LOGINHAZEL Silence settled over the room againHarris watched me cry without a shred of pity. If anything, everything he'd confessed seemed to make him feel bigger... more powerful... like he'd finally won.One of the men cleared his throat."I think that's enough for today. We should go. We need to be in town by morning to get to work, so we can't stay here too late."Harris nodded."Cool. I'll call you so you can tell me what Morozov thinks.""Don't take too long," one of them said with a grin. "Finish up here quick. Let's do the job, and then we can get paid.""I know," Harris replied."And don't damage the merchandise," the man added with a laugh.I felt sick. I had been reduced to merchandise. That was all I was now. Not Hazel, not a woman. Not even a person. Just something to be sold.The men filed out of the room one after another. The last man pulled the door shut behind him before disappearing into the hallway.Silence settled between us. For a few long seconds, Harris and I simp
HAZEL The room started spinning. One of the men laughed."He was sleeping with every woman at the strip club," he said. "And you really believed..." The rest of his words disappeared beneath the sound of my own heartbeat and the sound of their laughter. I looked at Harris. Waiting and Hoping For him to deny it. For him to say something, Anything. But he didn't."I was only keeping you long enough," Harris said quietly, "because you were useful."The word cut deeper than anything else. Useful."I needed access to the Morozovs"I frowned."What?""That night," I whispered. "The night everything happened..."He smiled faintly."Yes.""The night your little boyfriend broke into our party and ruined everything."My face went cold."That was supposed to be my way in. I was supposed to gain access to the Morozovs, but then he showed up." His jaw tightened. "He destroyed everything, so I had to start over. Find another innocent woman, find another virgin."He laughed."Do you know how hard
HAZEL I had no idea what was happening."Calm down," one of the men said to Harris. "You were going to use her to get into the Morozovs "But now..." He looked me over. "...she's been Axel Moretti's woman, and from what we've heard, he's still looking for her."He grinned."I bet we can get a lot of money for her if people know she's the one Axel Moretti's been looking for.""He's right," another man agreed."Should we let Morozov know?" Harris asked."Of course," one of them replied. "She's worth a fortune. Do you know how many enemies Axel Moretti has made over the years?"The room filled with quiet laughter."So what do we do now?" someone asked when the voice died down."We need pictures." The other responded. He pointed at me. "Come on. Take her pictures."One of the men pulled out his phone and started taking photographs."Get the blanket off," Harris ordered. Then, after a pause, his voice hardened. "In fact... Take all your clothes off."I clutched the blanket tighter around m
HAZEL I was right to be scared. Because the next day, I got up while he was still sleeping. Of course, I hadn't slept all night. I took a quick shower, went downstairs, prepared breakfast, left his food for him, and then locked myself inside the library.He didn't come looking for me, and I managed to avoid him the entire day. We didn't meet for lunch. We didn't meet for dinner, and for the first time in days, I thought maybe he wasn't going to come for me.I was wrong. He did. He knocked on the library door, and I pretended I hadn't heard him. But I never expected what happened next. The knocking suddenly became pounding. Hard and Violent.The door shook beneath every blow while my heart climbed into my throat. Then it went quiet, and I heard his footsteps walking away. For one brief second, I thought he'd given up.Then I heard him come back. This time he was carrying something heavy. The first hit splintered the wood. The second cracked the frame, and the third sent the door crash
HAZEL I walked back to the bedroom. It was no longer the room where Harris had planned a beautiful night for us. It was the room where everything changed.I stood there, unable to move. Harris noticed and walked farther into the room."Hazel," he called softly.I looked at him but didn't make a move."Come inside," he said, opening the door wider.I hesitated for a second before finally stepping in. It felt like I was walking into a place that could hurt me. He went to sit on the bed while I remained standing, looking around the room as though I were seeing it for the very first time. I had only come back here a few times to collect clothes before returning downstairs. Eventually, I stopped coming altogether and simply wore whatever clothes I'd already taken with me."I wanted to tell you something," he said quietly.I looked up at him."I never wanted to hurt you.""I know you say that.""And I mean it," he replied, sitting forward. "I lost control... but I'm not that person."The w
HAZEL Everything got way worse after that talk. Not better. Not fixed. Worse. That night, I decided it was better to stay downstairs again. I didn't want to be near him; I didn't want to be in that bedroom. Not after everything that had happened there.So I took a blanket, found a place on the couch, and tried to convince myself that I could get through another night. I heard Harris moving around the house. The sound of his footsteps, the turning off of lights and the quiet movements of someone who was still awake. Then I heard him go upstairs. And finally... I relaxed. Just a little. I thought I was safe; I thought I could finally sleep, but that didn't happen. Because the moment I closed my eyes, something inside me shifted. Something felt different and Wrong.I opened my eyes, and there he was. Harris was standing over me. Watching me. My entire body went tense."Let's go to bed," he said. His voice was calm, too calm."I don't feel like going to bed," I responded.I immediately
HAZELLet them stare. Let them choke on their gossip.Fuck the maids.Fuck Axel’s men.Fuck Axel himself.Fuck this entire house.I am not going to continue letting them dictate how I act or how I feel. Each step across the marble floor echoes louder than it should, like the house itself is announc
HAZELI am completely and utterly fucked.That's for sure.My stomach is tightening and I can feel an orgasm building dangerously fast. It feels like a devastating tsunami is forming that will surely kill me. The bed begins to squeak violently from how hard he’s fucking me. It feels like it’s goin
HAZELIn one swift movement, he pins both of my hands together in one of his, forcing them above my head and pressing them against the pillar behind me. My back collides with the cold surface, sending a shiver racing down my spine. Now I’m trapped. My hands are held above me … in the same position
HAZELI look away from him, thinking maybe I could… I don’t know… get out of this corner he’s forced me into and then run out of here. Maybe? That’s what I’m thinking when he suddenly moves even closer to me.Now he’s pressed against me.Now there’s no place to wiggle. No place to look. No place to







