2025-07-10 12:21:04Amber left the house earlier than usual the following morning, hoodie pulled over her head, music plugged in, but she wasn’t really listening. She wasn’t out to jog, not really.
She had a plan.
She jogged her usual route at first, pretending all was normal. Then, she turned into a narrow side street, quieter, less familiar.
There they were.
Two teenage boys, slouched on a bench, eyes glued to their phones, laughing over something they were watching.
Amber smirked. Perfect timing.
She jogged closer and slowed to a walk just as she reached them.
“Hey, boys!” she called out in a bright, fake accent. “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”
They looked up, barely interested.
“Yeah, sure,” one mumbled, eyes back on his screen.
Before they could react, Amber lunged forward, grabbed one by the wrist, and twisted it behind his back in one clean, practiced move.
“OW! What is wrong!?”
The other boy jumped up. “What’s your problem, lady?!”
Amber leaned in, voice low and sharp. “Easy. You see this path? No houses. No cameras. Nobody coming to save you.”
The boy she held whimpered. “W-we didn’t do anything”
“You sure about that?” she snapped. “Where’s your third partner in crime?”
“We don’t know what you’re talking about!” the other stammered, now crouched, hands raised.
Amber pulled the phone from the one she was holding and tapped the screen. “Don’t insult my intelligence.”
“Please, miss...”
“You boys think it’s okay harassing strangers, yeah? Filming people, lying to cops? You messed with the wrong one this time.”
“We didn’t know he was your friend!”
“Oh, but that makes it okay?” She twisted the arm harder.
“OW! Okay! I lied, alright?! We lied to the cop! But we were just trying to have fun. We didn’t know he had… friends like you!”
Amber laughed coldly. “You mean friends who don’t let nonsense slide?”
She flipped through the phone. “Is this the phone you used to record him?”
“Y-yeah.”
She didn’t waste time. With a few quick taps, she erased everything. Factory reset.
“There. Now let’s talk about consequences,” she said, releasing him with a shove.
“Miss, please… let us go,” one of them begged. “We’re sorry. Seriously.”
“Oh, I know you’re sorry. But you see, my friend? He spent an hour locked up because of your stupid prank. That's a trauma you can’t erase with a reset button.”
She dragged them both by their sleeves toward a more secluded part of the alley.
“Now listen,” she said, crossing her arms. “I want 100 frog jumps. Each. Twice.”
“What?! Are you serious?!”
“Does it look like I’m joking?”
They hesitated.
“I said: Start jumping.” She commanded.
The boys dropped into squats and began hopping.
One of them groaned loudly. “Miss, please, we’re not even athletes!”
Amber checked her watch. “Lucky for you, I’ve got time today.”
By the time Amber was done disciplining those little troublemakers, the sun had started to rise gently, washing the streets in pale gold. She dusted her hands and adjusted her hoodie, letting out a breath as she jogged toward the main road.
Her mind replayed the boys’ panicked faces and the satisfaction of watching them do endless frog jumps. Serves them right, she thought.
She turned into a broader street which was still quiet, but not deserted and slowed down to catch her breath.
"Hey there! Mind if I join you?" a cheerful voice called from behind.
Amber turned to see a woman in her early thirties, jogging lightly with a bottle of water in hand. Braids pulled back, wireless earbuds looped around her neck.
“Sure,” Amber replied, forcing a smile. “The more, the merrier.”
The woman fell into pace beside her. “You jog here often?”
“Almost every day,” Amber said. “But I took a slightly different route this morning.”
“Yeah, this area’s peaceful. I only run here on weekends, with less traffic. I’m Jodie, by the way.”
“Amber.”
“Nice to meet you, Amber. You look like someone who doesn’t mess around,” Jodie laughed lightly. “You’ve got that ‘don’t try me’ vibe.”
Amber chuckled. “Probably just my resting face. Or the hoodie.”
They jogged in silence for a moment before Jodie spoke again. “Have you noticed that guy?”
Amber’s brows furrowed. “What guy?”
Jodie tilted her head slightly. “Tall guy, gray hoodie, been trailing behind us for a few blocks now.”
Amber slowed down a bit and looked over her shoulder.
There he was. Same man from earlier. Still silently jogging, his eyes locked ahead. Nothing too suspicious but yet something felt...off.
Amber swallowed. “Yeah. I saw him earlier too.”
“Creepy,” Jodie muttered. “You want me to stay with you for a while?”
Amber gave a half-nod. “Actually… I think I’ll cut through this next block. A shortcut home.”
“Alright. Be safe, Amber,” Jodie said, giving her a brief, warm smile before jogging off in the opposite direction.
Amber turned down the quiet street, picking up her pace now. It was too silent. Too empty.
I’m not being paranoid, she told herself. Something’s not right, but before she could blink she heard a loud sound.
SCREECH!
A black car tore around the corner and skidded to a stop right in front of her, tires screaming against the pavement.
She froze, barely processing it, when she heard her name from behind her.
“Amber.”
It was the creepy jogger from before.
But now he wasn’t jogging anymore.
He stepped out from behind her, cutting her off from the other end of the street.
Amber’s heart raced. Her legs shifted at alert and ready to bolt.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the man said, pulling something from his pocket. Nothing visible, but enough to stop her in her tracks.
“Who sent you?” Amber demanded, voice shaky, eyes blazing.
He smiled faintly. “I think you already know.”
“Tell him I said he’s crossing the line, we had an agreement.”
The man’s jaw twitched, but his voice stayed calm. “You can tell him yourself. Now get in the car, don’t make this difficult.”
Amber looked left, then right.
There were no witnesses, no help.
But before anyone could move, a dog barked. It was loud and close. Then another bark, two large German Shepherds tore around the corner, barking violently.
The men flinched.
Amber used the second of hesitation to lunge, shoving the jogger hard in the ribs and ran down the sidewalk toward the barking.
“Get her!” one of the men yelled.
She didn’t look back, she just ran.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The One Before The Final Decision
The courtyard of Amber’s estate was no longer just tense — it was vibrating with a dangerous electricity that made even the guards keep their hands hovering near their weapons. The echo of Celeste’s voice still lingered in the air, sharp and acidic, and the look on Amber’s face as she stood at the top of the stone steps was the quiet promise of war.Xavier did not move. He stood planted between both women, jaw locked, eyes scanning the estate’s perimeter like he was calculating a thousand risks at once. He didn’t like scenes. He didn’t tolerate ambushes. And he definitely wasn’t going to let a loose-mouthed outsider start a fire on territory he’d sworn to keep safe.Antonio took one slow step forward. “Celeste,” he growled under his breath, “get back in the car—”“Don’t you dare talk to me like I’m the problem,” she hissed, throwing him a glare. “I warned you this was a bad idea. I told you we should have waited. But no— you just had to run straight to Xavier, like he’s the only one w
Forced Confession
The guards pulled back but didn’t disperse. They lingered around the courtyard like a pack waiting for Xavier’s next order. No one breathed freely. No one blinked too long. The air between all four of them was thick enough to slice.Xavier stood in front of Antonio, the tension between them bordering on physical. “Start talking,” he said. “And don’t test my patience with selective details.”Antonio didn’t answer immediately. His eyes flicked between Xavier, Amber, then Celeste—who remained by the gate, rigid, silent, controlled only by the need not to break again in their presence.Xavier took one step forward. “I asked you a question.”Antonio exhaled through clenched teeth. “Fine. You want the truth? You’ll get it.”Amber folded her arms, jaw locked. “About time.”Celeste didn’t move. She stayed outside the gate, watching, unreadable, yet every nerve in her body was braced—because she knew whatever Antonio said next would drag her name into the center of a storm she didn’t create.A
THE BLOW-UP
Antonio had barely gotten the first sentence out before Celeste’s patience finally snapped.“Before New York?” she repeated, her voice shaking with the kind of anger that had been building since the instant her passport was flagged in Heathrow. “You’re starting from ‘before New York’ when I’ve been dragged across borders, detained, questioned, embarrassed, and now told to stand outside like a stray?”Amber’s lips curved. Not kindly. “If the shoe fits.”Celeste turned slowly toward her.Xavier muttered, “Amber—”“Don’t ‘Amber’ me,” she cut in, eyes fixed on Celeste. “I’ve watched this woman circle Antonio like a shadow for months. Every time trouble touches him, somehow she’s in the picture. You want me to act blind now?”Celeste didn’t laugh—she scoffed. “You think I enjoy being anywhere near him? You think I flew across the world because I like being part of your little drama-filled circle?”“This is not a circle,” Amber said sharply. “This is my estate. My security. My responsibilit
Distractions
“Sir, something’s happening at the east entrance. You need to see this now.”The guard’s voice cut through the hallway like a blade. Xavier didn’t move at first; his eyes stayed locked on Antonio, who still looked like a man hanging onto the last thread of patience he had left. But the urgency in the guard’s face made Xavier shift.Amber pushed past the guard before Xavier could respond. “What now?” Her irritation sharpened every word. “Your estate is turning into a circus, Xavier.”Xavier followed her, and Antonio trailed behind them despite the earlier warning not to move. No one addressed him; the tension had become its own breathing thing.They turned the corner toward the east entrance—then everything snapped into focus.Celeste.Standing outside the gate like a storm that had found legs.She wasn’t just arguing with the guards; she was practically ready to tear the gate off the hinges if that’s what it took to get inside. Her voice was raised, firm, unfiltered—demanding that the
Say It With Your Chest
Amber’s heels hit the marble before Xavier even finished his sentence. A sound that told the room she had heard enough even before stepping inside.Antonio turned slightly as she entered the atrium, but Amber didn’t spare him a glance at first. She looked at Xavier directly like she was confirming something she already knew.Then she finally faced Antonio.Her expression didn’t hold anger. It held precision. A different kind of heat—controlled, intelligent, dangerous.“Good,” Amber said, adjusting the sleeve of her robe like she had walked into a board meeting, not a standoff. “You’re still here. Saves me the trouble of dragging you back.”Antonio straightened. “I didn’t come here for you.”“And yet,” Amber replied, “you’re on my property.”“That wasn’t your problem ten minutes ago,” Antonio snapped. “I just want to see my daughter.”Amber tilted her head. “And I want a world without incompetent men. Look how life disappoints us both.”Antonio’s jaw locked. “Don’t start with—”“I’m no
You Don't Get To Demand Anything Here
Amber’s estate did not welcome unexpected visitors. The gates alone stood like a verdict—silent, fortified, and far from forgiving. Antonio stepped out of the black sedan the moment it stopped, posture rigid, eyes fixed on the security point as though he intended to force his way through by sheer will.He didn’t get the chance because Xavier was already outside. He looked prepared, like someone who had been counting down the minutes to this confrontation.Antonio’s jaw tightened. “Where is she?”Xavier didn’t blink. “Behind a gate you’re not walking through.”Antonio took a step forward, and Xavier raised a hand, not a threat, just a warning. “Don’t test me today.”“I came to see my daughter,” Antonio said, voice lowered, steady. “That’s all.”“You came to confirm the damage you caused without telling me,” Xavier corrected. “And you’re going to start with that.”Antonio let out a breath he’d been holding since New York. “Xavier, I don’t have time for this.”“You will make time,” Xavie
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