GINGER:I didn’t mean any of the things I said to Hu, and I never would. After my mother told me to choose wisely, I wrote out the pros and cons of both Hu and Caspian. Unfortunately, Caspian has never hurt me, but Hu—that night will forever stay in my mind, and it breaks my heart. I wanted to tell him I loved him back, but I couldn’t.After successfully holding back my tears, I lock my windows and make my way downstairs. Caspian is seated in the living room with my sister, Daisy, and my mother. Daisy is making weird faces, and he’s returning the gesture, but the moment he sees me, he stops.“Can we go now?” he asks. I nod, and he gets up. I glance at my mother before heading upstairs with Caspian behind me, holding my hand.As we walk, I try to ground myself, focusing on the fact that Caspian makes me feel safe. That should be the only thing that matters right now. I shouldn’t care about Hu because he probably just wants sex from me. Even though I know that’s not true, I try to convi
GINGER: For a moment, I try to convince myself that nothing bad has happened to Hu and that he is probably at his apartment, needing space to process what I said to him. “Ginger, are you there?” Hana’s voice snaps me back to reality. “Please put Caspian on. I’ve been calling him, but he isn’t answering. Hiram went to Hu’s apartment in town, but he’s not there. Everyone is worried, and I don’t understand why he keeps doing this.” Her voice cracks, and I can feel her pain. “Hold on, please,” I say, my mouth barely able to form the words. I tap Caspian’s arm lightly, causing him to stir. “Babe,” he groans. I roll my eyes with a sigh and tap him harder, making his eyes snap open. “Hana wants to speak with you. Hu is missing.” His body shoots upright like a robot given a command. He grabs the phone from me and brings it to his ear. As I watch him take the call, a sinking realization settles in—I am the villain in this story, and there is no sugarcoating it. I shouldn’t have come to
GINGER:“I want her.” The words replay in my head like I’m in a movie as we all file out of the room.I know he’s trying to get back at me, but a part of me doesn’t want to see it that way because that would be selfish—thinking everything revolves around me. I hate what he’s doing to me, and knowing Ruby will be the one seeing him while he’s in that condition makes me feel… jealous.“At least he’s okay, even if I have to watch that monster walk into my house every single day,” Hana says, and I try to keep a straight face as we make it to the general living room.I sit there, waiting for Caspian, who is still in the room with Hu. Guilt presses down on me, and honestly, I want to let it out. I want to tell someone that I caused his accident, that I’m sorry and never meant to hurt him, but they will never see it that way. So instead, I sit quietly, saying nothing.Shortly after, Caspian comes out of the room, and Hana gets to her feet, walking toward him.“Thank you so much for coming,”
HU:A week goes by again, and just like Hiram promised, he makes sure I don’t see Ginger or speak to her. I stay in the hospital wing of the house, far from her room, far from temptation. Every night, he checks on me to make sure I don’t sneak out. And to be honest, it’s helping. Everything seems to be going great—including therapy.Hiram secretly hired a different therapist, not wanting Hana to find out and risk her telling Ginger, which might cause her to spiral and text me. Therapy has grown on me, because it’s easier to tell her how I want to rip off Caspian’s head, claim Ginger as mine, without being judged for it.Today is Hiram’s wedding, and I have a therapy session too. I contemplate skipping it until Hiram walks into my room.“I’ve arranged for a driver to take you to therapy. You’ll be back just in time for the wedding,” he says.I nod without a fight. Ever since I let him take charge, things have been better, and I won’t mess that up now.I throw on a shirt and some pants,
HU:I stare at Ginger without a word, my body tense, and my mind blank except for the overwhelming need to go to her. Fuck, she looks so pretty in that dress, and just staring at her brings up a lot of thoughts—none of them pure. I don’t even realize how obvious I’m being until Hana’s voice cuts through my trance.“What are you staring at, weirdo?” she asks, raising a brow in complete disgust. “Does anyone here look like Ruby?” she continues, making it clear she isn’t over me messing with one of her best friends.The thing is, I never really messed with Ruby. She told me she liked me, and when I asked about Hana, she clearly said she would give up anything to be with me. I defined our relationship and told her I didn’t want a girlfriend, but she insisted, probably hoping she would be the girl who changes the guy. That wasn’t the case, and I don’t think it ever will be because no one really changes
HU:Ginger’s reaction is instant the moment Ruby pulls me to the table. Her back stiffens, fingers curling as she grips her lap as though she is trying hard to compose herself. She avoids meeting my eyes, and I try to compose myself too, but I cannot help but shut my eyes slightly, inhaling her scent. Fuck, I shouldn’t be doing this. I open my eyes at once, then pull out a seat for Ruby, trying to be the perfect gentleman.“Thanks, babe,” she mouths, and God, I wish she would stop calling me that.Caspian, on the other hand, leans forward, extending a hand.“Hu,” he greets, and I take his hand, shaking it briefly because I do not know what else I will do if the handshake lingers.“How’s your health?” he asks, tilting his head slightly, and I force a smile.I force a smile because I am not truly happy, and it is killing me. Caspian has been nothing but a good friend. He wrote my not
GINGER:As I watch him walk away, it eats deep into my chest, and soon, the feeling of suffocation creeps in. He doesn’t look back even once, making me wonder if I’ve misread the entire situation. I could have sworn all day that he wanted some time alone with me, and when Ruby left, I saw an opening. So, I messed up Caspian’s shirt just to have some time with Hu, but clearly, it was hate all along, and doesn’t give a shit about me.Humiliation burns through me—hot and suffocating. I curl my fingers against my lap, gripping the fabric of my dress as if that will hold me together. I don’t know why I expected anything different, why I expected him to stay when I’m the reason he’s like this.I caused his accident, so I don’t deserve anything good or any comfort.Despite that, it hurts. A part of me wants to reach out to him, but I cannot because Hana and Wendy are close by. I think they are already getting suspicious, especially because he wouldn’t stop staring at me in the hallway.Ruby
HU:The second I step into my room and see Caspian with the burner phone, I realize how badly I’ve messed up. I want the ground to swallow me or to turn back time to the first night I walked in on Ginger in that room so that I can undo everything. But the damage has been done, and I know I will probably be losing my best friend, so I brace myself for it.Caspian stands in the middle of the room, shoulders squared, breathing unevenly. I want to apologize for what I’ve done, but god, that would only make things worse. The fact he knows slowly sinks in, and it feels like my entire body is ripping apart.The tension in the air is suffocating. I force my expression to stay neutral, pretending I don’t see the storm brewing in his eyes. I take a slow step forward. Maybe he doesn’t know, and he just found the burner phone and is reminiscing about old times. It’s stupid, but I try to convince myself.“Had no clue you would still be into the burner phone.” My voice comes out low, and he glares
HU:Six in the evening, I show up at Ginger’s house dressed casually. Mrs. Orbblood opens the door as usual. This time she gives me a warm smile instead of taunting me like in the earlier days.“Good evening, Mrs. Orbblood,” I greet with a slight bow. I am trying to be the perfect gentleman whom she cannot say no to.“Well, hello, Hu,” she replies as I walk into the house. “You can call me Anna, and I made my special soup.”“Mum!” Ginger groans, and we both look at her, standing by the door leading to the living room, fuming with anger.Mrs. Orbblood leans towards me, whispering, “She hates when I am friendly with her friends.”A chuckle leaves my lips briefly, but Ginger’s eyes shoot me a hard look, which causes me to clear my throat.“And I heard you guys,” she says. Then Anna shifts for me to mee
HU:The plan to get Ginger and me to the human world is in motion. It has been in motion since graduation day. Today, I am supposed to meet with one of the service engineers who works in the portal room. I’m supposed to have access to the portal, but I guess my mother doesn’t trust me enough. Well, she’s right not to—because I would have used it anytime they annoyed me, which is every time.Hiram has one in the mansion in Las Vegas, which he took over after he left for the human world.Finally, I make it to the portal room, opening the door to find the engineer inside. He’s in his usual gear, scanning me as I walk toward him.“Prince Hu,” he calls out in a steady tone.“Mr…” I hesitate, reading the tag on his shirt. “Pierce.” I call out at once, flashing him a smile. His brows remain crumpled as he glares at me, arms crossed over his chest.“I believe you understa
HU:A lot has been on my mind lately, especially the fact I need to go somewhere and be alone with Ginger. I cannot tell if it is the impending pressure from the duties I will take up in the future, but sometimes I feel I am sliding back into the past where I was depressed. I hate it so much, and I have been holding out the strongest because I do not want Ginger to worry about me.Also, she holds it down for me too without even knowing or trying. It is like when I see her, the dark cloud hovering over my head disappears, so I want her even more than I have her now. I want us to be together every second of the day. Knowing she has to go home at some point makes me sad and mad every time.Yes, we are neighbours, but the distance still feels like hell. I want to be the only air she breathes, my face the first thing she sees in the morning. The moon goddess made her mine, so why won’t everyone allow me to just have her forever? I have been scared to voice my thoughts to anyone, even my th
GINGER:Hu’s mouth lingers at the inside of my thigh, his tongue moving in slow strokes that makes my skin quiver. Every kiss he places there is maddening, and he savors me, worshiping every inch of my skin like he had promised. His hands grip my thighs, spreading me wider, and the cold air hits my core, intensifying the heat in between.He breathes in deeply, his nose grazing my folds, and I shut my eyes, biting my lower lip to muffle my moans. I wait for a moment, but I feel nothing. This drives me to the edge as I throw my eyes open, looking down at him to see he is looking up at me. Then his tongue dips into me—slow and deep. The wet slide of it makes my back arch off the bed, hips jerking toward his face. He holds my left thigh, grounding me as his tongue works me in slow circles.His tongue flicks up to my clit, then down again. He works in long, wet strokes—licking me open, dragging his tongue through my folds like he is starving for it. A low groan erupts from his lips as he p
GINGER:Hu leads me upstairs to a room in the house, shutting the door behind him as we walk in. He finds the light switch, turning it on. At first, it feels like déjà vu, but then it strikes me. This is the room we had sex in on the first night at the welcome party.“I guess every beginning deserves an ending,” I say to Hu, who raises a brow, unsure of what I am saying. “Doesn’t this room look familiar?” I question, and he opens his mouth to speak, but then he realizes.A smirk forms on my lips as I walk to the bed, sitting on it, running my hands over the sheets. The exact sheet we did it on—or maybe they just have a lot of sheets in the same colour and design. Hu walks towards me.“Are you sure you want to do this, or will you walk away from me again after…” I barely finish my words when his hand fists my throat, swallowing the words with a rough, messy, and desperate kiss.His
Ginger:“Look, Caspian and Hu have been having a conversation for over ten minutes,” Hana says, but I refuse to take my eyes off the Monopoly board as I think it is just a lie to get me to fail.“That is goal one of this party achieved,” Wendy says, taking her eyes off the board, and when I see Hana isn’t trying anything funny, it dawns on me they are every bit serious.My attention falls solely on the two of them as their eyes remain on both boys. Then I turn slightly to see them discussing happily. This lifts off a heavy burden from my chest, which I didn’t know had been there for a while. Probably for months.“That brings us to phase two of this party,” Hana says, and I look back at them to see both of them glaring at me with what appears to be a forced smile.My brows furrow slightly. “What?” I ask.Hana lets out a sigh at first.“I know you have said a million time
HU:Left to me, I will not be at Caspian’s party. I wanted something for just Ginger and me, but I know this means a lot to her. I do not know what it feels like to have two mates, and I hope I never have to find out. Well, I won’t because I am so sure I do not have two mates.It is already time for the party, so I drive across to Ginger’s house. There she stands, dressed casually in a miniskirt and crop top, which strikes a few nerves I try to suppress as she walks towards the car. I open the door for her from inside—a little too jealous of her choice of outfit.“Hey,” she says, leaning in to kiss my lips.“Hey,” I mutter as my eyes descend to her exposed lap before going back to her eyes, which are still in mine.“Why are you looking at me that way?” she
GINGER:Today is Hu’s graduation. It is supposed to be a happy day for him, but his face has been gloomy from the start. I understand his fear, but he makes it look like I will run off with some guy before he blinks an eye. We are at the graduation ground, which is full of family, friends, and students, all waiting for the ceremony to finish.We are sitting in a special spot which is reserved for the Alpha’s family. Luna Holly invited us to sit with them because of my tie with Hu. Hana and Wendy are seated beside me.“You know it’s been more than two months, but I still cannot believe you are Hu’s mate, and I have been sharing you with him ever since,” Hana voices, seeing I will not take my eyes off Hu. Her words barely register in my mind as Hu’s name blasts from the speaker for the athlete's achievement award.He stands up gracefully, making his way to the stage with his face in a frown. He looks good in his blu
GINGER:Hu’s words hit me hard as a feeling of embarrassment warms my face. Anyone with self-dignity should walk away from someone who has such vulgar things to say in a demanding tone, reducing you to nothing. But even I question my self-worth. I should at least be scared, but my body finds him hot, and I imagine what he just said.“Sit exactly where I want—on my fucking cock.” His words replay in my mind like they have been branded inside my skull.Honestly, I have been turned on the moment I saw him doing bench presses. The way his muscles flexed with each rep kept sending untold sensations to my belly. His hands slip from my waist as he pulls away, walking back to the bench. I don’t know how he still looks so calm when I feel like I’ve been shaken down to my bones.Hu lowers himself onto the bench and spreads his legs slightly, resting his arms on his thighs. Then his eyes lock on mine again.“Now,” he says, his voice softer but still layered with that dominance that coils heat in