All Chapters of WHERE SIN FEELS LIKE HOME: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Chapter 51: The Call~zella POV ~"Hey, girlie...""Finally!" Brynn's face filled my screen, pixelated for a second before clearing. She was in her car, sunlight catching the gold in her hair. "I've been trying to reach you all day. How are you feeling? The drug thing—did it mess you up? Are you okay?""I'm fine," I said, and I was surprised at how easily the lie came. "Really. No lasting effects. I'm completely fine.""Good. That's good. I was so worried." She shifted the phone, getting more comfortable against her car seat. "Are you still mad at me? For not telling you about Cole and Dara? I know I apologized, but I've been thinking about it constantly. I just... I didn't want to ruin your happiness.""It's fine," I said, and I meant it. "That's in the past now. We're good.""Thank you for forgiving me," she said, and I could hear the relief in her voice. "I hate that I kept that from you. I hate that I chose silence."If she only knew what I was doing now."So, what about Callum?"

Chapter 53: First Day, First TestThe drive was quiet.Evander's hands were on the steering wheel, his focus on the road, and I thought maybe he'd decided to keep things professional after all. Maybe the moment in my apartment, the possessiveness, the certainty—maybe he'd realized it was too dangerous to bring into the workplace.Then his hand reached for mine.I resisted at first, pulling back slightly, aware of the windows and the daylight and the fact that we were about to arrive at a place where dozens of people worked for him. Where I worked for him. But his hand was patient, waiting, not forcing, and eventually I surrendered and let him hold it. His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand, slow and deliberate, a gesture so simple it shouldn't have meant anything.It meant everything.When we pulled up to the estate, he let go immediately. Like a switch had flipped. Like the man who'd been holding my hand had been replaced by someone else entirely—professional, distant, the e

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 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 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