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The Clock Is Ticking

Author: Jovik
last update Last Updated: 2025-08-21 04:22:01

Ariana’s POV

Morning crept into the apartment like a thief — slow, pale, uninvited.

I hadn’t slept. My body ached from exhaustion, but my mind refused to rest. Adrian’s words kept looping in my head, tangling with Daniel’s gaslighting, with Elise’s betrayal, with the ache of every year I’d spent trying to rebuild myself from ashes.

The tree lives in you now. The tree lives in you now. Each time I replayed it, the words grew heavier, like roots digging deeper. The knock came just before nine.

I flinched, clutching my robe tighter, while Luca moved ahead of me, already tense. He pulled the door open sharply.

Nathan stood there. Not with his usual guarded stillness — but urgent, almost frantic. His eyes were sharp, dark rings beneath them like he hadn’t slept either.

“We need to talk,” he said, pushing past the doorway before either of us invited him.

Luca bristled immediately. “You don’t just walk into her home—”

“This isn’t about courtesy,” Nathan snapped. “It’s about time. Adrian does
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  • Surrendered Desires   Cracks in the Mirror

    Ariana’s POVSleep was a stranger that night. Even with Luca’s arms around me, the image of that black car below the window kept me wide awake. Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined Daniel’s gaze cutting through the glass, watching me breathe, cataloguing my every move.By dawn, my body was heavy with exhaustion, but my mind was restless, alert. I padded to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and stared at my reflection in the mirror.For a moment, I didn’t recognize her—the woman staring back. Shadows under her eyes, hair loose, shoulders stiff with strain. She looked like someone caught between two worlds: the woman Daniel once molded, and the one slowly clawing her way out.I whispered to the mirror, barely audible. “Who am I now?”The question hung in the air like smoke, unanswered.By the time I stepped into the kitchen, Vanessa was already there, her legs crossed on the counter, sipping black coffee as though it were champagne.“You look like death warmed over,” she

  • Surrendered Desires   The Man in the Car

    Ariana’s POVThe morning was gray, a dull wash of light across the city, but I could feel him even before I saw him.Daniel. His car was still parked on the street below, sleek, black, polished to perfection. The kind of car that didn’t just sit—it watched.Nathan had been right. He hadn’t left. He had stayed the entire night. Waiting.I stood at the window, hidden behind the curtain, my coffee cooling in my hands. From up here, I couldn’t see his face, but I knew his posture by heart. Straight, still, composed. A predator conserving energy before the strike.The memory of his knock still rattled in my bones.Vanessa came up behind me, her robe tied loosely, her cigarette already lit despite the hour. “He’s still out there?”I nodded. She exhaled smoke through her nose. “Persistent bastard.”Nathan joined us, his voice clipped, sharp. “He’s making a statement. He wants Ariana to feel trapped even in her own walls.”It was working. My skin itched. My stomach tightened. Every sip of cof

  • Surrendered Desires   The Door Between Us

    Ariana’s POVThe apartment was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat hammering in my ears. Daniel’s voice still lingered in the air like smoke, his threat curling around my lungs, making it hard to breathe. No one moved. Luca stood closest to the door, his frame blocking it completely, like a wall of muscle and fury. Nathan edged toward the window, checking the street below as if Daniel might have backup waiting. Vanessa, of course, lit another cigarette, her eyes sharp with both fear and defiance. But me—I was frozen.Every cell in my body screamed not to open that door. And yet, some part of me—the part that had been conditioned for years—ached to obey, to let him in, to soothe the storm before it began.I dug my nails into my palms until I felt pain. No. Not anymore.Daniel’s knock came again, quieter this time. Almost patient. “Ari,” he said, his voice smooth, steady, the kind he always used when he wanted to reel me back in. “You’ve been confused. I understand. Let me explain.”

  • Surrendered Desires   Daniel’s Shadow

    Ariana’s POVMorning crept in like a thief, pale light slanting through the curtains. I hadn’t slept. None of us had. The box sat where we left it on the table, its contents spilling in my mind even when I closed my eyes.Every word from those files replayed: procedure authorized by D. Cole. Every threat, every order, every chain Adrian and Daniel had wrapped around me. My body was heavy with exhaustion, but my veins thrummed with something sharper than fear—resolve.Vanessa was the first to speak. Her hair was a mess, her eyeliner smudged, but her voice cut through the silence. “So, what’s the plan, Ari? You’ve got dynamite in your hands. You gonna light it or keep staring at the fuse?”Her bluntness stung, but she wasn’t wrong. Nathan, leaning against the counter, crossed his arms. “We move carefully. Too fast, and Daniel will know exactly where to strike back. He’ll play the victim. He always does.”Luca looked at me, his eyes soft but steady. “Whatever you choose, I’ll stand with

  • Surrendered Desires   The Weight of the Box

    Ariana’s POVBack at the apartment, silence followed us in like an unwelcome guest.Vanessa tossed her coat on the couch and dropped into a chair, flicking ash into an empty coffee mug. Nathan stayed standing, pacing the floor like a restless shadow. And Luca set the box on the table with a soft thud, his hand lingering on the lid as though it might leap open by itself.I sat across from it, staring. It wasn’t just metal and lock. It was every question I had carried for years, every scar, every whisper that haunted my sleep.And for the first time in a long time, I was afraid to know the answers.“You’re trembling,” Luca said gently.I looked down. My hands were shaking against my knees. I clenched them into fists. “I can’t stop.”Vanessa blew smoke toward the ceiling. “Well, honey, no wonder. That thing is practically Pandora’s box. You sure you’re ready to crack it open?”Her tone was sharp, but her eyes—those eyes—were softer than her words. She was worried.Nathan finally stopped

  • Surrendered Desires   The Butler’s Bargain

    Ariana’s POVThe corridor stretched long and silent as we followed him. The butler’s steps were measured, precise, the kind of rhythm that betrayed neither fear nor hesitation. But my own legs trembled with every pace. I couldn’t stop clutching the folder to my chest, as if letting it go would mean the truth might vanish again. Luca stayed close, his body tense like a coiled spring ready to snap. Vanessa’s flashlight was still gripped in her hand, her expression sharp and suspicious. Nathan walked just behind the butler, his eyes narrowed, studying every move.The air felt different. Not like trespass anymore. Not like being caught. It felt… planned.He led us down a narrow servants’ stairwell, the kind I’d used years ago when I tried to escape Daniel’s rages unseen. The walls were chipped, the lights dim, dust clinging to every step. Finally, we reached a small room tucked at the base of the staircase. A storage space, plain and forgotten — shelves lined with linens and half-broken b

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