LOGINA week passed in a blur and nothing catastrophic had happen so fast which was, in the context of my life over the past several months, was something very remarkable because ever since I moved in with mom and Alex my life has been nothing less than chaos. But this week I’ve had no crises, no confrontations and no fights.Just the usual routine of my days which was work, home, sleep.At home, Alex and I coexisted, nothing serious just two people who were clearly made peace with the fact that nothing was ever going to happen between them. We passed each other in the mornings. We occupied the same spaces with different depths of attention. Maybe he is making coffee in the kitchen or attending to documents in his office. While I’m just in the living room seeing movies or on the dining table eating.We said our good morning and occasionally we said goodnight. The house got really quiet with my mother’s absence, and I of course absorbed all of it without comment.It was normal at least.At
Alex’s POV I had not slept well all night.That was an understatement, over the past few months I had grown accustomed to constructing my bodily needs and pretending everything was alright. At about two in the morning I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling, replaying everything that had occurred during the drive back home with exhaustion. The way her hand caressed her thigh. The sounds she had made. The way she had said my name in that quiet, deliberate way that showed she was enjoying every single thought of me while she fingered her wet pussy.“How long are you going to keep fighting it” that question was taunting me all night. But how long?How long was I gonna fight the fact that I can’t control myself anymore. How long will I keep denying that I want her so badly.I had not answered her because there was no answer I could give that was both honest and responsible.Having spent my entire adulthood loperating in the spaces where honesty and responsibility overlap, made me
By the time I got downstairs, Viktor and Elena were already waiting for me in a cab.“Hey guys” I waved when I finally got closer to where they stood. “I’m sorry I won’t be joining you guys tonight”, I bit a awkward smile at them. I knew they wanted us to go in the same car but there’s no way I was missing this opportunity with Alex for anything in the world. “Okay, okay, I won’t ask why” Elena whispered as she walked out of the car and gave me a warm hug, when she held me a bit longer I gently moved back to see that she had tears on her face. “Elena” I whispered and pulled her back into my arms.“Why are you crying again?” I asked in a soft whisper. Her scent filled my nostrils, a mix of coffee and lavender a hint of a fragrance she had applied and forgotten about a couple of days back."I meant every word I said," she whispered into my shoulder. "Every bit of it.""I know you did," I replied giving her a gentle pat on her back.She pulled back, looking at me with that usual direc
CHAPTER 29 — “The Office” Zina’s POV Nobody said a word on our to his office. The silence was deafening, like we were all holding our breath. Meanwhile Kelly just moved effortlessly ahead of us, he had a cool expression on his face like he already knew what awaited us in that office. We were all dying to know why he wanted us in his office i was sure because the three of us kept throwing worrying glances at each other.Viktor couldn’t hold it in anymore though. He jogged a bit to catch up as we rounded a corner from the main hallway. “Kelly,” he said, keeping his tone all casual-like, but we could hear the edge it carried. Kelly didn’t break his steps at all, Not even a bit, but he responded without sparring him a glance. “You’ll find out when you get there, Mr. Bryce,” his response was smooth and final. Viktor fell back next to me, shooting Elena this quick look that said a whole novel: What the heck is this? You got any guesses? Should we bolt? Elena fired back her own glance—
“Thank you, Zina,” Elena said, her hands still resting gently on mine. I looked at her closely. “For what?” “Because of you.” She shook her head just a little. “Because of you, I’ve earned my first real recognition—in a company like this, on a night like this.” She pressed her lips together tightly. “I’ve never had that before, and nothing I’ve ever done in the past felt good enough.” She let out a slow breath, as if she had carried those words inside her for years and could finally release them. “Right now, I’m so glad I took that exam, and I’m deeply grateful to be your friend. I love you.” “Elena,” I said softly. “I know, I know…… I’m being too dramatic….” “Stop it Elena.” I placed both hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. “You’re not allowed to put yourself down, not tonight, not after everything you accomplished this week.” I held her gaze steady. “A queen with all that power in her hands doesn’t apologize for what she’s created. Remember that.”
When the screen behind Kelly lit up, the room went quiet. Not the polite kind of quiet where people wait patiently, but the focused kind where people who had come in with low expectations were now sitting up straighter without realizing it. Kelly stood at the front of the hall with that composed authority he carried everywhere, a small presenter remote in one hand, as he began talking about the upgraded product with so much confidence, as someone who knows its worth. The display was clean, with clean sleek lines, a redesigned casing that looked nothing like the original prototype, and an interface that responded faster than anything the previous version had ever done. As Kelly moved through each feature, I watched the people in the hall one by one. The AI response feature system had been rebuilt and the voice recognition calibrated the individual speech patterns within three interactions. We added a security encryption layer that made the previous version look like a locked di
Zina’s PovI calmed myself and gently placed the glass on the table with utmost care.Elena and Viktor had noticed.I noticed Viktor tightened his fist and looked away without saying a word to me.While Elena gently touched me with worries in her eyes, “Zina, are you okay? Do you it know him?” “It
Zina’s povA loud knock on my door woke me from sleep.I had locked it the previous night before going to bed.It's been days since I moved into this awful place and I tried my best to stay in my room often after that crash out I had with Alex in the kitchen. And luckily for me, I've not seen eithe
I watched as color drained from her face.But said nothing.Thick Silence settled over the table. After so many years of dealing with different types of people, I realized that many people hated silence. Many always hurried to fill it, or smooth it over with nervous laughter or pointless explanat
Zina's POV“Let go of me, you bastard. I don’t need your help. I’d rather fall than have you touch me.”I struggled against his grip, but he didn’t even flinch.“Language, young lady,” he said calmly.That calm tone only made it worse.“I said let go of me,” I snapped, lowering my voice. “Or I’ll s







