BEVERLY’S POV Small pieces of memories come back to me, one by one, like a picture slowly forming itself from broken glass. I’ve gone three years without them, forced them to the back of my mind. Perhaps because that was the person I wish I was; the person without these memories. They keep coming
BEVERLY’S POV The memories take a jump, leaping through the good ones I had for thirteen years and settling on another one that’s just as painful as the first. I am eighteen, burdened by the news that everyone in the orphanage is still trying to recover from. Josephine is dead. Her death has taken
But he’s patient, and slowly, I feel my anger start to wane. Maybe he has changed. Maybe he really does want to be a father to me again. I start to talk to him more, open up more. We bond over a few things and it’s starting to feel like how I’d always imagined it would be if he was around. It goes
BEVERLY’S POV I stare at the stack of unpaid bills spread across the tiny table in my dimly lit apartment. The once-bright place now feels like a suffocating cage. Each envelope represents a weight, heavy and unyielding, pressing down on my chest. The worst part? This is not my debt. I never asked
I turn on the lights and I find Joe seated in the middle of my living room. Fear tears through me at the realisation that he’s been in my house, waiting for me. “Hello, Beverly.” He grins sinisterly. “Joe.” I say breathlessly, shakily. “What do you want? I’ve been paying back my debt. I’ve been
BEVERLY’S POV The dim, pulsating lights of the club envelop me as I step inside, the bass thumping through the air like a heartbeat. It’s a world I never wanted to be a part of—loud, chaotic, and filled with an energy that feels foreign and suffocating. I take a deep breath, trying to summon some c
“It can’t be called selling it if you’re in a relationship with the person, can it?” I’m lost, still unable to understand what he’s saying. “You are not making any sense.” He sighs, “Listen, if you are desperate to survive, this is the only option you have. And like I said, you won’t be selling y
LESLIE'S POVThe past month has felt like both a blur and a lifetime. Each day demands more of me as we work to relaunch and rebrand Kian’s company, inching closer to the day we finally return home. It’s like building something from scratch—aligning the details, refining our approach, and making sur
CHAPTER 18 [ Intern Sophie] ~SOPHIE~ Until a few days ago, the sound of my alarm filled me with nothing but thrill. All it does now is make me bury my head into the pillow with pure irritation while rethinking every single one of my life choices. “Turn that off and get your ass in the shower, So
CHAPTER 17 [The Path Of Heartbreak] ~TRAVIS~ “You asked to see me, sir.” Sophie Summers. I could never get used to her presence, not even when I was the one who requested it. “Sit.” I ordered, barely looking at her. Knowing how defiant she can be, I expected some sort of retort but she quiet
CHAPTER 16 [ A Tangled Mess] ~SOPHIE~ I pushed the door open with a sigh, the familiar weight of the day’s events pressing on me. My head still throbbed, a dull reminder of last night’s recklessness. As I stepped inside the apartment, the soft scent of lavender and the comforting hum of the refr
CHAPTER 15 [Not Her Type] ~SOPHIE~ "Who’s this, Sophie?" Sebastian’s voice slithered through the hallway, his smirk widening when his eyes landed on Travis. "Your new boyfriend?" I was still trying to gather myself together after running into Travis so suddenly. I had questions about how he was
CHAPTER 14 [The Man Who Was Never Mine] ~SOPHIE~ The nausea hadn’t subsided. I sat at the edge of the bed in my childhood room, staring at the peeling wallpaper and the dusty, forgotten trinkets that once made this space my sanctuary. It had been hours since I’d woken up with the hangover poundi
CHAPTER 13 [In Her Absence] ~TRAVIS~ The absence was the first thing I noticed. It wasn’t the missing coffee on my desk—although I’d gotten far too accustomed to finding it there, piping hot and prepared just the way I liked it. Nor was it the lack of a sticky note, usually plastered on the edge
CHAPTER 12 [A Return To The Shadows] ~SOPHIE~ The dull throb in my head woke me before anything else. It pulsed behind my eyes like a relentless drumbeat, making it impossible to open them fully. I groaned, rolling over and burying my face into the pillow, hoping to escape the nausea curling in m
CHAPTER 11 [Kill-Joy] TRAVIS I wasn’t sure what annoyed me more: Sophie Summers’ audacity or the fact that I had actually turned around and come back. Sitting in the backseat of my car, I stared out the tinted window at the pub just across the street from my company. I had never step foot there bu
CHAPTER 10 [The Sophie Effect] ~TRAVIS~ If chaos had a face, it would undoubtedly wear Sophie Summers’ unrelenting smile. For the past few days, she had inserted herself into every corner of my life at my textile company, leaving me to wonder how someone so seemingly innocent could wreak such calc