MasukFor a long moment, I just stand there, trying to make Grant’s words fit inside my head.I keep looking at him, wondering if I somehow heard him wrong. “She… she actually took the hard drives?”He gives a slow nod, rubbing a hand along his jaw. “Pulled them right out. Said she was keeping them safe. Then she told me to switch off all the cameras in the house anytime someone was home. Said to leave them off until she said otherwise. So I did. You weren’t here. I thought… well, she’s the lady of the house.”A dry, empty sound escapes me. “She acts like she owns anything she looks at, I’ll give her that. But she is not the lady of this house, Grant. Not now. Not ever again.” My thoughts are moving too fast, tumbling over each other as the full meaning of what he’s saying crashes down.“Well,” Grant says, shifting his weight. “Doesn’t change what happened. She took them. Every single one.”“Did she mention where she was going with them?”“No.”I laugh, but there’s no warmth in it. I can’t
“You did *what*?” Julian’s voice is all edge, straining to hold back his shock. I can practically see his face right now, that familiar, half-entertained, half-disbelieving lift of his brows.I clear my throat, savoring this way too much. “I went back to my house. Told Brandon and Rosa to get out.”A moment of quiet hangs between us, and then Julian laughs. It’s a full, warm sound that pours through the phone. “If I’d made a list of a hundred things you might’ve done yesterday, that wouldn’t have been on it. Tell me everything. How did this even happen?”“Where do I start?” I release a long breath. “Well, first, I was stuck outside the gate. Because the sensor doesn’t know your car.”“And?”“And then there was Grant, the guard. He made me stare into the camera and say my name like I was some kind of criminal.” A quiet laugh escapes me at the memory. “But the second he realized it was me, he went pale. He apologized about a million times before he finally let me in.”As I talk, my hand
I pull the taser from the nightstand, the one I’d tucked away earlier. I thumb the switch and let it hum to life, a quick, bright spark of blue in my palm, before turning it off again. I keep it loose in my hand at my side. It’s not that I think I’ll really need it. But I love the fucking weight of it there. I love knowing it’s mine.Their laughter reaches me as I come down the stairs, thin, annoying, seeping through the front door. I don’t rush. Every step is careful, intentional. I feel like a queen finally claiming her throne in this miserable place. This is my castle now. Time to clean house.I yank the door wide open.For a heartbeat, there’s nothing. Just Brandon and Rosa standing there, struck still, staring. Brandon’s eyes drag over me, slow and much too interested. Rosa just stands there with her mouth hanging open, blinking like she’s seen a ghost.“Well, well,” Brandon says, finding his voice first. “Look who’s back.”My smile is cold and spreads slowly. “Obviously I’m back
I am parked outside Brandon’s gate. I lean on the horn and let the sound bounce off the high walls around his property. This was once a place I called home. Once, it felt familiar. Once, it was… safe. Now? It’s nothing but a warped monument to everything I want to forget.I am still sitting there when the realization comes to me: the gate isn’t opening on its own. This is the first time I have ever waited here. Before, it would always slide open, smooth and quiet, like it was welcoming me back. Every single time… before I walked out on Brandon. Before I left all of this behind.The little electric tag that tells the gate to open is still stuck to my Bentley, the car I left with Brandon when I walked out of his life. The sensor does not recognize Julian’s car.I press the horn again.A burst of static cuts the quiet, and a blurred voice comes through. “Hello? Could you… um, could you roll down your window, ma’am? Please look at the camera?”I pull the window down slowly, on purpose, an
BiancaPutting how Julian’s words affect me into words is impossible. All I can manage is a laugh and a question. “Then what will you drive?”He moves nearer with a shrug. “You’ve seen my driveway. I have plenty of choices. I just like the Aston Martin, it’s quick and easy to handle.”“Thanks for letting me use it. I’ll do my best not to crash it.”“You really better not,” he says quietly, his hand coming up to push my hair back from my face. He lets his fingers stay there a moment. “And send me your location the second you decide where you’re going.”He leans in and kisses my forehead. A sudden, piercing sadness cuts right through me. He turns to leave, but stops just at the door. He comes back across the room in a few quick steps, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me, a deep, claiming kiss that leaves me breathless.When he breaks away, his voice is gravel. “That ought to make sure you remember me.”He pulls back, and there’s almost a smile on his lips. But his eyes show someth
BiancaThe air in the room was heavy and close. Julian was beside me, his arm still resting over my waist. I could feel the steady beat of his heart against my back, and it annoyed me, how calm his was when mine was racing.For a little while, he said nothing. The quiet pressed in on me, and I wanted to break it, to make him see why I had to do this.“I can’t stay here anymore,” I said, looking at the ceiling and trying to keep my voice even. “I can’t keep acting like everything is okay.”His hand pressed into my side. “No.”It was just one word, soft, but it landed so hard it stole my breath.“Julian…” I let out a long sigh and turned to face him, scrambling for the right thing to say. “I know you’re trying to help, but I have to face this. Every single day, there’s some new drama, some new lie. I can’t keep pulling you into it.”He shook his head. “Who says you can’t face it from right here?”“Be honest with yourself. This whole thing is a mess, and you’re stuck in it because of me.







