Terms and Temptations:The CEO spoils me silly

led in my chest like a final breath. The sting of betrayal. The flash of steel. The warmth of my own b

ace I saw. The same one w

... E

rick of memory. Then her voice grows louder

e going to be late

racks. The gentle hum of the standing fan in t

lanket falls away from my body. I look do

I remembered the pain, the fear, the sense of betrayal. But I also remembered the moments leading up to that night, the laughter, the tears, the fights. I remembered the way Robert sm

bered the way Robert would flirt with me in front of Diane, making her seethe with jealousy. I rem

ht it all came crashing down. The nig

. The half-empty perfume bottle on the dresser. My broken phone charger coiled beside my pillow. The small dent

Everything feels too real to be a dream, too d

mm

Not her. Not n

n her hair perfectly curled, her lips glossed in the same peachy

rama today, Emma. We have

s exactly the same. But the memory of her face twisted in rage,

l who laughed with me over tubs of ice crea

" I ask suddenly, my

inks.

r me, but I force myself to remain upright. "

early annoyed

5th. No. This... this was the

slowly. "June 5t

es. "2022. Obvious

me, it was 2025. I remember being twenty-five. I remember running no, crawling out of that house. B

ble, stepping away from her. "I

"Seriously?

" I snap, more forcef

yebrow. "Fine.

f the front door closing behind her echoes like

d. My heart thuds wildly a

b buzzes overhead. There, in the mirr

....but

still big and hopeful, though panic now clouds them. My hair is longer. I cut it after

the night I died. I remember the exact moment it happened. Diane's scream. My confusion. Her eye

een working for for months everything." I trace the sca

I was mur

. I stumble backward and slump onto the floor, pressing m

ow? I spend hours or maybe minutes, I can't tel

ashes come back in waves. Robert's betrayal. The way he looked at Diane w

collapsing. The sound of thunder outside. Diane whispered something as

planned. Premeditated. They wa

re not sulking. Pull yourself together before I get bac

not su

roces

e person who murdered you knowing they don't know you know? How do you

e scar. The ache is still there, like a

aighter. I glance at the mirror again. There's

ed t

bser

thi

hat this second

on impulse..

Because whatever brought me ba

is tim

't was