LOGINROSE.The words still rang in my ears even after the phone hit the floor.#Your father is dead.#I stood frozen in the small bathroom with my hands pressed hard against the cold sink, trying to force air into my lungs.Everything inside me felt cracked open.The grief came first, heavy and sharp, then the rage followed so quickly it almost knocked me over.I kept hearing Drake’s phone call from the hospital earlier, the statements he had made.Something deep in my gut told me this was not a coincidence.He had done something.He had gone too far this time.I folded my arms tightly across my chest and stared at my own reflection.The girl looking back at me no longer looked soft or confused.She looked dangerous.All the pain, the shame, and the heartbreak from the last twenty-four hours mixed with the fresh hole my father’s death had left, and it turned into something much darker.I had left him alone when he hurt other people.I had even started falling for him.But my father had be
ROSE.I stared at Drake for a long time, trying to understand what was happening and why he was taking so long to answer.The silence in the room felt heavy and sharp.Drake finally sighed and looked at Charlotte.“Charlotte, let’s leave right now.”I frowned hard, staring at him, trying to make sense of the sudden coldness in his voice. “What is going on?”Charlotte smiled, the kind of smile that cut. “What is going on is that you have been used, and it’s time for him to end every bit of bullshit he has with you.”I frowned deeper, not even fully listening to her.I turned back to Drake and froze when I saw his face.The soft look from earlier was gone.His eyes were the same cold, hateful ones I had met the first day.He walked up to me and spoke in a low, flat voice.“Rose, I will tell my guards to get you a car that will take you to the private jet. Our deal is finished and It has ended.”I chuckled in pure shock and whispered so Charlotte would not hear, “I’m sorry, Drake, what a
ROSE.I woke up to an empty bed and a soft smile on my face.Drake was gone, which didn’t surprise me at all.He was the type of man who rose before the sun when there was work to do.The space beside me still held a little of his warmth and the faint scent of his cologne.I stretched under the sheets, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places, and for the first time in a long while I felt completely like a woman.Last night he had taken control, told me what to do, held me the way he wanted, and I had loved every second of it.I never thought I would be into possessive men who led, but clearly my body and my mind had other ideas.I stood up naked and walked to the bathroom, my hips already swaying to a song only I could hear.Inside the shower I turned the water on hot and stepped under the spray, still smiling for no clear reason.Soap slid over my skin while my thoughts kept drifting back to the way he had looked at me, the way he had spoken, the way he had filled me.When m
ROSE.The drive back to the hotel was quiet.Too quiet.My body still felt like it was boiling from the kiss in the rain.It had only been a kiss, nothing more, yet it stayed under my skin the whole way, warm and restless, making it hard to sit still.Every time the car turned I could still feel the way his mouth had moved against mine and the way his hands had held my waist like he was afraid I might disappear.When the car finally stopped in front of the suite entrance I reached for the door handle, but his hand closed gently around my arm.“Allow me.” he whispered.He stepped out first, walked around, and opened my door.Before I could put my feet on the ground he lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing.I opened my mouth to protest but the look on his face made the words die.He carried me through the lobby, into the elevator, and all the way to our room without saying a single word.Once inside he kicked the door shut behind us and laid me down on the bed with surprising
ROSE.I looked at Drake for a long time and finally said, “Oh fuck, I think they just stole our car.”He frowned. “How? I still have the key.”I touched my forehead in pure disappointment because of course this was a local place.I had grown up in places like this so I knew people could take anything if they wanted it badly enough no matter how careful you thought you were.“You might not understand,” I said, “but trust me, they rolled that car away.”He stared at me then sighed. “I told you it was not a good idea coming here.”I looked at him already feeling a little sad. “Are you trying to say you didn’t enjoy your time?”He stayed quiet, and after a second he smiled. “Of course I did. I earned the Michael Jackson medal tonight.”We both laughed and I shook my head. “Fuck you. So what are we going to do now?”“I’ll text my guards to bring a car,” he said already reaching for his phone.I stared at him. “Hold on, I thought we were going to track your lost car or something.”He frowne
ROSE.Drake's eyes stayed locked on mine, searching my face like the answer was written there if he looked hard enough. I finally scoffed. “Let me get this whole thing straight. You walked out on me because my song made you remember Roseina?”He kept staring.I laughed, sharp and tired. “Drake, this is so fucking embarrassing. You walked out of a date you planned yourself like it's my fault that a song made you remember her?? If you love her the way you’re acting right now, maybe you should never have left her!”His voice dropped. "You know nothing about what happened between us. You don’t know what happened to me. You don’t know my life. Just because you’re free doesn’t mean everyone else is.”I laughed again. “Oh really? Maybe if you stopped seeing everyone as losers and low-class you would have more freedom than most people in this world.”He looked at me coldly. “Yeah, it sounds easy for people like you because there is nothing to lose. Nothing to hold on to.”I smiled without wa







