Morning sunlight filtered softly through the curtains of Darla’s room, painting delicate patterns across the hardwood floor. The warmth was gentle, almost coaxing, but she remained curled beneath the covers, knees drawn to her chest, eyes fixed on the phone in her hands. It was an older model, chipped at the edges and slow to respond, but it held pieces of her past she couldn’t bring herself to erase.A hesitant knock at the door broke the silence, and Darla tensed instinctively, fingers tightening around the phone. But the voice that followed was warm, familiar, and a little rough with age.“Darla?” Marcel called softly. “Breakfast is ready downstairs. I made some coffee too—figured you could use it.”She exhaled slowly, the tension bleeding from her shoulders. Marcel’s presence was still new, a puzzle piece she hadn’t expected but found herself clinging to. He was a stranger in some ways—his eyes older, face lined with years of grief and weariness—but the kindness in his gaze was th
Sky I hold my mouth shut with my hands as I shiver watching the horror unfold in front of me. Secluded in such a dark area had hidden me from participating in the trauma of my life but my eyes were not shielded from it as I watched it all unfold. Standing in the room was five men, four of them dressed in black while one of them, tall and husky wore a grey pant and a black shirt, his build was bigger despite being hidden under that oversized shirt. A couple of inches taller than all the men in the room, it was easy to know he was the leader of the group. Right in the middle of them was the Klaus family, his wife and his 24 year old daughter who was the same age as me. “Do you have any idea who I am?” Mr Klaus demanded, his breathing heaved. His eyes daring as he stared at the men before him. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t” the man replied, he leaned on the wall with his left leg raised up. A smug look on his face as he flicked through his fingers. “How dare you co
Sky I am standing in front of a bed in a room filled with lavender scent, a vanity table adjacent to the dressing area, the surface adorned with trinkets and treasures. A pair of curtains flutter in the breeze, the green folds pushed to each corner allowing the rays of sunlight into the room. He stands behind me, his gaze lingers, unwavering, sending a shiver down my spine. As if he could see the layers underneath the clothing. A tremor courses through my fingers, I try to stay calm but fail helplessly, fear and uncertainty grips me, making me rethink my decision. Should I have just died like the others, should I have ended my fate right there when I was caught. No, I don’t want to die. His shadow stood enormous on the bed almost like I had disappeared into him, I was nothing but a fragile and petite girl standing close to his figure. I could hear the sound of cushion bring pressed backwards, strange enough that my hearing was at its highest peek when my life i
DareThe morning sun springs up in the sky, I sit on the sofa in the living room staring at a door that catches my view. I had given her just one rule, never step out of the room without my permission. I have no idea why I want her to defy me, why I want her to open that door and step out. Ofcourse I would feel good about punishing her, a little gore play doesn’t hurt.The sound of the door bell catches my attention and I make my way to the door. An unexpected guess stands there with a smile on his face.“Dare, it’s been a while” Mark says. He is wearing a blue Jean on a black leather jacket clad with his combat boot. I spot the BMW right behind him and he turns his eyes to it.“Sweet ride don’t you think” he asks and I give him a slight nod.Mark and I have been buddies, we work for the same organization until I left and decided to start afresh. When he first joined us, he was a naive little boy who needed a family, I thought him everything he knew, made sure he could stay on his bac
I stand there quiet, if he has a suspicion then he should fucking work on it. “Why did you leave?” he asked, his voice calm but sharp enough to cut through the tension.“I was sick of it,” I said, my tone flat. It wasn’t a lie. It had been a game to me, one I played until I got what I wanted. By then, there was no point in staying.“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t suspect you.”I shoved my hands into my pockets and rose to my feet, walking closer until I was inches from his face. His words were a challenge, and he knew it. Daring me to act. Testing me.But I wasn’t afraid of him. If I wanted to, I could smash his head against the wall and bury his body right next to his father’s grave. The thought almost made me smile. I’d made him who he was, built him from nothing, and now he had the nerve to stand there and question me like I was some kind of commoner. My fists clenched at my sides, the urge to hit him burning through me.But not yet. Not now. If I killed him here, it would be
SkyThe room was suffocating, the kind of darkness that felt alive, wrapping around me like a second skin. I was naked, trembling, my body pressed against the cold wall. My hands and feet were chained, the iron biting into my skin, reducing me to something less than human. I whimpered, tears streaking my face as the reality of my situation sank deeper. I had no idea where I was, how I got here, or how to escape.Then, I heard it.Footsteps.The sound of leather boots pressing against the floor echoed through the void. My heart raced, panic overtaking me as I scanned the blackness, trying to see where they were coming from. The footsteps grew louder, closer, each one sending a shiver through my body.The creak of a door opening caught my attention. A sliver of light appeared, faint and distant, casting the outline of a figure. My breath caught as the door swung wider, flooding the room with just enough light for me to make out the man stepping inside.He was massive, towering, his pres
DareI am walking across the room when I hear muffled sounds from her room, I could tell exactly what those sounds were and it pissed me off. How dare you jerk off herself when I didn’t give her the permission, I push open the door to found her squimmering under the sheets, she is breathless and shaking, her eyes are closed.Is she dreaming? What is she dreaming of? “Please” I hear her whisper, the same way she did the other night. It’s soft and soothing to the ear, I would never let her go if she begged me with such tone.She pushed herself down, her legs crossed together and tightly.I sit by the bed watching her, I could hear moans escaping her lips, my two fingers caressed her lips when she opened them wide. For a minute I thought she was awake and responding to me but she was still fast asleep, I dipped my fingers into her open mouth and she sucks on them immediately. Whatever she was dreaming off has her horny as shit. I pulled my fingers out of her lips and ran them down her
DareI stood in my living room, the stench of blood heavy in the air, bodies scattered around me like discarded chess pieces. These men were supposed to be my recruits. Now they were nothing but lifeless proof of what happens when you cross me.After watching the news, everything in my life had spiraled. I hadn’t expected her to be the Mayor’s daughter. It had never crossed my mind. She didn’t act like she came from money, and she never once mentioned her family—not that I gave her much of a chance to talk. I’d assumed she was another runaway, abandoned by the world, just like the rest of us.But a million dollars changes everything. That kind of reward? It could make men betray their blood, and here I was, in the middle of the aftermath.“No one touches what’s mine,” I muttered under my breath, tightening my grip on the situation.Then came the voice from outside—grating, arrogant, and loud enough to make me grit my teeth.“Listen up!” it called out. “We know you have the Mayor’s dau
Morning sunlight filtered softly through the curtains of Darla’s room, painting delicate patterns across the hardwood floor. The warmth was gentle, almost coaxing, but she remained curled beneath the covers, knees drawn to her chest, eyes fixed on the phone in her hands. It was an older model, chipped at the edges and slow to respond, but it held pieces of her past she couldn’t bring herself to erase.A hesitant knock at the door broke the silence, and Darla tensed instinctively, fingers tightening around the phone. But the voice that followed was warm, familiar, and a little rough with age.“Darla?” Marcel called softly. “Breakfast is ready downstairs. I made some coffee too—figured you could use it.”She exhaled slowly, the tension bleeding from her shoulders. Marcel’s presence was still new, a puzzle piece she hadn’t expected but found herself clinging to. He was a stranger in some ways—his eyes older, face lined with years of grief and weariness—but the kindness in his gaze was th
Ethan’s knuckles rapped against the door for the third time, the hollow sound echoing through the deserted hotel hallway. He leaned in, jaw clenched tight, heart hammering painfully against his ribcage. Silence stretched on the other side—deafening, absolute. Not even a whisper of movement.He swore under his breath, frustration spiking hot and sharp through his veins. Darla had to be inside. She wasn’t the type to ignore people, no matter how furious or hurt she might have been. Not unless…His breath hitched at the thought, fingers flexing against the smooth wood of the door. No. She couldn’t have left—not without a word, not when there was so much unresolved between them.But the silence lingered, unbroken and oppressive, taunting him with every heartbeat.“Darla!” he called, voice low but urgent, fingers tightening around the door handle. “Open up. We need to talk.”Nothing.An icy tendril of dread curled in his gut, twisting tighter with each passing second. His eyes narrowed, pu
The suitcase lay open on the bed, half-filled with clothes hastily folded and shoes shoved into corners. Darla’s hands trembled as she reached for another dress, the soft fabric slipping between her fingers as she struggled to breathe evenly. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs, her pulse a dull roar in her ears.She bit down on her lip, hard enough to sting, and forced herself to focus—one item at a time, one movement at a time. Pack, zip, leave. Simple. Necessary. Anything to escape the suffocating walls of the hotel room and the possibility of running into him again.Ethan.The name alone sent a fresh wave of panic crashing through her, her fingers faltering around the edge of a blouse. His eyes, dark and unreadable, flashed unbidden in her mind—the way they’d looked at her in the lobby, a mixture of shock and something else she couldn’t name. Something raw and aching that left her chest tight and her breath shallow.She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the memory aw
Esther’s eyes flicked to the clock on her office wall for the fifth time in as many minutes. Each tick seemed to echo louder than the last, pounding in her ears like a cruel reminder. It was past seven in the evening, the sky outside her floor-to-ceiling windows a dull gray, streaked with the last traces of daylight. Her phone lay face-up on her desk, dark and silent despite the dozen missed calls she had made.She drew in a shaky breath, forcing herself to focus on the financial reports open on her monitor, but the numbers blurred together, meaningless. The cursor blinked accusingly, a taunt to her futile attempts at distraction. Her manicured fingers drummed nervously against the mahogany desk, a tremor betraying her otherwise composed exterior.Two hours.For two hours, she had been calling Roy.And for two hours, he had not picked up. Not once.Her chest tightened painfully, a dull ache settling beneath her ribs. The same ache that had been festering since that night—since Darla h
Author’s POVThe low buzz of conversation filled the VIP section of the Rooftop Bar, but Roy barely registered it. His fingers curled around the neck of his beer bottle, the cool glass slick against his palm. It was already past three in the afternoon, and he was on his third bottle—maybe fourth. He wasn’t even sure anymore.He had come here thinking a few drinks with the boys might clear his head. It didn’t.King’s voice cut through the haze, smooth and casual. “What’s on your mind, buddy?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. The bottle in his hand clinked softly against the table, but Roy’s eyes remained distant, fixed somewhere beyond the dim blue lights flickering above.The atmosphere was suffocating. The heavy curtains blocked out any sunlight, making it impossible to tell if it was day or night. But the gloom felt fitting—an external mirror of the storm churning inside him.Darla.Her name surfaced in his mind unbidden, bringing with it a flood of memories he’d tried and faile
Ethan’s knuckles had turned red the moment he stepped out of the car, his fingers clenched so tightly that the veins beneath his skin protruded like strained cables. He flexed his hand absently, a futile attempt to shake off the tension that seemed embedded too deep to dislodge. The car ride had been mortifying, the low hum of conversation between John and Carlo barely registering. Their voices melded into the background—mere noise compared to the chaos raging inside his head.Darla.She had been right there. Right in front of him. And yet, the instant their eyes met, she had turned and fled. As if he were something to be avoided. As if he were nothing.How many times was she going to keep running from him?A sharp exhale left him, his jaw tightening with barely restrained frustration. He could never forget that face—those eyes, the way her lips parted in that fleeting second before she bolted like a coward. His chest burned with something raw and unnameable.Anger?Frustration?Pain?
The shrill ringing of the alarm clock waked Darla up. She groaned, her hand fumbling blindly across the nightstand until her fingers closed around her phone. Squinting against the harsh light of the screen, her eyes widened at the numbers glaring back at her.9:12 AM.Panic jolted her up, sending a violent pulse of pain through her skull.Shit. Shit. Shit.Her meeting was at 10 AM. She was supposed to wake up early, go over her notes one last time—not drown herself in alcohol and pass out fully dressed. The nausea hit first, causing the room to spin dangerously. Gritting her teeth, Darla pressed her fingers to her temples as if that could somehow hold her brain together.This is what you get, Darla.The floor tilted beneath her feet as she stumbled into the bathroom. She barely registered the icy chill of the shower before a sharp gasp tore from her throat. The shock of cold water slammed into her, dulling the pounding in her head just enough to think.You don’t have time for this.S
Revenge is a slow burn—a fire that starts deep in your gut and spreads until it consumes everything in its path.People warn against it, say it will rot you from the inside out.But they never talk about the rush.The satisfaction.The raw power of watching the people who wronged you crumble under the weight of their own sins.Darla never knew how intoxicating it could be—until tonight.She had seen the way their expressions twisted—first shock, then anger, then finally settling into pure hatred.At least, hers did.Esther.God, she hated Darla.It was written all over her perfectly painted face, hidden beneath layers of artificial charm. The way she clutched Roy’s arm, fingers digging into his sleeve as if Darla were a ghost who had returned to haunt her.And maybe she had.Maybe she wanted to be.She couldn’t stand Esther.Not just because she had married Darla’s fiancé, but because she had stolen the life Darla was supposed to have. The love. The family she had envisioned.Esther h
Roy Claus was still pisded about his anniversary being ruined, his entire world was unraveling in the span of a single night.After four years of silence, four years of pretending she never existed, of pushing her memory into the darkest corners of his mind—she came back.And she wrecked everything.The sound of shattering glass still echoed in his head.His perfect night—ruined. He could step out and face the guests, he felt so ashamed.A soft touch landed on his arm.“Roy…”Esther called him.Her voice was gentle, careful—too careful. As if she were willing the room to forget what had just happened, to pretend that Darla hadn’t just torn open a wound that was never meant to heal.Roy turned to her sharply, his hand grabbing her wrist before he even realized what he was doing.She flinched.“What the hell did she mean?” he raked, demanding answers he wasn’t sure he wanted.But he needed them.He couldn't forget the scene where Darla whispered into her ears, it made him feel like he wa