ログインMIDNIGHT VISITORNOELLE'S POVThe door clicked shut behind Liana, and the silence that followed was deafening.I stood frozen in the middle of my living room, my heart hammering against my ribs so violently I could feel it in my throat. My hands were shaking. My legs felt weak. The apartment, which had always felt like my safe space, now felt violated.She had been here.In my home.In the middle of the fucking night.I replayed the last few minutes in my head on loop. Liana’s calm voice turning into pure venom. The way her eyes had gone wild. The threats. The smile. That terrifying, broken smile right before she stepped forward and hugged me. A quick, tight hug like we were old friends, her breath hot against my ear as she whispered, “Think about what I said.”“Oh and nice apartment.” She said with a smile. Then she pulled back, smiled sweetly again, and left.Just like that.I stumbled backward until my back hit the wall and slid down to the floor. Milo jumped off the couch and cam
OBSESSION UNRAVELINGLIANA'S POVThe hotel room smelled like stale air and expensive perfume I no longer cared about.I paced the luxurious suite like a caged animal, my bare feet silent on the thick carpet. My phone was clutched so tightly in my hand that my knuckles had turned white. I had called Roman twenty-seven times in the last hour. Every single one went straight to voicemail.He changed the locks.He actually changed the fucking locks on his penthouse.I laughed. A sharp, broken sound that echoed off the walls. Then the laugh turned into a sob. Then the sob turned into a scream as I hurled my phone across the room. It smashed against the wall and clattered to the floor.“How dare you?!” I shouted at the empty room.Tears streamed down my face as I dropped to my knees in the middle of the suite. My bandaged palm throbbed from where I had cut it weeks ago, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the roaring void in my chest.I rocked back and forth, arms wrapped around my
THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURTROMAN'S POVThe drive back to Noelle’s apartment was silent.Painfully and suffocatingly silent.I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. The city lights blurred past the windows, but I barely noticed them. My eyes kept darting to her, hoping she would look at me or say something. Anything at all. But Noelle sat in the passenger seat, her body angled slightly away from me, staring out the window the entire time. She hadn’t glanced in my direction once since we left the restaurant.Not one look.Not one word.NothingThe weight of that silence pressed down on me harder than anything Liana or the board had ever done. I wanted to beg her to speak. To scream. To yell at me. To do something. Anything but this cold, distant quiet that made me feel like I was already losing her all over again.I replayed the rooftop conversation in my head. Her conditions. Her tears. The way she had turned her face when I tried to kiss her. The way she had s
ROOFTOP RECKONINGROMAN'S POVMy hands wouldn’t stop shaking.I arrived at The Rooftop Garden Restaurant twenty-five minutes early, my heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted to escape. The elegant outdoor setting was cute but the string lights twinkling overhead, the soft jazz playing from hidden speakers, and the glittering city skyline stretching endlessly felt mocking. Everything was beautiful while I was falling apart inside.I sat at the corner table, leg bouncing uncontrollably under the tablecloth. I had changed three times before leaving the penthouse. Black shirt. Dark jeans. Watch. Cologne she once complimented. I even combed my hair, though it was still damp from the shower. I needed to look like a man worth fighting for, not the wreck I had become.Every second that passed felt like torture.What if she changed her mind?What if she didn’t come?What if this was the last time I ever saw her?Then she appeared.Noelle stepped onto the rooftop, and the entire world na
ONE RINGROMAN'S POVThe hot water beat down on my shoulders like a punishment. My whole body ached.I stood under the showerhead with my eyes closed, hands braced against the cold marble wall. Steam filled the large bathroom, fogging the glass doors, but it did nothing to clear the fog in my head. I took a deep, shaky breath, letting the scalding water run over my face, my neck, my chest, hoping it would wash away the exhaustion, the guilt, the self-loathing that had become my constant companions.It didn’t.I scrubbed my body mechanically, fingers digging into my skin as if I could somehow scrub away the last few weeks. The board suspension. Liana’s blood on my floor. The forced phone call that shattered Noelle’s heart. My mother’s belated apology. Everything.I stayed under the water until it started running cold. Only then did I turn it off, stepping out and wrapping a towel around my waist. Water dripped from my hair onto my shoulders as I walked barefoot into the bedroom.The p
HOME AGAINNOELLE'S POVThe airport terminal buzzed with the usual chaos of arrivals. Tired travelers dragging their suitcases, families reuniting with hugs and tears, drivers holding up name signs. I wheeled my suitcase behind me, feeling the dream of two weeks in paradise slowly slipping away as reality crept back in.Bria walked beside me, glowing. Her skin was sun-kissed, her hair loose and wavy from the sea air. She looked happier than I had seen her in months.“There he is!” she squealed.John stood near the exit, holding a small bouquet of pink roses. The moment he spotted Bria, his entire face lit up. He rushed forward, dropped the flowers on a nearby bench, and pulled her into his arms.He showered her with kisses. Deep, passionate ones on her lips, then smaller ones all over her cheeks, forehead, and neck. Bria laughed loudly, wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her.“I missed you so fucking much,” John murmured between kisses. “Two weeks felt like two years.”Br







