The morning after his marriage, Kevin was in a particularly good mood, humming to himself as he prepared breakfast, though Camilla was still asleep upstairs after their eventful night.His phone rang unexpectedly, an unknown number flashing across the screen. He almost ignored it, assuming it was spam, but something made him pick it up anyway.“Hello?”“You absolute bastard,” Ivy’s voice came through, though it was harsh and venomous, it was immediately recognizable.Kevin sighed, already regretting answering. “Ivy. What do you want?”“What do I want? What do I want, Kevin?” she repeated, her voice rising with every word. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through? Do you even care, or is your heart too cold to feel anything for anyone besides that little princess you’re chasing after?”“I’m not in the mood for this, Ivy,” Kevin said flatly, though he didn’t hang up.“Of course you’re not. Why would you be? You’re too busy living your perfect little life while I lost everythin

Ivy woke up slowly, stretching her arms above her head with a satisfied and lazy sigh, the memory of the previous hours with Alan still lingering pleasantly across her skin. She reached her hand across the bed expecting to find him there beside her, still warm from sleep, but her fingers met only cold and empty sheets instead.She frowned and pushed herself up onto her elbows, blinking against the afternoon light streaming in through the gap in the curtains. “Alan?” she called out, her voice still thick with sleep.No response came back.She sat up fully this time and glanced around the room, noticing that his clothes from the night before were gone from where they’d been carelessly discarded on the floor. She got up slowly, wrapping a silk robe around herself, and walked through the private home calling his name in every single room she passed.The kitchen was empty and untouched, not even a used coffee cup left behind to suggest he’d stopped there. The sitting room was equally empty

The next day, Camilla woke up with a nervous energy buzzing quietly beneath her skin, the kind that came from finally being ready to share something important with someone whose opinion truly mattered to her. Today was the day she planned to take Kevin to see her father and reveal that they were now officially married.She rolled over in bed to find Kevin already awake, propped up against the headboard scrolling through something on his phone, though he set it aside the moment he noticed her stirring.“Good morning,” he said, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her forehead.“Good morning,” she replied, stretching lazily before sitting up properly. “Are you ready for today?”Kevin raised an eyebrow curiously. “What exactly is happening today that I need to be prepared for?”Camilla grinned mischievously and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “We’re going to see my father. I think it’s time he knew about us properly.”Kevin’s expression shifted slightly, a mix of surprise a

Camilla’s heart hammered violently against her ribs as she stared up at Marco, and the fog of whatever drug they’d used to sedate her slowly clearing from her mind, replaced instead by a sharp, crystallizing terror.She had always hated this man. Even years ago, before she truly understood the extent of his darkness, something about him had unsettled her deeply, some instinct warning her that beneath his charming exterior and expensive suits lay something far more dangerous than the average persistent suitor she occasionally had to fend off. She remembered the way he had always looked at her, like she was something to be acquired rather than someone to be known, and like her rejection was simply an obstacle to overcome rather than a boundary to respect.“Marco,” she managed to say again, forcing steadiness into her voice despite the fear coursing through her veins. “What is this? Why have you brought me here you beast?”Marco moved closer, crouching slightly so he was eye level with h

Camilla eventually fell into a deeper sleep in Kevin’s arms, her earlier trembling finally subsiding into stillness as exhaustion claimed her completely. Kevin remained motionless beneath her for a long while, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, his mind still racing through everything he’d witnessed but unable to find any concrete answers.He thought about carrying her upstairs to the bedroom where she could rest more comfortably, but every time he shifted even slightly, her fingers would tighten instinctively around the fabric of his shirt, as though some part of her, even in sleep, feared losing contact with him. So he stayed exactly where he was instead, his arm growing numb beneath her weight, refusing to disturb whatever fragile peace she’d managed to find.Kevin let his mind wander through the day, replaying every detail he could remember from that morning. She had seemed completely fine when he left for work, humming to herself as she prepared for the office, menti