CHAPTER 8: NO HELP FROM DARIUS ZARA:The phone’s shrill ring cut through the heavy, suffocating silence of the suite like a blade. I was still reeling, my heart hammering against my ribs, humiliated by the way Darius had turned to stone the moment I’d kissed him. I felt like a fool for thinking that just because he served me dinner and poured me a glass of wine, he was into me. “I'm sorry,” I said, pulling away from him.My hand shook as I pulled my phone from my bag. The screen lit up, displaying Mom in bold letters. A strange, cold dread washed over me; my heart skipped a beat, not out of excitement, but out of pure, gut-wrenching instinct. I swiped to answer, pressing the phone to my ear. "Hello? Mom?""Zara," my mother’s voice came through, trembling and thin, like she was holding back a tidal wave of grief. "You need to come home. Immediately. There’s… there’s trouble here, Zara. So much trouble.""What is it, Mom? What happened?" My voice rose, bordering on panic. "Where’s Dad
Last Updated : 2026-07-02 Read more