Her silence was more damning than any words she could have spoken.It crushed me. It burned through my veins like acid, settling deep in the pit of my stomach, a gnawing, agonizing void that I couldn’t claw my way out of."MINI!"I screamed.The sound of it cracked through the storm, ragged, unhinge
The golden flecks in her brown eyes would have caught the light when she looked up, meeting my gaze. A small, polite smile. Nothing more.And maybe, just maybe, I would have had the chance to be someone else for her.Someone worthy.But that wasn’t our story.Our story was written in blood, in mist
AFTER AN YEARIris POV:The weight of exhaustion clung to me, making every little movement feel ten times harder than it should’ve been. My arms felt heavy, my legs stiff, and my head still foggy from sleep. I just wanted to stay curled up in bed, but that wasn’t an option."Stand up, peasant. Mak
I finished plating the food, setting the dishes in front of Quinn. She leaned in, sniffing the tacos like a curious puppy before grinning.At least one of us was happy.“This smells good!” Quinn exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she pulled the plate closer.“Don’t use your phone while you eat,” I s
My Isaac.The one who held me through nightmares. Who wiped my tears when I scraped my knees. Who told me he would never hurt me.And Ace—Ace killed him.I trusted him. I trusted him!And he betrayed me. Just like everyone else. Just like the rest of the world.A cold, bitter laugh bubbles out of
My fingers twitch at my sides.Go, I tell myself.Move.Go.And finally, with leaden limbs, I stumble forward.One step.Then another.The closer I get, the worse it gets.The shape sharpens. Clothes. Shoes. Limbs flared out. A faint sheen of red pooling beneath them, mixing with the rain.My stomac
But there’s no one.No guards.No maids.Nothing but the howling wind and the relentless downpour, the rain washing away the blood, as if trying to erase him from this world.No.I won’t let him be erased.Not like this. Not when I can still feel the faint echo of his heart beneath my touch.With sh
I flinch, but I don’t back down. But I can’t.Because the moment I let go, the moment I stop fighting—Ace is gone.And I don’t think I can live with that.“Please, Hudson,” I whisper, my voice hoarse, raw from screaming, from crying, from breaking. “Save him.”Hudson’s breathing is uneven, his eyes
Why did I only notice it now?Ace chuckled—low, knowing."Do your work like a good whore," he murmured, his tone silky but laced with steel. "And show me your devotion, brat."He leaned back, and the pressure of his hands, which had been a constricting comfort around my body, vanished. Like a snake
I blinked, my breath hitching, frustration curling inside my chest."Please…" The whisper left me before I could stop it, before I could hold onto my pride. My head dipped down, shame curling my shoulders inward as I bit down on my lower lip. "Just one kiss. Even a peck."Ace clicked his tongue, th
“Don’t expect me to treat you like a good girl till I believe you’re sorry, Iris,” he murmured, his tone dark and taunting.Before I could process it, his thumb shoved past my lips, forcing them apart. My eyes flew wide, a muffled “Hmph” escaping as my hands shot up, fingers digging into his knees
“Sit on your knees.”…What?I froze.My smile slipped, and a soft “Huh?” escaped me before I could stop it.The warmth I’d felt a second ago twisted into something heavier, sharper, and I blinked at him, caught off guard.“You heard me, my sweet whore,” he said, leaning back with a smirk that stretc
I clenched my fists, inhaling sharply before narrowing my eyes at him.This man.This man would kill me.My fingers tugged at my top, pulling it back down as I tried to piece together what just happened.Why did he stop?I gulped, my throat dry, my body still traitorously warm. Ace smirked, draping
I sputtered, fisting my hands.“Boss,” Joy’s voice cut through my humiliation.“Wouldn’t Hudson sir be angry about what you just did to his sister? Should we, uh, step outside?”Ace didn’t even spare her a glance.“No. Stay here and do your work. I’ll do mine,” he said smoothly, like he hadn’t just
And he had the audacity to ignore me?He didn’t even say thank you!I glared at his back.“Boss,” I said, layering my voice with a little too much sweetness. “It’s past your lunch time. You should eat.”Nothing.Not even a glance.Ace continued flipping through his damn papers like I was invisible.
But it was probably not the sparkly, glittering fairy kind. More like the I-make-people-disappear kind.Joy. That’s her name.Wooow.A woman named Joy working at a place where she literally brings pain. “Oh yeah!! I remember now,” Joy exclaimed, her face lighting up like I was her long-lost best f
Damn it, Iris. Play it cool!His gaze didn’t waver. “May I know what you are doing here?”I cleared my throat. “Uh… just… passing by?”He arched a brow.I let out a nervous laugh and gestured to the air. “You know, just… admiring the architecture?”Then, he tilted his head toward the slightly open d