MasukMICHAEL'S POVThe car rolled to a smooth stop before the Astor Mansion, its golden lights spilling across the marble steps like rivers of molten honey. The night air was cool and still, touched by the faint hum of crickets and the whisper of leaves dancing along the driveway.I stepped out first. The door shut behind me with a soft thud that echoed through the quiet night. As I walked around to the passenger side, the faint sound of Alessa’s laughter drifted out, mingled with Disha’s mock-complaints about her ruined mascara.“Careful,” I said, opening the door. Alessa’s hand slipped into mine, her fingers small and warm. She stepped down gracefully, her dress shimmering faintly beneath the mansion lights.Then I turned to Disha. “You too, Miss Dramatic.”She rolled her eyes but took my hand anyway. “You gentlemen tease too much,” she muttered, though there was a smile tugging at her lips.The air smelled faintly of roses from the garden, that familiar scent wrapping around us like sil
ALESSA'S POV The city lights faded behind us as Michael steered the car through the long stretch of road leading out of Dunlop District. It had been almost forty minutes since we dropped Natasha off, yet my mind was still trapped in that moment, the cold blade glinting near her throat, her trembling hands, and the sound of her breath breaking apart like glass.Outside the window, the night moved slowly. Tall streetlamps leaned into the darkness like silent guards, their yellow light flickering over passing buildings. Inside the car, silence stretched, thick enough to choke on. Disha had been talking non-stop for the first ten minutes of the drive, but her voice had faded into the hum of the engine, background noise to my spiraling thoughts.I leaned my head against the window, letting the cool glass press against my skin. The world outside felt distant, too calm for the ache inside me.Disha’s laughter broke through my fog. I turned toward her, and for a second, I envied how easily
ALESSA'S POV The moment Michael and Disha reached where Natasha and I stood, still wrapped in an emotional hug, I felt a rush of relief and guilt collide inside me. I released her gently and guided her toward the car. Disha quickly got into the front seat beside Michael, while Natasha and I settled into the back.The air inside the car felt heavy but safe like we had just escaped something tragedy without even realizing how close we were. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to Natasha and why she was at the police station, but no one was as desperate to know as I was. I had literally seen her just minutes earlier, standing at the edge of giving up on her own life. That image of her, the trembling hands, the broken eyes, the rain falling around her was carved into me.As the car rolled out of the parking lot, I reached over and squeezed her hand. She turned slightly, offering a weak smile. My chest tightened. Maybe I hadn’t been there for her as much as I should have been latel
NATASHA’S POVAbout thirty minutes later, I was still sitting in the same chair, staring blankly at the glass when an officer came in and told me it was time to leave. His voice sounded distant, like it was echoing from a faraway place.When I tried to stand, dizziness hit me from both sides. The officer had to hold me by the arm until I was steady enough to walk. My legs felt like they were dragging through wet sand as he led me out of the visitation room.The air outside was cold and sharp. I blinked, but my vision was still blurred from the endless tears that refused to dry. I walked slowly toward where I had parked, fumbling for my keys with trembling hands. When I finally managed to open the door, I fell into the driver’s seat, my entire body shaking.For a long moment, I just sat there, gripping the steering wheel like it could anchor me to the world. My heart was pounding too fast, and my breath came out in quick, shallow bursts. I knew I couldn’t drive, not like this. I could
NATASHA’S POVI sat still in my studio, staring at the lyrics I had just magically brought together. They looked perfect at least until my heart started to ache again.It came quietly, that buried thought I’d pushed down almost a year ago, slipping back into my mind like a thief in the dark. I couldn’t understand why I suddenly felt this way. Why pain I thought I’d buried came back, raw and uninvited.Was it the lyrics? Was I feeling this way because the song was about a lost friendship? Or was it because, deep down, I was still grieving the one person I swore I’d moved on from, Nina?Guilt and sadness came flooding back all at once, and before I knew it, I could barely breathe. My chest tightened as the thought hit me:I never got the chance to ask Caleb why he did it. Why he killed the woman he swore to love?My throat burned, tears prickled the corners of my eyes, and my grip on the guitar tightened until my knuckles turned white, as if holding it could somehow stop my heart from c
ALESSA’S POVThe polished glass doors of Harter Collections slid shut behind me, sealing in the carefully arranged smiles and guarded eyes I had left behind.My heels tapped against the pavement in a steady rhythm, each strike echoing faintly against the sleek facade of the building. I kept my steps measured, my back straight, my chin lifted. If anyone inside was still watching through those pristine windows, they would see only composure. They would not see the storm circling inside me, pressing hard at the edges of my calm.The driver and two of my personal bodyguards stood waiting at the curb. Their faces, as always, were schooled into unreadable neutrality. Trained to blend into the background, to guard without betraying thought, they almost looked carved from stone.One of them stepped forward and pulled the car door open with a single smooth motion, as though it weighed nothing at all. I slipped inside. The leather interior was cool beneath my palms, its scent faint and expensiv







