Not even the note.
It was power.
Wrapped in civility. Laced with control.
A gesture disguised as affection.
Her fingers twitched with the urge to throw it out.
But that was the trick, wasn’t it?
Someone had made a move.
Not to win her over.
To claim her.
She exhaled slowly. The towel in her grip bit into her palms.
She didn’t know who had left it.
Didn’t know what they wanted.
But she knew one thing.
This wasn’t a gift.
It was a test.
A leash dressed in luxury.
And whoever thought she’d flinch?—
They were wrong.
She wasn’t that girl anymore.
And if they tried to control her?
She’d burn the whole game down.
Marco’s wordsechoed as Arden stepped into the night air.If the air shifts, trust it.
Something was off.
The city had a rhythm she knew by heart, but tonight, it stuttered. Fell out of sync. Never quite found the beat again.
Cold kissed her skin, but that wasn’t what made her shoulders rise. Every step felt observed. Not overtly, and nothing she could prove. Just a hum beneath her skin that wouldn’t quiet.
She glanced back once, casual. Shadows moved the way they always did. Slipping beneath streetlamps. Pooling behind parked cars.
Then her building came into view. A familiar silhouette that should’ve soothed her.
It didn’t.
Her pulse tripped. Chased a pulse of dread she hadn’t earned, but couldn’t shake.
Inside, the hallway lights flickered in stuttering bursts. Colors bled in and out, stabbing, then retreating. She reached for her keys. Cold fingers. Fumbling metal.
