Semua Bab The Boss’s Darkest Demand: Bab 31 - Bab 40

The door clicked shut behind me with a soft but final sound that I wanted to believe meant safety. I leaned my back against it, eyes closed, and let out a shaky breath that I didn’t even realize I’d been holding. The rush of adrenaline still pulsed in my veins, echoing the footsteps that had haunted me all the way home — those steady, measured steps that never seemed to quicken or slow, just persistent and unrelenting.I slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor, legs drawn close, heart hammering in my chest like a warning drumbeat. My fingers trembled against the cool wood of the doorframe as I wrapped my arms around my knees. For a long moment, I just sat there, willing my thoughts to slow, to make sense of the chaos that had filled my day.The office. Tessa. Atlas’s cold, searching eyes. The whispered threats in the hallway. And now this — the creeping sense that I was being hunted, not just by an ex-girlfriend wielding manipulation and lies, but by someone dark

The first morning after Eli’s visit, I woke to a quiet apartment that felt safer than it had in weeks. The soft hum of the new security system, the little green lights on the cameras, the silent alert app on my phone — they were all supposed to make me feel protected. Supposed to make me feel in control.Yet as I poured coffee into a mug and tried to sip the warm liquid, I couldn’t shake the tight coil of tension in my chest. Every sound — a distant car door, the clatter of a neighbor’s trash cans, even the creak of my own floorboards — felt amplified. I glanced at the small monitors Eli had set up, scanning every angle of the apartment through grainy black-and-white feeds. Nothing. Just the usual quiet shadows of my empty rooms.I tried to tell myself it was paranoia. That it was okay to breathe, to let myself feel safe at least for a few hours. I even smiled a little when I saw the baby booties on my nightstand, Eli’s soft gesture of protection and care. Triplets

I had just settled into my apartment, the low hum of the city outside blending with the soft jazz playing from my speakers. The triplets’ blankets Eli had brought were neatly folded on the couch, a small but tangible reminder that I had something to protect. I sank into the cushions, taking a deep breath, trying to convince myself I was safe, that the world outside my door couldn’t touch me.And then I heard it: the knock. Sharp, insistent. My stomach dropped, and my hands froze midair, hovering over the mug of tea I’d just poured. Only one person knocked like that. Only one person would come here uninvited, bold enough to confront me directly.“Calliope!” The voice was sharp, calculated. Familiar. Jessica.I froze, my pulse hammering. She shouldn’t be here. Not now, not ever. Not after everything I had tried to do to keep her distance, not after Atlas had clearly drawn a line between us. But she was here, standing on my threshold, eyes cold, lips curled i

The office was quiet, unusually quiet for the mid-morning bustle, and I felt every creak of the floor beneath my shoes. My nerves were taut; even with Eli’s security measures in place at home, the lingering sense of being watched gnawed at me. My phone buzzed again, a new message from an unknown number. I hesitated before opening it.“She’s watching you. We’re watching you. Leave Atlas alone or face the consequences. She isn’t kind.”My stomach twisted. The words were chillingly clear, yet frustratingly vague. Someone Atlas knew was orchestrating this, someone willing to manipulate, threaten, and intimidate. My mind immediately leapt to Jessica. It had to be her. But I needed proof. I couldn’t confront her blindly.I tried to focus on work, pouring myself into spreadsheets and emails, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the message. Jessica’s presence lingered like a shadow I couldn’t shake. I scanned the office subtly, noting her movements as she flitted between

The cottage was quiet. Too quiet, in a way that made me feel both safe and unnervingly exposed. Trees surrounded the small property, their leaves rustling gently in the evening wind, creating a soft, natural white noise. Eli had done a thorough sweep before leaving me alone. The windows were locked, the doors reinforced, and cameras dotted the perimeter. It was the kind of security I had never imagined needing, yet here I was, feeling the strange comfort of knowing that someone had thought of everything.I dropped my bag onto the sofa, letting the leather hit the cushions with a dull thump. The stillness pressed in around me, and I realized I hadn’t even unpacked a single thing. Part of me wanted to curl up under a blanket and pretend the world outside didn’t exist, but the other part—a stubborn, unrelenting part—knew I had work to do.“Alright,” I whispered to myself, taking a deep breath, “time to focus.”I powered up my laptop, logging into the company