NOVA POV
"It’s still not adding up. You got released from a six-month internship way too early, and without even a letter of completion."
Katie looked from to Lena from her position by the window, her brows furrowed tighter than I’ve ever seen. "Lena, say sothing."
"She looks heartbroken, take it easy on her," Lena said gently, ever the peacemaker. If only she knew the true source of my heartbreak.
"I’ve been worried about Tyler too, but you don’t have to hurt yourself over that," Lena continued. "He’ll be back soon."
Oh, poor Lena. If only she knew.
"Who else knew you were coming back to the hostel today?"
Katie asked after a long pause, still staring out the window. Her sharpness made my stomach twist. She probably saw sothing.
"Nobody," I replied quickly. Then, after a second thought: "Aside from Lena’s dad, of course."
Katie didn’t flinch. "Soone just dropped sothing at our door. She’s rushing back with her face covered."
"Who?"
I rushed over to the window with Lena at my heels.
"I said her face was covered."
"How do you know it’s a her, then?"
Katie shot a look. "Body shape. Duh."
Suspense in books and movies I can handle. But in real life? I hate it. And the fact that I’m living one giant mystery now is enough to make want to tear my own hair out.
"Let’s just check what she dropped. Might be a random delivery." I suggested it, even though my gut whispered the exact opposite.
We opened the door cautiously, like we were unarming a bomb. On the ground lay a small package, neatly wrapped, with a tag that read:
"To N, With love, L."
Katie’s hand went straight to her hip. "Girl, don’t tell you’ve been hiding sothing from us."
"Not really. It’s nothing serious, for real."
"Nothing serious?" Lena raised a brow. "Please tell he’s an admirer and not so stalker. I don’t have the patience for weirdos this sester."
"Just a random guy," I lied smoothly. "Let’s go back inside." I scooped up the package, praying it wasn’t incriminating.
Katie wasn’t letting it go. "So... are you seeing soone else besides Tyler?"
I kept shaking my head like a broken doll, my throat tight, while my friends exchanged worried glances. They started tossing questions back and forth, arguing between themselves, until their voices beca static in my ears.
My hostel bed, which was once my heaven on earth, felt wrong when I sat down. Once, this room was my sanctuary. Now, everything looked dull and lifeless, reflecting the state of my life.
On their insistence, I slowly opened the package. Inside was a small luxurious box, the kind that could only hold jewelry. Gasps filled the room as I lifted the lid, revealing a diamond tennis bracelet that glittered under the light like it was mocking .
"How rich is your boyfriend again?"
"Not my boyfriend." My voice was flat.
"For him to send this? He ans business," Lena squealed, her excitent sharp in contrast to my dread. "I can’t even begin to count how many carats are in this thing."
"Girl, this guy iced you out. With love, too? You’d better pick a wedding date."
The irony twisted my stomach. My friends, girls who were supposed to know better than anyone looked at this as a dream co true. Sothing to post about, to brag about, to celebrate. anwhile, I wanted to hurl it across the room.
"Imagine this with a diamond choker and an off-shoulder Valentino. Girl, you’d break Instagram." Katie’s eyes sparkled.
I plastered on a smile to keep them chattering, even as my mind betrayed . The only choker I craved was Grant’s hand around my throat, his grip unrelenting as he whispered filth against my ear. Him grinding his cock into my aching body until I was nothing but a puddle beneath him.
His palm pressing my head to the floor, fingers buried in my pussy, a vibrating plug in my ass, his denial stretching to the brink until the eventual release shattered to pieces.
That was the necklace I wanted. That was the only jewelry that could make feel alive.
"Snap out of it, really," Lena scowled.
I blinked. "What?"
"We’ve been calling your na. You zoned out."
"I’m just... stressed."
"If you say so."
Lena pointed at my phone. "Your phone’s been ringing nonstop. Who the hell is Luca V? Don’t tell that’s Luca Vitellio, as in my dad’s enemy?"
My blood ran cold. "I... I don’t know what you’re talking about." My voice stamred, weak and unlike . Heat rose in my cheeks, betraying .
"You definitely know," Lena pressed. "Sothing’s changed about you. And I don’t just an the gloom."
"What have you done, Nova?" Katie’s voice softened, turning sweet. "You know you can talk to us."
But no. I can’t. Not if I want to stay alive. Not if I don’t want to beco the next headline on Katie’s Instagram.
And Lena, Sweet, demure Lena. If she even suspected that I was tangled in sothing with her family, I wouldn’t just lose her. I’d lose everything.
And God, I hate girl drama.
Later that night, sleep refused to co. My guilty pleasures of erotica comics and novels stacked in a ssy corner of my phone did nothing to soothe the dull ache pounding in my chest.
I scrolled, I reread old favorites, I even tried to imagine myself in their worlds, but none of it worked. The ache stayed. The emptiness swallowed whole.
So I decided to do the most impulsive thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.
So risks are worth taking. And if this one ended up costing my life, at least I could go in peace knowing I didn’t die a virgin.
Knowing I had tasted more than half of my sexual fantasies, lived them in flesh, not just paper. Knowing I would never again have to depend on my evil godmother’s scraps. To , that was the definition of a win.
My hands trembled as I typed the ssage, as though they feared the repercussions before I’d even hit send. My heart thudded so hard it felt like it would crack my ribs, the most action I’d felt since Grant’s cold, brutal dismissal.
But you only live once, right?
I typed slowly, backspacing, rethinking, second-guessing. And then before my nervous side could wrestle down, I pressed send.
(I’m sorry. I can’t do this again.)
I copied the sa text and sent it to both Grant and Luca.
No instant response. Not that I expected one. Both n were busy in their own empires, and I was nothing. A pawn in Luca’s ga. An inconvenience in Grant’s.
Then—
Luca V: Not until I say so. Otherwise you leave this relationship in a death bag.
What the fuck.
My heart stilled. My body froze. My world spun so fast I thought I’d collapse. That wasn’t just a threat. That was a promise. My chest tightened with the dawning realization that I may have signed my own death warrant... all because I wanted answers about who killed my parents.
Maybe history really does repeat itself.
I checked my chat with Grant. The ssage was marked read the instant I sent it. But no reply. Nothing.
The silence cut deeper than Luca’s threat.
In one last desperate attempt to reach him, I texted Lucy, Grant’s new secretary, the one I’d gifted that unnecessarily expensive handbag from Luca.
: (When will the internship letter be ready for pickup?)
Lucy, the night owl who was probably binging Korean dramas, replied instantly.
Lucy: (Boss forbids anyone from signing or getting in touch with you. Goodnight.)
The phone slipped from my hand and crashed onto the sheets.
Fuck Grant and his anger issues. He could have at least listened. He could have given the tiniest chance to explain, to defend myself. But no, he made up his mind, sealed the coffin, nailed it shut.
And now, school is resuming in a few weeks. Without that official internship letter, my entire year would be void. No scholarship funds. No housing allowance. No stability. Which ant one thing: I’d be forced back into my godmother’s house. Back into the breeding ground of all my traumas.
No. I’d rather crawl through glass and bleed myself dry than go back there.
I would do whatever it takes to get back into Grant’s good graces. Whatever it takes to get that letter signed.
"Mother, help ," I whispered into the dark, though no one was listening.
My phone buzzed again. Another ssage. Luca.
Luca: New task. Evening ball at Oysters. Tomorrow. 8PM. I’ll have the costu sent.
Fuck.
A public outing with Luca could only an one thing. Grant would be there.
And this ti, there would be no running from the fallout.
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