LOGINChapter 53: First Day, First TestThe drive was quiet.Evander's hands were on the steering wheel, his focus on the road, and I thought maybe he'd decided to keep things professional after all. Maybe the moment in my apartment, the possessiveness, the certainty—maybe he'd realized it was too dangerous to bring into the workplace.Then his hand reached for mine.I resisted at first, pulling back slightly, aware of the windows and the daylight and the fact that we were about to arrive at a place where dozens of people worked for him. Where I worked for him. But his hand was patient, waiting, not forcing, and eventually I surrendered and let him hold it. His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand, slow and deliberate, a gesture so simple it shouldn't have meant anything.It meant everything.When we pulled up to the estate, he let go immediately. Like a switch had flipped. Like the man who'd been holding my hand had been replaced by someone else entirely—professional, distant, the e
Chapter 52: Monday Morning~zella Pov~"Hey pretty," Callum's voice came through, warm and patient and completely uncomplicated. "I was thinking about making up for the other night. You know, the club thing didn't go the way I planned. Do you have time to go out this week? Dinner, drinks, whatever you want—just let me know."I listened to him talk about restaurants he'd been thinking about, little places off the beaten path that he thought I'd like based on things I'd mentioned in passing. He was paying attention. He was trying. And I felt nothing but guilt for stringing him along, for letting him believe there was a possibility when there wasn't."Callum, I..." I started, but he interrupted gently."I know you're not sure yet. That's fine. There's no pressure. Just think about it, yeah? When you're ready, I'll be here."The problem was that I was going somewhere, and it was away from him. Away from anyone who could offer me the simple, uncomplicated life I'd once thought I wanted."I
Chapter 51: The Call~zella POV ~"Hey, girlie...""Finally!" Brynn's face filled my screen, pixelated for a second before clearing. She was in her car, sunlight catching the gold in her hair. "I've been trying to reach you all day. How are you feeling? The drug thing—did it mess you up? Are you okay?""I'm fine," I said, and I was surprised at how easily the lie came. "Really. No lasting effects. I'm completely fine.""Good. That's good. I was so worried." She shifted the phone, getting more comfortable against her car seat. "Are you still mad at me? For not telling you about Cole and Dara? I know I apologized, but I've been thinking about it constantly. I just... I didn't want to ruin your happiness.""It's fine," I said, and I meant it. "That's in the past now. We're good.""Thank you for forgiving me," she said, and I could hear the relief in her voice. "I hate that I kept that from you. I hate that I chose silence."If she only knew what I was doing now."So, what about Callum?"
Chapter 50: Moving ForwardI was still staring at my phone when the knock came.I knew before I opened the door that it was him. I'd recognize his knock anywhere now, deliberate, patient, the knock of someone who has nowhere else to be.He was holding flowers. Roses, mostly, with white peonies mixed in. The same flowers he'd put in my bath. Behind him was a small gift bag, silver, with a ribbon."Come in," I said.He did, and he handed me the flowers like they were something fragile, like I was something fragile."I might not be sure about my feelings yet," he said, his voice steady in a way that made me understand he'd rehearsed this, "but I know this: I promise I won't hurt you. I'd appreciate it if you let us continue. Let us figure this out together."I took the flowers. I held them against my chest like they could shield me from what was coming."I promise to be faithful with you," he continued. "Sincere with you. Real with you. No games. No calculations. Just us trying to unders
Chapter 49: What She Knows~zella pov~"I'm not sure if this is love yet," he said quietly. "But I've forgotten how to love. What I know is that I want you. I've never wanted anyone like this. Not in years."I went very still.He was waiting for me to respond, but the words wouldn't come. I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't know if that was enough. I didn't even know if I had the right to ask for more.I stood up from his lap."I have something to do in my place," I said. "I need to go."He didn't try to stop me. He just watched me leave, and I felt the weight of his gaze following me as I walked out of the penthouse and back into the apartment that he owned but I was supposed to live in.The moment I closed the door, it crashed down on me. The reality. The choice sitting in front of me like something I had to either accept or walk away from.I sat on the edge of my bed and thought about what love actually was.---With Cole, I'd been sure. I'd felt it so completely that I'd b
Chapter 48: What He Knows~ Evander POV ~I was on my laptop in the sitting room when she walked through the door.I didn't look up immediately, there were emails, correspondence, the usual demands of a life that felt increasingly irrelevant but I felt her the moment she entered. That was the thing that had been happening for weeks now: my entire nervous system registered her presence before my conscious mind caught up. After ten years of solitude, after a decade of being completely self-sufficient and untethered, I'd forgotten what it felt like to have someone matter that much.And then she'd walked into my life soaking wet on a London street, and I'd remembered everything I'd spent ten years trying to forget.I closed the laptop without finishing the email and watched her move toward me. Something had happened. Something had shifted. I could read it in the way she held herself, that wariness, that specific tension that hadn't been there this morning when I'd kissed her forehead and
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE : One Dinner~Zella's POV~I woke up thinking about the invitation.Not obsessing. Not lying there with my heart doing things. Just... thinking. The way you think about something that should be simple and isn't quite.*Nice to meet you. The view from the east ridge is better th
CHAPTER THIRTY: Who Was She~Zella's POV~I stood outside his door in my bathroom robe and slippers and thought about what kind of person I had become.A specific kind, apparently. The kind who told a man to stop touching her, meant it completely, and then sto
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: What Am I Doing Here~Zella's POV~Brynn hugged me at the airport like I was leaving for a year."It's Scotland," I said into her shoulder. "Not Mars.""Same difference." She squeezed harder. "Text me when you land. Text me when y
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT : Empty Flat ~Zella's POV~ I woke up with one clear thought. *Keep the promise.* That was it. Simple. I had made myself a deal last night and I was going to keep it. New chapter. Professional. Brynn's friendship







