Even where Ethan had done that display, there was still eyes on me and I wasn't just imagining it.Rachel wanted to treat me to lunch and I knew we weren't just going to eat, she was doing to force my tongue spill the tea.When he walked into the café section everywhere went silent as everyone not so subtly glanced at me as I could feel their judgements from their whole body expression.I forced myself to keep my head high as we found a table while Rachel on the other hand.seemed completely unfazed as she sat across from me, sliding her tray onto the table with grace that only a Blackwood could pull of while I stabbed at my salad, pretending not to feel like a zoo exhibit."Don't worry you will get used to it," Rachel remarkedI blinked trying to act as if I didn't know what she was talking about "What?"She smirked nodding toward the nearby tables that was still talking about me "The attention, the gossip and the rumors. It’s all part of the fun, isn’t it?"I exhaled glancing around
By the time mid-afternoon rolled around, my bladder was screaming for relief. I pushed away from my desk and made my way to the restroom, slipping into one of the stalls.The moment I sat down, I heard the sound of the door opening and I heard the clicking of heels making an annoying against the marble floors, I forced myself to keep shut I didn't want to interact with the women here, all I had to do was keep shut for twenty minutes or so while I wait for them to get out, after all the just came to retouch their makeup."...such a desperate little slut. It’s pathetic."I froze, they were talking about me."Did you see the article? A million dollars just to take her out? Please.""Like, come on, Ethan Blackwood could have any woman in the city why would he pick her unless she was screwing him?"They bursted out in a cold cruel laughter. I couldn't helo but feel angry I gritted my teeth, fingers clenching into fists, they didn't even know half of the story but here they were judging me
The clock on the wall ticked away the minutes, each one dragging me closer to my stupid dates or what ever the hell it was supposed to be.I could cancel, he's that might work. I could pretend to be sick, make up some excuse, and save myself the trouble of sitting across from Ethan Blackwood while he smirked like he had already won. Maybe that’s what bothered me the most that he had bought me.No matter how much I tried to sugarcoat it up as a charity auction, no matter how much I told myself it didn’t mean anything, the reality was still the same. Ethan had thrown a million dollars just to get me alone for one night.And I knew why, because he wanted me and men like him don't no for an answer and this was another way to remind me that no matter how hard I fought against him, I was still in his hands?My fingers curled into the sheets and I took a decision , I wouldn't go, I would let him show up to some overpriced restaurant alone, humiliated, knowing that for all his money and powe
I used to think I had escaped my mother and that as long as I worked hard enough, fought hard enough and became my own person, I would never have to put up with listening to her crazy idea. But I was so wrong, I held up the dress she had brought touching the silky fabric as I realised that I had never truly left, she was still there as always planting thoughts in my head and reminding me what I came from, and what I swore I would never become. I couldn't help as memories of my childhood that I thought I had long forgotten flooded my mind. Our home was not really a home, it was a stage, where my mother was at the star performer, the boyfriends came and went like the seasons and of course each one was wealthier than the last and of course each of them was making promises that they never intended to keep. Some of them played house with me pretending they cared and others never even bothered but none of them stayed behind because they never loved us. I had learned early that men lik
Ethan didn’t do ordinary things, he always took things two steps forward shocking everyone, and now I was beyond shocked.He had rented a freaking private rooftop for the dinner, it wasn't enough that he paid a huge amount of money to make me his date, he had to rent a private rooftop.The city view was beautiful but it was nothing compared to the world Ethan had created for just the two of us, the rooftop was enclosed in glass and had candles making it give a real first date kind of vibe, there was white tablecloth with fine silver wear and over a hundred fresh roses arranged on the floor and table.The air smelled like jasmine and our from Ethan's own scent, everything was breathtaking and the fact that he and taken his time to plan this made it even more romantic.Maybe he did it to disarm me and I wasn't going to deny that it worked.“Is it up to your taste?” He teased me and for a moment I couldn't even speak, I gripped the hem of my dress trying to find my words but how could I
The sane part of my stupid brain was telling me that I shouldn't give in to him but why was I considering it? I knew exactly what it would mean if I did.Ethan was the kind of man who thrived on control, he practically fed on submission, and if I surrendered now and begged him like he wanted, I would be handing him every ounce of power I had left.And yet my body betrayed me.Everywhere he had touched burnt me leaving me breathless, and he was during it on purpose. He had known, from the moment I walked into this place, that I wouldn’t leave the same.He looked at me as if he was certain that I would beg, he knew I was close to breaking. He could feel it.Damn him! But what if I didn’t fight? And for once I just let go, all my resistance was crumbling as I released a shaky breath."Please."It was practically inaudible, but from the way his gaze darkened I knew he had heard me, his smirk was so cocky like he knew he had won."Again." His voice was lower now with an edge to it, I swall
I took a long shower when I got home, it was just to wash off his smell and touch from my skin but no matter how much I saw the water run over me, I could still feel his touch, lips and the way he made me beg.I closed my eyes as I pressed my forehead against the cool tile, I couldn't believe I begged him, I wanted to slap myself.right across the face.I pushed the thought to the back of my head as I wore my pajamas and went straight to bed but every time I closed my eyes I was transported to our time together at the rooftop.I rolled onto my side still feeling frustrated, I was restless and unsatisfied as my mind was stuck in a loop and I couldn't forget the way he controlled me so effortlessly.Why did I like it so much?I forced myself to breathe slowly, I just needed sleep. Everything would make sense in the morning.But as I drifted off to sleep, another memory surfaced, it was a different man, and a completely different touch when I was ten.The memory was too vivid and I could
All I could see on my desk were roses, lots and lots of them. They had to be more than a hundred—no, thousands of them.I wasn't going to deny that they were beautiful. All the deep, blood-red petals were everywhere. They flooded my desk, spilled onto the floor, and climbed up my chair like a living thing. I didn't know if they were glued to my entire damn workspace.Some bouquets sat upright in expensive crystal vases, others were scattered like and instead of the usual scent of coffee and printer ink, the office smelt like sweet roses.It seemed as if immediately they saw me they stated gossiping.“Oh my God, Sophie.”“This is insane who even does something like this?”“It has to be Ethan.”Of course, they all assumed it was Ethan. Who else could it be? Who else had the power, the arrogance, to pull something this dramatic?Everybody was screaming excitedly like this was the most romantic thing they had ever seen and even though it did look romantic I wasn't excited because I knew
Ethan “Alex used an internal login,” he said, voice tight. “But he didn’t hack in himself. Someone gave him access.”My jaw tightened. “Who?”Daniel exhaled sharply, pulling up a log file. “It was a shared admin password. Only a few people have it—IT leads, security personnel…” He hesitated. “And interns who’ve worked in the department.”“Who could have given it to him?”Daniel didn't reply immediately; he was still fixated on his computer. “Give me time boss, this kind of thing takes time.” “Fine, I need everything about Alex.”Daniel blinked. “Everything?”I turned to him, my expression blank. “Everything you can find on Alex. His calls, his emails, his financial records—everything.”Daniel nodded so fast it was a wonder his head didn’t snap off. “Ok boss.” After what felt like two seconds he replied. “Here.” “Send it to me.” I said and he nodded.Daniel barely had time to mutter something about looking deeper before I was already walking out of my office.Ready to hunt the fucke
Ethan I never expected Sophie to tell me to get out. Not like that with her voice shaking, her eyes red and glassy, looking as if I had betrayed her in the worst way possible and the worst part was that I couldn’t even blame her. Because when everything went to hell, I wasn’t there. I clenched my jaw, storming toward my car, my body shaking with barely restrained rage. My fists slammed against the roof of the vehicle before I opened the car door so hard that you would think it was the cause of my problem. “Fucking Rachel,” I muttered under my breath, my little sister can be dramatic most times and I had no time for her theatrics nor her judgement. Someone had humiliated Sophie and dragged her through the mud in front of the entire company. The person had gone damn far by taking our private moments and turning them into a goddamn public spectacle. And I was going to find out who it was. I pulled out my phone, forcing myself to look at the pictures again, even though they made
I was curled up on the couch, still a sobbing mess while I checked my phone every passing second but it was still the same thing. My phone was silent and there were no new messages or any calls at all from him.Rachel was in the kitchen, making tea like it could fix this. even the scent of chamomile did nothing to calm the riot in my head.We heard a knock on the door, Rachel immediately snapped her head up but I didn't move.She looked like she was ready to punch on who was knocking as the knock was becoming more louder and persistent.Rachel walked to the door, glancing at the peephole before letting out a bitter laugh. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”I already knew who it was.She yanked the door open but didn’t step aside. Ethan stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, still looking very but together.“I need to see Sophie,” he said as his voice was calm and controlled.She crossed her arms looking very fierce. “And I need you to leave.”“Rachel I-.”She cut him off rudely
Everyone went dead silent but it looked as if Rachel wasn't done speaking. “But do you know what I can tell you? This is workplace harassment, and I will find out who’s responsible.”I have never seen her acting so vicious, if there was anything it was only now that she looked like she was actually related to Ethan. “You want to talk about immunity, let’s talk about company policy, shall we? Because last I checked, cyberbullying, workplace harassment, and slander are all grounds for termination.”Rachel’s eyes swept the room, daring anyone to challenge her. No one did.“That’s what I thought,” she said coldly. “Now get back to work before I make sure HR has a very busy afternoon.”With that, she grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me out of the office, my legs moving on autopilot as she led me toward the elevator. I didn’t protest. I didn’t have it in me.The elevator doors slid shut, sealing us in silence.Rachel exhaled sharply through her nose, arms crossed tightly over her c
“Can you please let me in? I’m already late, and you know how Mr. Blackwood gets with his employees being late”I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice, but the way she was looking at me like she knew something I didn’t made my skin itch.Her smirk widened at the mention of Ethan's name. “Rough morning?”I blinked, caught off guard. “You… could say that.”Oh, she had no idea how rough my morning had been.She hummed, eyes lingering on me in that irritating, knowing way. “Mmm.”What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was a ‘mmm’ going to get me inside? I clenched my jaw, my patience running very low. “So… Can you let me in?”She tapped a perfectly manicured nail against the desk, her smirk deepening. “Are you sure you belong here?”I pressed my hand on my forehead wanting to scream out my frustration at her.What. The. Hell.Didn’t she just call me by my name a minute ago?I narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me?”She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice as if she was about to let m
I should’ve just stayed in bed, and I wasn't even kidding.I knew today was going to be a mess the second I woke up, and the drama that happened just proved everything to be true. To make matters worse, I was already running late. My hair wouldn’t cooperate and stay in a freaking bun, my shirt had a wrinkle that refused to smooth out, and to top it all off, Ethan still hadn’t replied to my text.Looked like I was having the worst day on planet fucking Earth.I was checking my phone the whole ride to work, waiting for a reply from Ethan, or even a call from my mother telling me that what happened yesterday was one of her crazy attention-seeking stunts.But something told me that it wasn't.I checked my phone again, and still—nothing. The one time I needed Ethan to actually text me, he hadn’t sent a single reply.“Are you okay, miss?” The taxi driver asked, and I could see him watching me from the rearview mirror and he wasn't even hiding the fact that he was watching me.Jeez. Was I re
I woke up to the smell of coffee and something frying in the kitchen which incredibly unusual.I sniffed again and identified it as pancakes and bacon. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming or that I was being robbed and the thief was kind enough to make breakfast, because that was a more realistic explanation to what was happening because Veronica Carter didn’t cook. Not unless she was trying to impress someone.I wasn't even sure if she could do any domestic work.I sat up still feeling sleepy, rubbing my eyes, and then I saw her.Mom stood by the stove, dressed in a fitted cream blouse and tailored pants, looking like she had just stepped out of a magazine.Damn, who on earth was able to look this put together this early in the morning? Her hair, which had been a disaster last night, was now sleek and straight, her makeup flawless. She even had on a pair of pearl earrings.I didn't even know if I owned a hair straightener, because how on earth was she able to do this, and where di
Even as I walked home I was still grinning earlier to eat as I entered the taxi, my phone buzzed with a text from Ethan.Ethan: Remember tomorrow is Friday.Me: Looks like someone's excited.He didn't reply, he didn't need to be ahse the first sentence was enough to make my heart flip in my tiny little chest. I bit my lip, trying not to blush as the taxi driver did this thing. There was something perfect when your driver didn't try to engage in small talk, it just makes me want to give a full five stars.Finally I had reached my stop, I came down from the car as I hurried up the steps to my apartment. Tomorrow meant I was staying over meaning that I would be wrapped up in his sheets, waking up to him. The thought alone was to send me into overdrive But the second I looked up, the happiness I was feeling in my chest vanished.Right outside my apartment door was my mother looking like she was run over by a truck.Her legs were folded in a way that made it seem as if she had just coll
“Are you going to be shy?” He asked as I shook my head representing a no. But it was obvious that my answer didn't satisfy him as his grip on my thighs tightened, I was sure that he would leave a mark “N-no I'm not going to be shy.” Who was I kidding, I was beyond shy, but with the way he looked at me with a satisfied smirk I knew this was going to be amazing. "Good." He said in a monotone. Without any warning he lowered his head trailing kisses on my thighs, my hands involuntarily touched his hair guiding him to where I wanted it. I could feel him smirking as he was kicking on my thighs. I felt immediately insecure, what if I smelt weird? or the tiny bit of hair icked him out? What if I didn't like it? But with the way he looked at me, every doubt cleared my mind, his tongue then kissed my labia, fuck! I didn't know that can feel so amazing. I felt his tongue enter into me kissing my clitoris as I held his hair tighter begging him to keep going. Then he lowered h