All Chapters of The Night Before I Knew Him: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

JuneThe bus hums along the highway, the desert stretching out endlessly on either side. I’m still gripping my bag, nerves twisting in my stomach.I glance toward the front. Vanessa, ever the chipper, has already settled into a seat beside Hermes, arranging his things like a personal valet. She beams at him when he glances up, and he nods once, almost absentmindedly, yet his lips twitch as if suppressing something.My brow furrows. Why is he letting her do that? Why is he… soft with her? But he's strict with me, even when I'm the one fucking him. Is he sleeping with Vanessa? But he said no sleeping with other people. Ugh.I shake my head, trying to push it away. He’s always had rules about boundaries, and I—well, I’ve never been a "regular secretary," and last night… forget it."Hey, check this one out," Tobias interrupts, waving his phone. I turn, grateful for the distraction, and he swipes through more of his digital paintings, colors exploding across the screen. My eyes focus, my

~Hermes~I walk away before anyone notices the tremor in my hand. To them, I’m the CEO giving a clean lecture on balance and trust, but inside—fuck.Her face. That look when I asked if she trusted me. Christ. It was the same look she gave me that night, back in the hotel, when she whispered I was her first.Her first. Me.And I walked out on her like a coward, and I avoided her as though she was a fire I couldn’t control. Because the second those words left her mouth, I felt… responsible, and I don’t fucking do responsible. This was supposed to be simple. A casual fuck, not a first. I was supposed to be some man to her, not the man.But then—then I saw her with that HR guy, hugging him, and smiling like she hadn’t just torn me open the night before.Fuck. I couldn't ignore the sting of it— I couldn’t breathe for a second. She hands me her confession, and I carry the weight of it, while she’s out there laughing, touching, hugging like it’s all the same to her.Was it real? Or was she j

JuneIt’s been minutes and he hasn’t said anything. He just flicks the last of the cigarette to the ground, crushing it under his shoes, then he leans back against the wall, giving off the air of someone with endless time.I stand there, arms folded, staring at him, waiting for… something, a word, a protest or maybe even a sharp dismissal. Anything to prove that this wasn’t just a meaningless game to him. That he doesn’t want me to end it. Even if it isn’t because he cares, at least because he wants what he always claimed—my body.But the minutes drag, heavier than stone. His silence alone feels like a response, and it burns more than anything he could have said.I exhale, sharp and bitter, and turn toward the door. I’ll just go back inside, rejoin Tobias and Vanessa, pretend none of this happened—A low, guttural sound rumbles from behind me. His voice, rough like gravel."Can I take you somewhere?"I freeze. My brows pinch, and I glance over my shoulder."Where?"He straightens fro

~Hermes~I pull up at the resort gates and watch her hop out, dress still clinging to her in all the wrong places, her hair a mess that I put there. She waves cheerful, almost innocent, and fuck me, I actually lift my hand and wave back.I track her figure until she slips through the lounge doors, swallowed by warm light and laughter. The second she disappears, I exhale hard, forehead pressing to the steering wheel, fists tightening against the leather."What the fuck just happened…"My eyes flick sideways, landing on the lace bra tossed over the passenger seat. A low chuckle slips out, uninvited. Her voice echoes in my skull—“I should leave something for you, so you don’t miss me too much.”Yeah. She did, and now I’m sitting here like a fool with her lingerie staring me in the face.I lean back against the seat, running a hand through my damp hair, trying to shake her off me, but it’s useless. Everything I did – and will still do is for my sanity, and control—whatever that means anym

JuneI close the door behind me, and he’s already there, lounging as though he’s been waiting for hours."You know," I blurt before I can stop myself, "if anyone didn’t know better, they’d think you live here."His head turns, eyes flicking to mine, and a low chuckle escapes him. "I actually do live here."I roll my eyes and drop my bag, moving closer. "Seriously? What about your house? Or, you know, normal human activities? Groceries, laundry…His gaze follows me lazily, but I can tell he’s humoring me. "Those things are handled.""Handled?" I echo, flopping into the armchair across from him. "That’s so… sad, or maybe just weird. Don’t you get lonely alone?"He doesn’t answer right away, just studies me like I’m the one under the microscope. Finally, he says, "No. I don’t get lonely."I smirk, but it feels shaky. "So you’ve never actually lived with anyone? Like—girlfriend serious?"His brows lift, faintly amused. "That’s where this is going?"I shrug, but I can’t help smiling. "Just