RYAN I was in my office, the silence heavy around me. The usual buzz of phone calls and business meetings was gone, replaced by an unsettling stillness. I was used to chaos, but today felt different. It was as though the weight of my mistakes had finally caught up with me.I had spent the last few hours trying to calm myself, but all I could think about was how I had failed. Naya had slipped away again, and the cops had ruined everything. I had the perfect plan, but it was all for nothing. How could things go so wrong?The frustration built inside me, a seething pit of anger that I couldn't escape. I had underestimated Leon. And now, I had to face the consequences of my incompetence.As I stared out the window, trying to shake off the sinking feeling in my chest, I heard the soft click of my office door."Mr. Valois, you have a delivery," my secretary said, her voice tentative, as though she knew something was off.I didn't respond right away. I just glanced over my shoulder, irrit
NAYAI woke up panicked after having another nightmare, it felt so real that I was sweating profusely when I got up, it was intense. I looked around me and I was still in the room where I was being administered treatment. Leon was in his wheelchair dozing off.“Leon” I called“Huh” he jumped“Do you need anything?” he asked “No,” I said“Come lay down here, you will hurt your neck,” I told him“No I'm fine thank you,” he said“Come on” I whined before he agreedI tried to help him get off his chair but he refused “Don't worry I got it” he said then he got on the bed“Do you feel better?” he asked after a long awkward silence “Yes,” I said staring at the ceiling “Thank you” I whispered “I didn't do anything Naya,” he said with his voice lowHe did a lot. More than I could ever imagine “You-” I started to say then I turned to see he was fast asleep. He had a rough day.Even in his sleep, he looked disturbed, his brows furrowed together. My hands reached out to his face and smoothe
NAYAThe sharp ache in my body was impossible to ignore, but it was nothing compared to the weight pressing on my chest. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the faint scent of antiseptic in the air reminding me I was safe now. But the word “safe” felt hollow.Every inch of me hurt, my face throbbed, my wrists stung from the ropes that had bitten into my skin, and the bruises on my ribs made breathing a slow, painful chore. Yet through all of it, one thought refused to leave me. I couldn’t let this stop me.It had been the same routine for me every day, I ate, laid in bed all day, and slept. Leon was very strict with me, he didn't let me do any damn thing and I was tired of arguing with him.Leon sat by the window, his silhouette illuminated by the faint glow of the moonlight. His gaze was distant, his body tense as if he were bracing himself for another fight. The sight of him like that rigid, lost in thought made my chest ache differently.“Leon,” I called softly, my voice hoarse.
Ryan Everything with me seemed slow, I kept thinking and thinking of ways I could get back at Leon or even sabotage him before he came for me but there was nothing. He didn't have any business or property that I could mess with. He didn't care about his image with the press. The only thing was Naya, which I failed when I had a chance. Now his guard would be high and I wouldn't be able to get another chance. I'm sure my mother was waiting to hear some type of good news from me but I had nothing. No goddamn thing.I was angry thinking about it, I felt so powerless and I hated it so much. The worst of it was that I felt powerless against Leon. The number person I hated most in the whole fucking world. How was I being shaken up by a bastard?It should be that way around, not the way it was. But thanks to Father for making the son of a bitch feel included, now he was trying to contend with me.Growing up, I didn't get my father's attention and that messed with me. Leon proved himself to
LEONI have got to learn multiple times that Naya is not someone to back down from a fight no matter how tough it could be. As admirable as that is, it is also worrisome but I have decided to just let it be, I guess the best I could do for her is to protect her. Which was something that scared the shit out of me.What if I'm not about to do it? I have already failed once what if it happens again?It was just a lot, the more I thought about the more nervous I get about the whole thing.I was surprised when she asked that we continue the therapy session, I didn't get how she was not out of bed yet. Her treatment was still ongoing but she cared about the session. I couldn't even tell if the ordeal hurt her or not. Other than the pain she talked about, she didn't talk about anything else almost as if she put this shield in front of her to cover up how she was feeling. I wanted her to be vulnerable with me but she cared more about trying to make me okay than herself and that got me worried
NAYAIt has been a while since the incident but it still doesn't seem to be going away. I am still shaken up. I would get flashbacks of the scenario and fear would grip me like I was relieving the whole thing. My nightmares weren't going away, instead, it felt more vivid and scary. Ryan was laughing psychotically in my dreams haunting me, no matter how I ran or how I begged it all ended the same way. It ended with him putting a bullet through my skull. I was scared of stepping outside the house, I have never tried to but the thought of it scared me.I tried all my best to hide everything from Leon so he wouldn't worry about me, which was almost impossible because he was breathing down my neck twenty-four-seven, watching and monitoring my every move like a hawk. Before I was done with my treatment he insisted on staying by my side every night and now I was done with it he still checks up on me in my room. If he noticed something was wrong with me he would just worry too much and I didn
NAYAThe car ride back home was quiet, almost painfully so. Leon sat beside me in the passenger seat while Nick drove, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. He hadn’t said much since we left the hospital, and neither had I. But it wasn’t the kind of silence I was used to. This one was heavy, thick with unspoken words that hung in the air like a weight on my chest.My mind raced, piecing together everything I’d overheard at the hospital. I paid attention to Ryan’s and Leon’s conversation, but I didn't grasp the whole thing that was said. But the parts I did hear were enough to unravel the rest. The way Leon spoke to Ryan, the icy calmness in his voice, the way Ryan had reacted to him. He was sure that Leon was the one behind it and Leon never denied it or accepted it. Leon had orchestrated Ryan’s accident.At first, I tried to tell myself I was wrong. Maybe I had misunderstood, maybe I didn’t hear things clearly. But the more I thought about it, the clearer it became. The way Leon had cho
For the first time in what felt like forever, I could finally breathe without that weight on my chest. The constant fear, the feeling that something bad was always around the corner was gone, like I would get snatched and stuffed in a trunk once again. It had been weeks since Ryan was hospitalized, and though the memory of everything he’d done lingered in my mind, I was starting to feel at ease.The days had taken on a rhythm that felt… normal. I’d wake up early, make breakfast, and help Leon with his treatment. He had his bad days, days where he felt stuck, frustrated, or just plain tired but for every difficult moment, there was progress. Little by little, we were moving forward.And then there were days like today.The sun reflected through the wide windows of the home gym, casting a golden glow over everything. I stood by Leon, watching him as he prepared for another attempt at walking. His hands gripped the parallel bars tightly, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. Swea
NAYAAfter Leon told me he was going for the election, I didn’t press further, but at that moment, I made up my mind. I was going with him. I didn’t tell him because I knew he would actively try to stop me, but I needed to be there. I needed to look Ryan in the eyes and let him see for himself that his plan to break me had failed.I woke up early, much earlier than usual, while Leon was still sleeping beside me. I turned to look at him, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. He looked so at peace, so different from the man who carried the weight on his shoulders. I hesitated before slipping out of bed, careful not to wake him.I never thought I would sleep so easily in his room, but I did. I was against moving in at first, but deep down, I was glad I did. It wasn’t just about protection, it was about the way I felt when I was with him. Safe. Like the nightmares couldn’t touch me. I always slept like a baby when I knew he was by my side the feel of his breath alone made me feel
Just as I was about to get into my car my phone rang and when I checked the caller it was Ryan. I hesitated not sure if I should ignore the call and just drive off but I was immediately reminded how badly I needed him so I picked up the call.“Going already?” He asked as I picked up the call“I saw you were busy,” I said holding my anger in“You could have joined in, the more the merrier,” he said with a short laugh. I just bit my tongue to avoid saying anything that would that would infuriate him “I’m in no mood Ryan goodbye,” I said instead“I will send a driver to meet you now go to my house, I will meet you there” he simply said before ending the callIt pained me badly that I couldn’t even react my emotions out and went on to do as he said. I was excited even, at the fact that he invited me to his house. If I didn’t see him fucking another woman just moments ago I would have said it was progress but it was far from that.The driver drove me to his house in a black limited editio
KAYLA I heard from my dad that Ryan was going to be named CEO so I had to quicken my game. My plan to make him mine wasn’t working the way it should. No matter what I did, Ryan didn’t see me the way I wanted him to. He never looked at me with desire, never treated me like I was special. Instead, he made it painfully clear on countless occasions that I was nothing to him. He made it clear that I was disposable, replaceable just another woman. But that wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I was supposed to charm him, make him obsessed with me, and have him so hooked that he wouldn’t even think about another woman. I was supposed to implant myself in his heart, in his mind, in his life so deeply that he wouldn’t know what to do without me. But instead, I was the one losing everything. There was no way I could revive my social status even after deactivating my pages. People found their way to send death threats to me wishing me the worst. I got expelled from college just before I w
RYANI was in my office, leaning back in my chair with my legs crossed over the table, a glass of whiskey in my hand. The room was quiet except for the sound of pages flipping that filled the air. I was in a meeting with James Genrey who was busy going through the contract that I handed to him. The contract with the investors that was finally signed was a major step forward but the work wasn’t over yet. Now, it was up to me to put everything in place, to make sure every detail was handled properly. This deal was too important to leave anything to chance.“This is going to be completed in no time,” James said as he signed his own contract with our company“It has to be, I would not be hearing any excuses,” I told him“We always deliver, trust me to do the same this time also,” he said smiling from ear to ear. It was a big-budget project so he got a good cut from it definitely his biggest contract yet.Everything was going at my pace and according to plan, I had the project going that
NAYAAfter staying in bed and being on medication I felt enough energy to be back up again, there was no weakness and for some reason as long as Leon was by my side holding me through the night I didn’t struggle with nightmares, somehow he was my therapy. I got out of bed and willingly took a shower washing everything off my body.“Naya” I heard Leon call while I was in the shower“Where are you?” He asked“I’m right here” I responded, next minute I opened my eyes he was right there in the bathroom“Oh my God” I jumped in fear, wrapping my hand around my naked bodyHis eyes glided through my body with ease, staring me from up to down then he brought his eyes back to my face“Do you need help?” He asked “Help? Get out!” I shouted, flustered by his presence my whole body had turned crimson red at this point and he just kept staring “I just need to make sure you are fine on your own” he shrugged “So you stormed into the shower with my stack naked?” I asked with raised brows“Relax, no
I woke up as early as possible to prepare for the day. It was an important day, and even though I had barely gotten any sleep, I didn’t care. Sleep could wait. Today was too significant for me to let exhaustion slow me down. I had spent weeks waiting for this meeting, chasing after these investors like they were gods. They knew exactly how much power they held, and that was why they acted like they could do whatever they pleased. They had the upper hand, and they made sure I knew it.The first time we scheduled a meeting was the night of my accident. I was on my way to meet up with them that night before the accident happened. But the accident changed everything. They must have taken my absence as a sign of disrespect because, after that, they refused to take my calls, ignoring every attempt I made to reach out to them.Until now.Now that they had finally agreed to meet me, I had no choice but to be patient, no matter how much it irritated me. But I wasn’t going to forget how they tr
RYANI specifically went to my mom's house after I dropped Kayla off so I could gloat to her and let her know I didn't need her to take care of rift rats.“Hello Mother,” I said, strolling towards her by the bar where she was helping herself with a bottle of wine. She turned and looked at me then returned to her drink like I was invisible. I took a bottle of whiskey and helped myself with a glass, that was how I was to celebrate not any way else.“Aren't you going to say hello to your son?” I asked emptying the content of the glass into my mouth“What do you want? Why are you here?” she rolled her eyes uninterested“So much for Mother’s love,” I said clicking my tongue playfully “Did you do anything?” she asked looking at me intently like she saw through my eyes“What did you do now?” she asked with her jaw clenched “Did I say I did anything?” I asked“Spare me your nonsense Ryan and start fucking talking” she hissed“You are such a killjoy, I came to share the good news with you bu
KAYLAI slowly opened the door carefully so as not to make a sound. The last thing I wanted was to wake my parents or run into them. I was in no mood for questions, especially not tonight. My mind was too messed up to come up with any excuses, and I had no energy to explain where I was coming from. As soon as I stepped inside, I slipped off my shoes, holding them in my hands to avoid making any noise. I took in a deep breath and started tiptoeing toward my room to avoid making any sound.But just as I took my first step, the lights in the living room suddenly flicked on. I froze instantly, my heart raced quickly, and my breath caught in my throat.I was caught.“Oh my God” a yelp escaped from my mouth“Why are you back so late? I have been worried sick. I have been calling you nonstop” my mom said “Really?” I brought out my phone from my pocket to see she had left me fifty missed calls“My phone was on silent I didn’t hear it ring,” I said and continued walking“What have you been u
NAYAI woke up, surprised that I had even fallen asleep. The last thing I remembered was feeling too drained to even think, and now, somehow, I had slept through the night. It had to be one of the pills Leon gave me, it must have knocked me out completely.Leon had been the one to take off my bloodied clothes. He had been the one to bathe me. I barely remembered any of it. My body had been so weak, my mind so far away, that I couldn’t tell what was happening around me. Everything had felt like a blur like I was trapped in a fog too thick to escape.But now, as I slowly woke up, I noticed something different. My body felt lighter and more relaxed. The soreness I had expected wasn’t there, at least not as much as I thought it would be. And, surprisingly, I hadn’t had any nightmares. It was as if both my body and mind had shut down completely, forcing me into a sleep so deep I couldn’t even dream.I turned my head, looking to the side. Leon wasn’t there. My eyes moved to the clock and it