LOGINZey.*I stepped away, heart heavy, since when did I consider myself as part of this family?What was happening to me ? What right did I have to care about a man who has taken away from me, who'd crashed my life. This man who'd destroyed my life, the happiness, the sweetness with his dark presence, he'd hurt me beyond words and still I cared for him.Why ? I watched from the sidelines, laura, Stevie and Adrian's step mother, I didn't belong with this pair, I felt out of place, I'd always been.Sitting down on one of the easy chairs outside, my mind wandered to the memories the walls of the hospital ignited; pain, bad memories of the most important people I've lost.Adrian was not important to me in any sense, yet why this feeling for a man who would not hesitate to stomp on me for his own satisfaction.I closed my eyes.ADRIANHours later I opened my eyes to the sterile walls of the hospital. A nurse stood beside me, her eyes on the card she held, then her eyes landed on me."Sir...
Zey*The forest thinned, but every step felt heavier, as if the earth itself were trying to pull me back to him. My throat was raw from the cold air and the desperate gulps I took between sobs. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.Then—I heard it.A distant hum. Tires crunching gravel. My legs carried me faster than I thought possible, tearing through the underbrush until I broke onto a narrow road, nearly collapsing at the sight of a silver pickup truck crawling past.I stumbled into the road, waving my arms wildly. “Please! Stop—please!”The truck screeched to a halt. A man jumped out, startled but cautious. “Are you—what happened?”“My husband—" "he’s back there—he’s burning up, I think he’s sick—please, I need help.”Whether it was my wild eyes or the panic in my voice, I didn’t know—but he nodded. “Show me.”We ran back together. The forest didn’t seem so cold now. Only quiet. Like it was holding its breath.When we reached Adrian, the man knelt beside him, checked his pulse, muttered a
Zey**Thirty minutes of walking and still no sign of a main road. Just endless trees and thick undergrowth swallowing every trace of direction. I was scared. The low growling from earlier had faded, but my heart wouldn’t calm. The forest was too quiet now, and that silence made me panic even more. “What do we do?” I asked, my voice small, barely above a whisper. Adrian’s jaw clenched. He exhaled through his nose. “We keep going.” “I can’t—” I stumbled. “I’m tired.” My legs felt like stone. Every step burned. His eyes scanned over me, unreadable. “Then stay.” “What?” I blinked. “I’m leaving.” And just like that, he turned on his heels. “Adrian!” I called, alarmed. “It’d be better for you to get eaten by wild animals,” he muttered without stopping. “Might do me some good.” The words hit me like a slap. Who the hell did he think he was? My husband, I reminded myself bitterly. My enemy.Still, I forced my aching legs to follow.—We came to a sudden stop. A wi
Zey *I was stuck—always with Adrian. I couldn't stop thinking about how different life could’ve been if I’d married someone I actually loved. My mind kept drifting to Colton and Anne, to the way everything between them seemed so beautiful, almost perfect. But here I was, trapped in this fix, still drowning in guilt over what had happened between Adrian and me. It had been three days. Three days since I pulled the trigger. And every second since, I’d been on edge. His dark presence loomed like a shadow, a constant reminder of that night. A night filled with dread—one that left me shaken to my core. Adrian was more dangerous than I had ever imagined. Unpredictable, cold, relentless. He could do anything. And worst of all, he would never stop torturing me. The door creaked open. My breath caught as he stepped inside. His polished shoes echoed on the marble floor, his suit immaculate, his face unreadable as always. “We have to go,” he said flatly. “Get ready.” Then, just
"Get ready," he glanced at his watch. "We're going home, can't skip the family meeting."I nodded, stepped back to my room to get ready for the family meeting. I knew how it'd end anyway, I'd have to pretend that I was happy with my marriage, that I was not suffocated.To the outside world, Colton and I were the perfect couple, admired by everyone, but the truth was, we were far from perfect. It was all a ruse. Colton was doing it to keep up the perfect image.I was doing this because I needed the money.A few minutes later, I walked downstairs to find Colton looking down on his phone.I took in the sight before me, his hair, the angular curve of his jaw. He looked up, my breath caught in my throat.The muscles in his jaw ticked as he looked away."You know how it'll be.""Of course," I swallowed. "I know." "Good." He shrugged before turning away. I trailed behind him as the perfect invisible wife......Some hours later, we arrived at the family house. The ride was uneventful, noth
ADRIAN'S POVI drove to another mansion six miles away."What happened to you sir?" Are you okay? The guard in charge of the mansion asked.I nodded, my throat dry, blood seeping, soaking my shirt as I walked straight to the restroom.I stood in front of the mirror, restless, mind wandering to the earlier scenes. I could still see it, the way she looked at me, the tears in her eyes. I was supposed to feel good, to be satisfied with what I was doing to her.To see her in pain.To see her reaching her breaking point.Yet, I feel none of those things. Instead, I'm angry.So fucken angry at myself.I took out the pen knife, pulled off my soaked shirt. I bet she felt like a horrible person. I took deep breaths before using the knife to carefully extract the bullet. I grit my teeth as the bloodied bullet falls off. I washed the blood away, took a warm bath, and applied plaster, first aid......."Meow." Rio moved towards me. I stroked it gently, trying to forget. I don't want to think







