Category: Romance

Chapter Eight – Rostya The hall is stripped bare of pretense. No flowers, no music, no celebration. A notary sits stiff-backed at the table, papers aligned in neat stacks. Ivan stands to my right, a wall of loyalty and steel. Two elders, gray and watchful, sit across, and a pair of soldiers linger near the

Chapter Seven – Karmia The guards haul me from the cell with rough hands at my elbows, their boots thudding against the stone as they lead me through a corridor that climbs upward. The air changes gradually—the damp chill of the underground giving way to something warmer, perfumed faintly with polish and flowers. It’s almost

Chapter Six – Rostya The council room reeks of smoke and power. Heavy curtains blot out the night, trapping the haze of cigars beneath the high ceiling. Polished wood gleams under dim light, the table a dark mirror ringed with men who pretend to be equals but know better. Vodka sits in cut-glass tumblers, sharp

Chapter Five – Karmia Cold eats through me. It’s in the stone under my body, in the damp air clawing at my skin. My breath ghosts white in the dimness, curling before vanishing. I pull my knees tighter to my chest, arms wrapped around them so hard my muscles ache. It doesn’t help. The chill

Chapter Four – Rostya The room waits with me, heavy and still, a tomb built for sound and pain. Concrete walls darkened with old stains. Rust blooms where chains hang from hooks, the smell of iron and sweat thick as fog. Every inch of it carries history—men brought here broken and leaving less than whole.

Chapter Two – Rostya The warehouse floor is quiet now, save for the echo of dripping water somewhere in the distance and the dull hum of machinery above. I stride in from the shadows, my knuckles still streaked with blood, raw skin pulled tight over bone. My suit jacket clings heavy to my shoulders, soaked

Chapter One – Karmia The cursor blinks back at me one last time before I hit log out. The company logo flashes, blue and sterile, before dissolving into nothing. My badge is already unclipped, a flimsy rectangle of plastic I slide onto the desk with deliberate care. Goodbye, corporate leash. I let my eyes linger a