เข้าสู่ระบบVIONNE I know Darien must have been waiting for me in the dining room, but do I care? No, of course not. I purposely made my bath long. Again. I really wanted to see what he would do. Just when I stepped out of the bathroom, my stomach growled. I gripped it, squeezing hard. Gosh! I was damn hungry. Haven’t had anything since morning. “I have to be fast,” I muttered, walking toward the closet, when I saw that dress from earlier still lying on the bed, staring at me. Wait a second… did Miss Vivian actually think I was joking when I said I wasn’t going to wear that? A humorless laugh slipped from my lips as I shook my head. “I’m not wearing that.” I walked past it, heading straight to the closet. My gaze fell on that frame from earlier, and I gasped, my heart thumping harder. I was going to wear that one here. I kept my gaze on the floor as I walked into the closet. When I got there, I quickly picked out two pieces. I had already seen them earlier and liked them. It was a two-pie
~~DARIEN’S POV~~ I know. Vionne—after seeing what her room looks like—a lot of questions await me. Questions I’m ready for and also not ready for at the same time. However, I’ll make sure everything is under control. Nothing gets obvious this early. When I’d taken her to her room, which was specifically designed to meet her taste, I left immediately. Why? Because I knew the questions she’d ask… and what she’d catch in my eyes if I lied. Because I wasn’t ready. Not yet. I stretched lazily on my bed, checking the time on my laptop—6:30 PM stared back at me. “Fuck… it’s taking forever,” I muttered under my breath, slamming the laptop shut. An hour and thirty minutes to go. I was supposed to be at the office, but here I am, on my bed. I’ve been here all day, trying to bury myself in some business deal—anything to stop myself from thinking about her… probably in that room, wondering who Darien really is. Everything in that room has a trace of her. She hasn’t even
VIONNE I was still trying to figure out who had sent a message from an unknown number when another text from Nora came in. “Poor Vion. Why aren’t you responding to me? Oh right – you don’t even have a dress. I’ll be kind and send you one. At least you’ll get to see me… and the man you couldn’t keep. See you in a few days. Bye, Vionne.” Finally, she was done mocking me – for now. My teeth clenched. My fist tightened around my phone so hard it almost cracked. I almost threw it across the room, but I wasn’t going to let Nora get to me. I took a cold shower to cool my head. I was going crazy. I switched off my phone and tossed it on the bed, still irritated—I barely had time to breathe before another SMS ping. Just six words that made me freeze. “TRUST DARIEN CALLAHAN AT YOUR OWN RISK.” I stopped breathing. “Darien Callahan?” I whispered. A few minutes in this place and I was already getting messages from unknown numbers. Not the earlier one. Who was this? I tried to think. Not
VIONNE.“No. Not happening.” My breath caught as I stepped closer, legs unsteady, heart pounding.This frame?Not tucked away. Not hidden. Placed like it mattered.It was me.Not a selfie. A younger version of me. Teenage Vionne. Not something I remembered posing for.But something I remembered like it was yesterday.Because that day had passed—but it never really left me.A secret moment I thought no one else knew about.When was this taken?My fingers curled slightly.How did Darien have this?Just when I was about to grab it—touch it, make sure this was real, like actually real—A voice sliced through my thoughts, louder than it should’ve been.“Hello, wife… oh—sorry.” The voice trailed. “Hello, miss.”I paused mid-step.Blinking.Trying to process what I just heard.My head tilted slightly as I turned.What did she just say?My confused expression met that of an older woman—beautiful, smiling—dressed in the same uniform as the others I’d seen.“I—I’m sorry,” she said quickly, catc
VIONNE’S POV Just a few hours after meeting Darien, my head was already a mess. I was a total freak. Because tell me—what the hell just happened in that elevator? I clearly, shamelessly told Darien to kiss me. Jesus. Was I to blame? No. Of course not. He caused it. That annoyingly sexy man knew exactly what he was doing to me. And I was falling for it even when I knew I shouldn’t be. The way he carried me to the sitting room, our breaths mingling… the heat when he caged me inside the elevator… the sound of his voice—low, smooth, and dangerously attractive. How he pulled me against his strong abs and defined chest… all of it was enough to make me lose my mind. I swear to God, I was soaked. I was gone—completely lost in my fantasy. I don’t even know when my stupid godfarsaken brain sent that signal and I said it. Kiss me. The worst part? I actually begged him. The way he looked at me… I could tell he had already decided I was some cheap woman. “You need rules. You clearly have
+DARIEN’S POV+I know she’s probably wondering why I came back now, after a month of what happened in that hotel room.“How did you find out about everything going on in my life?”That question she asked in the car shook me slightly, and I’m definitely sure she wouldn’t want to know my reason. Reasons, actually.And for me? It’s definitely not something I’m ready to tell. Maybe not now.Time will tell. For now, let’s begin the game.One thing Vionne didn’t know was that I knew her before that night, and ever since then, I’ve been watching her. Daddy has been watching his girl—and there’s a reason for that.I know everything about her. I know her more than she knows herself. I knew when her husband started flirting with Nora. I knew when he spoke to a lawyer for a divorce—and honestly, that was my favorite part. Not because I’m selfish… it just means….. let’s forget about that. Literally, I knew every single thing—even her favorite color.When we arrived at my house earlier, the way he
LENA’s POV …WEEKS LATER …. I sat on my small bed, in my small space. A dream about him had me waking up with a grin. I said small space because I’d gotten myself this tiny apartment after my dad took the house I was living in. I couldn’t stay with Maddie. She welcomed me, sure—but she had her bo







