Music echoes through the room, vibrating the floor beneath my feet. Searing Latin rhythms blared from the large speakers in the corner of the room, livening up the already festive atmosphere.The air is filled with the sounds of laughter, clapping, and clinking glasses.Kyara and I shouted along to the lyrics, jumping up and down in the crowd without a care in the world. The miniskirt I was wearing fluttered with my movements, and my long hair swayed wildly every time I raised my hands in the air."We have to teach Ara dan Mika how to enjoy music properly!" Kyara shouted in my ear, her laughter exploding as she pulled my hand to spin.I laughed loudly, throwing my head back before jumping back to the beat. "This is THE party!"One second, I'm still spinning with Kyara, and the next, I hit a hard wall that shouldn't be in the middle of the dance floor.Or... not a wall?"Ouch!" I grimaced, taking a step back, and I rubbed my forehead, which was slightly sore from the impact.The tall fi
"You know, Jacob," Kyara piped up, "Belva talks about you quite often."I reflexively opened my eyes, straightening up so quickly that I almost dropped the glass on my desk.“¿Qué carajos dices?!” (What the hell are you saying?!) I almost screamed, looking at Kyara with a face of horror.Kyara just grinned widely, a look of complete satisfaction gracing her face. "I'm just stating a fact."From the corner of my eye, I could see Ronan and Calvin, who immediately turned their heads with renewed interest, while Pascha only raised his eyebrows.However, Jacob, who was now looking at me, made me want to sink into the ground the most. There was no expression of excessive surprise on his face. Only a small nod as if he was processing the information.Oh my god.Mother Earth, please swallow me right now.I turned to Mikaela and Aurora, looking for reinforcements, but their expressions only made me more desperate."Oh, we already know, Bell." Aurora sipped her drink calmly. "I mean, you're not
The campus corridor was still crowded, with students leaving their classes. I walked while reading the paper. My professor had just given me a small note about revising the assignment I had to do. I frowned, reading each point carefully, too focused to notice the road ahead of me.And, of course...I hit something hard.Or rather, a person.My body was pushed back slightly, the papers in my hand almost falling before I quickly balanced myself."Ouch," I muttered as I lifted my head.Pascha."Of course," I said in a frustrated tone. "Why did I hit you again?"Pascha looked at me with a calm expression, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. "I also want to know why you have a habit of bumping into me every week."I gave him a sharp look. "Probably because you're always in my way."He chuckled, shrugging as if this wasn't all his fault. "Or maybe it's because you can't walk straight."I almost replied more sharply, but then I realized someone was beside Pascha—Jacob.Unlike Pa
The light from the chandelier on the ceiling was still burning softly, creating faint shadows between the towering bookshelves. I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the situation before realization hit me like a crushing blow to the stomach.I had fallen asleep.My whole body felt stiff after hours of sitting hunched over a desk, and to make matters worse, my stomach felt violently twisted. I squeezed the bottom of my stomach lightly, wincing as sharp pain spread throughout my body. My acid reflux had returned.I let out a long breath, trying to think clearly. I shifted in my chair and reached for my phone next to my laptop that was already wholly dead, and damn it, and my phone was dead too.I cursed under my breath, staring at the dark screen as if hoping the battery would charge itself. I didn't know what time it was, but the library was already too quiet, and there was no one around me.I fell asleep in the library. Again.My heart started beating frantically. If I calle
The wind pierced our skin as we left the library building, within seconds, the rain came down harder.I squinted, looking around. My dorm was right across the street, and running there only took a few seconds. But Pascha's car... I turned to him, watching him lift his face to the sky."Where is your car?" I asked, trying to speak louder over the sound of the increasingly crazy rain.Pascha turned to me, his eyes narrowed by the water droplets that had begun to fall down his face. "At the hockey pitch."I frowned, looking around. It was quite a distance. With this much rain, he would be drenched before he got there.I bit my lip, hesitating for a moment, before finally letting out a long breath. "You can go to my dorm first. At least until the rain stop."He looked at me, his expression hard to guess. I didn't know what he was thinking, but he just stayed silent, staring at me for a few seconds longer than he should have.I was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Just forget that—""Okay.
I had never felt this awful before.It had been a few days since that rainy night in my dorm, since that kiss—and I did everything to avoid Pascha desperately.Whenever I saw him on campus, I would immediately turn around, look the other way, or pretend to be busy with my phone. When he walked into the library, I would close my book quickly and leave. Even in the cafeteria, when I was with my friends, I chose to sit in a corner far away from where he and his friends usually ate.I couldn't face him.Not just because the kiss had left me confused but because something had changed inside me since that night, something I didn't dare admit.Jacob, my crush, who had felt like the safest place to be, suddenly felt... boring.I don't understand. I shouldn't feel this way. Jacob is a good man, a stable man, a reasonable man. He's not a storm like Pascha. He didn't confuse me or make me want to run away, but also... he didn't make me feel anything.I denied that.I told myself that this was ju
We didn't speak throughout the ride.Only the car engine roar and the friction of the tyres on the asphalt accompanied us. I sat silently, looking at the road ahead without seeing it. My fingers gripped my pants tightly.Pascha remained silent. His eyes focused on the road. One hand rested casually on the steering wheel while the other easily shifted gears.I tried to ignore his presence, trying to remember why I had been avoiding him for the past few days."What did Sarah do to make you like that?"I blinked. Turned my head toward him.Pascha was still staring at the road.I chuckled softly. "She messed up our group project," I said, "We had clearly divided the tasks, had a format, and she just sent us something messy. Not only that, she acted like it was no big deal. Like I was the one being overly dramatic for caring about an assignment that made up 40 percent of our final grade. Then she started talking nonsense about how I was too much of a perfectionist, how I had no life other
"Come in. You won't regret it."My toes gripping the grassy ground as I considered his invitation. The clear water reflected the sunlight beginning to lean to the west, its surface sparkling like crystal. I could see the bottom of the lake. Small grayish rocks were scattered underneath, creating a beautiful natural expanse.I bit my lip, considering Pascha's invitation. I wanted to go in, but...My eyes caught a glimpse of him. His black hair was wet, and a few drops of water ran down his tanned skin.I let out a long breath."Alright." I turned towards the car, taking a deep breath as I got into it and closed the door. I removed my pants, leaving only the short boxers I always wore as underwear, while my black T-shirt remained attached to my body.As I returned to the lakeside, Pascha looked at me.I ignored him.I stepped into the water slowly, my body immediately feeling a piercing but refreshing cold sensation. I sighed softly, letting the water surround my skin, then walked deepe
I came down the stairs at seven a.m., my steps slow on the oak wood that felt too expensive—and far too quiet—for the storm inside my chest. The sound of waves drifted in from afar through a slightly cracked window, filling the air with sea salt and cool mist. Morning light slipped softly into the living room, brushing over thick rugs and cream velvet couches that looked like they belonged in an architecture magazine.The Romanov villa in Carmel… was too perfect.Too still.And for the first time since last night, I was thankful for that.No heavy footsteps on the floor.No clinking glasses.No low voice saying my name in that way that short-circuited my entire nervous system.No Pascha.I let out a quiet sigh—half relief, half disbelief. I wasn’t ready this morning. Not for his stare. Too honest. Too lit. Too full of history.I made my way to the kitchen. The interior looked like something out of another world—gray marble counters veined with white like paintings, dark wood cabinets
His embrace felt like the world I almost left behind—warm, stubborn, and heavy with the shadows of our past.But I couldn’t breathe.Not because he was holding me too tightly, but because my mind was too full. Too loud. Too much to process all at once.I pressed my hand gently against his chest. One small push. Then another, firmer.Pascha let go slowly, but his gray eyes stayed locked on me like he was afraid I’d vanish if he blinked.I took two steps back, holding in a breath that burned like embers in my chest.“I need some time alone,” I said softly.Pascha frowned but didn’t speak.“Another room. In this villa. I know this place is huge—too huge. You can sleep wherever you want. But I need space. I need… somewhere that isn’t you.”My voice nearly cracked, but I forced it to hold.He didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me, and I could see something stirring inside him. Not anger. Not guilt.But love—raw and unsure of what shape to take in a moment like this.Then he steppe
I fell silent.The only sound was the faucet still running, water hitting the metal sink like a downpour in the middle of silence.That sentence echoed in my head."You're my wife, Bee."I blinked.Once.Twice.Then the world started to spin.Not the usual kind of dizziness, not a migraine from lack of sleep or too much caffeine. This was... like my logic was twisted, crushed, and thrown off the highest cliff without warning.My heart started pounding—not from emotion, but because my brain couldn’t process something this big… this absurd… this Pascha.I took a step back.Then another.My hand reached for the cold edge of the kitchen counter, gripping it just to stay upright.“What... did you just say?” I whispered, even though I’d heard him. Too clearly.He just looked at me, eyes steady, shoulders still slightly leaning forward like a man who just dropped a bomb in the middle of a city and was waiting to see if there’d be an explosion.I laughed.It was dry. Empty. The laugh of someo
The cold air hit my skin like a slap of reality.I stared at my reflection in the villa’s bathroom mirror—cream marble walls too smooth to be real, warm lighting that made my swollen eyes look softer, and a wide sink with a bottle of liquid soap that probably cost more than my shoes.But my face... was still the same.Tired eyes. Cracked lips. Unsteady breath.I wiped my cheek with a white towel—clean, lavender-scented—then looked at myself again.“This is the end,” I said quietly.My own voice sounded unfamiliar. But steady.“It has to end. Tonight.”I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling the front pieces back and tying them at the back of my head with a small band I found in my bag. The rest of my short hair fell around my neck—light, out of the way. Practical. Sharp. Just like my intention for tonight.I looked down at my wrinkled sweater—sage green, a color I used to love, now feeling like a burden. My jeans itched too, dusty from the car ride and too much heat from earlier ang
“I hate you.”That was the first thing I said after the car crossed the gate and turned onto the main road. My voice cracked. My breathing was still uneven. One hand clutched the seatbelt, the other trembled in my lap.“You think this is funny? Bringing her into your house? Around Max?!”Pascha stayed silent. His left hand rested calmly on the wheel, the right on the gearshift. His eyes were locked on the road like there wasn’t a storm sitting right next to him.“You really don’t realize what a bastard you are, do you?”Still no response.“You’re insane. You’re.....you’re the most selfish person I’ve ever met! You showed up at my house bleeding, crawled into my bed. MY BED, and the next day you brought her to your house?!”Still nothing. The car kept rolling forward, eating up pavement in a steady rhythm.“And you let Max laugh with her? Sit next to her? What.....what’s next, he calls her ‘Mommy’? Is that it? That your plan? To replace me? Hand her the title?”No answer.I turned to h
The car hadn’t even come to a full stop in the carport when I opened the door."Bell—"I heard Kyara’s voice from behind me, but I didn’t look back. My steps were fast. Hot. Loud.Every heel strike against the stone path between my house and Pascha’s mansion felt like a tiny hammer, fueling my anger higher and higher. I knew he was there. I knew Max was there. And I knew that snake of a woman was there too, sitting pretty in the living room, playing a role so well even the devil would applaud her performance.Aurora was close behind me, her steps quick but cautious. I could feel her breath. Short and startled. But nothing could stop me now.The mansion door opened. Clara stood in the doorway, her expression confused and wary when she saw me. But I didn’t stop.“Where’s Max?” I asked flatly.“In the back room… playing with synthetic sand and Mischa,” Clara whispered.I didn’t say anything else. No need. I walked inside.And there she was.Her.Mikaela.Sitting on Pascha’s way-too-soft,
I tapped the green button on my phone and held it to my ear.Three rings.Four.No answer.I frowned, pulled the phone away, and stared at the name on the screen: Ben (my favorite idiot twin). I called again.Ringing.Still no answer. No message.He usually lets me know if there’s a change of plans. Even when he's stuck in a board meeting in L.A., he still manages to send me a photo of a whiteboard covered in scribbles with a caption like, “Does anyone understand this? 'Cause I don't.”But now?Silence.I sighed, slipped the phone into my bag, and pushed the office door open with my shoulder. My actual office—not Romanov International. I’d had enough of Russians playing dress-up as CEOs.This office lobby was nothing fancy. Modern, but human. No marble, no echoing high heels that felt like judgment. Just the smell of fresh coffee, soft lighting, and polite smiles from Ellie the receptionist who talked way too much about her cats.“Good morning, Ms. Belva,” Ellie greeted.I gave a quic
The digital clock beside the bed read 4:12 AM.I opened my eyes slowly, and for a moment, the world felt still.Moonlight filtered through the thin curtains, casting soft lines across the wooden floor and the white bedsheet I was lying on. The sheet Belva said she’d just washed yesterday.I turned my head slightly, feeling the dull throb in my left shoulder.And I just... smiled a little.Still fresh in my memory: her panicked voice, her trembling hands, her frustrated muttering while cleaning up my blood last night. Belva in her panic-anger mode was honestly one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.I reached for my phone on the nightstand. The screen lit up, too bright at first. I opened the messaging app and typed quickly to Jacob.Pascha: Clean my wound again later.Barely two seconds and it showed a blue check.Then I switched to another contact and hit call without hesitation.Ronan.The dial tone rang.Once. Twice.“I swear on my wife and my dog, if this isn’t an emergen
The pain came in lazy pulses.Not the kind that made you scream or tear up a pillow, but more like a harsh whisper gnawing at the edges of your consciousness.I sat on a black leather chair in the back room of the mansion, my shirt torn, blood dripping onto the kind of expensive floor that would probably make my company accountant faint if he knew how much the carpet cost.Jacob was kneeling beside me, face tight, gloved hands steady, eyes filled with his usual annoyance. Christian stood in the corner, holding a basin of water and a clean towel, looking like he’d just seen a zombie walk into the living room.“Holy shit…” Christian muttered in panic, eyes wide. “Boss, we have to go to a hospital! This is serious! This is insane! This is—”I lazily raised an eyebrow. “If you can’t shut up, Christian, I’ll have Jacob stitch your mouth closed before he does my shoulder.”Christian froze. Literally.Jacob snorted, lifting a shiny pair of tweezers into the air, inspecting them under the des