LOGINWith Felix out the house, I took in the silence of his apartment, the stillness of everything. It felt so weird to be there, alone, in my shorts. I was genuinely surprised when he didn't suggest taking me home before he headed off to Durham, but I didn't say anything. Deep down I really wanted to stay, even if he wasn't there, because I knew he'd be back soon.Since I had so much time to kill, I first changed into my everyday clothes. Then, I took my time to admire more closely the paintings on his walls. I searched for signatures on the corners of the abstract pieces, but I found none. I had to ask Felix who had made them. Then, as time went by, I decided to actually do some work. I read about fifteen pages for Art History and then decided to draw.I searched the entire house for paper and pencil. I remembered Felix coming down from his office with paper and charcoal the day he sketched me, so I decided to go up the spiral staircase and have a look.When I got to the landing area, I
I felt like the floor had dropped out from under me. A hot wave of fury and shame crashed through my body, making my ears ring and my hands shake. My throat tightened until swallowing hurt. My chest ached with every shallow breath, like someone had wrapped barbed wire around my ribs.Beneath the rage, something quieter and far more dangerous stirred—something that sent my pulse racing in a way pure anger never could. Something I refused to name.How much clearer did he have to make it? He was an absolute asshole.Why the hell had he been so gentle that morning, only to turn into this cold, cutting stranger by afternoon? The contrast made my head spin.What burned worst of all was knowing, deep down, that he was right. Whatever fragile thing had happened between us in his apartment could never repeat. He’d been warm, careful, almost tender—making me feel safe in a way I hadn’t expected. And that feeling was dangerous. I couldn’t afford to let those kinds of emotions take root, especial
Fuck fuck fuck fuck.I ordered another cold beer, turning away from him. I had to just forget he was there."Hey, got your eyes on a beautiful girl?" Kent asked. "Yeah", I lied to him. Since he was my good friend, he once knew I was gay and it was him who helped me change that and now I didn’t want him to realise I was starting to feel attracted again to a male. So I had to be careful.We was having the time of his life. The exhibition had been a success. Now he was letting go of all that anxiousness he had throughout the day, having fun with his mates."Is she hotter than mine?","Sort of." I said, keeping my reply short but I could feel my jaw clenching as images of Blair dancing with a sweaty pig crept in my mind.Don't look Felix, just forget about him. He can do what he wants. He is even straight."Professor Reynolds!" Oh please for Christ's sake, not again. "I need help!"The voice wasn't Blair's. It was from his friend. Maddox I believed was his name. I couldn't be sure.When I
He was silent for a few moments, deep in thought. My stomach turned into knots as silence fell between us.What the hell was happening to me?"I want to see it," he said at last, breaking the silence. I looked away from his intense gaze, my eyes settling on his thick, veiny hands. It was then that I knew that once I got home, I'd spend the whole night trying to draw them from memory."Why?" I asked, embarrassment growing in my cheeks."I want to see your style, your technique," he said, coughing at the end and taking a step back from my desk. "I am always interested in my student's work, especially if the assignment was given by me."I nodded, giving him a closed-lipped smile. "I left it at home, but I can go get it in a flash. Besides, I should take a walk, stretch my legs.""You live close by?" he asked, nonchalantly. I realized this was the first time we were speaking to each other in a normal way, not attacking each other or being sarcastic.It made me extremely nervous."Yeah, ju
The moment Jenny stepped into the Japanese restaurant, her sharp eyes scanning the elegant hall like a hawk, my stomach dropped. She was my colleague from the company — the one person who knew my face better than most, who had sat through endless late-night meetings with me, who had once cried on my shoulder after a brutal performance review. If she spotted me here, dressed like this, with Vladimir’s hand possessively on mine… everything would unravel.I turned my face away sharply, pretending to study a piece of minimalist calligraphy on the wall, but it was too late. Vladimir noticed the tension in my shoulders immediately. His grip tightened, not painfully, but enough to anchor me.“Problem?” he murmured, his breath warm against my ear.“Jenny. Colleague. She can’t see me like this,” I whispered urgently, heart hammering.Vladimir didn’t hesitate. In one fluid motion, he pulled me behind a tall decorative screen made of dark wood and rice paper, the kind that divided the private di
Once again, I fell into a death-like state. My body was as heavy as soaked cotton. The weight pressed against me like invisible chains, each link forged from grief, exhaustion, and something older—something ancient and sorrowful. In the darkness, a force was pulling me down, down into an abyss where no light dared follow. My mind wandered between the unreal and the real, flickering like candlelight in a windstorm, and I was sure I could hear voices in my ears—whispers like threads brushing against my skin—and I could even see a tall figure moving in front of me. It loomed just out of reach, a shadow wrapped in familiarity.But when I opened my eyes to see the world, I realized that what had just happened was an illusion. The world came into view slowly, sluggish and grey at the edges, as if I were returning from some underwater place. But Vladimir was standing right in front of me, just like what I had seen in my dream. His presence was both surreal and grounding, like a memory caught
"Get the fuck off my chair right now", Alexander spoke finally.I opened my mouth to fire back, something sharp, something that would remind him I wasn’t his pet but the words died on my tongue like ash.How can this happen to me?How can words betray a girl whose life has been built on defiance, o
When they came back into view, Alexander’s eyes finally landed on me.He halted mid-step, his entire body going rigid. A frown appeared on his forehead immediately, his brows knitting together in a way that made my stomach twist.Uh oh. He’s mad, isn’t he? I think he is.His gaze locked onto me, th
The moment Marco dropped me off back at home , I didn’t bother going upstairs to my room. I walked straight through the foyer, past the stupidly grand staircase, and into the kitchen like I owned the place.The wide marble island was spotless, as always. A bowl of fruit sat in the center like some
A week.Seven days of the same suffocating routine, and somehow it felt longer than the entire month before it.Every morning, I stayed in bed long past seven, waiting for the inevitable knock but I heard nothing.The first three days, I had expected anger, punishment, maybe even some cruel form of







