LOGIN"Look at the target, Gabe," Derek hissed, his voice a low vibration that settled in my bones. "Imagine it's my heart. Imagine you are finally putting me out of my misery." I was trapped between the cold metal of a gun and the burning heat of his body. My finger trembled on the trigger, but I couldn't pull it. My name is Gabriel. To the world I am the nerdy quiet university student. To Derek Miller, I am his toy. He found my secret sketchbook, page after page of his naked body drawn with obsessive detail. Now, he uses those sketches to keep me on a leash blackmailing me whenever he wants a taste of my dignity. But the nightmare was only beginning. When my religious mother announced she was marrying Derek’s billionaire father my world shattered. My bully wasn't just a ghost from campus anymore, he was my stepbrother. We share a room. We share a bathroom and now my body. He is everywhere I breathe. He claims me. He insults me. He treats me like trash. And the sickest part? I have realized I loved it rough. Our obsessive love is impossible. My mother would disown me, the Miller name would be tarnished, and Derek’s tough love is starting to leave scars I can't hide. Just as I am about to break, a new guy enters the picture someone who promises to love me softly. Someone who doesn't smell like gin and danger. But in the dark world of the Millers, safety is a lie. Now I have to choose: Do I run toward a peaceful future, or do I stay with the devil I already know?
View MoreDerek's POV I poured the pills into my palm and swallowed them dry. I didn't bother with water, letting the bitter taste scrape down my throat. I just stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror for a second, hated the hollow, dark circles under my eyes, and grabbed my car keys from the counter. Shoving a black cap over my messy hair to hide how ruined I looked and headed down the stairs. "Hey. Derek, where the hell are you going?" Scott blocked the bottom of the steps, crossing his arms as he stopped dead right in front of me. "To the hospital, dummy," I snapped, not even slowing my pace as I tried to brush past him. He rolled his eyes, shifting his weight to stay firmly in my path. "Dude, you stayed up with Gabriel all night. Mike is taking his shift right now. You need to rest. Your look like a ghost right now. Go later." "Shift?" I let out a harsh, dry laugh that tasted like the pills. "You want me to trust Gabriel’s life to some stranger?" "A stranger?" Scott’s voice ro
Scott's POVDerek was zooming down the road fast enough to kill anything that crossed his path."Derek, slow down! You’re going to get us killed!" I yelled, gripping the door handle so hard my fingers went numb.He wasn't listening. His knuckles were clamped like iron around the steering wheel, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his neck looked ready to snap. His eyes were bloodshot, staring straight through the windshield. I had never seen Derek like this before. When his mum died, he went quiet. He had shut everyone out. But this time... it felt like the rage he had suppressed for all those years was crashing down all at once.I stared at the dashboard, my hand hovering over my pocket. I didn't know if I should call Mr. Miller to warn him, or... no. Mr. Miller deserved every single bit of whatever was coming to him. Personally speaking, I couldn't wait for life to tear that man's world apart. He was the sole reason Aunty Jess died. His greed had driven him to absolute madnes
Derek's POV I was sitting outside the room. I was completely quiet now, the frantic chaos from moments ago bleeding into an unsettling, heavy silence. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to feel, actually. My hands were resting on my knees, my fingers fumbling over each other in a frantic, uncontrollable shake. Soon after, the heavy door creaked open. I tilted my head slowly, my heart stopping as the doctor stepped out first, followed by a quiet procession of nurses. The doctor didn't have a smile on his face. His expression was completely unreadable. I tried to catch the eye of the lead nurse, but she actively avoided my gaze, staring down at the floor as she and the others walked past, leaving the doctor standing right in front of me. I got up from my seat, my movements stiff and robotic as he walked closer to me. "Due to the severe psychological trauma, the physical injuries, and acute dehydration, his body went into neurogenic shock," the doctor explained, his
Derek's POV I woke up to a crushing, vice like grip on my fingers. I snapped my head up. Gabriel was thrashing violently against the hospital sheets, a thick layer of cold sweat coating his pale forehead. Tears were pouring from the corners of his tightly shut eyes, and his entire body was shivering so hard the metal bed rails were rattling against the frame. "Nurse! Nurse!" I roared, panic instantly clawing at my throat. I tried to pull my hand back to sprint for the door, but Gabriel’s fingers only clamped down harder, his nails digging deep into my skin. "Please... don't leave me here! Don't let her..." he whimpered, his head whipping from side to side as a terrifying fever held him hostage. "Gabriel! Gabe!" I bent over him, grabbing his trembling shoulders, trying to gently shake him out of the nightmare. "Gabe, look at me! Wake up!" "Nurse!" I screamed again. The door finally flew open, and a nurse barged in, lunging straight for Gabriel's side. The moment her fingers tou
Gabriel's POV I sat on the edge of my sagging dorm mattress, a small, hysterical laugh bubbling up in my chest. Tornadoes. That’s what Mike and Erica were. For a few minutes back at that dive bar, the world had felt loud and colorful and weirdly okay. I kept thinking about Erica screaming about h
Gabriel's POV My hand wouldn't stop shaking. Every time I looked down at my knuckles, I saw the faint red smear where I had actually, God, I actually punched him. I punched Derek Miller. I was walking back to the dorms my heart doing this frantic, rib cracking dance. Why did he let me go? He sh
Gabriel's POV I didn't even have the chance to say no. The air in my tiny, cramped dorm room felt like it had been sucked out by a vacuum the moment Derek’s belt hit the floor. The metal buckle made a sharp clink against the linoleum that sounded like a gunshot to my nerves. Connor was behind me,
Gabriel's POV The sun crawled into my room like it was mocking me, hitting the messy pile of sketchbooks in the corner. I hadn’t slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Derek’s cold blue gaze and felt the phantom weight of Bradley’s indifference. I kept checking my phone. It was a reflex now
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