The CEO Sees Only Me

“Case 72-B, the matter of Carmel Bolston,” the judge announced, her voice echoing through the wood-paneled courtroom.“Will the parents of the victim please step forward.”My legs felt like cement. I rose with Ethan beside me and walked toward the stand.After we had sworn our oaths and given our witnesses, the judge peered over her glasses.“The court acknowledges the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Carmel Bolston. However, due to the lack of viable CCTV footage, absence of credible eyewitness testimony, and no traceable suspect…”I gripped the edge of the stand, my nails pressed into the polished wood.“…this case cannot move forward in the direction of a criminal conviction.”The judge’s eyes softened.“This does not mean this court denies the grief suffered by the family, nor the weight of the tragedy that occurred. But in the absence of evidence, and with no suspect to hold accountable, this case will not move on due to insufficient grounds for prosecution. The body

I burst out of the house like something was chasing me. Tears streamed down my cheeks.My feet hit the wrong steps, and I nearly fell. My breath came ragged. My hand trembled as I yanked open the car door and collapsed into the seat.The keys clinked in my grip as I jammed them into the ignition.I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t care.The engine roared to life, and I peeled out of the driveway like my life depended on it.Tears blurred my eyes almost instantly. I wiped them away with the back of my hand, but they just kept coming, hot, fast, useless.“Why?!” I screamed, slamming my hand against the steering wheel.The car swerved, tires screeching against the road. My knuckles turned white on the wheel, chest heaving, throat raw.My life was over.Carmel was gone. Ethan had destroyed what little was left."Everything is gone" I was halfway through the intersection when it hit.My body lurched forward. Glass exploded. Metal screamed. I became nothing, just air and weightless

THREE YEARS LATER“Who’s Theodore bringing tonight?” one of them asked, her voice sweet enough to draw everyone’s attention. Such a high class hypocrite.The event floor murmured with low conversations and delicate clinking of glasses, the only kind of music you could hear from a room filled with money-filled men and swollen egos.Vincent Winston, head of the Winston Empire stood in the center of it all, his presence commanding more respect than anyone else. But now he was in the middle of being pried on by them.“Such a shame about he and Veronica, you don’t find women of her class this days.” another one added.“He won’t show. And if he does it’ll be without an arm candy, no one swaps women overnight.” one of the middle aged women chimed with disappointment. Vincent preferred to keep his cool in the midst of prying rats like these ones, but this time they really scraped his patience thin. Then again, Theodore made it too easy, always giving these vultures something to chew on.He wa

“Let me make this clear…” He stepped closer.“It is either you take this off…” His hand curled into my blouse. “… Or I do it for you.”I wasn’t going to sleep with a stranger I just met few minutes ago.He waited.One, Two— and Snap.He grabbed my shirt, tearing it down the middle. Buttons flew across the room.I whimpered. I didn’t mean to — but it slipped out.His fingers locked under my chin forcing me to look at him.“You are not some virgin,” he growled. “So stop pretending.” ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞He was already in the middle of his peak, thrusting and slamming himself into her. She bit down on her fingers, stopping herself from moaning.He let out deep groan as he reached his peak.Finally.Clarity rushed to him like a floodlight. His eyes tore wide. The woman beneath him wasn’t who he thought she was.“Who the fuck are you?!” ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ALICIA∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞My eyes snapped open with a throbbing pain on my side. The last thing I remembered was him asking m

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ALICIA ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞I woke up in pieces.MY body felt deeply sore, and hollowed out. The bed shifted beneath me as I stirred, silk sheets felt cool against my bare skin.I reached out.The warmth on the other side of the bed had already faded.He was gone. Again.I opened my eyes slowly. I saw it on the nightstand.A stack of cash. Neat, clean and crisp.Unspoken. Unavoidable.My stomach twisted so violently I nearly gagged.Payment. Again.She had done it for the money.But now, the truth felt like acid in my throat.I had sold myself.And worse—he didn’t know why.He didn’t know about the hospital. About the fight to keep mother breathing. About the choices that weren’t choices at all.And he could never know.Because we aren’t anything.We were just bodies in the dark.But why does it hurt?I sat up, clutching the sheets around me.My clothes were gone.Of course.My head dropped forward. A bitter laugh escaped my lips.I turned to see a box.Black and sleek. Insanely