Lavender:“Let me go,” I started kicking and screaming when a hand grabbed me. It was Igor.“Shut up before I smack the teeth out of your mouth,” he screamed as he grabbed me by both my arms and shook me awake.“I will not allow you or your friends to touch me,” I screamed in his face, and he gave me a blank expression.“We are not going to. Do you think you’re that important for us to spend the precious time we’ve planned for weeks convincing you to have sex with us?” he hissed back, and my protesting started to fade away. “That jerk was making a joke.”“Well, it wasn’t funny because it happens to women all the time—” Finally, I teared up.It was my worst fear, and hearing his friend think it was a funny joke broke me down. There were some girls with some of the guys, and even they laughed about it.At least some of them did.“Yeah, it’s not funny. I call him an asshole for a reason. Nobody is touching you, so don’t worry,” he then let me go while promising no one would touch me.I d
Lavender:All the cars started leaving, one after another. Loud engines, bright lights, dust in the air. I just sat on the chair and watched them go. It was like they couldn’t wait to race. Then I saw it.One car didn’t move.It stayed in the same place while the others drove away. That felt strange. I looked at it again. The windows were dark, but I could see someone inside.He was looking at me.I didn’t know who he was, but I knew he wasn’t just sitting there. He was staring. At me. Not moving, not blinking. Just watching.My stomach felt tight. Like something was wrong. Really wrong.I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. My eyes stayed on the car. My body didn’t move. I felt cold even though the night wasn’t that cold.Why was he still there?Why was he watching me?I started recalling who had sat down in that one particular car. His form was not recognizable because of the tinted windows, until all the cars had passed me and disappeared. Then, he slowly rolled the window down.T
Igor:"Wooooo! We are definitely going to win!" Valerie giggled, sticking her tongue out at the passing cars.Her fingers were covered in rings, bracelets stacked up, and big earrings dangled from her ears. She was all set and ready for the race.This would mark us as the best among the racers."What do you think? If I open this window now, will my top come off?" she asked, clicking her tongue and spreading her legs to sit more comfortably."You call this a top? It's a bra, ma'am," I teased, and she laughed loudly. She had gone out with me to buy this outfit and jewelry for the special night.Whenever she needed something, she'd ask me to take her shopping. She never made me pay, even when I always insisted. She’d say she just wanted my opinion. But honestly, I didn’t know what to say to her. Everything she picked out looked good on her."Do you think this skirt are too short?" she asked, pouting, her arm stretching out, hand in my hair, running her fingers through it."No! It suits t
Lavender:My body was under so much stress, but I didn’t stop fighting. I would scratch his whole body if I had to. As I pulled his hair, his hold over me started to loosen. That’s when his grip tightened around my neck in an attempt to choke me until I passed out.Coughs erupted from my mouth, my throat closing as he choked me from behind with his arm wrapped around my neck, my chin tightly pressed against his arm.I was trying my best to stand up from the ground, but at this point, I was beginning to realize it wouldn't be possible for me.However, as the world started to fade around me, I felt sudden relief. The weight of his body on my back was no longer forcing me down. I rolled over to get away from him, and while lying flat on my back, coughing, I saw someone get on top of him and start beating him to a pulp.It took me a few seconds to finally see clearly and catch my breath. It was Igor, punching his friend wildly.“Let him go, you’re going to kill him,” Valerie kept shouting
Lavender:"Take this, it will help your body warm up," Igor grunted when I didn't accept the coffee he was offering me. He had taken me back to the cruise that had been waiting for him. He had a cruise for himself later. He was probably not planning on returning with his friends.The race was still ongoing, and Valerie had to stay behind to take care of Raymond.It’s not that she was supporting him, but they had to leave one person behind with Raymond.I finally accepted the coffee cup, and he sat down with me."Earlier, when you talked about your brother... What did you mean? I mean, Easton is very respectful towards me," I uttered softly, trying not to raise his suspicions more than I already had."Easton and respectful? He has many women in and out of his life. I don’t think he has time to be respectful towards them. And if he is, that means he isn’t done using their bodies for fun. I’m not claiming my brother uses anyone. Usually, women just throw themselves at him without any dem
Lavender:I went straight to my room and changed into my PJs to lie down in bed. We had arrived earlier than we had planned.It was 2 AM, and I was restless. I knew I had to confront Easton about his comments on me.However, deep down, I had a feeling Igor was lying just to cause tension between me and his brother.Levi: Hey :) I heard you had your stepsisters over at the shooting location the other night. There were talks about them.That was a long guess. He knew I did his PR work and made speeches for him, so it was obvious that somehow words had reached my ears. However, what he didn’t know was that it wasn’t my line of work. I didn’t work for anyone, and I had no connections with paparazzi or anyone like that.Thankfully, his message arrived soon, or I would have kept staring at my phone. But the context of his text didn’t help with my anxiety.E-Tron: Oh! I guess I know what you're talking about. Yeah, she was being so "pick-me" there. One of them. She ruined it so much, acting
Lavender:"I'll need a minute to order," I told the waitress walking my way. She nodded and went back behind the counter to chat with another guy in the back. I had finished my twelve-hour nursing shift when I packed my bags to travel to this city. I was always rushing to stay with my mom after enduring my uncle’s cruelty.I had turned nineteen a week ago and had been working nonstop as a nurse since then. They drained me completely in one week, but at least I was able to earn something.My thoughts were briefly interrupted as the door burst open like someone was in an emergency, and a tall man in a black suit and glasses barged in.I shifted in my seat, avoiding direct eye contact.He had a sharp jawline with a bit of a beard and mustache. His high cheekbones were pretty much all I could focus on. He walked ahead and took the seat next to the window across from my table.There was something about his presence that radiated darkness, but I avoided thinking too much about it.I had my
Lavender:“What is wrong with you?” my mother complained once we entered the house, and I closed the door like it was an emergency.I was holding the cake in my hand that I had brought earlier, but the excitement of celebrating my birthday had faded now.“Mom, you need to listen to me.” I couldn’t believe we made it to the house without me telling her about her new husband.I had no clue she was getting married, and I would have been happier had it not been to someone who was a fricking boss’s father.“What is it?” My mom rolled her eyes, putting her purse down. I looked around and saw the mess. There were boxes in every corner and disposable plates and cups lying around.“You should not marry this man.” The minute I pointed at her bag, I watched darkness take over her eyes.She looked angry right from the start.“What did you say? Huh! You want me to live my life without a man? Do I not deserve happiness?” My mother’s tantrum wasn’t new. She would always lose it with me."I'm not say
Lavender:I went straight to my room and changed into my PJs to lie down in bed. We had arrived earlier than we had planned.It was 2 AM, and I was restless. I knew I had to confront Easton about his comments on me.However, deep down, I had a feeling Igor was lying just to cause tension between me and his brother.Levi: Hey :) I heard you had your stepsisters over at the shooting location the other night. There were talks about them.That was a long guess. He knew I did his PR work and made speeches for him, so it was obvious that somehow words had reached my ears. However, what he didn’t know was that it wasn’t my line of work. I didn’t work for anyone, and I had no connections with paparazzi or anyone like that.Thankfully, his message arrived soon, or I would have kept staring at my phone. But the context of his text didn’t help with my anxiety.E-Tron: Oh! I guess I know what you're talking about. Yeah, she was being so "pick-me" there. One of them. She ruined it so much, acting
Lavender:"Take this, it will help your body warm up," Igor grunted when I didn't accept the coffee he was offering me. He had taken me back to the cruise that had been waiting for him. He had a cruise for himself later. He was probably not planning on returning with his friends.The race was still ongoing, and Valerie had to stay behind to take care of Raymond.It’s not that she was supporting him, but they had to leave one person behind with Raymond.I finally accepted the coffee cup, and he sat down with me."Earlier, when you talked about your brother... What did you mean? I mean, Easton is very respectful towards me," I uttered softly, trying not to raise his suspicions more than I already had."Easton and respectful? He has many women in and out of his life. I don’t think he has time to be respectful towards them. And if he is, that means he isn’t done using their bodies for fun. I’m not claiming my brother uses anyone. Usually, women just throw themselves at him without any dem
Lavender:My body was under so much stress, but I didn’t stop fighting. I would scratch his whole body if I had to. As I pulled his hair, his hold over me started to loosen. That’s when his grip tightened around my neck in an attempt to choke me until I passed out.Coughs erupted from my mouth, my throat closing as he choked me from behind with his arm wrapped around my neck, my chin tightly pressed against his arm.I was trying my best to stand up from the ground, but at this point, I was beginning to realize it wouldn't be possible for me.However, as the world started to fade around me, I felt sudden relief. The weight of his body on my back was no longer forcing me down. I rolled over to get away from him, and while lying flat on my back, coughing, I saw someone get on top of him and start beating him to a pulp.It took me a few seconds to finally see clearly and catch my breath. It was Igor, punching his friend wildly.“Let him go, you’re going to kill him,” Valerie kept shouting
Igor:"Wooooo! We are definitely going to win!" Valerie giggled, sticking her tongue out at the passing cars.Her fingers were covered in rings, bracelets stacked up, and big earrings dangled from her ears. She was all set and ready for the race.This would mark us as the best among the racers."What do you think? If I open this window now, will my top come off?" she asked, clicking her tongue and spreading her legs to sit more comfortably."You call this a top? It's a bra, ma'am," I teased, and she laughed loudly. She had gone out with me to buy this outfit and jewelry for the special night.Whenever she needed something, she'd ask me to take her shopping. She never made me pay, even when I always insisted. She’d say she just wanted my opinion. But honestly, I didn’t know what to say to her. Everything she picked out looked good on her."Do you think this skirt are too short?" she asked, pouting, her arm stretching out, hand in my hair, running her fingers through it."No! It suits t
Lavender:All the cars started leaving, one after another. Loud engines, bright lights, dust in the air. I just sat on the chair and watched them go. It was like they couldn’t wait to race. Then I saw it.One car didn’t move.It stayed in the same place while the others drove away. That felt strange. I looked at it again. The windows were dark, but I could see someone inside.He was looking at me.I didn’t know who he was, but I knew he wasn’t just sitting there. He was staring. At me. Not moving, not blinking. Just watching.My stomach felt tight. Like something was wrong. Really wrong.I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. My eyes stayed on the car. My body didn’t move. I felt cold even though the night wasn’t that cold.Why was he still there?Why was he watching me?I started recalling who had sat down in that one particular car. His form was not recognizable because of the tinted windows, until all the cars had passed me and disappeared. Then, he slowly rolled the window down.T
Lavender:“Let me go,” I started kicking and screaming when a hand grabbed me. It was Igor.“Shut up before I smack the teeth out of your mouth,” he screamed as he grabbed me by both my arms and shook me awake.“I will not allow you or your friends to touch me,” I screamed in his face, and he gave me a blank expression.“We are not going to. Do you think you’re that important for us to spend the precious time we’ve planned for weeks convincing you to have sex with us?” he hissed back, and my protesting started to fade away. “That jerk was making a joke.”“Well, it wasn’t funny because it happens to women all the time—” Finally, I teared up.It was my worst fear, and hearing his friend think it was a funny joke broke me down. There were some girls with some of the guys, and even they laughed about it.At least some of them did.“Yeah, it’s not funny. I call him an asshole for a reason. Nobody is touching you, so don’t worry,” he then let me go while promising no one would touch me.I d
Lavender:I had finished my dinner and went back to my room, planning to change and rest. Thankfully, Nikon had taken the right stance, or else I don’t even want to imagine being at the island with that psycho.I was about to grab my wig and the black backdrop when a loud banging on the door almost knocked the world from under my feet. It was aggressive, like someone was in an emergency. I jumped off the bed and reached the door, worried that someone got sick or hurt.Or maybe some emergency had arrived.But the minute I opened the door and saw Nikon standing outside my room, I knew it wasn’t anything like what I had thought.“Grab your aid kit, you’re going with Igor,” Nikon stormed in, his presence wild and threatening. Behind him was Igor, who only leaned to the side, supporting his body with the wall.“Huh? But—but you said—” I started panicking almost instantly. Going to an island where there is no one else but my psycho stepbrother and his friends, who were probably just as craz
Igor:It wasn’t new for my brother to humiliate me. But this time, it was worse because it was for someone like Lavender.Since when did my brother start feeling so bad for a bastard child?I rushed back to my room and grabbed a bottle of wine from my bar. That’s when my friends started blowing up my phone.“I’m not coming,” I hissed at them.“But why not? We’ve planned everything. The ferry is ready, our cars are ready to go—why are you changing your mind now? Don’t tell me you’re having cold feet. Are you scared of losing?” As they laughed, I clenched my jaw secretly.They had no clue that it wasn’t funny to me.I had been mistreated so much that now no one took me seriously.“Fear of losing, my brother? There’s no way Igor would be afraid of losing,” I didn’t know Nikon would come to my room. If I had known, I would have closed the door.But now he was standing in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.“Brother Nikon—but he’s saying he isn’t coming,” my friend must have g
Lavender:My family had returned. They looked happy. But I was too. After what happened between me and Easton, I was over the moon.I couldn’t stop smiling even when no one said anything nice to me.We were dining together and my sisters were gushing over the scenery from the picnic.“Daddy, can my friend come over sometime?” Sabrina said to Mister Volkov, making him smile in surprise at the fact that she was calling him her father.“Sure, they can come whenever they want. It is your house—” Mister Volkov suddenly stopped when Nikon placed his spoon down.It was done so politely, but somehow it made everyone turn to look at him.“But of course, ask for your brother’s permission first,” Mister Volkov corrected himself.“It’s okay. As long as they don’t walk around poking their noses in everyone’s business—especially mine and my brother’s,” Nikon warned her, grabbing his spoon again.He was usually quiet all the time.And just when I thought I hadn’t been under his scrutiny for a while,