The culmination of weeks of frantic preparation, of late nights fueled by coffee and determination was finally here.
With everyone rushing and teams moving with nervous energy, carrying documents, adjusting displays.
People were walking around, checking equipment, making sure every single detail was perfect, trying to decipher what was happening at this moment.
But for me, there was a different feeling. More like a surge of confidence. Based on the knowledge that I knew this company, this strategy, better than anyone.
I moved from my office to the conference room, my heels clicking, all set with everything I had on, the presentation outlined in my head, the data supporting every point.
It wasn’t just me walking in. It was Veridian. It was my team. The people who ha
LEILA ..The culmination of weeks of frantic preparation, of late nights fueled by coffee and determination was finally here.With everyone rushing and teams moving with nervous energy, carrying documents, adjusting displays.People were walking around, checking equipment, making sure every single detail was perfect, trying to decipher what was happening at this moment.But for me, there was a different feeling. More like a surge of confidence. Based on the knowledge that I knew this company, this strategy, better than anyone.I moved from my office to the conference room, my heels clicking, all set with everything I had on, the presentation outlined in my head, the data supporting every point.It wasn’t just me walking in. It was Veridian. It was my team. The people who ha
LEILA ..“Sophia,” I said, my voice low, a warning tone laced with a hint of amusement, trying to deflect, to change the subject, but unable to suppress the heat rising on my skin.“Don’t ‘Sophia’ me,” her eyes sparkling with unholy delight, pressing the point, clearly enjoying my discomfort.“We talked about this, you ran out of there like you’d seen a ghost, but you also looked like you’d been thoroughly visited. Spill! Was it… everything you needed? Did he take you apart? Was it deep? Mind-blowing? Soul-shattering? The kind of sex that makes you question all your life choices?”She moved from talking about the concept to lounging back on the sofa, her legs curled under her, clearly settling in for a long, detailed conversation, her curiosity piqued, her expression dem
LEILA ..The energy in the Veridian Fashion House crackled. It wasn’t the normal things that happened in Veridian that happened through the design floor, fueled by deadlines and caffeine.It was different.It was charged with anticipation and speculation.Whispers darted across the design floor, hushed conversations in corners, excited murmurs near the coffee machine.A ripple effect of the rumors that had been swirling for days, growing louder, more insistent with every passing hour.Something big was coming, something very major.Sophia moved from her office to mine, her eyes were wide with excitement, a vibrant splash of energy in the early morning quietness. She pulled up a chair beside me before I could even respond,
DAMIEN..Years.Everything I seemed to do with Elena seemed to go wrong, even if it looked right from the outside. The perfect couple, the public narrative, it was all a lie. A façade.The problems within were insurmountable.I walked out of the art room, the city lights spread out below me a cold, distant constellation.The penthouse felt vast, empty, the silence rushing in, just like before, like after Leila. The familiar ache in my chest, the one I thought Elena had numbed, sharpened again, doubling the pain of losing her with the persistent, underlying agony of losing Leila all those years ago.I went to the bar, poured a glass of sharp whiskey that burned.Drank it down in one gulp, the liquid fire a temporary distraction from the cold emptiness inside.Poured another, paced the penthouse, the glass cold in my hand, the rage simmering beneath the surface. Why did she leave?Not just the painting, there definitely was something else, because the tension and then the distance.
DAMIEN ..Years.It had been years since I last saw Leila. Years measured in the silence of the penthouse, in the dull ache in my chest, in the ghosts that haunted the corners of my life.Years since I’d felt anything other than the controlled detachment that was my default state, and since Mabel last had a life.I sat in my art room, the city lights spread out below me like a cold, distant constellation, the silence of the space pressing in, a constant reminder of the emptiness she left behind.But then.The Veridian show. Elena had been invited.She was a model there, one of the faces everyone did see on billboards, in magazines, her beauty a public commodity. A world away from the shadows I inhabited. I went with her, an obligation, a public appearance, the place had different fragrance of perfume and ambition, the low hum of conversation a backdrop to the visual spectacle, just when I was looking around, exploring the beautiful setup, I did see her.She was backstage, movin
LEILA ..The sex was different.More intense than the usual comfort, charged with a different kind of energy. It was deep. So goddamn deep.He entered me, slowly at first, his body heavy against mine, then picking up a rhythm, going in and out of me, filling me completely.His body moving against mine, strong, powerful, matching my desperate need. My body responded instantly, arching into his touch, meeting his thrusts, clinging to him and my moans began, not just soft moans, but loud, raw sounds pulled from deep in my gut, sounds of pure pleasure, of hunger for him, for this connection, this intensity I craved and then I gave into the soft part, soft moans, sighs of satisfaction, murmurs of delight, sounds of surrender and pleasure mingling in the dim light. It was perfect.Something out of the blue, a wild, unexpected storm of sensation, a perfect, brutal counterpoint to the quiet normalcy.He reached up, his hand finding my throat, his fingers wrapping gently but firmly around