LOGINLILY TRULY LOVES MELaura's POV I slipped into Lily’s room. She had asked to see me. Something in me tells me it's what I was thinking. The door shut behind me.The air smelled faintly of vanilla and the strawberry body spray Lily always overdid. Her bare feet sank into the plush rug as she hovered near the bed, fingers twisting the hem of her oversized T-shirt.*God, why is it so hard? How could I explain it? I should just say countless sorrys to her. For standing there like some frozen idiot while Kalvin’s hands already ripped off my draws.“Hey,” I whispered to her. My voice cracking. I cleared my throat. “Lily… about earlier. With Kalvin. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have let him dare me like that. It got way too sexual, way too fast. I froze. I didn’t know how to stop it without making everything awkward.” I said the words in my head before she altered anything.Lily looked up from her phone, her legs tucked under her on the bed, her hair still messy from her night sleep. Her e
FUCK ME ALONE, KALVIN.I stepped into Kalvin’s apartment, pushing the door to click shut behind me like a trap snapping closed. The air smelled of his perfume. My sneakers squeaked on the tied floor as I crossed the wide passageway, and there he was—sprawled on the couch using his phone. He wore the same gray sweatpants he had one of the times he got me moaning the highest I could. But that isn't what I'm thinking right now.That depressing image slammed into me again: Kalvin’s bare back, the sharp line of his spine, his hands gripping Laura in that naked state and was just about to do his thing before I bagged in. Who knows if he had been doing it with her behind my back.I stopped three feet from the couch. I needed to speak with him again. The anger burning in me at that silly scene hadn't given me the chance to speak up. It could have been an outpour of insults if I dared speak.My pulse beat so hard behind my eyes, I could see it. “Why her?” The words scraped out raw. “Why Laura?
MARRY MY SONThe fluorescent lights buzzed overhead like trapped insects as I bent over the filing cabinet, the cool metal edge pressing into my hip. My blouse clung a little too tightly after the morning’s coffee spill, and I could feel the damp patch between my shoulder blades. Mr. Berlin’s footsteps stopped behind me. I knew it was him before I turned—his usual heavy cologne, the faint creak of his loafers. He was smiling when I straightened, that slow, appreciative grin that started at the corners of his eyes and slid down to my mouth, my throat, the open top button of my shirt. His gaze lingered. “Lily,” he said, his voice warm, “you look radiant today. Truly. The way you handle your job—sharp and efficient. My son could use a woman like you.”I felt the words settle in my stomach, heavy and sour. His son ? Shit. He wouldn't look anything I like. He couldn't be far from his dad—eyes always half-lidded like he’d rather be somewhere else. He wouldn't be cute. Not even close.Ric
WHAT THE FUCK! AM I CHARMED?The velvet ropes parted like they’d been waiting for me, and the humid pulse of the club swallowed me whole. Crystal chandeliers dripped low enough to graze my collarbones, throwing fractured light across bare shoulders and thousand-dollar watches. I smoothed the front of the dress I bought specially for the occasion—black, backless, the kind of fabric that clung like a secret—and let the bass climb up my spine. This is it, I thought, heels clicking against marble. One more night. One more circle. Then the money hits and I’m gone. He's really not the kind of man I want to stay long with. He's noisy and somehow behaves in a fishy way. The first fifty thousand had never appeared, but he’d sworn tonight would be different. Double and even more, he’d said. Just play the part.Playing the part wasn’t any problem as long as I'm not seen by anyone who knows me from important point of view.My body was already moving.I slipped into the crowd. Bodies pressed cl
LOVE IN THE BEACHThe waves crashed like they always did when Brucha got intense, foaming white against the sand. I dug my toes deeper into it, feeling the grit bite my skin while the sun baked my shoulders. He’d bought us these greasy chops from the vendor—spicy, dripping oil—and we were licking our fingers clean, laughing at nothing.“Lily,” he said, his voice low, almost reverent, like the beach was his church. “I am not pretending and you know it. You’re everything I want in a woman. Everything every man wants in a woman. Smart, funny, that laugh that makes my chest tight. I’d marry you tomorrow if you said yes. Hell, tonight.”My stomach flipped. Not butterflies—more like a warning bell. God, Brucha, not here. Not with the salt in my hair and the chop grease on my chin. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, buying time. The vendor’s radio blared some old highlife song behind us.I forced a smile. “Brucha, calm down first. You’re talking like we’re in a movie. I need to set m
TERRIBLE MEETING AGAINST MY EXShalling's POV I pushed open the door to Lily’s apartment, the hinges creaking like they always did, and the smell of her vanilla candle hit me first—sweetly, cloying, the kind that lingers in your hair for hours. My pulse was already thrumming in my throat. Kova’s name had been burning a hole in my brain all week, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed to know. Not the polished version he fed everyone, but the real one, the one that might explain why my stomach twisted every time I saw him smile at some girl I didn't know.Lily was on the couch in an oversized hoodie, her legs tucked under her, scrolling her phone. She looked up, surprised, then smiled that soft, tired smile she always gave me. “Shalling. Hey. You okay?”I didn’t sit. I stayed by the door, twisting the strap of my bag. “Did you and Kova ever… know each other? Before. Like, really know.”Her thumb froze on the screen. The smile faltered, then dropped away completely. For a second she
RED-HANDEDI got home later than usual. Mr. Berlin took his sweet time wherever he went, and I had to wait around until he finally showed up.The house felt empty. I wondered if anyone was even home.I couldn’t stop replaying the scene from Senior Jack’s inner office in my head. He would’ve been sh
FUCKING MASSIVE BED IN HIS OFFICEMr. Berlin was waiting at the hotel when I arrived. His eyes swept over me with a careless, wandering interest.“Did the boss call you?” he asked.“Yes, a while ago.”“Then hurry down and be back on time. I’m leaving as soon as you return.”“Fine, sir.”After signi
FRIENDS WITH SHALLINGHer eyes went wide. "Are you for real, Lily? How could you ask me to paint something like that?"I smiled. The scene was already playing out in her mind, and she was loving it."Wouldn't you want a moment like that to become real?""Why would I?" Laura pretended, but her face
A NIGHT WITH SHALLINGI guided Shalling into the room, my arm a steady brace against her unsteady gait. She was adrift in a haze of alcohol, her senses muffled but not entirely gone.It was astonishing how little it took. A glass and a half of red wine, and her feet seemed to belong to someone else







