LOGINHe leans forward, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial, deeply unsettling whisper as he stares directly into my green contact lenses. "In fact... you don't have to be a maid at all, Candy. I can make all of this manual labor disappear with a single phone call. If you can just agree to be my pri
"Look, Naomi, if Dennise catches you in here, she’s going to—" The distinct, heavy sound of the deadbolt locking echoes through the quiet kitchen. My entire body goes completely rigid. My instincts scream at me, a cold shock of adrenaline instantly shooting straight to my fingertips. That isn't th
I smooth down the front of my oversized, scratchy maid uniform, my fingers tracing the small bruise on my chest from where Caroline's finger violently ripped my dress open at the cemetery yesterday. My skin still feels raw from the humiliation, my eyes are burning from crying all night over Owen, a
The striking, facial structure. Sydney is an absolute, undeniable replica of the woman in the vintage photograph—Tobias’s mother. The almost psychotic protectiveness Tobias has shown toward Sydney from the very first moment he met her. The massive financial safety nets he threw under her, the fact
Before I can even open my mouth to apologize for breaking into his house, Tobias speaks. His voice is incredibly quiet, completely devoid of its usual sharp authority, yet it carries a heavy, haunting weight that pins me right to the carpet. "For years..." he murmurs, his finger continuing its slow
I stand frozen on the gravel path, the engine of Sydney’s departing car roaring in my ears. I watch the taillights of her vehicle bounce over the cemetery threshold, disappearing completely from sight, and with every inch of distance she puts between us, my heart shatters into a million jagged, irre
I’m nearly at the front door, thinking about the deposition for the weekend’s upcoming corporate merger case, when I’m run into by a little woman with a bouquet of flowers that block out her view. The impact is soft, a rustle of silk petals and greenery, but the scent is what hits me first. It’s th
The sun hasn’t even fully cleared the horizon when the first ping pierces through my dreams. I groan, burying my face into the plush silk pillows of my bed, trying to block out the intrusion. But then comes another. And another. And many more notifications that makes my heart start to race before
I’m holding a prop silver fork, ready to say my next line, when Marcus, the actor playing my love interest, suddenly drops his character mask. "I can't even look at you," he says, his voice loud enough to carry over the hum of the cooling fans. The cameras are still rolling, the red tally lights gl
I spin around. Lydia is standing there, leaning against a light stand, her arms crossed and a malicious glint in her eyes. She’s holding her own phone, the screen glowing with the same influencer video I just watched. "Funny how things work out, isn't it?" She scoffs, stepping closer. Her makeup is







