LOGINTwo days had passed since Lucy overheard Tommy and Frankie in the equipment room. Two days of pretending everything was normal while her stomach churned with anxiety. Two days of avoiding Barry's searching looks and concerned questions.Marcus had been true to his word, watching Tommy and Frankie carefully. But so far, they'd been cautious. No more suspicious meetings, no more whispered conversations. It was like they knew someone was paying attention.Lucy was in her room, getting dressed for training, when her phone buzzed. A text from Marcus: 'Training today. Boss has meetings all morning. Be ready in 20.'Lucy's fingers tightened on her phone. Another session without Barry. Part of her was relieved, it meant she could focus on gathering information without his intense gaze noticing every flicker of emotion on her face. But another part of her felt guilty. She was keeping secrets from him, and it was eating her alive."You ready?" Julia appeared in her doorway, already dressed in w
A hand clamped over her mouth from behind.Lucy's body reacted on pure instinct. Her elbow drove back hard, connecting with something solid. The grip loosened slightly, and she started to spin, her hand coming up to strike..."Lucy, stop! It's me!"Marcus's urgent whisper cut through her panic. Lucy froze, her fist inches from his face. Marcus held up his other hand in surrender, his expression serious but not threatening.He slowly removed his hand from her mouth, then pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet. Lucy nodded, her whole body trembling.Marcus jerked his head toward the main training area, silently telling her to move. Lucy's legs felt like jelly, but she forced herself to walk. They moved quickly and quietly down the hallway, away from the equipment room and those dangerous voices.Only when they were back in the main area, near where Julia was still practicing her kicks on a heavy bag, did Marcus stop. He positioned them in a corner where they could t
Lucy woke up early, her body still humming from the night before. After dinner, she'd gone to Barry's room like he'd asked, and they'd talked, really talked, about everything. Their fears, their feelings, what they wanted from each other. She smiled to herself, stretching in bed, feeling the pleasant ache in her muscles. Barry had left before dawn for an early meeting with some suppliers, pressing a kiss to her forehead and whispering that he'd see her at lunch.Lucy checked her phone. 6:47 AM. She was wide awake, too energized to go back to sleep. Training didn't start until nine, but maybe she could go early, get in some extra practice.She got dressed quickly, leggings, sports bra, tank top, and headed downstairs. Marcus was already in the kitchen, drinking coffee and looking alert despite the early hour."Miss Lucy." He straightened when he saw her. "You're up early.""Couldn't sleep. I was thinking about going to training early. Is that okay?"Marcus hesitated. "The boss isn't a
CLAIRETHREE WEEKS LATERThe time passed faster than I expected, I spent the first week obsessing over every detail of the photoshoot, making lists and plans and then remaking them when I changed my mind. Julian finally took my notebook away one evening and told me I was overthinking it."The photos will be good because the clothes are good," he said firmly. "Stop trying to control every single element."He was right, so I forced myself to focus on other things. I worked on the website with the designer Julian had connected me with, choosing fonts and layouts and writing the copy for my brand story.It took me days to get the words right, to explain what the clothes meant without making it sound like a therapy session. Finally, I settled on something simple:CLAIRE is for women who are done apologizing. For women who take up space, for women who choose strength.Short, direct, true.The designer loved it and built the site around that message, all clean lines and bold imagery with spa
Two days.It had been two whole days since the fight, and Lucy felt like she was slowly losing her mind.She'd successfully avoided Barry by timing her movements carefully. She'd eat breakfast early, before he came down. She'd go to training when she knew he'd be in meetings. She'd hide in her room or the library during dinner, claiming she wasn't hungry.Julia had noticed, of course. She'd cornered Lucy yesterday in the hallway with raised eyebrows and a knowing look. "You two need to talk," she'd said simply. Lucy had just shaken her head and walked away.Now it was late afternoon on the second day, and Lucy was in the library, curled up in a window seat with a book she wasn't actually reading. She'd read the same page five times without retaining a single word.Her mind kept replaying the fight. Barry's cold voice saying "maybe we shouldn't be doing this." The way he'd walked out without looking back. The sound of her door closing like a final punctuation mark on whatever they'd be
Julia lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. The house was quiet now, everyone settled in their rooms for the night. But Julia's mind wouldn't stop replaying what she'd seen earlier, Barry storming into the estate with that thunderous expression, Lucy following behind looking like she was about to cry.They'd fought. That much was obvious. And Julia had a pretty good idea what it was about. She'd heard whispers from the staff about Alessandro Romano dancing with Lucy, about the way Barry had looked ready to commit murder right there in the ballroom.Julia glanced at her phone on the nightstand. 12:47 AM. He should be here soon.As if summoned by her thoughts, a soft knock came at her door. Three quick taps, then two slower ones. Their signal.Julia's heart jumped. She threw off her covers and hurried to the door, checking the hallway quickly before grabbing Dean's wrist and yanking him inside. The door had barely closed before she was on him, her hands fisting
Barry didn’t move right away.His hands rested on her hips, holding her in place. His face was right next to hers, so close she could feel the rough brush of his stubble when he finally spoke.“You should be.”His voice was low, deep, and full of heat.Lucy’s lips parted. But she didn’t flinch. She
Barry didn’t loosen his grip for a second.Lucy stumbled behind him, her heels scraping the concrete floor as he pulled her through a narrow hallway lit by one flickering bulb. Workers and dancers parted silently, not daring to interfere.She didn’t stop fighting him.“Let me go!” she snapped, jerk
CLUB DRESSING ROOM : NIGHTThe mirror lights buzzed softly as Lucy adjusted the thin strap of her dress, fingers trembling slightly. Her cheeks still held the heat from the earlier scene on the club floor. But Barry’s words rang in her head like a warning bell.“Go back to work.”So here she was. C
The soft morning light peeked through the tall kitchen windows as Lucy stood by the counter, flipping eggs in a pan. She wore a loose t-shirt and soft pajama pants, her feet bare on the cold marble floor. The quiet hum of the fridge and the sizzle of butter were the only sounds in the room.It was







