MasukCaleb stood at the edge of the dance floor, staring at Liam like he was calculating how many ways he could bury him. The music thumped behind us, but all I could hear was my own pulse beating in my ears. When he finally moved, he walked straight up to me. I flinched, unsure how to react to his speed. His fingers wrap around my wrist with an icy grip.“Caleb—” He cut me off by pulling me towards him sharply, his jaw so tight it looked carved from stone. “We’re leaving.” He spoke with a rough voice. Before I could protest or even blink. Caleb was dragging me through the club. People parted around us like the tension was visible in the air. The second we stepped outside, Liam came rushing after us.“Hey!” he shouted, catching up. “Let her go—” Caleb spun so fast I barely saw the movement. His fist collided with Liam’s jaw in a punch so loud it cracked through the silence of the night. Liam staggered back, hand flying to his face.“First you touch my woman,” Caleb growled, voice shaking
Inside the club, the lights were warm and low, the music loud enough to dull the conversation I was having with myself in my head. Jen ordered drinks immediately and dragged me to a booth near the back. I was still trying to uncoil the tension Michelle had wound into my spine when I saw her walking back toward us, hair flipping like she hadn’t just wanted to stab me with her words in the parking lot.She slid into the booth right across from me, arms crossed, but her expression strangely calmer. “Okay,” she said, exhaling dramatically. “I overreacted.”Jen rolled her eyes so hard I heard it.Michelle ignored her. “I don’t want this to turn into rivalry. Sisterhood and all that.” She gestured vaguely between us. “I don’t want to lose friends over a man.” Girl, what friendship? Jen organised all of this.Her attempt at peace felt half-noble, half-theatrical, but I still nodded. “I don’t want drama either.” I just nodded because I don’t want to seem unforgiving or like I amhung up on h
Jen had been buzzing around my apartment since she told me we’re going out to celebrate my engagement, pulling clothes from my wardrobe like a tornado with taste. I finally settled on a short black dress with thin straps, something simple but flattering. My engagement ring glinted every time I moved, and every time it did, my stomach tightened. I don’t think I will ever be used to how heavy it feels or how beautiful it looks on my hand.“Stop staring at the ring like it’s insulting, that ring makes your hand shine. It’s going to open a lot of doors for you.” Jen said, clipping on her earrings.“I’m still trying to adjust to how heavy it feels,” I muttered not even realising I was staring at it.“Still adjust to your engagement,” she sing-songed, wiggling her brows.I rolled my eyes, grabbed my bag, and followed her out. The drive to the club was quick; neon lights glowed against the early evening sky. Before we even parked, I spotted two familiar cars already pulled up near the entr
“You need to pack your things and move in with me,” Caleb said taking his car keys preparing to leave. I nodded at the thought of moving in with him making my stomach turn. “I need to hear you say it.” “Say what?” I asked unable to promise him something that I know I might not be able to do. “Say you will move in with me?”“I don’t know, I will think about it. Moving in with someone is a big step, so I don’t want to rush it.” I said hoping that he would be able to hear my reasons.“We are getting married within a few weeks, you have a wedding to plan. You can’t plan it in this crappy apartment, besides the press can’t know you stay in such a place.” He’s the one who involved the press in my life in the first place why am I suffering?“Okay but not today or tomorrow.” He nodded, gave me a small smile, and turned to the door.He opened the door and Jen was already standing outside with her fingers in the air to knock.She quickly took her hand down and moved out of his way, he cleared
I woke slowly, the kind of slow that feels like drifting upward through warm water. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. All I felt was heat something was wrapped around my waist, tight like it belonged there.When I opened my eyes, reality sank in that Caleb had spent the night over at my place. And he has been doing me all night in places I have never imagined.His arm was locked around me, firm and unmovable, his body molded right against my back as if the two of us naturally fit together. My breath caught at how intimate it felt and how safe I felt with him. I hated that it felt safe.I tried to lift his arm gently, but he only tightened his hold around my waist in his sleep. The pressure made me shiver, great. I’m trapped under the world’s most aggravating man, and he’s cuddling me like we’re some sweet, newlywed couple.I turned my head carefully, just enough to see his face. The early morning light softened everything his sharp jaw, his strong nose, the messy strands of hai
His words hang in the air, heavy and impossible to ignore or change the subject. I opened my mouth, ready to say something, but nothing came out. My mind goes back to the first day I saw him when he had a gun against my throat, how could I have forgotten that when I snitched him to the lawyer?My throat feels dry like a desert, and for a second, I just stared at him, thinking of the right words so he doesn't get angry. My pulse is loud in my ears. I am not used to lying, especially to someone like Caleb who knows when I am lying.“I know what you’ve been doing,” I finally manage, the words scraping out in a whisper. “The business, you’re corrupting everything, Caleb. Other people may not have seen it, but I see through you." Okay, maybe that was not the best thing to say if I want to be on his good side, but he has to know what I think.His hand on my waist tenses, just slightly, but enough that I feel it all the way through me. “And?” he murmurs, leaning in the tiniest bit. “Say it p







