LOGINArielle “You belong to me,” he said coldly. His words hit harder than they should’ve. My mind spiraled. I shut my eyes, trying to block out the coldness, the heat of his breath–Then suddenly, he stepped back. I blinked. Darius dropped to one knee and reached for my leg. Without a word, he slipped off my heels. My breath caught…Okay. I wiped my tears quickly, watching him. He looked up at me for a few seconds. I held his gaze, blank, unsure what this version of him meant. “You don’t have to pretend you care,” I said quietly. “It’s just the two of us.”No response. He simply took my ankle again and began to massage it. I winced. Then the pressure increased. Pain shot up my leg. What was he even doing?“Okay. That’s enough,” I pulled my leg away sharply. He looked at me strangely, then he smiled. My brows furrowed. “What are you smiling for?”“Nothing.”And just like that, he stood and walked out. I stared after him. That smile…wasn’t normal. I reached for my phone. Almost
Arielle Oh fuck. Shit. Damn. I blinked at the screen, disappointment sinking through me like cold water. “What home is he talking about?” Emris asked. I couldn’t answer. My mind was still trying to process the worst possible text arriving at the worst possible moment. “Darius,” he said again, slower this time. “As in Rothwell Darius?” My throat tightened. I should’ve taken my phone with me to the restroom. “The same guy, powerful enough to get his hands on your project? Your files? Your work?” My head snapped toward him. How did he know about that? “What do you mean?” His expression hardened. “I made my findings, and I heard he was always coming there.” Oh dear. I sat down slowly, as if the chair might collapse beneath me. “It’s not what you think,” I said weakly. “Things just got…messed up.” “What got messed up?” He asked. “What does he want from you exactly?” That was the same question I’d been asking myself for weeks. Darius could have anyone. Anyth
Arielle Emris kept glancing into the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out which car had been tailing us. “Hold on,” he muttered. Without warning, he took a sharp turn and looped back into another lane. A second later, he spotted it. The same car Nathan had been driving. Emris let out a low breath. “I think it’s your boyfriend.” I turned sharply. “What?” He smirked. “Guess he doesn’t want to let you go.” I ignored the teasing and looked through the back window. Damn it. It really was Nathan. What was he thinking? Maybe he hadn’t believed me when I said I’d speak to Darius. Or maybe he’d already called Joel, and Joel had told him to follow me. “Can you lose him?” I asked. Emris glanced at me once. “You two fighting?” “Oh my God, stop with the boyfriend fantasy,” I snapped. “Just lose him.” He studied my face for a second, then nodded. “Okay.” Traffic was thick enough to help us. Cars poured through every lane, horns blaring, an
Arielle Since Darius had indirectly told me to shower, I decided I was wearing one of his shirts. Petty? Maybe. Deserved? Absolutely. I opened his closet, grabbed a crisp white shirt, and slipped it on. It hung loose over my body and stopped high on my thighs. Shorter than I expected. But good enough. I brushed my hair back with my fingers, took one look in the mirror, and headed upstairs. The third door on my right, as he said. I opened it and walked in. Joel was already seated with a file in front of him. He looked up and nearly choked. Darius…Well. He sat across from him. His expression was harder to read. Shock. Annoyance. Something else. I ignored both of them and pulled out a chair. The room looked like a private office, smaller than the downstairs spaces, quieter, arranged differently. Of course it was. I sat. Darius’s eyes stayed fixed on the shirt I was wearing. I lowered mine immediately. “Can we start?” I asked. Joel cleared his throat and reached for the
Arielle And I promise, I wasn’t jealous. I just liked the dress. That’s all. Darius stepped out of the closet a few seconds later, his eyes fixed on me with that unreadable expression he wore when he was deciding whether to insult me or ignore me. “As you said,” he said calmly. “We need to set boundaries.” Then he walked out. “Shit,” I mumbled, rubbing my face in embarrassment. What a start to the morning. I wondered what the rest of the day would look like. Better than yesterday? Worse? At this point, both felt possible. I couldn’t go to class. I couldn’t meet with Emris. I couldn’t even call Tessa without wondering who might overhear. God, I wish she were here. This whole arrangement was suffocating already. And I absolutely could not stay trapped in this room. Darius had stepped out more than twice. I hadn’t. I opened the door and headed downstairs. Only then did I really take in the house. Yesterday had been chaos. Panic. Tears. Shock. No
Arielle “Ava died.” Those words kept echoing inside my skull. Memories crashed into me all at once. I never finished telling you about Ava DeLuca. She died when she was eight years old. Fifteen years ago. I saw it with my own eyes. I should have told Emris the truth long ago, but my father made me swear silence. I was terrified back then. Too terrified and little to know what to do. The day she died, I wished time could rewind, so I’d never met her. I would have stayed with Emris as my only friend. Because in my mind, Ava died because of me. I brought her into my life. And that guilt followed me ever since. Tears slid down my cheeks before I realized I was crying. “A–Ari–Arielle,” Emris’s voice cracked through the phone. “Are you there?” I ended the call. Then I crumpled to the floor. I hadn’t even noticed I was already in the house. Joel turned immediately, rushing toward me, but I couldn’t bear anyone touching me. I deserved worse than comfort. The sobs
Arielle Tiffany turned back and went silent. “It’s me,” I tapped my chest. “Arielle”. “Oh”. She uttered flatly. “Yeah,” I sighed. “Tiffany, I swear I’m ready to tell you anything you want to know. I’m never hiding anything from–“ “Let’s not talk about that here.” She
Arielle My eyes darted toward Tiffany from behind as I forced a smile. “Here’s our latest menu,” I said politely, and bowed slightly as I handed it to her. “I’ll be back–“ “Give us some time,” she cut in, smiling at Blake. “We’ll call you when we’re ready.” “Alright,” I replied
Arielle “Nice to see you again, Mr. Darius.” She said, after he stopped laughing. “I’m really sorry for not paying attention to the person sitting next to her. I was carried away by the bruises on her face. Thank you so much for saving her”. “Tiffany, right?” He asked finally. She nodd
Arielle I floated in darkness. I didn’t know where I was or what had happened. It all felt distant, as if I were underwater. All I was hearing was my mom’s voice, calling me for help. The more she called, the more the fear filled my chest. The sound grew sharper and louder. Then her voice bo







