LOGIN"Wait!" I pulled my leg back, my heels catching on the uneven concrete. "What for? What do you plan to do with me, Brendan!"I yelled until my throat felt raw, but the men didn't hesitate. They moved like a single wave and I tried to run, my eyes darting toward the dark corners of the warehouse, but they were too fast. Before I could take three steps, they had already pinned me. Their hands were like iron clamps, holding me with such cold precision that I couldn't even struggle."Brendan, what’s come over you?" I gasped, my chest heaving. "What do you want to do with me? Don't you dare... don't you dare rape me!""Rape?"He asked the question as if I had just insulted his very soul, but I didn't know what he was capable of anymore. I had underestimated him because of his softness, his gentle smiles and quiet words and look where that had gotten me. I was a prisoner in a hollowed-out shell of a building, at the mercy of a boy who I thought was gentle, who I thought was peace... who was
"Collect evidence. Document every conversation, every transaction, every shadow of a lead. Record everything. It’s the only currency that matters now. I will keep in touch."She stood up abruptly, the legs of her chair scraping harshly against the floor. Without another word, she turned and vanished into the dim light of the bar.I sat there for a long time, staring at the empty seat across from me. I took a sharp exhale, trying to piece the fragments of my life back together. First love. Jake’s sacrifice. My mother’s monstrous secrets. I realized with a jolt of panic that I hadn't even asked about Drake. What was his role in this? Was he another victim, or another predator?The weight of the silence in the bar became unbearable. I stood up, my legs feeling like lead, and pushed through the heavy doors into the night air. The street was quiet, the orange glow of the streetlamps casting long, distorted shadows against the pavement. My head was spinning, a carousel of names and betrayals
"What am I?" she asked herself.I tensed in my seat. I needed to hear it. What was she? What was Jake? What was everyone’s role in this and what was mine? What did she mean, "first love"? I shuddered at the dread that thought provoked, but it suddenly brought flashes of Jake to my mind. The way he looked at me, even when he was trying to be cold. When I first kissed him, when we had sex… it all hit differently now, and I didn't know why."You really want to know?" she asked, her voice tilting with a hint of amusement.I let out a sharp snort. "I’m tired of the riddles. Just say it."She leaned in, her shadow stretching across the table. "I’m Jake’s cleaner. I handle the 'back-door' business, the things a man of his stature can’t have touching his suit.""Back-door business?" I repeated, the words tasting like ash. "What does that even mean?"She smiled with a small curve of her lips. "You thought we were having an affair, didn't you? It was written all over your face every time you sa
I waited around the clock for good twenty hours or more before the evening finally came and I finally left my bed, washed up and dressed to go see Ms. Illya. They were all stunned to finally see me stepping out of my room after two weeks of cutting myself away. And I didn't want to speak with anyone as I headed towards the location I was supposed to meet with Ms. Illya. The bar she had chosen was a dim, subterranean spot where the lighting was designed to hide faces and the music was loud enough to swallow whispers. She was already waiting, tucked into a corner booth with a hoodie pulled over her head. She was already sipping an espresso through a straw, her eyes shielded by dark glasses. Even with half her face covered, I could see the toll the last few days had taken. She looked frayed at the edges; my mother’s public shaming and the loss of her career had clearly been rough on her.I slid into the chair next to her, crossing my legs and leaning back. I couldn't say a word at fir
"And where did you get that from?" Brendan didn't flinch. Instead, he took a step closer, his presence looming over the edge of the bed. "If you made me father the baby, yeah, I fathered the baby," he said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous register that sent a chill racing down my spine. "I've been doing a great job being the father to your child, haven't I? I stepped up. I showed up. So, what is it, Aubrey? What is the problem now?""So you knew..." I started, my voice cracking. "You knew the baby isn't yours this entire time, but you still...""I didn't know it wasn't mine the entire time," he interrupted, his eyes flashing with a cocktail of hurt and defiance. He began to pace the small confines of the room, his shadows stretching long against the sterile white walls. "But I got to know. That day at the gala, seeing you with Drake, the way you looked at him, the way he hovered. Your talking with him made it clear enough. You both slept together."He stopped pacing and looke
The slap sent my mind reeling. It was a sharp, stinging shock that seemed to rattle my very teeth, but in that instant, it felt as if a part of my memory or some dormant senses were slapped back into my head. The world, which had been a blur of grief and confusion for days, suddenly snapped into a terrifyingly clear focus. Drake was at my side in a heartbeat, his hands hovering over me, a barrage of "Are you okay?" questions falling from his lips. I paid him no attention. My eyes were locked on the woman standing over me.Mom stood there like a ghost, her chest heaving, her hand still raised in the air and shaking with a residual tremors of violence."It's the truth anyway, isn't it?" I whispered, my voice tasting the blood from where my tooth had scraped my inner lip. I didn't flinch neither could I cry. I just watched her."Aubrey... I didn't mean to hit you... I just..." She stammered







