Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

~Nina“I'd rather eat garbage than fuck him,” I said to myself as I gulped down the last liquor in my cup, the burn sliding down my throat like a familiar comfort I had grown too accustomed to.Damian's eyes were glittering towards me with joy, that stupid hopeful look he always got when I drank too much and let my guard down around him, and deep down I knew he wanted to get laid.But that would never happen because I had standards and he was not even close to meeting them.Our eyes met and I raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to say something stupid.“What?” I asked, my voice flat and unimpressed.“You're cute, you know that, right?” he spoke softly while pouring me another shot, his hand lingering a little too long on the bottle like he was waiting for me to thank him for the gesture.I stretched out my hands to collect the drink from him, my fingers brushing against his just to watch him flinch, but a voice cut through the moment like a sharp blade, and I pulled my hand back insti

~Nina I walked out into the hallway without looking back, the door clicking shut behind me with a finality that felt like both a relief and a punishment.The hallway smelled like stale cigarette smoke, and I leaned against the wall, pressing my palms to my eyes until I saw stars behind my lids. My thighs were sore, and my chest ached, and somewhere in the deepest part of me that I tried so hard to ignore, the familiar emptiness was already creeping back in like a tide that could not be held back.I should have gone home. I should have gone straight home and taken a shower, scrubbed his scent off my skin, and pretended tonight had never happened.Instead I found myself walking back to the bar.Damian was still there, nursing a drink at the counter with his shoulders hunched and his expression miserable, and when he saw me, his eyes lit up in a way that made me want to scream.“I thought you left,” he said, sliding a glass toward me that was already filled with the whiskey I always dran

~Nina“She was drunk,” Gina said, and the words came out like a confession, like she was admitting something shameful she had been trying to hide. “She was drunk and fell whilst hitting her head on the corner of the counter, and the neighbors heard the crash and called an ambulance. Her blood pressure was through the roof, Nina. They said she was probably too drunk to even feel herself fall.”I sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs and pressed my hands to my face, trying to remember the last time I had spoken to my mother. It had been months, maybe longer, because I stopped answering her calls and ignored her texts… pretending she didn’t exist.After all, it was easier than confronting the truth of who she was. She was a broken woman who had broken me too, and I had spent my whole life trying to escape her shadow only to realize that I was becoming more like her every single day.The hours that followed were hours of waiting and pacing while drinking terrible coffee. I called Dam

~BriThe Grand Hotel smelled like old money. I walked through the lobby with my chin up and my heels clicking against the marble, trying to look like I belonged there. In reality, my hands were sweating so badly I almost dropped the silver key twice.Room 402. Fourth floor towards the end of the hall.I slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open, my heart hammering against my ribs. The room was pitch black… like it was literally fucking dark.I stepped in, fumbling for the light switch, and half expecting an alarm to start blaring or a team of security guards to jump out of the shadows, but nothing happened. The lights flickered on, revealing a pristine suite. A king-sized bed with crisp white linens and a bottle of champagne chilling on the nightstand. And right there, in the corner, the safe.But it was already open.My stomach dropped. I walked over slowly, my heels sinking into the plush carpet. The safe was empty, no drive, no files, just a single black folder resting i

The apartment was dark when I got home, and I knew immediately that I wasn't alone. I didn't bother turning on the lights, I literally just dropped my keys on the kitchen counter and walked into the living room, my heels clicking against the hardwood floor. I could feel him before his shadow faded and he became more visible. The air was filled with the scent of his cologne, that expensive, woodsy smell that always made my stomach clench.Rhys was sitting in my armchair in the dark, like a goddamn villain waiting for the final act."You have a lot of nerve," I said, my voice feeling emotionless.He didn't move but just sat there, a dark silhouette against the streetlights bleeding through the blinds. "You took the photos.""Of course I took the photos." I walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back an inch, peering down at the empty street below. "I'm not an idiot. I knew you were going to screw me over.""You didn't know I was already three steps ahead of you."I let the cu