Se connecterI paused before opening the door fully. Something about unexpected visitors immediately made me cautious now, Maybe because paranoia had quietly become part of my daily routine. I leaned slightly toward the peephole and looked through it carefully. An old man stood outside. Definitely older. Probably in his late fifties or early sixties. He wore a faded delivery uniform that looked slightly too big for him, the fabric wrinkled heavily around the sleeves and shoulders. His posture looked exhausted, like standing itself required effort. Beside him rested a medium-sized box. Plain. Brown. Nothing written boldly across it. No visible company logo either. Immediately, confusion settled inside me. I frowned slightly. I stayed still for another second, studying him through the peephole carefully. He didn’t look threatening. Just tired. Very tired. Eventually, curiosity outweighed hesitation and I unlocked the door slowly before opening it halfway. The old man looked up immediatel
A few days had passed. And strangely enough,With time, I had slowly adjusted to the hollowness of my home. Not completely. Not in a healthy way exactly.But enough that the silence no longer felt shocking every time I woke up. Enough that I stopped jumping at every random sound in the apartment.I had spent most of those days indoors. Completely indoors. No outings. Just me. And the apartment.At some point during the week, I started rearranging the place little by little. Not intentionally at first. It began with moving a pillow. Then adjusting the curtains. Then changing where the lamp stood. And somehow that turned into reorganizing almost everything. I shifted the couch closer to the window.Moved books around. Changed the placement of picture frames. Ordered softer throw blankets online. Candles too. Warm scented ones. Vanilla. Cinnamon. Something comforting, Something that made the apartment feel less emotionally cold. And honestly? The place got cozier by the day.It slowly sto
My eyes flew open suddenly.The sharp ringtone of my phone sliced through the silence of the apartment so abruptly that for a second I didn’t even know where I was.I blinked repeatedly, disoriented.The room was darker now.The soft evening light that had filled the apartment earlier had disappeared, replaced by dim shadows stretching quietly across the walls.I must’ve slept off.I groaned softly and stretched slightly against the bed, my body feeling heavy and stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. One arm was numb beneath me, and my neck ached faintly as I pushed myself upright.The ringtone kept going. I reached blindly toward the bedside table, still half asleep, searching for my phone.The moment my fingers wrapped around it and I looked at the screen, My entire body reacted instantly. My eyes widened sharply.A wave of moisture spread across my skin almost immediately, sudden nervous heat prickling against my arms and neck.The blackmailer.For a second, I just stared at
I decided to do some investigating myself. At this point, waiting around for answers felt useless. Every conversation felt incomplete, every situation half-hidden behind vague statements and careful behavior.And honestly? I was tired of feeling confused. So I grabbed my laptop from the side of the bed and pulled it onto my lap before opening my browser again.For a second, my fingers hovered above the keyboard. Then slowly, I typed:‘Adrian CEO Aurex Media’The name stared back at me from the search bar for a brief moment before I pressed enter. The page loaded quickly. And immediately, photos flooded the screen.Professional photos. Public photos. Adrian smiling at cameras.Adrian shaking hands with politicians and businessmen. Adrian standing confidently on red carpets in expensive suits. Adrian at gala nights, charity events, business conferences.Every image looked polished, Nothing about what I saw screamed accomplice to murder. The kind of perfection rich men built carefully o
The cleaner had finished cleaning almost two hours later. And the difference was immediate. The apartment no longer felt abandoned. It finally looked lived in again. Not fully.Not emotionally.But visually at least, it looked like someone belonged here.The floors were spotless now, reflecting the soft afternoon light coming through the windows. The stale smell that had greeted me earlier was completely gone, replaced with the fresh scent of detergent, lemon disinfectant, and fabric spray.Even the air felt lighter.Breathable.I sat quietly on the couch for a moment, taking it all in while listening to the last few sounds of movement around the apartment.Cabinets closing.Cleaning supplies zipping up.Soft footsteps.The cleaner emerged from the hallway a few seconds later, wiping her hands lightly on a small towel she carried over her shoulder.“All done now, ma’am,” she said with a small smile.I looked around again slowly.She wasn’t exaggerating.The transformation was honestl
My house didn’t look the same anymore.The moment I stepped fully inside, the realization hit me harder than expected.Not because the structure had changed.Not because anything major was different.But because it no longer felt lived in.It felt abandoned.Quiet in a way that made my chest ache slightly. I slowly shut the door behind me, the soft click echoing through the apartment louder than it should have.Then silence.Complete silence.I stood there for a few seconds without moving, my duffel bag still hanging from my shoulder, my eyes slowly scanning around the living room.Dust.Everywhere.Thin layers of it rested on surfaces I used to touch daily without thinking.The television stand.The shelves.The center table.Even the picture frames looked dull now.Like time had settled on everything while I was gone.I swallowed slowly and stepped further inside.My footsteps felt unfamiliar here now, As if I was walking through someone else’s home instead of mine.I moved toward t
At this point, I didn’t know if I should get pissed or not. The emotions were tangled up inside me like wet ropes, anger, hurt, confusion, and yeah, truth be told, a sharp sting of jealousy I hadn’t expected to feel so strongly. It wasn’t just the house itself. It was the echo of it: the way he’d p
Her friends hovered a few steps behind, frozen in shock. The entire terrace had gone dead silent except for the song still thumping through the speakers. She stared down at Adrian, chest still heaving like she’d sprinted across the terrace instead of just yanking him backward.Her eyes were wide, p
I knew what he was really asking: Do you want to turn your back to her? Block her line of sight? Make it harder for her to keep staring? . I considered it for half a second. Part of me wanted to, wanted to hide from the weight of her attention, pretend it wasn’t happening. But another part, the stu
STILL STARING The sun was dipping lower now, painting everything in warm gold. The bougainvillea overhead rustled softly in the breeze. Somewhere nearby, a guitar started strumming, slow, lazy notes drifting over the restaurant.It should have felt romantic, but her presence made it annoying. “H







