The air outside the Wolfe estate was sharp, cooler than expected, tinged with pine and distance. Like the house behind us had exhaled, and now the world was holding its breath. The wind cut sharper out here, away from the lights of the Wolfe estate. Trees crowded the road like they wanted to hide it. The path was narrow, curved, and long - leading nowhere familiar. I let it press against my skin, trying to shake the chill of Margot’s voice, the tap of her knife, the pressure of her finger between my shoulder blades like a threat disguised as etiquette. “Tell them not to follow us,” Cazien had said, back at the estate. The driver had looked confused, so, had the butler, but he made it clear - no security, no escort and no one else. “I’ll drive,” he said to me, already unlocking the passenger door. I had stared at him for a beat too long. He didn’t blink as his hand hovered at the keys. Something in his jaw said he needed to be in control of something tonight, so I nodded, s
The car ride was too quiet. This silence had a certain type of weight, like something sharp was sitting between us - unsheathed but untouched. Even the city outside seemed to sense it wasn’t welcome here tonight. The blur of lights, the pulse of traffic - it all moved around the Wolfe car like a current avoiding something too dangerous to touch.I sat beside Cazien in the backseat, both of us cushioned in leather that was too soft to be comforting, like we were being swaddled for sacrifice. My fingers curled tight around the edge of my coat, the thick wool bunching under my grip. I didn’t realize how hard I was holding it until I felt the strain in the seams. I didn’t let go.Cazien hadn’t said a word since we left the building; since his mother dropped her dinner invitation like a guillotine and walked out, offering no room for protest, only consequences. Her words were still echoing in the back of my skull, “Dinner. At the estate. Bring her… if you must.”Now, the sun was bleeding i
My heels smack against the marble floor of Wolfe Industries, sharp and rhythmic, like the pounding of my own heart as I make my way to Cazien’s office. Every step feels like a countdown, a warning shot echoing inside my chest. His text had come through ten minutes ago, curt and loaded. “Get to my office now, Raina.” My heart’s been racing since, thudding so loud I swear I can feel it in my throat. I tug at my navy blouse, which is now clinging to my back like it’s become another layer of my nerves. My fingers toy with the hem of my skirt restless, fidgety and aching to touch something that isn’t there. A twist coils low in my stomach half want and half worry. I miss him, but not in the way people write about in books. This is something raw, physical. It hurts. Like every part of me is screaming for his hands, his voice, his everything. Last week, we crossed the line. In front of the entire company, no less. One kiss big, impulsive, defiant. A statement shouted between our lips in
The moment I stepped out of the room, the atmosphere shifted.The corridor was steeped in a heavy silence, the kind that follows a storm—still, but charged. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead, casting a sterile glow that bounced off the polished floors. The air was tinged with the faint scent of burnt coffee and ozone, remnants of overworked machines and tension.At the far end, Cazien leaned against the wall, his jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up to reveal forearms tense with restraint. His shirt clung slightly to his back, damp from the heat that lingered in the building’s bones. His jaw was set, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes shadowed with fatigue and something unspoken.We stood there, the distance between us filled with the echoes of unsaid words and shared battles. The corridor, once a neutral passage, now felt like a no-man’s-land we both had crossed.He pushed off the wall, footsteps muffled against the carpet, each step
By the time we returned to the city, the story had already swallowed it whole.The headlines were no longer whispers or speculative corners of gossip. They had become banners. Broadcasts. Weapons.Every taxi screen flickered with it. The news tickers ran it in a loop under every anchor’s voice, slicing across the bottom of the screen like a knife too blunt to kill cleanly. Cazien’s photo—his official corporate headshot, neatly cropped and immaculately lit—had been repurposed by the media, transformed into something colder. Something accusatory. It wasn’t a mugshot, but it might as well have been. The lighting was just better.“Anonymous Whistleblower Alleges Ethical Breach in Wolfe Industries Executive Tier”“CEO’s Leave of Absence Raises Questions About Internal Cover-Up”“Sources Point to ‘Improper Intern Involvement’ as Catalyst”That last one landed like a stone dropped through my chest. It wasn’t just professional—it was per
I remained still, reluctant to disrupt the fragile serenity that had settled over us. My head rested against his chest, rising and falling with each steady breath, while one leg draped over his, anchoring me in the warmth of our shared space. The blanket lay crumpled between us, a silent witness to the intimacy we had just shared, its folds mirroring the tangled emotions within me.A comforting warmth enveloped my body, a lingering echo of our closeness. I felt unburdened, as if the weight of past uncertainties had been gently lifted, leaving me both vulnerable and renewed.His fingers traced languid patterns along my spine, not following any discernible path, but moving with a purpose that spoke of connection rather than intent. Each touch was a reassurance, a grounding presence that tethered me to the reality of the moment.Every point of contact between us resonated deeply. I was acutely aware of the warmth of his skin against mine, the rhythm of our synchronized breathing, and the