A'S

uding my senses. My breath came in shallow gasps as I struggled to find words, any words, to stop this, but they

st loosened, and I felt his fingers trail down my side, sending an unwelcome shiver through me. My mind was racing, trying to make sense o

w, icy tone that made my stomach clench. "You're not the person I was expecting," he said, his voice devoid o

s was all some sort of mistake, that I didn't belong here, that I didn't even know how I'd ended up in this

hand left my waist and he took a step back, surveying me with those same cold, calculatin

slightly, though his words carried a weight that made my skin prickle. He took

in slow to process what he was asking. "What?

y oversized sweater had ridden up, to my face. "How much?" he repeated, his tone m

p with him? The room seemed to tilt for a moment, the walls closing in as the realization sunk in. I open

back, giving me space. "Six thousand dollars," he said, his voice

t. My mind started to race again, faster this time, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions crashing into each

, the betrayal... Nathan. My chest tightened at the thought of him. We'd been together for over a year, but in all that time, I'd never given him everything. I'd never

said it outright, but I knew. I'd always known. That's why he was with her now, why he chos

s al

escape, maybe? A way out of this pit of despair I'd been drowning in for weeks. Six thousand dollars. It wouldn't fix eve

on was I now? I wasn't even sure anymore. Everything I thought I knew about myself had crumbled the moment Nathan walked out of my life. I was lost, broken, and

ting man and his offer behind. Or I could stay. I could take the money, spend the night with him, and

rely audible when I finally spoke. "Six thousand dollars?

he confirmed, as if it was no big deal, like he cou

numb, detached, like I was floating outside my own body.

as d

tled in. He didn't react right away. Instead, he took a step closer, closing the gap between

way to a strange, dangerous sense of surrender. Maybe this was how it was supposed to b

gain, closer than before, and