Mag-log inSophia’s POV I never imagined my life would end here—here, in this big mansion, with gentle light spilling through the curtains and soft music humming in the background. Peace always felt like a rumor, something that existed for other people, softer people, luckier people. Not someone like me. Not someone who crawled out of the fire with half her heart burned and the other half shaking.But tonight, as I sit here, hand resting on the gentle curve of my stomach, I finally realize something I never believed before:Peace was waiting for me. I just had to survive long enough to reach it. The rain outside whispered against the windows, steady, soft, safe. The world feels calmer than it ever has. Maybe it’s because everything that hunted me is gone. Maybe it’s because I’m finally free. Or maybe… maybe it’s him. Zack.He’s asleep on the couch, one arm thrown over his chest, his breathing slow and unguarded. I never get tired of looking at him like this. It reminds me of how far we’ve come—
Sophia's POV The rain lashed against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the mansion like a thousand tiny fists, each drop a reminder of the storm raging outside, and the one brewing inside me. I paced the marble floors, my bare feet cold against the polished stone, my silk robe clinging to my skin in all the wrong ways. The mansion felt too big, too empty, the echoes of my footsteps swallowed by the high ceilings. My dad, Rae and my mom stayed at home while I was at one of my mansions out of town. My mind was a whirlwind of fury and need, a toxic cocktail that burned through my veins. Zack. Just thinking his name made my stomach twist, my thighs clench. I hated him. I wanted him. I couldn’t decide which was worse. The thunder cracked so violently the windows trembled, and I jumped, my breath hitching. My reflection in the glass was a ghost—wild hair, flushed cheeks, lips parted as if I’d been kissing someone. But there was no one here. Just me and the memory of his hands on my body, hi
Author's POV The hospital had a strange way of swallowing sound. Even the corridors, always full of steps and distant voices, seemed to breathe quietly tonight. Behind one of the closed doors, in a dim blue room that smelled of disinfectant and slow hours, Zack Holmes laid motionless on the bed, staring at the ceiling as if every answer he ever wanted could be etched there if he looked long enough.His mother sat beside him. She hadn’t moved for hours. Her hand rested over his, light and trembling, as if she feared that the smallest pressure could hurt him more than the bullet already had. Zack didn’t speak at first. He hadn’t spoken much since the surgery. Painkillers softened the edges of reality, but not enough to dull the regret burning through him. It made something sharp in his chest twist with every breath. When he finally opened his mouth, his voice came out low, cracked, as if carved out from a bruise.“I loved her,” he whispered.Mrs. Holmes closed her eyes, the words cutt
Sophia POVThe room froze the second I stepped in.Silence didn’t just fall — it crashed.Every eye turned to me as my heels clicked against the marble, echoing through the long, suffocating conference room. White suit. Straight posture. Controlled breath. My heart thundered beneath the calm mask, but my face? Cold. Sculpted. Unreadable.Alex’s smirk was the first thing to break through that still air. “Well, look who crawled out of the gutter! I didn't know rats were invited to this family meeting!” he said, his eyes trying to pierce through my soul like he owned my existence. “Sophia Buckleman, huh? You thought it'd be funny to come here with your pathetic suit and try to convince us all that you stole the name of the richest family on the West Side?! YOU'RE MORE STUPID THAN I THOUGHT AND I DON'T HAVE ANY TIME TO PLAY YOUR SHITTY GAMES.”I didn’t flinch. I walked right past Zack, right past the lawyer, and stopped at the head of the table — his seat. The one that used to belong to M
Alex’s POV The hospital smelled like disinfectant and death. That sterile, suffocating kind of smell that crawls into your skin and stays there for days. Zack was pacing like a maniac, barking orders at the doctors, shaking nurses by their arms, as if screaming could save our father. I just sat in the corner, staring at the monitors blinking above the bed. Tubes everywhere. Our father looked smaller, weaker. The great Mr. Holmes—ruthless, untouchable—reduced to a bundle of wires and bruises.I didn’t feel a thing. At some point, I was actually happy that this little piece of shit was suffering in his bones and I watched over him now with all the power he always swore I wasn't worth having. No fear. No sadness. Just boredom mixed with a kind of bitter curiosity. I wondered if this was finally it—if the old bastard would finally die and leave me the fortune I’ve been waiting for my entire fucking life.Zack looked pathetic. His voice cracked as he kept questioning the nurses and guard
Zack's POV The room stood quiet, too quiet. Only the fire spoke — the soft crackle of burning wood, the occasional hiss when a log split open. I sat there, half-buried in the leather chair, my hand wrapped around a glass of whisky that had long stopped warming me. The flames kept dancing, but they didn’t give any comfort. They just reminded me of what I’d lost. Sophia’s face lived inside that fire. Every flicker looked like the shape of her smile, and every spark dying out felt like one of her fading breaths. I didn’t blink. I couldn’t. The heat on my skin was the only thing that made me feel alive.I took another sip. It bit hard at my throat, sharp, punishing. Maybe I wanted that. Maybe pain was the only thing that made sense anymore. Two months. That’s how long it had been since everything collapsed — the mansion, the lies, her. Two months since I’d stopped sleeping properly, since I’d stopped trying to wash her scent out of my hands. My father’s parlor still smelled of old power
Helene's POV (2 weeks ago)Smoke, drinks, alcohols. That's the everyday routine of my nights for as long as I remember. My Girls selling out their bodies with illicit dances and paying off their bills from the dick of immoral men. It could look exhausting from outside, but actually it's easier than
Sophia's POVI rushed back to my room, ideas trotting in my mind. Mr Holmes had always been a mysterious character for me but from the way he acted each time he'd meet his son hitting me I thought he actually had good intentions. Maybe only his children were were the bad seeds but like they say the
Zack's POV Uh, I finally got over the back breaking workload that was drowning me. The evening looked clear and peaceful, things happening right now had been going on crazy and maybe I could take This evening for a little rest under the stars.Suddenly I heard my phone ring from my pocket. It was
Sophia's POV "Dad please shut the fuck up! Are you insane?I have been suffering, burned, beaten, broken and insulted in this fucked up mansion! My husband hates me! His mistress maltreats me in my own house and all I can do is comply because he could send me to my grave without any fucking regret!







