was swatting a fly. “And I can’t leave it here. Plus, you don’t know this, but Tristan’s a crazy-ass driver.” I turned to look up at him, conflicted. Could I really ask him for this? Could I really be that shameless? I opened
ChloePresent timeSome mornings I’d wake up in an empty bed, the sheets cold, and Tristan's voice would echo in my ear.“You and Logan can never have a happy ending.”And on those mornings, I'd ask myself the same question I’d asked a hundred times, if I could go back, if I could do it all over again… would I have listened? What had Tristan seen back then that I refused to? What had I been so desperate to believe?Now, standing in front of him after so many years, I felt like I’d been pulled back into a moment I’d tried to bury. Tristan, the high school bad boy who’d beat up seven students and walked away without a scratch. The reckless idiot who once climbed into my window like an outlaw. The boy who irritated me because he liked seeing me mad.But this wasn’t the cocky high school boy who’d broken into my dorm and commented on my terrible taste in music. This was a man.He was taller, more refined and attractive, but the look in his eyes hadn’t changed. He still had that same fie
Chloe Eight years ago I yawned. I had just stepped out of the library. My eyes stung from all the reading. I’d spent most of the day reading between book pages. My only thought was collapsing into the comfort of my pillow and sleeping. My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and instantly felt my stomach drop at the name flashing across the screen. Psychopath: Come home tomorrow. I have something to show my lovely sister. I promise I’ll make it last longer this time. I stared at it for a long time. My hand trembled slightly around the phone. Last longer. What he meant wasn’t what anyone would normally think. It was so much worse. There was a reason I’d saved his number that way. Richard wasn’t just cruel, he was twisted. He used to torture animals, those little, harmless creatures, and he’d make me watch. He’d time it, test new ways to kill them. Like it was both a game and a challenge for him. And Father… Father never stopped him. Sometimes, he even provided the "subj
Chloe Eight years ago “I’m in love with the shape of you,” I sang at the top of my lungs. “We push and pull like a magnet do, although my heart is falling too…” I turned off the shower, still humming, and grabbed a fluffy towel from the rack. One I wrapped around my body, the other I wrapped around my hair to dry it. I snatched my phone from the counter, still blasting Shape of you by Ed Sheeran, and stepped out of the bathroom, dancing my way into the room like the pop diva I clearly was. “And last night you were in my room…” I shimmied my hips, twirled slightly, grinning at my reflection in the mirror. “Now my bedsheets smell like you…” Still swaying, I made my way to the dorm kitchen. I placed a kettle on the stove and dropped a tea bag into my favorite mug. I was halfway through another verse, hips still moving, when a deep voice echoed in the room. “You’ve played this song on repeat for like… three minutes. Don’t you have anything else?” I paused, the mug slipping from my
Chloe The car jerked forward and slammed to a sudden halt, dragging my body slightly forward. My chest hit the restraint of the seatbelt hard enough to knock the air out of me. “Stella, goddamn it!” I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest. “Do you want to kill us?!” Stella rolled her eyes and slammed the gear into park. “I should be asking you! Chloe Summer, are you trying to give me a heart attack?! I’m too young. Too fucking young to die of shock!” I blinked at her, confused, until she reached toward me. “No—wait—what are you doing?” I asked, fending her off. “I have to make sure you’re actually you,” she muttered dramatically, inspecting my face like I was some sort of alien clone. She touched my cheek, then my forehead, then her fingers slid down to my neck. I shrieked, jerking away with a laugh. “Stop that! You know I’m ticklish there!” Her hand dropped, and she slumped in her seat. “Shit. You are Chloe alright. Not an imposter.” I rolled my eyes. “When are you ever going
Chloe I looked at him. I had thought about what I would say, but now that I was here, I was acting awkward again. I cleared my throat, trying to regain some control. “I’m leaving,” I said. “My friend will be here in a while. I thought we could discuss a few things before I go.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket, and that innocent expression on his face didn’t match the glint in his eyes. The mischief was obvious if you looked close enough. I had to be careful with this man. I didn’t know him well, but I could already tell he was sharp. If I wasn’t careful, I could lose myself before I knew what was happening. I took a deep breath and stepped toward him. “I want to continue this relationship with you, and if you want to continue it with me, I’ll be happy to. But there will be a few rules before we start.” He moved closer to me. My eyes traveled downward, and I swallowed. Those abs, that V-line beneath his sweatpants... it was impossible to look away. “And what are those?
Chloe The man introduced as Logan raised an eyebrow and stiffened. “But I’m—” He didn’t get to finish, because Joshua slipped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. Logan yelped, then let out a nervous chuckle. “This is Logan,” Joshua said with a proud smile. “My fiancé.” The man swallowed and forced a smile, his cheeks slightly pink. “Y-yes, I’m Logan. Nice to meet you.” I raised a brow, looking between the two of them again. Logan? Was that really his name? Something about this felt...off. It was suspicious. But before I could fully spiral into overthinking, Alexander was walking straight toward me. “What are you do—oof!” My breath hitched as he lifted me like I weighed nothing. Instinctively, my legs wrapped around his waist, my arms tightening around his neck. His intoxicating scent overwhelmed my senses. “Stop it,” I hissed, trying to keep my voice firm. “What do you think you’re doing? Put me down, Alexander!” He chuckled, that smug smirk tugging at the corn