(Thomas)When I saw Nathan standing in the doorway of our hotel room, my first instinct was to slam the door in his face. The sight of him, leaning casually against the frame like he owned the place, set every nerve in my body on edge.He had an infuriating smirk on his face that most people would see as a reserved smile. But I could read every expression on his face. He really thought he had the best of us, and we didn’t have any idea of what kind of person he was.Oh, how wrong you thought Nathan. Because we knew exactly who he was and what he was capable of. His presence well and truly pissed me off but I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he pissed me off.Not here. Not now.I clenched my jaw, keeping my voice steady as I asked, “Nathan, what are you doing here?”He didn’t bother answering right away. His gaze flicked to Lydia, who was standing behind me, and then back to me. That smile of his grew wider like he was enjoying some private joke at our expense. Wi
(Thomas)After Nathan left, Lydia and I moved quickly to get ready for the party. I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this, heading straight into a situation Nathan had orchestrated, but we needed to get that USB.I don’t know what was in it but if the information stored in it was incriminating and we got a hold of it, then that would give us the reason to go to the higher authorities.I could see the tension in Lydia’s face as she got dressed, and I knew she was just as on edge as I was.The plan was risky, no question about it. But this was the opportunity we’d been waiting for, and I wasn’t about to let it slip through our fingers.Once we were ready, I sent a quick message to Roger and Gerard, our two bodyguards, whom I trusted a lot. Both of them were former military, sharp and reliable. They weren’t just muscle, they also knew how to read a situation, and right now, I needed their eyes on everything.We left the hotel and made our way to the address Nathan had shared. The
(Lydia)The moment we stepped into the mansion, everything got a bit too overwhelming. The music was blaring, so loud that it felt like it was vibrating through my entire body.The flashing lights cut through the dark, casting fleeting shadows over a crowd of people moving in unison, lost in the pounding rhythm of the bass. The air was thick with sweat and perfume, a heady, overwhelming mix that made it hard to breathe.Thomas kept his hand firmly on my back as he guided me through the crowd. People danced around us, their bodies grinding against each other, oblivious to anything but the music and the moment. The space was provocatively decorated. It was minimalistic, with barely any furniture save for a few chairs scattered in the corners.The entire room seemed designed for chaos, for movement, and I felt myself becoming disoriented as the lights flashed in my eyes and the music pulsed relentlessly.My hand tightened on Thomas’s arm as we weaved through the crowd, his steady presenc
(Thomas)I made my way through the crowd toward the bar, walking around the clusters of people dancing and drinking under the flashing lights.It was too loud to think and the music was pounding relentlessly in my ears, but my focus was on one thing, which was getting the drinks and going back to Lydia. I could tell she was nervous when I left her, and I didn’t want to leave her alone for long.As I reached the bar, I ordered our favorite drinks. It was almost instinctual, her favorite drink, a gin and tonic with a twist of lime, and mine, an old fashioned. The memory came back to me in another flash of me ordering the same thing, many, many times before. I remembered the details and it felt strange, the familiarity of something as simple as a drink order amidst the chaos of this party.I leaned against the counter, glancing around while I waited for the drinks. The bar area was just as packed as the rest of the mansion. People were crowding around, some laughing and others clearly in
(Lydia)I kept my smile fixed on my face, letting Nathan stand near me. I had to do this because we had a goal and I needed to do everything in my power to get it done.Every second I spent in Nathan’s presence made my skin crawl. The weight of everything I knew hung over me like a heavy cloud, thickening the air between us.Clara’s words echoed in my head, louder now than ever. How he could charm anyone with a smile and his easy going nature, but underneath it all, there was something else. Something darker.Clara hadn’t held anything back. She told me how possessive Nathan could get, how he crossed lines that normal people wouldn’t dream of crossing. The image of the two of them sitting together entered my mind again and I had the sudden urge to recoil away from Nathan.He was so close that I could smell his breath that was hitting the side of my neck in hot puffs.Nathan had been stalking me for who knows how long. He had broken into my home and yet, here I was, standing next to hi
(Thomas)I pushed through the crowd, my heart pounding in my chest, but Lydia was nowhere in sight. She couldn’t have gone far. Just minutes ago, I had left her at the edge of the dance floor, telling her I’d be back after grabbing us drinks.It was so crowded that it was difficult to breathe. People were packed in together like it wasn’t a big deal for them to be in a room this stuffy. I know most of them were probably intoxicated on more than just drinks. I didn’t care about all that though, I only wanted to get to Lydia before anything could happen to her.I called her name, "Lydia!" but the sound was swallowed by the pounding bass and flashing lights. I knew it was no use but I couldn’t help but cry out for her. All around me, people were laughing, spinning, and dancing, oblivious to the knot of anxiety tightening in my gut.I elbowed my way through, scanning faces, hoping she was just blending into the crowd. Maybe she was having fun, dancing with some friends she bumped into. Bu
(Lydia)The room buzzed with low chatter and bursts of laughter, but I couldn’t focus on any of it. I sat there, surrounded by Nathan and his friends, feeling like an outsider despite the circle of people closing in around me.From the way they joked and leaned into each other’s words, it was clear they had known each other for a long time. Their comfort with each other was palpable, yet it unsettled me.What did they really know about Nathan? Did they know what kind of man he was, the manipulative, deceitful monster hiding beneath his charming facade? Or were they just as blind to it as I had been at first?Maybe, like Clara, they were trapped in his web, each of them tangled in different ways, each of them tolerating his bullshit because they didn’t know how to escape. Or worse, maybe they were just like him, a circle of people who shared his darkness.I shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the others as they continued with their small talk. One of them, a tall guy with a sleeve of ta
(Lydia)Utter silence followed my words as everyone blinked at me. And then as if synchronized, everyone started screaming, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” at the top of their lungs.The noise around me was deafening, the chant reverberated in the room like the pounding of a drum. The cacophony of noises made my head swim until I didn’t know what to do. My throat tightened, a lump forming so large I could barely swallow. I shook my head, unable to speak, unwilling to do what they were asking. No. I couldn’t do this. Not with him.Nathan’s eyes were on me too, gleaming with something cold, calculated, hidden beneath a mask of charm. He didn’t say anything, just leaned back slightly, watching as his friends screamed louder, egging me on like I was a piece of entertainment.I swung my head around, to see whether there was at least one person who would be at my side, but no one stood out.I shook my head again, more firmly this time. "No," I managed to croak out, but my voice was drowned out by the n