LOGINJULIAN His breathing is uneven now. His eyes are almost wild. “I didn’t know how to achieve that. Because we all know he doesn’t get attached to anything or anyone.” He laughs darkly. “And then you came along. You were perfect. It was clear he was fascinated by you. I knew he’d fall eventually.” “So you… used me?” He pauses to stare at me for a moment. I don’t know what I was expecting. For him to deny it perhaps. To put an end to this nightmare. But he doesn’t. “If you’d like to put it that way then… yes,” he says simply. The words leave him so casually. Like they don’t hurt him to admit like they hurt me hearing them. Like the entire thing is obvious and I should have expected it. “I never thought…” My voice breaks. “I never thought you’d manipulate me like this.” “Manipulate? No, no, no.” He shakes his head. “You said you’d do anything for me. Wasn’t that what you promised me? I only tried to make the entire thing easier for you. So you wouldn’t feel guilty.” My face fe
JULIAN “Get over it? Don’t owe me an explanation? For fuck’s sake, Theo, everything I did was because of you! I went along with this stupid plan, even though I didn’t want to, because it was what you wanted! Because you told me he hurt you.” His eyes flash. “This is pointless—” “You told me he almost drove you to suicide. That you were depressed because of him.” “And? That’s the truth.” I fold my arms. “That’s not enough. I never asked before but… I want details.” His eyes narrow. “Are you being serious right now? I’m not reliving one of the most traumatic aspects of my life just to prove that I’m not ‘lying.’” “Theo…” “I said no.” His voice comes out sharp. Almost defensive. “We’ve known each other since we’re children. If you choose to believe a total stranger over your best friend, that’s on you.” “Exactly! I’ve trusted you blindly for eight years, Theo, no questions asked. I even went out of my comfort zone, placed my morals aside, just to make you happy. Now, I’m asking
JULIANTheo opens his mouth. Then closes it again.For the first time since I’ve known him, he actually looks shaken.“How?” he manages.“That day at the cafeteria. He followed us to the classroom and he heard everything.”His entire body stills and he looks stunned. Like he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing.He runs a shaky hand through his hair as he appears deep in thought.I open my mouth to speak but I close it just as quickly because, what am I supposed to say?Plus that’s not even the worst of it.To his credit, Theo recovers pretty quickly, seeming to shake off whatever reaction my words brought up in him.“Whatever,” he says, his tone dismissive. “It doesn’t matter if he knows or not. The plan worked anyway. He’s fallen in love with you and I’m sure he feels heartbroken and betrayed that you don’t share the same feelings. Everything can still proceed as planned.”I hate the words coming out of his mouth. How he’s discussing this like we’re talking about the weather. No e
JULIANBy the time I get home, I feel like I’m one second away from completely losing my mind.I’m exhausted, because I chose to walk all the way home rather than take a bus or a taxi, and my head throbs so badly it feels like someone has wedged an ice pick behind my eyes.I can’t stop replaying everything Nikolai said.“He exaggerated the whole thing.”“Theo and I were never as close as he made it out to be.”“He’s lying to you.”“Do you even know who you are outside of Theo?”I hate that the words are stuck inside my head.I hate even more that they refuse to leave even after I’ve spent the past hour trying to accomplish just that.It feels like my entire world has been flipped on its head in just one day.My whole existence feels like a lie. And I hate that I feel that way.I hate that a part of me is already judging Theo. Doubting him, questioning our relationship and whether everything I knew about him was a lie.Does he even love me half as much as I do?My stomach is in knots a
NIKOLAII grit my teeth as an ugly emotion fills me. I hate that it feels like fear.“You said—”“Answer the question.”A long silence fills the room as I hesitate.And then I say, “No.”It’s amazing how fast the answer comes. It’s automatic. I don’t have to think about it.I brace myself for Derek’s reaction, but he doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t even look offended.He just continues to watch me, his gaze inscrutable.“I’ve known you since you were fifteen,” he starts.I tense immediately. I already know where this is going.“I found you on the streets. You were alone, broken, directionless. You were running from the police after you killed your foster father. Do you remember?”“I do,” I say tightly.How could I forget? It’s only one of the most important aspects of my life.“I brought you home. I protected you. Gave you purpose. Made you strong.” He leans forward. “I made every problem in your life go away. Handled all the loose ends. Do you remember that?”I look away from him, sh
NIKOLAII stay rooted in the same spot long after Julian is gone.I can’t believe he just did that.I can’t believe he dumped me… and I let him go.I just watched him leave, without knowing whether he’ll come back or not.I start pacing, smoothing my hair back.Caleb is right. I’ve changed.The old me wouldn’t have allowed Julian to do what he just did.He toyed with my heart, with my emotions and I allowed him to get away with it.Without so much as a scratch or making him regret what he did.Yep. I’ve totally gone soft.Weak, a voice in my head says. You’ve gone weak.Shut up, I tell it back.Now is not the time. Especially when I have so much to deal with.I have to pacify Derek and I have to think about what to do with Julian.He can’t leave me that easily.I won’t allow it.The sound of my door opening pulls me from my thoughts.The smell of lavender fills the room.I sigh irritatedly. “When are you ever going to learn to knock?”Caleb chuckles as he shuts my door behind him. “We
JULIANHe walks across the room like he owns it. Like everything around him bends to his will.People move out of his way wordlessly as he passes, as if under a spell, creating a space for him to walk freely.His eyes flick over my face as he approaches, slow and assessing, like he’s cataloguing so
JULIANI hate going to parties. Always have, ever since I was a kid.Maybe it’s the noise, or it’s the being around people, or maybe it’s the forced social interaction.Whatever it is, I do my best to avoid parties.But one thing I can’t do is say no to Theo.Which is how I find myself in Rose Cla
NIKOLAIThe saws whir to life, drowning out the sound of anything else.The thick metallic smell of blood hangs in the air, almost overwhelming the rest of my senses.I focus on the process, not the body beneath my hands. I concentrate my attention on making clean lines, on making accurate, control
NIKOLAII wrinkle my nose as I drag the body across the basement floor and onto the middle of the large nylon.Sweat rolls down my face, dripping onto the floor and my muscles strain from the effort.“I could use a little help here, Caleb,” I mutter to my annoying brother as he stands there and wat







