MAE"The boss traveled. You can request to see him when he returns." One of his guards told me the next day and I was deflated. I did not know what was going on with dad. So I asked if I could speak to him on the phone or something, and that it was very important, but they asked me to pass the message through them.I tried to. I told them Carter was working with a rival mafia group, but they just stared at me like I was crazy and sent me off.I called Liam, and he said he did not know about dad's whereabouts either. Apparently, dad was not dropped off at home last night. Of course, dad’s number was not going through and I did not personally have Owen's number.I had no idea how I got through dancing that night, but I somehow did, and I rushed to the room and continued to ignore Eli.Five nights later, he confirmed my suspicions of being gay by bringing in a man into our room and asking if I would be okay with another person sleeping with us here.I just gave him a nod and slipped on A
OWEN"Speak." I ordered as soon as she was inside. She frowned, as if offended by my tone, but knew to say nothing.Her voice was hoarse with strain as she started, "The Castellenos. Carter is working with the Castellenos, hopefully you know who they are."Oh I knew who they were, alright. Fucking bastards. The election was in two days, and we would finally have our winner, after which would be the party for celebration, but they were planning something up their sleeves as usual.Trevor had the upper hand of winning and for now, he was lodged in my house, protected by the largest amount of guards that had ever surrounded my building.Seemed to me like they were about to come up with another plan, and Carter, my head of security knew what it was. Or her?How did she know about the Castellenos in the first place?I looked back at her, worry lines showing up on my forehead, "And how do you know about the Castellenos?"She swallowed, then took out her phone, typing fast. I took a good loo
MAEI stole a drink and got myself drunk when I got home. I was off tonight and Eli was out working so I turned on some music and danced around in the room, then watched some movies on my phone.They had left Isis's iPad in here, but I could not bring myself to touch any of her stuff yet, and when Eli asked, I told him they were off limits too.My mind went back to my interaction with Owen. At least he was no longer on my neck about disloyalty and shit. Okay, and why did he ask me out? I finally voiced the most important question in my head.He had tons of other women at his beck and call that he could ask out and he chose to ask me. I could not help but think that it was because he felt guilty and pitied me, yet another part of me did not believe that. A man like Owen did not look like he had even the slightest pinch of pity in him. So, why?My body reacted to him, no doubt—which just meant that I was physically attracted to him—even if it had significantly reduced after the whole th
MAETrevor had won the elections and so, the party held.Owen sent me a dress, a clutch and a pair of shoes. There was a note which read; 'This shade of green would match your hair and eyes perfectly. Learn some manners before the said time.'Of course, I rolled my eyes at that. I wondered why those women flocked around him when he was such a brute. My subconscious literally laughed out loud at me, because we both knew why they were like that. Man was gorgeous. But still, I felt nothing but rage and pure hatred for him, considering the kind of man he was.Sighing, I stared at the dress Owen sent, a floor-length emerald green piece with a daring slit up the side. The fabric shimmered faintly under the light, making it look far more expensive than anything I’d ever owned. The matching clutch and heels sat beside it, equally as pretty.I hated this man, and being around him was the last thing I wanted, especially right now but staying home wasn’t an option. Not with him. He’d either send
OWEN"… finally, I am glad to be standing here with my mayor—Trevor, and I am sure that he would be the best thing to happen to this city." I promised them, sharing a look with Trevor, a practiced smirk on my face. He laughed, patting my shoulder.Trevor stood tall and powerful beside me, and to the crowd, Trevor was a lot bigger than I was. I was simply a billionaire fan who had several companies and made a lot of money.Trevor was the mayor, therefore, he ruled the city. They were so blind, loud and completely wrong. I did not hate it though…After the whole speech and pleasantries, I went back to my seat on the table and cooled off a bit, watching the ceremony go on.I was struggling to enjoy the party. It was not an unusual thing for me not to enjoy a party; the only unusual thing was the fact that I was bothered about not enjoying the party.Strange.I looked around for Mae a number of times, but it looked like she had left the party. Except… that was so unlike Mae. She did not h
MAEThroughout the car ride, Owen's hand stayed on my thigh and as a result, I could not really move properly. I hardly knew why, but I wished it was because he was a monster and I felt like he was dirtying me up with his bloodied hands. Only, it was far from that. I just did not want to come to terms with what it was, exactly.As for talking, we barely said a word to each other until the car stopped right in front of a huge ass mansion. No, a castle.Was this the president's house?There was a low gate that opened automatically before he drove into the compound. My jaw was almost on the floor as I realized what was happening. This was really Owen's house. I saw the small smirk on his face as he noticed my awe, and I managed to shut my mouth and get out of the car before I could bring more disgrace to myself.Someone took my purse at the door and greeted us in the warmest way possible. I kept looking around and thankfully, Owen did not comment on it; just led me in and let me continu
MAEThe nightmares didn’t stop. It didn’t matter how many sleeping pills I took or how exhausted I was by the end of the day. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in that bathroom, staring at Carter’s girlfriend, lifeless and broken on the tile floor. Sometimes, in the dreams, it wasn’t her—it was me, sprawled out, blood pooling beneath me. I’d wake up gasping, drenched in sweat, feeling like I’d never truly left that room. I thought the incident had not affected me that much—turned out I was so wrong.I started avoiding everyone. The girls at Casa Eleganza whispered behind my back, but I didn’t have the energy to care. They always gossiped about something—this time, it was me. I overheard snippets: "She's losing it," "She looks like a ghost," and the ever-popular, "She's gonna get herself kicked out if she keeps this up."Scar was the only one who dared to say it to my face. "Mae, you need to pull yourself together. You're going to get yourself kicked out." She told me one afterno
MAEI was being watched.Or rather, it felt like I was being watched. I talked to Scar about it, but she simply watched me like I was crazy—definitely because of my recent sleepwalking habits—and then she assured me that there was too much security watching over us for us to be harmed easily. That calmed me down a bit but not totally. I started avoiding Owen right after that incident at his room and started taking harsher drugs because my sleepwalking simply did not want to end. Eli was skeptical about giving them to me at first but we came to a deal/agreement in the end. I was not to take more than two in a week.Needless to say, I did not follow what he had asked and I took it more than two times weekly.. most times, I even took it up to five times. I could now go get the drugs myself, so it was not a problem.Since then, I slept soundly. Sometimes I still got nightmares but I never woke up in the middle of it, and I never sleepwalked from then. Again, the guilt kept eating me up,
OWENI was not supposed to be in Casa Eleganza tonight, but then Marco called and told me he was looking for her.Mae Rivera.Apparently, Carter had caught her making a sneaky phone call and before he could get evidence, she ended the call and threatened to lie against him if he tried to expose her. She ran off, too. Not that I fully trusted this Carter or a guy, but this awfully sounded like something that woman can do; especially after all she had been through lately.I could have left Marco to find her and teach her a lesson… or even any of my snipers could do that, but I had a surprise for her, so I could not do that.As I drove, I tried to shake off the nasty feelings I had that kept screaming in my ear about the fact that she had gone through so much. She should have thought of that before crossing me. I do worse to others, I thought. Why was it a bloody big deal with her? I did not have an answer to that, of course.Finally, after what seemed like years, I parked my car in fron
MAEThe text came an hour later.OWEN: Come to the club. Now.No explanation. No details. Just an order.I stared at the message, my pulse already picking up. He didn’t use words like that with me—not unless something was wrong.I grabbed my jacket and slipped out of my apartment, moving fast. The city blurred past as I caught a cab, my mind racing the entire way.Did Joan make a move?Did Eric?Was I already too late?By the time I reached the club, the bouncer barely spared me a glance before stepping aside. I pushed through the main floor, ignoring the pounding music and the lingering stares as I headed straight for the back offices.Owen was waiting.He stood behind his desk, his back to the door, one hand braced against the edge. He didn’t turn when I entered, didn’t acknowledge me right away.But the tension in the room was suffocating.I closed the door behind me. “What happened?”Owen’s head lifted slightly, but he still didn’t look at me. “Eric met with Javier Castelleno.”A
OWENI had watched Mae leave my car that night, her frustration hanging in the air like cigarette smoke. She hadn’t looked back.I should’ve let it go. Should’ve turned the key in the ignition and driven off, let her work through her anger alone.But I didn’t.Instead, I sat there, gripping the steering wheel, jaw locked so tight it ached.She wanted me to give in. To cross that invisible line we’d been toeing for weeks. And fuck, I almost had.Mae had no idea what kind of self-control it took to pull away. To tell her to go home when all I wanted was to drag her into my lap and kiss her until she forgot about Joan, about Eric, about the game she was playing with fire.But I wasn’t a man who made decisions based on want.I made them based on survival.And right now, Mae’s survival depended on her staying out of this mess.Which meant keeping my hands off her.At least for now.Tonight, I pulled out of the alley, steering the car toward the warehouse. Scar and Marco were already waitin
MAEThe door slammed shut behind me, and I stood in the alley for a moment, breathing in the cold night air. My hands clenched at my sides, nails pressing into my palms. I should’ve felt relieved. I’d walked away. I had my space.So why did I feel like I was suffocating?I forced myself to move, stepping out onto the sidewalk. The city hummed around me—cars passing, voices carrying through the night. Normal life, oblivious to the storm raging inside me.I needed a drink.And I needed a plan.Eric’s name sat heavy in my mind. If Joan truly believed he was a traitor, then this wasn’t just a warning. It was a test. One I couldn’t afford to fail.But Owen had given me his answer.You don’t touch him.That was easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one standing in front of Joan, balancing on a knife’s edge, trying to prove she belonged. I’d spent weeks playing my part, earning trust. Now, one wrong move could rip everything apart.And Owen expected me to stand back and do nothing?I exhaled sh
MAE"You really do not look okay. Are you sure you can still work?" Eli asked me, smacking his lips after applying lipgloss."I have to." I simply replied, going across the room to pick up more stuff. I was really tired—both mentally and emotionally, but I knew I would just be calling more punishment to myself if I simply laid down here."How? Scar is really nice. I mean, everyone here is. I do not feel like anyone here is being forced to do anything. I like the fact that everything is so transparent, even." He went on, and I almost scoffed out loud.He sounded like an excited little kid. He had not the slightest idea of what was actually going on, and though it was dangerous for him, it was a little cute. Better to be oblivious than be traumatized like I was.I got ready quicker, then hurried off to the stage. I did not shut my eyes throughout my performance, because every single time I did, I saw her. I had my eyes wide open as I danced, willing the images to go away.The moment I s
MAEI barely made it up the stairs to my apartment before I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.My body still felt wired, every nerve on edge. Owen’s voice echoed in my head.I shouldn’t have wanted to go back and see if he’d really lose control.I shoved the thought away, locked my door, and leaned against it. I needed to focus. I had bigger problems than the way Owen made my skin feel too tight. That could be handled later.Joan wanted Eric dead.Tomorrow, I’d have to walk into a job knowing I was either going to betray the man who trusted me or end up dead myself. And no matter which way I spun it, I couldn’t see a way out.I dropped onto my bed and pulled out my phone.No messages. No calls.I didn’t know why I thought he’d check in. He’d told me to go home. Told me to sleep. Like it was that easy.I tossed my phone aside and squeezed my eyes shut.Maybe, if I tried hard enough, I could pretend his hands hadn’t felt so damn good on me.Maybe I could pretend I had
MAE"Your father is in the backseat of my car. Tonight, you will either tell me what's going on with you, or he takes a bullet to his head. I'll keep killing everyone you love until you decide if this secret you are keeping from me is really worth losing so much." Owen whispered, just as his big hand released my ass, going up to my hip instead.I pushed his hands off me completely, shock taking over my features. "Wait. What did you just say?""The exact same thing you heard. Get dressed and come with me."I did not have to be told twice. I rushed into the closet and just threw on a shirt like nightgown that stopped just above my knees then some lace panties.I had just stepped out of the closet to meet Owen leaning by the door when he thundered,"Get back inside and wear something else. I did not ask you to come with me so you can strip for your father." I opened my mouth and closed it like a fish, then looked around in search of anything I could just throw on."But it's covered…" I
MAEI didn’t let myself think until I was back in the car.Amelia drove in silence, her grip tight on the wheel, knuckles white. She hadn’t said a word since we left Joan’s estate. Maybe she was waiting to see how I’d react. Maybe she was testing me just as much as Joan was.I didn’t give her anything.Eric.The name burned in my head.He was one of Owen’s men—trusted, loyal, someone who had been by his side for years. If Joan had put him on that list, it meant one of two things. Either Eric was playing both sides, or Joan only thought he was.Either way, this was a problem.A big one.And Owen needed to know.I reached into my jacket pocket, fingers brushing against the earpiece Owen had given me. A reminder of his voice, the way he had told me to be careful. I wanted to use it, to hear him tell me he had a plan, that he already knew, that he would fix this before I had to.But I couldn’t.Not here. Not now.Amelia’s sharp eyes flickered to me. “You alright?”I nodded once. “Yeah.”S
MAEThe moment I stepped out of the car, the air felt different.Colder. Heavier.Amelia stood by the entrance, her arms crossed, face blank. No warmth, no hesitation—just business. She barely looked at me before turning on her heel. “Follow me.”I did.My pulse was steady, but my hands weren’t. I curled my fingers into fists to stop them from shaking. Owen’s words played over in my head. If anything feels off—get out.I didn’t plan on getting out. Not yet.We walked through a back entrance, the air thick with cigarette smoke. Joan’s men were everywhere. Some played cards. Others leaned against the walls, watching me like I was already a ghost.I kept my head high, my steps even. Fear would get me killed here.We reached the main hall. Joan was sitting at the center table, a glass of whiskey in one hand, a knife in the other. He was carving something into the wood, deep, slow strokes. He didn’t look up.“You’re late,” he said.Amelia stiffened beside me. “Traffic.”Joan finally glance