GENESIS Master Ballet Studio“Yes, Genesis, yes, that passé was perfect! Now into a fifth position,” Miss Reneta called from the front of the room, her hands raised like wings as she demonstrated the pose.The music played softly in the background—a gentle piano tune that made the whole room feel like a dream. The floor was smooth and cool under my ballet slippers. I breathed in, trying to keep calm like Miss Reneta always told us to do. Ballet wasn’t just about movement—it was about grace and control.I slid my right foot back until my heels touched, toes turned out, my arms curved gently in front of me. Fifth position. My back was straight, chin lifted. I could feel the strength in my legs, the stretch in my spine. I was doing it. I was really doing it.“Good, Genesis!” Shecalled again, her accent warm and her smile wide. “Very clean lines. You have a dancer’s body—light and long. Keep that chest open.”To my left, Stacy wobbled a little, her arms flapping. “Oops,” she muttered wit
GENESISOne week later“You're doing really well, Gen. I'm so proud of you,” Miss Melissa said, raising her hand for a high five. I slapped mine against hers, and she chuckled before handing me my papers.I looked down at each of the scores I’d gotten. We had done something Melissa called a test—just to see how much I’d learned from her lessons.In English, I scored eighty out of a hundred. And in math… a perfect hundred. I was so happy, I couldn’t stop smiling—even when my cheeks started to ache.Math had always come naturally to me. I loved it. Miss Melissa once told me I was a real genius with numbers—and then she explained what genius meant too. She was wonderful like that.We didn’t just do math and English. She also taught me spelling, reading, history, and even about my rights as a citizen. In my spelling test, I scored seventy out of a hundred. Sometimes, the letters get jumbled in my head, especially the alphabets. I often confuse e for i in certain words, and I still struggl
GENESISI sat beside Daisy as we both watched a movie. I was so focused on the screen that I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me—until a hand wrapped gently around my throat. I stiffened, just for a second. But then… the scent, the warmth of the hand—it was instantly recognizable.And then came the voice.“Hello, princess. Missed me?”I turned my head slightly, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my lips, sending heat rushing to my face. Daisy was right there. Thank goodness the lights were off.“Well, I missed you,” he murmured, licking the same spot he'd kissed, his hand tightening slightly around my neck.Then he leaned closer, his breath brushing my ear.“I want to fuck you,” he whispered.My eyes widened, and I jolted forward, slipping from the chair and out of his grasp. I shot him a faint frown. He just chuckled, running a hand through his already tousled hair.“Is my angel mad at me?”He rounded the chair and stopped just inches from me, then without warning, he wrapped his ha
GENESIS“Don’t hide from me, baby. I’m so sorry.”I looked down at his grip on my wrist, then back up at him. He looked sorry—truly—but I still felt so dirty. His words echoed in my head, impossible to forget.“I promise you, baby, I didn’t give her permission to take you anywhere. I would never do that. She’s my friend, yes, but I’d never allow her to do something like that,” he said, gently brushing my hair away from my face. His touch was soft, but his fingers pressed into my skin like he needed me to believe him.I wanted to. He looked like he was telling the truth.But I couldn’t. Why should I?“Dammit… you still don’t believe me.” He sighed, voice taut. “Come. I’ll prove it to you.”Before I could react, he was lifting me off the bathroom floor. I gasped, startled, and instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck—even though I didn’t want to.We stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. We were both dripping wet, leaving puddles in our wake. The cold air hit me instantl
KIERAN“Kieran, how can you do this to me? Just because of that girl. You’ve known me longer than you’ve known her,” Veronica said, her face pale, lips chapped and peeling.I leaned against the wall, watching her as I took a slow drag from the cigarette between my fingers. I should’ve known better. Trusted my instincts. I wasn’t stupid. Veronica wanted me. Not because she loved me. She didn’t love anyone, not in that way. She believed marrying into the Blackwood family would throw her into the spotlight, give her more fame.But she should’ve known better. I never gave her reason to think anything would happen between us. I never once slept with her or felt the urge to fuck her brains out. She was always stuck in the friend zone. Still, I saw it—her jealousy, the hunger in her eyes for something she thought she deserved. But she was wrong.“You didn’t just cross a line, Veronica,” I said quietly, blowing a stream of smoke toward the window. “You dragged that line, stomped on it, then s
GENESISTears rolled down my cheeks as I stared at Kade, then he wiped my lips but I turned my face away from his touch. Wasn’t he the same man who had let his friend take me away, saying he didn’t care?“Baby, don’t turn your face away from me. Did I do something wrong?” he murmured, his hand gently touching my face. I shivered at the touch but all I wanted was to crawl away—I couldn’t bear to look at him.I thought he was different... b-but he wasn’t. It was all my fault. Just because I hadn’t been hurt since I married him didn’t mean he wouldn’t eventually do something.Suddenly, I felt my jaw being gently turned toward him. “You’re upset with me?” His voice sounded as if he had just realized it.I tried to turn my head away again, my nose twitching, sure it was red from crying. I just wanted to hide in a corner and let the tears fall. What had I ever done to be so hated by everyone?No one loves me.Then his hand and warmth disappeared from my face. Of course, he would leave. Soon