2026-01-21 18:56:56
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It was tall, impossibly black, eyes glowing crimson. Its presence radiated a thick, oppressive aura. Claws glinted in the scattered light, sharp as razors, and black smoke curled from its form like ink spilled in water. Its voice was a low, rumbling hiss that seemed to echo from inside her skull.“So… you hide behind your pets and walls, little Hadel girl?” it taunted, each word dripping malice.Jenna stumbled back, tripping over the broken tiles. Her scream hitched, sharp and primal, and then—her legs gave out entirely. Her world went white. She fainted, collapsing in a heap.Ethan didn’t hesitate. His feet barely touched the floor as he lunged forward, hands moving in a precise sequence, ancient sigils of holy energy shimmering briefly around his fingertips.A blinding light erupted from him, washing over the shadow in waves of pure radiance. The demon hissed, recoiling, its glowing eyes narrowing.“Foolish creature,” it spat, voice jagged and cruel, “you think light can touch m
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“So I was right,” she said, her voice thick with heat and disbelief. “You weren’t protecting me. You were… watching.” “No,” Ethan said immediately, but the steel in his voice had softened, cracked under her fury. His jaw clenched, and he ran a hand through his hair, wet strands sticking to his forehead, his own skin prickling with embarrassment. “That’s not—” “You came into my bathroom,” she spat, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, “in the middle of the night, and you think I’m stupid enough to believe this is about some presence?” “I told you—” He took a half step back, trying to ground himself, to meet her gaze, but she was a storm, shaking with fury. His chest tightened, throat dry. “I swear, Jenna… I didn’t—” “You’re lying,” she screamed, hysteria bleeding into her words. “You said it yourself—you don’t need permission. You decide what you want, and you take it.” “That’s not what I meant,” he said, voice barely audible over her roaring anger, his hands curled into fis
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He didn’t hesitate. Every muscle coiled. The aura wasn’t subtle. It was deliberate, precise—a dark energy sliding through the house like liquid shadow, seeking a target. His mind calculated speed, trajectories, likely entry points.It’s heading toward a room. The master wing. The east corridor. Someone’s in danger.Without thinking, he sprinted. His movement was a blur: the polished floors barely touched, the shadows clinging to him as he passed. Security systems pinged in the background, but he ignored them; they were too slow.The darkness seemed to thicken around him, pressing in. His heart beat steadily, controlled, though adrenaline hammered through his veins. Every step was precise, silent, a calculated strike against a threat he could sense but not yet see.“This isn’t an ordinary intruder. I can feel it.” He thought. He rounded the last corner, eyes narrowing as he tracked the aura to a bathroom. The door was slightly ajar, a faint light spilling out. The energy stopped t
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Everyone froze. Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “What did you just—” “I said shut the fuck up,” John repeated, his voice calm but lethal. “You’ve said enough. More than enough.” Her mouth opened, then closed. John rose slowly to his feet, resting both hands on the table. “Ethan Storm is staying here. Whether you like it or not. Whether it bruises your pride or offends your imagination or not.” “That’s not fair,” she snapped. “This is my home too!” “And you are not the head of this family,” John shot back. “Nor the one with enemies circling.” She shook with rage. “So my opinion just doesn’t matter?” “It mattered,” John said coldly. “Until you turned it into slander.” Silence swallowed the room. Ethan stood perfectly still, eyes forward, refusing to escalate further. Internally, he was done. Absolutely done. Jenna’s chest heaved. Her eyes flicked to Ethan one last time—angry, wounded, humiliated. “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Do whatever you want.” She turned
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John’s eyes flashed. “Jenna.” “No,” she said stubbornly. “Someone has to say it.” Ethan stared at her for a long second longer, then laughed once—short, disbelieving. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. He straightened, shoulders squaring, his voice flattening into something colder. “Do you hear yourself?” “You’re deflecting,” she snapped. “That’s what men do when they’re caught.” That did it. Ethan’s gaze hardened, not with fury but with something sharper—disappointment edged with disbelief. “Yesterday,” he said slowly, “you apologized to me. You told me—twice—that you regretted misjudging me. That you were ashamed of insulting me without proof.” Jenna’s chest tightened, but she didn’t respond. “And today,” he continued, “you’re standing here accusing me of something degrading, baseless, and frankly insulting—again.” Chris looked between them, unsettled. “Jenna, that’s enough.” She ignored him. “If it bothers you so much, maybe you should leave.” Ethan stared at her as if seein
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“Peek?” he repeated calmly, voice low. “That’s what you think this is about?”Jenna met his gaze head-on. Her heart was pounding now, but she refused to look away. “I think you’re asking for access,” she said. “And I don’t like not knowing the price.”For a moment, no one spoke. Ethan stood there, tall and still, his mouth parting just slightly—then closing again. Whatever reply he’d been prepared to give seemed to stall somewhere behind his eyes. Speechless. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable. Chris noticed it first. His gaze flicked to Ethan, then back to Jenna. “Young master Ethan?” he prompted carefully. Ethan inhaled once. Slow. Deep. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter than before. Stripped of strategy. Stripped of polish. “That’s… not a word I expected to hear,” he said. Jenna’s throat tightened, but she didn’t back down. “Then maybe you didn’t think hard enough about how this looks from my side.”John leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, watch
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