LOGINJust then, there was a shift in the atmosphere. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t violent. But it was immediate. The kind of change your body notices before your mind understands. The force that had been dragging me forward suddenly stopped, like something stronger had cut it off mid-motion. My body jerked slightly as the pull vanished, and for the first time since I had been dragged into this place, my chest loosened. Air. I could breathe again. Deep. Sharp. Real. I sucked it in like I had been drowning. Then I felt it. A presence. Stronger than the one that had been tormenting me. Heavier. Colder. Yet… familiar. Slowly, I turned. And there he stood beside me. Damian. But… not exactly. This version of him, he was clearer. Brighter. Like the shadows that usually clung to him had been stripped away, revealing something far more terrifying. Far more beautiful. His presence didn’t just fill the space, it commanded it. Everything around him felt like it bowed. “Damian?” I
“Go ahead and pick the call,” he said. “I don’t want to,” I replied, my voice tight as I switched off my phone. The silence that followed felt heavy, like the past was standing right in front of me, waiting to be acknowledged. Damian didn’t argue. He simply reached for the phone, his movements calm, controlled. He switched it back on, and almost instantly, the call came through again. Of course it did. Like it had been waiting. “Take it,” he said, his voice firm this time. Not harsh… but not something I could ignore either. I hesitated for a second. Then I swiped. I raised the phone slowly to my ear. “Hi,” I muttered, my voice cold, distant—like I was speaking to a stranger. A pause. Then. “I raised you better, Nanya.” The calmness in his voice snapped something inside me. A bitter laugh almost escaped, but I swallowed it. “I guess you forgot,” I shot back, my tone sharp, “you didn’t raise me at all.” From the corner of my eye, I caught Damian’s gaze
When I walked into my apartment, for the first time, everything felt… small. Not just small but insignificant as well. The walls that once held me together now felt like they were closing in, like they no longer matched the life I was stepping into. I dropped my bag absentmindedly and fell onto my bed, staring at the ceiling as my thoughts drifted far away from the room, far away from everything I used to know. I rolled to the side, and something crinkled beneath me. The file. I picked it up slowly, flipping it open without thinking. Page after page, numbers that didn’t look real stared back at me. Properties. Accounts. Assets. My name attached to all of it like some kind of mistake the universe forgot to correct. No matter how many times I looked at it, It still didn’t feel real. “I’m actually… wealthy,” I whispered to myself, my voice barely audible. “Like… wealthy wealthy…” The words felt foreign in my mouth. Like I was saying someone else’s life out loud. My fingers tight
I walked into the store, the smell of roasted coffee beans and pastries hitting me like a memory I didn’t want. I should’ve felt comforted, but today, it only reminded me of the calm I no longer deserved or maybe never did. Claire appeared almost instantly, her usual bright energy a jarring contrast to the storm in me. “You know that handsome dude?” she asked, grin wide, eyes sparkling with mischief. I clenched my jaw. “Please, Claire, I just want to be left alone.” “Nice try, baby. But you know I go nowhere,” she replied, hands on her hips, like a general observing a battlefield she knew better than I did. I groaned. “A customer might be in there for you to attend to.” “For me to attend to? Nanya, I’m the manager, remember? The earlier you start speaking, the better for both of us,” she said, voice teasing but firm, like she could see every thought spinning in my head. I had nothing left to argue with. My voice felt hollow, stolen long ago by nights of heartbreak and bitter re
When I walked into the café that morning, I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel. Not relieved. Not excited. Not guilty. Just… suspended. Because how do you cope with suddenly being new money? Not the flashy, "champagne on a Tuesday" kind. Not the kind that changes your clothes or your accent overnight. But the quiet kind. The kind that sits in the back of your mind and reminds you softly, persistently that survival is no longer your only option. The kind that tells you you don’t have to stand here anymore. But I still showed up for work. I had to. I did. The bell above the door chimed as I stepped inside, and the familiar scent of coffee wrapped around me like a habit I hadn’t learned how to break. Everything looked the same, the counter with its chipped edges, the stools that wobbled if you leaned too hard, the scuffed tiles I could navigate with my eyes closed. And yet, something inside me felt different. Calmer. Not happy. Not free. Just… steady. Like the constant
Just then, I saw him.He stood across the street, half in shadow, half under the streetlight—like the world itself hadn’t decided whether he belonged to it or not. Damian always did that. Appeared quietly. Never announced himself. Never rushed. As if he knew exactly when I was about to break and stepped in before the cracks went all the way through.I didn’t think.I didn’t check if he was real.I just ran.The pavement blurred beneath my feet as I crossed the street, my chest tight, lungs burning. I slammed straight into him, my arms wrapping around his torso like muscle memory had taken over where my mind failed.He caught me instantly.No stumble. No surprise. Just solid, warm arms closing around me, one hand firm at my back, the other pressing my head against his chest like he was shielding me from something unseen.I breathed him in.Storm. Heat. Something metallic and clean beneath it all.I hadn’t realized how badly I was shaking until his hand slid up and down my back, slow an
She didn’t wait for my answer. She turned and started walking toward her car like the conversation was already settled. The implication was clear: get in, or we’re doing this right here. I followed, mostly because arguing with her in public had never ended well for me. The car smelled like pep
I swear I smelled something like lightning. The thought followed me all morning. Not as panic. Not even as fear. Just… persistence. Like a word stuck on the tip of my tongue. Like a memory that refused to take shape. I worked. I smiled when customers smiled. I apologized when they frowned. M
As I walked into work that morning, something felt… off. Not in the “the-gods-are-after-me-again” way, but in a quieter, more unsettling way. Like my spirit was three steps behind my body. I blinked at the clock and I was early. Me. Early. For work. wow.Even worse?Claire was already there.She lo
DAMIAN’S POVSeeing her that shaken broke something in me.I held her until her breathing softened, until the tremors faded from her fingers, until exhaustion finally dragged her under. Only then did I lay her gently on the bed, pulling the blanket over her shoulders.For a moment, I just stood the







