CHAPTER 0011 FEARS FROM THE PASTRYAN Elena ran like a woman being hunted, her breath ragged, her body trembling with a terror so visceral it clawed at her from the inside out. This wasn’t the kind of fear that came from paranoia or uncertainty. No—this was raw, consuming, and absolute. I had seen Elena guarded before, had watched her build walls so high no one dared to climb them. She was the type to push people away, to wield indifference like a blade. But this? This was different. This wasn’t anger. This wasn’t defiance. This wasn’t even desperation. This was fear in its purest, most primal form. And I had no idea why. I stood frozen, my mind racing through possibilities. What—or who—was she running from? Had someone hurt her? Had someone threatened her? The frantic way her eyes darted over her shoulder, the way her entire body shook as if something monstrous was right behind her, ready to strike—it sent a chill through me. I had been on my way to the club that night, lo
Chapter 0012 TRAPPED BY EVAN'S OBSESSION.. ELENA, Time seemed to slow as I stood frozen, watching the chaos unfold in front of me. My breath hitched in my throat, my voice trapped behind a wall of shock and dread. I wanted to say something—to stop this disaster from spiraling further out of control—but I couldn’t. Words failed me. Ryan, ever the reckless force of nature, attempted to salvage the situation, his voice urgent and desperate. But it was too late. Everything was already a mess. My heart pounded violently in my chest as I spun on my heel and raced downstairs. My pulse roared in my ears, my hands trembling as I reached for my phone. The screen blurred in my vision as I hurriedly ordered a cab. I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t face this. Ryan called after me, his voice laced with something that almost sounded like regret. I didn’t stop. I didn’t turn around. The cold night air bit into my skin as I stood by the curb, my arms wrapped tightly around myself. My thoughts
Chapter 0013DREADING ON DANGEROUS PATHS.RYAN, After the disaster at my house, I hadn’t seen Elena. Days passed, but the rumors didn’t. The entire school was talking about us—about the way I had stood up for her, about the scandal that now clung to her name like a stain no one would let her wash away. I didn’t care what people said about me. They could whisper in the hallways, point fingers, smirk when I walked past. It meant nothing. But Elena? That was different. The school authorities had been oddly silent about the situation, which made me restless. I expected some sort of action—a meeting, a suspension, some kind of consequence—but there was nothing. The silence unnerved me because it felt like the calm before a storm. And then there was Emily. My fiancée. The woman I was supposed to love. The one my parents had chosen for me. She and her parents had made it clear that they wouldn’t stop until I fell in line. They wanted to force us together, to make things work, but I didn
Chapter 0014THE BEAUTIFUL LIE I LIVEDELENA,The sting of antiseptic bit into my wounds, sharp and unforgiving. When Evan wanted to hurt me the last time he got a call from someone, and when he was told what they wanted, he untied me.Whoever that was saved me that day. Evan was ready to kill us both rather than lose me. His obsession led him to do crazy things—to hurt me and make excuses that it was out of love, that I made him do it. I knew Evan loved me, but his demons were out for me.I winced, sucking in a breath, but exhaustion dulled most of the pain. It was just another wound, another moment of suffering, blending into the endless cycle I had come to endure."Ouch…," I murmured, forcing myself to sit still as the doctor worked. "How long do we have to keep doing this?""Until it heals," he replied matter-of-factly, his voice calm but indifferent. "Hopefully, you’ll start feeling better soon."Feeling better. The words felt foreign—meaningless. What did better even mean anymor
Chapter 0015TRAPPED IN HER GAMEELENA,Why did they want me?What could they possibly want from me?The question looped in my mind like a haunting melody I couldn’t silence. Every scenario I imagined left a heavy weight in my chest. Anxiety pressed against my ribs, wrapping around me like a tightening coil, making it impossible to breathe freely.Beside me, Evan was eerily silent. He hadn’t spoken a word since we left, his hands gripping the steering wheel with enough force to turn his knuckles ghostly white. I could hear the slight grind of his teeth every few seconds, a sound so soft yet filled with restrained fury. It made the air in the car thick, suffocating.I stole a glance at him. His sharp jaw was locked, his usually expressive green eyes unreadable. I knew this kind of quiet well—it was the kind that came before a storm.When we finally stepped inside the house, Evan’s patience snapped.“I don’t understand it.” His voice was low, but each word was charged with frustration a
CHAPTER 16THE ART OF REVENGE.EMILY,I saw the look on Elena’s face, and a thrill of satisfaction coursed through me.It was fleeting—just a flicker of shock, quickly masked behind that composed exterior she always wore—but I caught it. And it was enough.I had been waiting for this moment, the moment she realized that I wasn’t just going to stand aside and watch her take what was mine.Ryan belonged to me.I had spent years with him, building something real, something that was supposed to last. We were meant to be together. He had whispered those promises into my ear on countless nights, sworn his love to me under the moonlight.And then, like a thief in the night, she came along, stealing him away without a shred of remorse.The betrayal was unbearable.The humiliation, even worse.I could still hear the whispers, the hushed voices in the corridors, the pitying looks from those who knew. I could still feel the sting of their eyes on me, their silent judgment. The girl who had every
Chapter 17LOVE OR OBSESSION?RYAN,I wanted to stop.I wanted to do the right thing—to turn away, to focus, to face Emily. But I couldn’t.The obsession had already taken root, wrapping itself around my thoughts like ivy, suffocating every rational decision I tried to make. It wasn’t just curiosity anymore. It was something darker, something that pulled me toward Elena in ways I couldn’t explain.Something that was becoming impossible to ignore.Eddy and I strolled down the hallway after lectures, the usual chatter of students filling the air. Laughter, hurried footsteps, the occasional slam of a locker—it all blurred together into meaningless noise. My mind was elsewhere, trapped in a maze of questions that led back to only one answer: Elena.She had been missing from school for days now, and no one seemed to be talking about it. Professors came and went all the time, but something about her absence didn’t sit right with me. It felt... off. Like a piece of the puzzle had been ripped
Chapter 0018MIND GAMES...ELENA,Becoming Emily’s tutor was not an easy task.I had known from the moment I accepted the position that it wouldn’t be a smooth ride. But I had underestimated just how deep the hostility between us ran.It wasn’t just resentment—it was something more. Something deliberate.Emily had been watching me, studying me, and though I couldn’t prove it, I knew she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.And yet, I couldn’t understand why.I wasn’t with Ryan. I never had been. It was Ryan who had been obsessed with me, not the other way around. If anything, I had spent the majority of my time pushing him away.So why did Emily seem so fixated on me?The first day of our lessons arrived too soon, and despite my unease, I forced myself to move with confidence. Whatever game Emily was playing, I refused to let her see my doubts.As I stepped into the study hall, a strange hush settled over the room. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting long shad
CHAPTER 80UNDER ATTACK.ADRIAN,"Boss, maybe we should confirm before heading to the docks—" I said to Evan skeptical about going into the docks without full information."Just drive," Evan barked, cutting me off.His voice was sharp, tight with urgency, leaving no room for argument. The air in the car was thick, charged, and heavy with something just shy of violence. My fingers curled into fists as I stared out the windshield, my heart hammering like a war drum, each beat a reminder of how much time we were wasting.I didn’t argue after that.The tires screeched as he swerved through the late-night traffic, weaving between cars like a predator hunting in the dark. Streetlights flashed past in bursts of white and gold, the reflection shimmering on the wet pavement as we tore forward, leaving nothing but the roar of the engine behind us.I pulled out my phone, fingers moving fast as I dialed.One ring.Two.Three.And then it went up to voicemail.Damn it.I muttered a curse under my
Chapter 0079 A GHOST ELENA, I laid down in the room, my mind filled with who the man was and what he wanted from me. For the first time, I wanted Evan to be here. If he was, he would be able to get me out of here. I was Evan's captive, but I wasn’t locked up with darkness crawling up over me. The darkness had been there, but now— The darkness was worse this time. It wasn’t just an absence of light—it was a presence. Heavy. Watching. I could feel it pressing in, curling around me like an unseen force, suffocating yet intangible. My breath came in shallow gasps, each inhale filling my lungs with the taste of dust and fear. The cold slithered over my skin like skeletal fingers, wrapping around me in a suffocating grip. I drew my knees to my chest, tucking myself into the smallest space possible, as if that could protect me from whatever lurked beyond the void. I didn’t know how long I had been here. Time had ceased to exist in this place. The silence stretched endlessly, coiling
CHAPTER 0078GETTING HER BACK AGAINEVANThe city never truly slept. It breathed, pulsing beneath the surface—hidden in the shadows of back alleys, behind tinted windows, between whispered deals exchanged under flickering neon lights. The underworld never stopped moving.Right now, neither could I.Rage burned through me like wildfire, scorching, relentless. Every inhale stoked the flames, every exhale carried the heat deeper into my bones. My hands ached from clenching my fists too tightly, my jaw locked with barely restrained fury.Elena was gone.And someone was going to bleed for it.I forced my fingers to loosen, letting the weight of the gun in my lap center me. Cold metal. Familiar. An extension of myself, something I could control. But it wasn’t enough—not when fury clawed inside me, desperate to be unleashed.My mind raced through every possibility. Every name, every face that might have dared to take her from me.The list was short. I had made sure of that over the years.Wh
CHAPTER 0077KIDNAPPEDELENA,Darkness. that was Alli saw when I woke up, Thick, suffocating, absolute.Pain radiated from the back of my skull, a deep, pulsing ache that sent nausea rolling through my stomach. It wasn’t just pain—it was a heavy, consuming fog, pressing in from all sides, making it impossible to think clearly. My body felt like dead weight against the cold, unyielding floor, my limbs sluggish and weak, as though I had been unconscious for hours—maybe longer.I tried to move, but every shift sent sharp jolts of agony through me. My fingers twitched against the rough, icy surface beneath me, and a shiver tore through my body. I wasn’t just cold—I was freezing, my thin clothing offering no protection against the chill that seeped into my bones. The air around me was stale, thick with a metallic tang that sent a warning bell ringing in the back of my mind.Blood.The realization sent a fresh wave of panic surging through my veins, tightening around my chest like a vice.
CHAPTER 0076LOST AGAIN.EVANThe rhythmic tap of my fingers against the polished wood of my desk was the only sound in the room. A slow, deliberate beat, like a clock ticking down to some inevitable moment. The air was thick with the scent of expensive leather and aged whiskey, but my mind was elsewhere, sifting through a web of problems that needed solving.Elena was a problem.Evelyn was an even bigger one.And I needed to find a way to silence them both—permanently.The screen of my phone lit up beside me, the faint glow cutting through the dimness. A vibration followed, a subtle hum against the heavy stillness. Business. A distraction. I glanced at the message—a confirmation of a deal that had taken months to close. Millions in negotiation, countless hours spent maneuvering, and now it was mine. A victory, yet it left me hollow. There was no satisfaction, no surge of triumph. Only the gnawing sense that something more pressing loomed in the background, something unfinished.Then
CHAPTER 0075 IN THE DARKNESS. ELENA, The whisper coiled around me like a breath against my skin. "You should have stayed asleep." My stomach clenched, and every muscle in my body locked into place, frozen by something more powerful than fear—dread. Deep, bone-deep dread. The kind that sinks into your marrow and holds you captive. I had tried to turn on the light, but it wasn’t working. I flicked the switch again. Nothing. My fingers trembled as I reached for the lamp instead, its glow weak but steady. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I gripped the lamp tightly, holding it close like a lifeline, my fingers aching from how hard I clutched the ceramic base. The air had changed. Heavy. Humming with something unseen, something wrong. I swallowed hard, forcing a breath into my lungs, but the simple act of breathing felt unnatural. Like I was inhaling something thick and tainted. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe exhaustion had finally taken its toll, twisting reality into nig
Chapter 0074A LINGERING WARNINGELENA,I pushed the door open, stepping into the dimly lit hallway, my thoughts tangled in the web of lies I had once believed. The house was silent—too silent. The kind of quiet that doesn’t feel natural, like something was missing or waiting, holding its breath in the darkness.Shadows stretched long across the wooden floors, twisting unnaturally under the faint glow of the moon filtering through the windows. The air held a strange stillness, thick and suffocating, as though the walls themselves knew something I didn’t.For the longest time, I had pitied Evan. I had seen him as weak—a man drowning himself in alcohol, retreating into the haze of liquor to forget whatever haunted him. Broken beyond repair. A hollow version of himself.But that had all been a carefully constructed illusion.Evan was never helpless. He was never lost.He had been in control all along.A shiver ran down my spine, curling around my ribs like an unseen hand squeezing until
CHAPTER 0073THE GAME BEGINSEVAN,I heard her leave the house.I had been waiting for this moment. Sitting at the dining table, fingers tapping the polished wood in slow, rhythmic motions, I maintained the illusion of stillness. If anyone had been watching, they would have thought I was lost in thought, perhaps brooding over something entirely unrelated to her. But every breath I took, every fiber of my being, was tuned to her movements.I had known she would try again. It wasn’t a question of if—only when. Elena was many things: stubborn, reckless, restless. But above all, she was predictable when cornered. She hated being caged. She might have convinced herself she needed the walls I had built around her, might have played along for a while, but deep down, she would always test the limits.I had been waiting for the unraveling to begin.It had started in subtle ways, the way all things did with Elena. The way her pacing grew tighter, more erratic. The way her fingers twitched when
CHAPTER 72THE ARRIVAL.ELENA,The car rolled to a stop two blocks away from the house, just outside the range of the security cameras Evan had installed. The ones meant to keep intruders out. The ones that really kept me in.I clenched my hands in my lap, my fingers cold despite the warmth inside the car. Outside, the street was quiet—too quiet. Not the peaceful kind of silence, but the eerie, suffocating kind that filled the air before something terrible happened.Even in the dim glow of the streetlamps, I could still make out the cracks in the pavement, the familiar bends in the sidewalk, the warped wooden fences lining the yards of houses I once thought of as ordinary. But tonight, everything felt different. Foreign. Like I was walking into a place I no longer belonged. Maybe I never truly had.I swallowed hard and reached for the door handle, but hesitation kept me frozen.Evelyn exhaled beside me, her fingers drumming against the steering wheel in a slow, deliberate rhythm. “You