LOGINChapter 59: Defended"Miss Zella. My office. Now."The moment those words left his mouth, everyone scattered like leaves in wind. Desks suddenly required their attention. Files became urgent. Emails needed responses. Nobody wanted to be caught in the aftermath of whatever confrontation was about to happen.But Evander didn't move. He stood in the doorway, his expression controlled but his eyes sharp and dangerous, and he looked directly at Marcus."Actually, before you go," Evander said, his voice carrying a specific weight that made everyone freeze mid-movement. "I want to address what I just walked in on."The office went completely silent."Zella is an excellent manager," he continued, his gaze sweeping across the room like a predator assessing prey. "She's competent, professional, and respected. Anyone who has a problem with her performance can take that up with me. Directly." He paused. "Anyone who questions her integrity, h
Chapter 58: ChooseThe rest of the day passed in a blur.I tried to focus on work, but my mind kept replaying what had happened in Evander's office. The way he'd taken my phone. The cold authority in his voice when he'd told Callum to stop. The possessiveness of it all. And then the kiss—hard and claiming and completely consuming.By the time I left work, I felt drained and confused and thoroughly claimed.When I got home, Callum was waiting for me outside my apartment building."Callum, what are you doing here?" I asked, genuinely surprised and not entirely comfortable with him showing up unannounced."I needed to see you," he said, and his expression was concerned in a way that made me feel guilty. "That phone call... Zella, what was that about? Why is your boss telling me to back off? And the way he said it—like he was... protective. Like he had some claim on you.""He doesn't have any claim on me," I said, but the lie tasted bitter."Then why did he sound like that?" Callum stepp
Chapter 58: ChooseThe rest of the day passed in a blur.I tried to focus on work, but my mind kept replaying what had happened in Evander's office. The way he'd taken my phone. The cold authority in his voice when he'd told Callum to stop. The possessiveness of it all. And then the kiss—hard and claiming and completely consuming.By the time I left work, I felt drained and confused and thoroughly claimed.When I got home, Callum was waiting for me outside my apartment building."Callum, what are you doing here?" I asked, genuinely surprised and not entirely comfortable with him showing up unannounced."I needed to see you," he said, and his expression was concerned in a way that made me feel guilty. "That phone call... Zella, what was that about? Why is your boss telling me to back off? And the way he said it—like he was... protective. Like he had some claim on you.""He doesn't have any claim on me," I said, but the lie tasted bitter."Then why did he sound like that?" Callum stepp
Chapter 57: Callum Won't StopI read the note five times.Ten times.The letters were cut from magazines—different fonts, different sizes, pasted onto cheap paper. It was methodical. Deliberate. Someone had taken the time to do this, which meant someone cared enough to make a point.*Careful who you're fucking. People notice.*It couldn't have been Sienna. She was too mature for anonymous threats, and besides, she'd already confronted me directly yesterday. This felt different. This felt like someone younger, angrier, or more afraid.I folded the note and put it back in the envelope, then shoved it into my pocket. All morning, I felt it there like a physical weight, a constant reminder that someone knew. Someone was watching. Someone was judging.I tried to work. I really did. But I couldn't focus on anything—the project files felt meaningless, the emails blurred together, everything felt hollow and dangerous.
Chapter 56: Office Games"Wait, where are you?" Brynn asked, tilting her screen. "That looks like... is that Dad's sitting room? Those are his curtains."My stomach dropped.Evander moved immediately. He stood up from beside me and carried me off his lap, setting me down in the chair next to him before sitting back down himself, creating the illusion of professional distance. It was smooth, practiced almost, like he'd rehearsed this moment in his mind."We have unfinished projects from today," I said, my voice steady even though my heart was racing. "It might be an all-nighter situation.""At Dad's house?" Brynn's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's weird. Dad usually doesn't—""Give me the phone," Evander said, his tone shifting to something fatherly and firm.I watched as he took the phone from my hands, and Brynn's expression changed immediately to that specific look reserved for disappointing fathers."Dad! Why are you making her work like this?" she scolded. "That's not okay. She nee
Chapter 55: The Dress That RemembersI walked out of the records room in a daze, my mind replaying Sienna's warning over and over.*People talk. Mr. Ashford doesn't usually look at staff like that.*I should tell Evander. I should warn him that someone knew, that we were becoming obvious. But then I remembered the way his jaw had tightened when I made that joke. The way his eyes had hardened. The casual way he'd said, "Then I'll fire them."He'd meant it.And I couldn't be responsible for Sienna losing her job. Not because she'd figured out what we were doing, but because I was too cowardly to keep our secret properly. So I went back to my desk and worked through the afternoon, acutely aware of every eye that passed my way, every whispered conversation that stopped when I approached.When the day finally ended and people filtered out, I was the last one to leave. I walked outside into the grey afternoon, and before I'd even made it to the edge of the property, Evander's car pulled up
CHAPTER FIVE : The Weight of a Name~Zella's POV~I stayed in my room for the rest of the day and stared at the ceiling and had the same thought on repeat like my brain had gotten stuck on it and couldn't find its way to anything else.'I lost my virginity to a stranger and the stranger turns out t
CHAPTER FOUR : Dragged Back ~Zella's POV~ I went home and I did not leave. I locked the door, I closed every curtain, and I sat on the floor of my sitting room for about an hour before I moved to the sofa, and then I didn't move from the sofa for a very long time. The flat felt different than it
CHAPTER THREE : Everything Gone~Zella's POV~The ceiling was wrong.That was the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes, the ceiling was wrong, the color was wrong, the light coming through the curtains was wrong, and the bed underneath me was too soft and too wide and smelled like hotel laun
CHAPTER ONE : Seven Days~Zella's POV~I never thought I would sleep with my best friend's father. Not until everything fell apart first.And I mean everything.---My phone buzzed against the desk just as I was stapling the last file closed, Brynn's name lighting up the screen like she had some ki







