REINA

The moment the call ended, the silence that followed was unbearable.

It wasn’t peace—it was punishment. The kind that hums in your chest and won’t let you breathe.

I stared at my phone like it had just betrayed me, my fingers shaking as I dropped it on the bed. I could still hear his voice echoing in my head—low, rough, commanding—words I shouldn’t have listened to, promises I should’ve ignored. But I hadn’t. I never did.

And now he was coming.

“God,” I whispered, pressing my palms against my face. My skin was still hot, my heart pounding so hard I thought I’d be sick.

I needed to move....