Chloe
I swayed my hips, moving to the beat like a crazed woman. The music pulsed through my body, and I let myself get lost in it. I shook my body, my hair whipped around my face, my dress flowing with my movements, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was smiling. The people around me clapped, clearly enjoying the energy I brought. I laughed as the women I'd joined on stage moved together with me like we were old friends. We danced like we owned the stage, like this was our moment, and nothing else mattered. I spun around, my arms raised high above my head. This was so fucking fun!!! But not everyone was happy. I caught the irritated expressions of a few men in the crowd, their gazes flickering over me in disdain. No doubt they would rather have someone sexier, someone who fit their fantasies, dancing on stage—a perfectly sculpted, half-naked woman. Certainly not someone like me. Like hell I care. Fuck them all. They get what they get. Greedy little cunts. I ignored the ugly background characters, and focused on my mission. My eyes scanned the room for my target. Somewhere out there was the man I wanted, the one who would make tonight worth it. It wasn’t like I had expensive taste. I wasn’t looking for the richest man or someone who reeked of power. No. If I was going to cheat, I was going to do it with someone who looked like a Greek god. Or at least someone with the perfect body. But no one yet. No one caught my attention. I moved to the edge of the stage, resting my hands on my knees as I bent forward, catching my breath. A strand of hair fell over my face, and I pushed it back. “You let everyone walk all over you. Like the perfect little doll in the glass house, always pretty, always obedient, always empty.” “You are my wife, my property, I own you and you belong to me. You are mine until your last breath.” “Are you out of your damn mind? A divorce?! A fucking divorce!” “Of course, that also means I’ll have no reason to keep protecting your mother anymore.” Those bastards. Those fucking bastards. Why? Why must I live this way? Why must I act like their pawn? What gave them the right to use me as they pleased? I am a fucking human. Just like them. How dare they! “Fuck everyone!!” I yelled. “Crazy bastards, controlling motherfuckers, selfish pricks, arrogant assholes, heartless users, selfish souls! disgusting pussi— ” “You need a drink.” A deep voice said. I looked up, blinking in confusion, and froze. Standing in front of me was a man—a good-looking man. Blonde hair that fell perfectly across his forehead, and a body that could probably make anyone weak in the knees. His muscles strained against the fabric of his shirt, and while he wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, he was definitely the best I’d seen so far. Was this… divine intervention? Had God finally looked down on me and decided to help me out? Maybe He saw how desperately I needed this. Thank you, big guy. I knew I could count on you. “So?” the guy said, flashing a grin that revealed straight, white teeth. Bonus points. “Do you need a drink?” I straightened up, smoothing down my dress and trying to maintain a seductive look. “Maybe, but I’m not easily won over by strangers buying me drinks.” He smirked and leaned in closer, his cologne wafting toward me. “Then what must I do to win a beautiful woman like you?” My cheeks flared instantly, burning like I’d been hit with the summer sun. I licked my lips, the heat spreading through my face, and gave him a coy smile. “Okay, since you’re good-looking,” I said, trying to sound flirty but probably just sounding tipsy, “I’ll make it easy for you. But know this—I never make it easy for anyone. It’s just for you, okay?” The guy chuckled, “Sure. I’m lucky, then.” “Good, let’s go.” Mission accomplished. Time to get laid. He led me to the counter, and I caught the bartender sharing a knowing look with him before smiling politely at me. This bartender wasn’t the same one who had been here earlier—he must’ve gone on a break. The new bartender smiled warmly. “We have a special miss. Would you like one?” I hesitated for a moment but nodded. The bartender poured me a drink. I picked it up, sniffing it curiously. It was unlike anything I’d seen before. “First time?” the guy asked with a teasing smile. “Don’t worry. You’ll like it. Trust me. Now be a good girl and drink.” You don't have to ask me twice. Under his intense, seductive gaze, I tipped the glass back and drank. The flavor burned my throat, but I felt a pleasant heat spread through me. Time blurred after that. I didn’t know how many times he refilled my glass, but I kept drinking. Each sip made me warmer, dizzier, until my entire body felt like it was on fire. My vision swam as I looked at him. His grin widened as he leaned in, his breath brushing against my ear. “So,” he said, his voice low and inviting, “do you want to follow me to a room?” His words sent a jolt through me, and I nodded before I could even think. “Yes,” I whispered, my voice breathless. But before we could leave, a sharp voice called out from across the room. “Otis, get your ass in here for a moment!” He cursed under his breath, glancing at me with frustration. “Shit, watch over her. Don’t let her out of your sight. I’ll be back.” He told the bartender. I nodded absentmindedly as he walked away, my attention slipping from him almost instantly. My body still felt unbearably hot, and my head was spinning. Then, as if fate had stepped in, one of my favorite songs came on. I smiled. I jolted upright, feeling a sudden rush of energy, and before I could stop myself, I stood up and made my way back to the stage. The bartender was busy talking to someone, and I didn’t bother telling him where I was going. The moment my feet hit the stage, I started moving to the beat, swaying my hips and letting the music take over. The heat in my body felt less overwhelming as I danced. I closed my eyes, losing myself in the rhythm, until I felt it—someone behind me. I froze. Slowly, I turned around. My breath caught in my throat, and I stumbled, almost falling on my ass, but he was faster. His strong arms wrapped over me. I looked at the towering man over me. Woah. He was the most attractive man I had ever seen. His dark hair was perfectly tousled, his sharp jawline looked like it had been carved by the gods themselves, and his beautiful green eyes made my knees weak. Oh. My. God. A Greek god. That’s what he was. He was perfect. Utterly, undeniably perfect. I couldn’t stop staring, my mind blank except for one overwhelming thought: I want him. Before I realized what I was doing, my hand shot out, grabbing his suit jacket and pulling him closer. “How much for the night, handsome?” I slurred, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. The corner of his mouth twitched, and those piercing eyes locked onto mine, but he said nothing. I didn’t care. I wanted him, and I was going to have him. I had just found myself a stripper to spend the night with.Alexander “How much for the night, handsome?” I’d heard plenty of absurd things in my life. After all, people had a knack for saying stupid things without thinking, as if words just spilled out of their mouths before their brains caught up. But those things had never once gotten a reaction out of me. I was far too busy, too indifferent to care about people that didn't matter. And they never crossed the line—they never dared to. They cherished their lives. But never—never in my damn life had someone said those words to me before. Never have I had those degrading words thrown at my face without a second thought. Never had a woman looked at me like I was a piece of meat, as if she wanted nothing more than to have her way with me. The audacity. The sheer audacity. Does this woman have a death wish? The corner of my mouth twitched in annoyance. She looked up at me and smiled—a bold, infuriating smile that made my jaw tighten. She didn't even seem to care about the way my e
Chole One word. Big. Damn, he was big. Trust me, I knew. Rather, I felt it—the hard, solid evidence beneath me, pressing against my thigh. Something hard, something big. It made my heart race, and I wanted so badly to remove the stupid clothes separating us. Forget it, this man beneath me was perfect. A stripper who’s big? That’s an extra bonus. The heat coursing through my body took over everything else—name it: common sense, decency, shame. They were all gone, thrown into the trash. I didn't even want to waste another second on small talk. I wanted to stop this back-and-forth and head straight to a bedroom, somewhere private where I could have my way with him. How good would it be if he was half-naked, entertaining me, moving for me. My pulse quickened at the thought. My body was already aching for more. I looked down at him. He had to be feeling the same thing I was, right? I mean, that evidence poking me was clear. Even though his expression was cold, like he wanted noth
Alexander Temptation. People define temptation as many things—a fleeting desire, a moment of weakness, an indulgence that comes with consequences. But I had never understood that word. If you know something is bad for you, why indulge in it? Why get tempted to take something or do something that is bad for you? So, I saw temptation as a test. Fail it, and there would be consequences. I had never been tempted to do something before. Never been tempted to hold a woman, to make her moan, to give her the best orgasm of her life, to fuck her until she couldn’t walk anymore. Desires were never my thing. But... But why on earth was I dying to fail that fucking test? Why was I dying to fuck the woman in front of me? My jaw clenched as her soft moans echoed through the walls. “Ah,” she gasped, her head falling back, her hair cascading over her shoulders as her hand disappeared under the fabric of her dress, sliding along her thigh. Shit. I dragged a hand down my face, as if the gestur
Chloe Three words. I fucked up. Ah, Chloe. You have really fucked your whole life up this time. Not only had I acted like an absolute idiot by going to a strip club of all places, but I had actually gone and done the unthinkable—I slept with a man. Not just any man. A stripper. Oh. My. God. I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands tangled in my hair as I yanked at it in frustration, trying to process what I had just done. My eyes darted to the bed, where he was still lying naked under the sheet. Please tell me this was a dream. Tell me my fucking ass didn't act improper last night. I shook my head. Yes, everything was a dream. Maybe if I just closed my eyes, I would be in my room, ready to make breakfast. And…. I blinked at him, then immediately covered my face with my hands. Ah! This was real. This was really real. What should I do? What the hell should I do?! I peeked through my fingers again, and there he was. His toned chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, and his messy
Alexander “Hahahaha!” Joshua was doubled over, clutching his stomach as loud, as he laughed loudly. His obnoxious cackling echoed through the room, grating on my already frayed nerves. I sat on the edge of the bed, my jaw clenched so tightly it felt like it might snap. The sheet rested low on my waist, leaving my upper body bare. My hair was a mess, and I ran my hand through it in frustration, the events of the morning replaying in my mind. That woman. That damn woman. I could still feel the humiliation boiling under my skin, hot and suffocating. How dare she? How dare she even think of doing this? “Does she want to meet her maker soon?” I muttered under my breath, my tone sharp and deadly. “Is she insane?” Joshua straightened up slightly, wiping tears from his eyes as he held up the crumpled note she had left behind. “Oh my god,” he wheezed, trying to catch his breath. “Let me read this again. Excuse me, Mr. Stripper—” “Don’t,” I growled. But of course, Joshua ignored me.
Chloe "Tap-tap-tap." I knocked on the door gently, glancing over my shoulder, praying no one saw me like this—at least no one who knew Logan or my family. If they caught a glimpse, news would spread like wildfire. I would be a dead woman before I even realized what had happened. “Come on, Stella, open up.” I whispered, biting my lips. The door stayed closed. I knocked again, a little louder this time. I wanted to kick the door open. This girl was probably hungover. Stella was like a dead person in the morning when she was hungover, and getting her to open her eyes was a miracle in itself. “Damn it, why don’t you fix your doorbell? I told you to fix it!” I hissed, knocking on the door again. When she didn’t open it, I groaned in frustration. “Please, Stella, just open the doo—” I was just raising my hand to knock one more time when the door flew open. A very disheveled Stella stood in the doorway, her red hair a frizzy mess, her eyes puffy and bloodshot, and her entire expres
Chloe “Are you insane?!” Stella’s scream echoed through the apartment, making me wince. “Why are you yelling?” I said, holding my towel tightly around me. My hair was damp, and I had just taken a warm shower to clear my mind. I really needed it after last night’s madness “Why am I yelling?!” she shouted, sitting up on the bed. “How could you accept a drink from someone in a club? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” I sighed, rubbing my temple. “The bartender gave it to me, okay? Besides, I was already drunk by then. I didn’t know what I was doing.” “This is why you should never go to a club without me! I understand this was your first time, but there’s one rule every woman must follow if you want to stay safe.” I frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed as I pulled on the clean, presentable clothes she had lent me. “What rule?” “Never, ever drink anything that isn’t made in front of you. Don’t even think about trying something different unless you’ve seen people drink
Chloe “Where is your stupid friend?! Does she think she can hide it any longer? How dare she even think of doing that!” My heart dropped. Stella and I locked eyes, both wide-eyed and frozen in shock. I felt suffocated, it was as if the air in the room was closing up around me. I couldn't breathe as my mother-in-law's words echoed in my ear. “I know she is there with you.” She continued, her voice loud. “She left her phone here, so give the slut the ph—” Without a word, Stella hurriedly ended the call, her shaky fingers fumbling with the screen as she hung up. She clutched her chest, taking a step back. “Shit. H-how does she know?” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. “Was I right? Is she really a witch?!” I wasn’t listening. My thoughts were racing. Does she know? Does she know I cheated on her son, and slept with another man? My eyes darted around the room, and a chill ran down my spine as panic clawed its way through me. Was I followed? Had Logan sent someone a
Chloe People always think it’s easy. Easy to walk away. Easy to let go. Easy to do the right thing. Even when I watched movies with Stella and the female lead did something incredibly stupid—something that made no sense, Stella and I would yell at the screen, calling her an idiot, telling her to get her shit together. I never understood. I never saw that it’s hard to do something just because I thought it was simple. What might be easy for one person might be impossible for another. Even now, maybe… maybe I was just making excuses. I pressed my fingers to my temple, feeling the dull throb of a forming headache as Stella’s voice buzzed in my ear. She was still talking, still telling me all the ways Logan was bad for me, still trying to knock some sense into me like she always did. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Stella,” I interrupted, my voice quieter than before. “Can I call you back?” She paused. “…Chloe?” “Everything is confusing me right now. I just… need to thi
Chloe I poked at my food absentmindedly, barely paying attention to it. My appetite had vanished the moment we sat down. “Why aren’t you eating?” I looked up, meeting Logan’s gaze. His fork rested on his plate, untouched, as he stared at me. Before I could answer, his gaze flickered to my plate. “You don’t think I asked them to poison your food, do you?” My fingers tightened around my fork. Well, that could be a possibility. Logan wasn’t exactly above doing something like that. He could have gotten tired of me and wanted me out of the picture so he could have Amelia and any women he wanted all to himself. Or maybe he was finally bored of tormenting me. But instead of letting me go, he decided to speed up the process and send me straight to the afterlife. Instead of showing how suspicious this whole thing was, I forced a smile and shook my head. “I’m just not that hungry. I don’t really eat much at night. Your mother wouldn’t like it if I gained more weight.” Logan paused, his
Alexander I took a slow sip of my whiskey, letting the familiar burn slide down my throat. My expression remained indifferent as I stared at nothing in particular. Someone was talking, but I had long since tuned them out. A loud smack against the table snapped me back to the present. The impact made the plates rattle, and I lazily lifted my gaze to see Joshua glaring at me, his hand still pressed against the table. "Let me guess, you zoned me out again," he said. I took another sip of my drink and hummed. "Correct." Like I said, sometimes it wasn’t intentional, sometimes my mind simply decided what was worth listening to and what wasn’t. And, as usual, Joshua fell into that category. He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "You're a lost cause, Alexander. Sometimes I think God blessed you with a perfect face and a genius brain, but he completely skipped the part where he was supposed to give you emotions. You have zero EQ." He turned to Leo, who was sitting beside
Chloe You are insane. Totally insane, Chloe. Save this marriage? Why would you even think something like that? Are you fucking dumb? I shook my head, trying to force the thought away. What the hell was wrong with me? I knew better. I knew Logan would never love me again. He would never look at me the way he used to. To him, I was nothing more than a wife in title. I was a trophy to parade around when it benefited him. So why… why was I still trying to fix something that had already shattered beyond repair? I sighed, running a hand down the blue dress I had just tried on. It was elegant and modest, with delicate embroidery tracing the hem and sleeves. The material hugged my waist perfectly before flowing down into a graceful A-line skirt. I turned to leave the dressing room, ready to show Logan if he approved of what I was wearing when I heard hushed voices outside. "Did you see her? Why would someone like him be married to someone like her? I can't believe it. He is way too go
Chloe I handed the driver the fare, but he simply shook his head. "Don't worry about it, ma'am. You need it more than me," he said with a sympathetic smile before driving off. I stood there, blinking. Wait… what? What did he mean by that? Did he think I was broke? Well… okay, that was technically true, but I could still pay for my own damn ride. So why would he— I paused. Was this because I said I was picking something out for my husband’s mistress? I groaned, rubbing my temples. That was just a joke! I only said it because he was being nosy and making assumptions. But no, he just had to turn it into a pity party. As if I was some helpless, pitiful woman who couldn’t even afford a taxi ride. Unbelievable. Shaking my head, I shoved the money back into my purse and turned to face the department store. It was massive—just like every other King Department Store across the world. I’d never really been a fan of shopping for clothes. Not because I didn’t like them, but because… w
Chloe I slid the picture across the glass counter, pushing it toward the woman. "Here, can you get something like this?" She leaned in, studying the picture closely. My heart pounded as I waited, silently praying for the answer I wanted. But then, she straightened and gave me a polite smile. "I'm sorry, ma’am, but we can’t make the exact same ring. This piece was customized by an expert. We don’t have the capacity to replicate it exactly. Maybe you should try another shop." I pressed my fingers to my temple, a headache forming. This was the fourth jewelry store that had told me the exact same thing. After leaving the cafe, I’d spent the entire day searching, going from one place to another, hoping someone could duplicate the wedding ring. But no one could. I swallowed hard. If I couldn’t replace it soon, someone in the house would notice—especially my mother-in-law. And if she found out… I exhaled sharply, gripping the edge of the counter. She wouldn’t only going to s
Logan Present time I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. Why? Why was I remembering this after all these years? I didn’t know why something I had long forgotten suddenly resurfaced. The moment the words left Alexander’s mouth, it was as if every feeling I had spent years burying came rushing at me. It made me uneasy. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t deny that Chloe had done a lot for me. She had cared for me. She had fought for me. Even though, in the end, she had admitted she never loved me, that it was all pity. That she had only stayed because I was a poor orphan who had no one. It was all a game to her. "Mr. White, are you daydreaming? How disappointing." Alexander indifferent voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. "It was just a simple question," he continued lazily. "You did say you were happily married, didn’t you? So it shouldn’t take you this long to respond." I lifted my gaze. Alexander sat in his chair like a god, completely at ease, as if he had a
Logan "Logan, if the boy’s family doesn’t forgive you, they’ll press charges. And you can say goodbye not only to your life at this school but to your entire future. Joshua’s parents have power with the authorities. They can ruin you. Why would you do something you are not supposed to do? Do you think you are something now that you go to this school? No, Logan you are still a poor orphan with nobody backing you up. You are nothing." The words echoed in my mind as I walked into the girls’ dormitory. Luckily, it was school hours. The hallways were empty. No one saw me slip inside. Not that I cared. None of it mattered right now. I knew she didn’t attend classes during exams. Chloe preferred to study alone, locked away in her room. I remembered her room number. It wasn’t hard to find. I turned the handle. It wasn’t locked. So I stepped inside. As expected from a school this prestigious, the dorm room was grand. It could easily fit seven people at once, yet she had it all to herself.
Logan Eight years ago My head pounded, my vision blurred, but I didn’t stop reading. I forced my eyes to focus on the text, trying to absorb the words, but the moment I read them, they slipped from my mind. At some point, the letters began to blur together, and it only made my headache worse. Tomorrow was my last exam, and if I failed, I’d lose my scholarship. Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t make it to the next semester. And if I didn’t make it to the next semester… I’d lose everything I had worked for. I’d be done. To make things worse, the subject was the one I hated the most. History. I mean, who on earth actually liked history? It was like being forced to gossip about dead people from centuries ago. My own life was already a mess, I didn’t have the time or energy to care about someone else’s from a hundred years back. I exhaled, flipping to the next page, forcing my brain to absorb the formulas in front of me. The prestigious school I attended didn’t care how hard I wor