ログインI started sitting with Quinn more after that. Not every day—I didn't want to seem thirsty or make it weird. But couple times a week, we'd end up at that same table, and it became like our thing. She'd take off her earbuds when she saw me coming, and we'd just... exist together, mostly quiet, sometimes talking.That's when I started noticing the other stuff.The way people watched her when she moved through the halls. Not like they was checking her out or nothing. It was different. It was like they was *assessing* her. Measuring something."Your dad really work for Minister Bremon?" I asked her one day. We was eating lunch in the library like we always did, staying away from the main cafeteria where the real hierarchy went down.Quinn nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Secretary. He's been with him for like eight years.""That's how you got in here?""Yeah. That's the whole story. My family ain't rich like..." she waved her hand vague, "...like them. My dad's accident was supposed
space because he literally has bought most of it Personality Traits:Brilliant but impatient with incompetence Calculated risk-taker (sometimes to a fault) Genuinely curious about people if they're interesting Terrible at small talk; would rather sit in silence Dark humor that makes people uncomfortable Protective of people he loves, to the point of obsessiveness Struggles with emotional expression (shows love through action, not words) Trust Issues: His ex-wife (Prime Minister's daughter) cheated publicly. He married her for status, she married him for control. The humiliation shaped him. Emotional Unavailability: Even when trying to be vulnerable, he creates distance. He's so used to power that intimacy feels like weakness. Ruthlessness: He's built an empire by making hard choices that hurt people. He doesn't always feel bad about it. This haunts him. Commitment Phobia: Has cycled through wives and girlfriends because once things get real, he runs or finds excuses to end it. Cont
The first thing I notice when I wake up is the silence.No alarm. No practice notification. No stupid group chat blowing up with plays and stats. Just my room, pale morning light coming through the gaps in my blinds, and the kind of quiet that only happens when the world decides to leave me alone for once.I check my phone. 7:47 AM.Then a text lights up the screen.**Mason:** get ready. im stealing u for the day**Mason:** wear something u can actually move inI grin at my phone. Just thirty minutes ago, I'd been bracing for the weekend to be weird. Tense. The kind of thing where Mason would act fine in public but tight as a drum the whole time, stuck in his own head about his dad. About everything.But this—this feels different. Like Mason is actually trying.I roll out of bed and get in the shower, already running through my closet in my head. Not too fancy. Not trying too hard. But also not looking like I just rolled out of bed at seven in the morning, which, technically, I did.B
# Chapter 25: Maybe This Could WorkI'm shoving books into my locker on Monday morning when Kai appears like he materialized out of thin air or something. He's got that post-weekend look—hoodie, messy hair, the kind of casual energy that makes it look like he just woke up five minutes ago and decided clothes were optional."You got plans for lunch?" he asks.I turn around, holding a stack of textbooks against my chest. "Plans? Kai, it's Monday. My plans are to survive until Friday.""So that's a no?""That's a 'why are you asking me this right now.'"He scratches the back of his neck, which is apparently his nervous tic, and I watch it like it's the most interesting thing I've seen all week. Which, honestly, it might be."Cool. Eat with me," he says.I blink at him. "That's... random.""Yeah. I'm trying something.""Trying what?""Giving you an actual chance instead of acting like an idiot."I laugh before I can stop myself. "Wow. That almost sounded romantic."Kai grins, and it's the
The ice is mine right now. Empty rink, just me and the sound of my blades cutting through, and it's the only place my brain stops running in circles.I've been doing the same routine for like forty minutes—jump, spin, land, recover. The festival is two weeks out and I can feel Coach wanting more from me. He doesn't say it, but it's there in the way he watches my landings, the way he stays late to see my run-throughs. He knows I can be better. He knows I'm capable of placing.But my brain isn't cooperating today.Every time I go into a spin, I see Mason's face. Every time I land a jump, I feel the weight of the ring on my hand under my glove. We don't wear them at school anymore because apparently that's "asking for trouble," but I wear it when I'm alone. When it's just me and the ice.I love him.That's the thing that keeps hitting me while I'm out here. Not the complicated version of love that gets tangled up with timing and fear and not knowing if it's real. But actual love. The kin
Dave hadn't touched me for six days. Not a real touch—the kind that meant something. The kind that said *I love you* or *I forgive you* or *I still want you*. I moved around our house like a ghost in my own life, cooking meals he barely ate, asking about his day and getting one-word grunts in return. The confession hung between us thicker than the cum Marcus had pumped into me that afternoon in the parking garage. Every time I sat down, I still felt the sticky reminder of my mistake, even after three showers. Even after trying to wash the guilt away with hot water and soap.I hated myself for it. Twelve years of him showing up, of him being *there*, and I'd thrown it away in five minutes in some intern's BMW. I had shattered the only one person who had never let me down. But God, my body wouldn't let me forget how good it felt—that frantic, no-holds-barred pounding while I bit his shoulder and came so hard my vision whited out. Different cock. Different rhythm with no routine. Just p
By week three of the remote work arrangement, the International Tourism Development Initiative properties were taking definitive shape.Twelve unique designs. Twelve operationally sound frameworks. Twelve properties that would change the luxury hospitality industry forever.It was extraordinary wor
Matthew walked into the Kingland Holdings office building and felt eighteen months of distance collapse.Everything was familiar. The lobby design hadn't changed. The elevator banks were the same. The executive floor layout was identical.But everything was also completely different. Because eighte
The opening of the Riviera resort was elegant and understated.No press conference. No photographers. Just the people who mattered: the staff, the invited guests, the board members, and the family.Matthew and Selena walked through the property together, and everything worked.The structural soluti
The smell of disinfectant and despair clung to everything in the hospital corridor. Selena Jesus sat on the cold plastic chair, elbows digging into her thighs, staring at the faded white floor tiles like they held answers. “The cancer has spread to her liver,” Dr. Patel said gently. “Without surg







