HARRY
STYLES

I don't think Esrin realises that we bugged her phone.

During Niall's interrogation, I placed a small one on the inside of her phone that can only do as much as record her calls and her location. The one I truly wanted to install allows me to have complete access to her phone but that one would take too long and I was on a clock.

Taking a part of someone's phone and adding in the little device with a transmitter and microphone can only be done so fast.

That was over two weeks ago.

It's the little fact that has been taunting me all of the two weeks that I didn't know why she was trying to reach  Luther Lane. Was it to warn him someone was potentially after him? Or was it to share that we had found out? I was dying to know if she tricked us or not.

The fact that she avoided me for two weeks spoke volumes. Unfortunately, now isn't the time to ask her more questions.

Usually, we'd do something more extreme than the last time if there are any issues. So far I've crossed a lot of lines but doing more harm to her was something I didn't want to do right now. Maybe we could give her a little break first.

The day after Halloween, it's quiet because everyone is recovering from last night. I, on the other hand, was driving my sluggish car to the repair shop. The steering wheel feels weird when I'm turning corners and sometimes it accelerates more than I intended for it too.

Bloody annoying, wonderful timing too.

It's my father's car. An old model that captures eyes when I park or drive by on busy streets. I'd love an upgrade but I'm not ready to let go of it yet.

So on this blazing Saturday evening, I'm driving to the new repair shop I heard Remi mention last night. I knew Cheekbones would be there-Esrin's very cheeky friend with nice cheekbones.

Louis Tomlinson.

Dressed in her coveralls, he seems happy to gain a customer on a slow Saturday evening and when I expressed my troubles, he popped open the bonnet. I observed his concentration in silence for a few seconds.

"Tomlinson car repairs? How very creative," I referred to the name of his shop, breaking the silence while Louis inspects my car. "Hey, I didn't choose it," he says, not giving me any attention.

"Then who did?" I asked while he slides over to the other side, messing with something I didn't know about. "My grandfather. It was a proper name back in the day," Louis answers. I frowned, suddenly feeling the nostalgia of when my father attempted to teach me about cars but I rather cooked in the kitchen with mum.

"You don't look like the type to be good at this stuff," I stretched on the conversation with another topic. Louis looks up at me with a brow lifted. He straightens his posture and shuts the bonnet of the car without taking his eyes off me. The wet cloth he was holding is thrown to rest on his shoulder.

Ruined the moment, haven't I?

"If you think someone else can do the job better, leave," he firmly states. I shake my head, silently telling him no.
Cheekbones- or Louis or whatever- hums, recollection and I mentally oh no.

"You're Remi's friend from the bar," Louis remembers and I internally groaned. Yes, I would've preferred it if he hadn't recognized me. Now it was time to leave. Not answering his question, I pulled out the bills from the back of my pocket and handed them to him.

"Fix the car, my number is on that," I say, referring to the piece of paper kept down by the windshield wipers. Louis furrows his brows while staring at the chunk of money I pushed in his arms.

"This is more than-" he tries to correct me. "That's for ruining your shirt," I tell him, turning around and walking out of his shop.

I pushed down the sunglasses that were on my head so they were covering my eyes. My phone that was wrapped around by the cord of my black headphones was stuffed in the back pocket of my tight jeans.

Grabbing it, I pushed the buds into my ears and pressed play, proceeding with my walk home. It was about a fifteen minutes walk and surprisingly, it was a nice walk.

When I'm home again, the scent of my last pumpkin spice candle welcomes me as it burns in the air. I'm going to miss these candles all year long until the next Spooky Season. It's bittersweet that Halloween is over because now I can't wait for the Christmas candles.

People always give me shit that my Halloween store is going to be out of business for the next eleven months or so. They're not wrong but little did they know, even during the Halloween season this store earns me the least amount of money.

Walking into my kitchen, I unplugged my headphones and the moment my phone sets down on the marble countertop, it bloody rang.

Lilith- Lily's name flashed across the screen. Fun fact, her name is actually Lilith but she forces everyone to call her Lily because it's bad for business.

"What do you want?" I sighed out, tightly holding the phone up with it on speakerphone. "We've got another hit for you," she says the same words as always. I leaned into my hand, pinching the bridge of my nose to calm the stirring headache.

"I have a visitor right now," I didn't lie. Niall did say he'd be coming over this evening, which should be soon. "Tomorrow, Styles. Eight AM," she strictly commands. "Try not to be late again," she shades me for last time."There was bloody traffic, woman," I defended for the thousandth time.

How does this woman manage to scold me for being late to my own home?

"Don't let traffic happen again," I could hear her rolling her eyes through the phone and she abruptly ends the call. With another sigh, I leave my phone there and walked to the fridge. Inside was my little bowl of Reese's Cups.

They're delicious.

The best combination of a treat to calm me down on a bad day. Who am I kidding? It can be a bad or a good day and I'll still help myself to my stash of Reese's.

Sitting on the couch now, with two wrappers on my lap and the taste of chocolate and peanut butter in my mouth, my mind returns to Lilith.

There are three people- excluding myself- who know about Death Hood and she is one of them.

She's an FBI agent but also the daughter of the head of security for my family. Her father was killed the same night of the incident and Lilith craved justice.

She found me somehow when I intended to disappear from the world, broken and holding so much rage that not even the badge she wears can solve.

Our alliance was created soon after.

No matter how good Niall and I are, we still needed more and having an FBI agent on our side provided exactly that.

She helps with classified information and erasing my traces using their fancy database. Well, they left one trail behind to follow, which Esrin did, but that's taken care of now. She too had become invested in the entire plan, start to finish not just in bringing her father's killer down.

Whilst waiting for the next of our plans, Lilith eventually offered a proposition.

The FBI needed some help knocking a few people off the game board and when it couldn't be done the legal way, they'd turn to Death Hood. Lilith presents me every time a flash drive is filled with all the information I need.

A vital part for me would be to make sure they give me facts and nothing less. It's the only thing that helps with the guilt. Knowing that whatever happens to them, whatever I do, they deserve it.

All of my attacks are supposed to be personal. They're ones I've been calculating for years, never satisfied until they're picture perfect. This way, it was hard for people to draw a connection to Death Hood's victims. This way, none of it is personal and people think I'm crazier than I actually am.

The FBI takes care of their families or provides security details whenever needed.

I'm their little secret weapon that takes care of the criminals hiding in plain sight. The one that gets their hands dirty so they don't have to. When something needs to be done and it involves being on the wrong side of the law, they secretly hire people to do it for them.

A wide sum of money gets deposited into my account every time. Lilith tells me it isn't from her, it's from her associate who doesn't believe in my compliance and uses the money to keep me quiet. I'm not complaining- more money for Reese's cups.

I help erase more of the people that hurt me and my family as well as Lilith. I get to give revenge on the people who can't afford to do it themselves. Your demons that haunt you aren't the only demons around. There's more, there's worse.

All of it is my choice. I can back out at any moment but when I do there's no running back. I won't be under their protection anymore. If I get caught, it complicates things for them and myself.

This is why I can't allow Esrin to take this to the police or any law enforcement. As well as, she's needed for something else. Exposing me would ruin everything.

Who knows how dirty the FBI can get, who knows what ways they can use to shut Esrin up? I can't let that happen. I need her for the plan.

It's okay if I go down but I just hope that when I do, my plan is completed already. All of these risks won't be worth it until then.

So for now, I stay on their good side.

When I hear the sound of a car parking outside, I shot up and quickly threw everything away, rushing to the door to unlock it for Niall. When he does enter, his little daughter is in his arms, her hands playing with her blonde ponytails.

Innocent excitement floods her when she sees me. "Hairy!" My nose scrunches at that nickname she gave me. Sunny's smile beamed at me with her hands out reaching for me. "There's my little jitterbug," I take her into my arms, holding her securely with one and the other scattering around her with tickles.

I love to hear the little laughs and screams that leave her. They're contagious. Even Niall who came in all angry is beaming at his daughter.

She's three, the smartest three year old I've ever known. Plus, the strongest. It's not easy being in the middle of her split parents' complicated lives.

"Sunny, check out the toys," Niall tells her and I realised that he wanted her away for whatever he had to say. This is good because I've got a question of my own for him.

She's here often and when she falls asleep, Niall doesn't bother taking her toys home. He leaves them here and eventually, I collected a little collection of baby toys.

"Care to tell me why you're avoiding Esrin, Horan?" I casually ask him, placing Sunny down and she goes for her toys immediately. His face wears a confused look and I lifted a brow at him, silently saying really?

"I'm not avoiding her," Niall lies, trying to be as calm as possible but I can see right through him. Bullshit. He's the one that left early just so he could get away from her.

"You're the one that was looking at Esrin like that all night long," Niall hints, clearly showing that he's displeased with whatever he's going on about.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, trying to recall any moment I looked at her in a special way. Except for when I first saw her outside...that dress was...something else.

"I couldn't tell if you wanted to kill her," his eyes met mine at the red stop sign. "Or fuck her," he finishes.

Please, what makes him think Esrin would be the first person I'd like to sleep with?

Easily ticked off by that, I flickered my eyes away to the paintings on the wall. My hands acted on their own, starting to crack my knuckles. "You don't know what you're talking about, so watch it. She just comes along with a lot of memories..."

"I don't care what it is, Styles but you've pulled me too deep into this to start fucking up now, man." I wanted to correct him and say that I didn't pull him in, he willingly joined me. Even if he did, there were parts I kindly demanded that he did for me.

"We got real lucky that she was already connected to Zayn. Don't fucking mess it up now," Niall reminds me. I look over to Sunny and she's completely unbothered by all of this. Niall is right. There's a plan. I can't mess it up by not following every step carefully.

"I won't," I dismissed, steering the topic back on him," stop avoiding her, mate. Just apologise and move the fuck on. She isn't anybody special," I spat. A disturbing feeling settles inside me. The last four words felt so foul.

"Yet. She isn't special yet," Niall corrects me.

ESRIN
SAGE

Luther is dead.

Luther Lane, my father's friend for decades, died last night. He died after running off slippery roads last night. He'd been in town for a business meeting and he was leaving when it happened.

My father called me asking if I'd heard anything but I didn't. I thought he was at home, away from me. I didn't know he was in town. It was around the same time as the party.

The party that Harry and Niall were late to.

That's all I can think about as the blender works in front of me- Luther Lane is dead. It broke my heart a little bit to hear the sniffles leaving my father- an emotionless man- while he told me the news.

I stopped the blender and proceeded to pour the moss green, thick liquid into two tall glasses.

Remi groans as she drags herself into the kitchen with heavy footsteps. "Stop walking so loud," Finley hissed, covering his ears. His face was still smudged with all the black makeup he wore, not bothering to take it off last night. Remi had me wash off all the green makeup and paint from her skin before going to bed.

Finley sits on the stool first, mumbling a quiet thank you as he drinks from the glass I handed to him. Remi slides onto the stool beside Finley and slouches herself over the counter. She takes her glass and while drinking, studied the kitchen with bored eyes until they landed on my vase.

Sitting in fresh water, in my favourite glass vase was the pure white tulips found on our doorstep after the party. "Did your flowers...come alive again?" Remi hesitates with her question. It would make sense why she'd say something like that because the first bouquet I received had died out and I didn't take them out until last night.

I meant to but it always feels hard to throw out flowers, even if they've died. I think they're pretty alive and dead.

"Someone dropped them off last night," I tell her and she slowly nods her head, taking another thick sip from the glass. "Secret admirer, perhaps?" Finley questions and I shrugged my shoulders. "There's not many people admiring me enough to send me flowers," I tell him.

Finley rolls his eyes dramatically with a little scoff, silently saying he didn't believe that. "These aren't even your favourite," Remi points out. "Does someone think you're dead then? They are white flowers," Finley wonders. "No, Fin. No," I dismissed, shaking my head trying to prevent the laugh.

"This is hurting my brain," Remi whispers to herself, using her middle and index fingers to press circles into the sides of her forehead.

"You know a while back they found flowers on the floor inside one of Death Hood's victims' homes. It was sprayed with some kind of heavy anaesthetic so when she sniffed it...she was out like a light. That's all they could've found out though," Finley informs in a little rant.

"Are you always this chatty when you're hungover?" I asked Finley with a light tone meant for a joke. "Trust me, he's always chatty," Remi rolls her eyes. I don't believe the theory he's made me think of. If Death Hood wanted to use an anaesthetic on me, he has other ways. Ways he already used.

"She loves me for it," Finley grabs her face and smacks a loud kiss on her cheek. "Ew! Get away," she shoved him off. "God, I need to go wash my face ASAP," she mutters, glaring at him.

The rest of the day drags along quite nicely. I forced Remi and Fin into a shower- separately of course. Finley wiggles himself into one of my matching sweatpants and hoodie set and after that, he's watching TV for the rest of the day. Remi finishes a novel beside him until the sun goes down and I finished up some of Zayn's work.

When dinner rolls around, Finley and I made pizza and we ate sitting surrounded by pillows and blankets with glasses of non-alcoholic wine. Even though they felt crappy for the majority of the day, it was a nice way to feel better after hearing about Luther's accident and death.

On Sunday, I woke up shaking and covered in sweat so much that my clothes were sticking to my chest and back, sweat dripping down the sides of my face and my hair stuck to the sides of my neck. My head was being shoved underwater repeatedly and when my body was forced to let water into my lungs, I jolted awake.

Besides that, I wake up with the thought that I should've kept calling Luther or even called my dad. Maybe somehow it would've stopped him from coming here for that meeting. Guilt is such a horrible emotion to drown in.

I'm not trying to blame myself, I wasn't the one that forced him off the road but there could've been some way I could've helped to prevent it.

The thought tortures me all day, so much that it's hard to concentrate when I was doing chores or on business calls with Zayn. He's been behaving himself, keeping our interactions to a minimum.

Sunday evening, I'm in bed by eight, ready to sleep away the tortures of the day and soak up as much rest as I could. It's a night without any dreams or nightmares. Though when I woke up, I decided that today was going to be one of the days I go to the gym after work.

The sun is extra hot on the drive there to work. Everyone I run into looks so tired but even behind the makeup, I imagined it's a look I wore too.

Stuck to my desk in my office was a pastel purple sticky note and from afar, I could see Louis' handwriting scribbled across almost the entire small space. A smile was already on my face by the time I carefully peeled the sticky part off the table and read the note.

'A fridge is a perfect example of what matters is on the inside.'

-L.T

I read it another time and my mind lands on Harry. There's this insatiable desire of mine to know what's inside of him, know what he thinks, why he does what he does. I wanted to know every single detail about him. He knows so much about me but I barely know anything about him. It's frustrating and makes me only want to read his mind even more.

With a sigh, I opened my little drawer compartment and added the note with the others. I settle my things in the office and then made my way to the conference room where Zayn was waiting on everyone.

After lunch, the rest of the day goes by smoothly until a few hours before I left, there's a knock on my door. It drifts my mind slightly and next, the door opens. "Good day, Esrin," Julius greets me and walks in, a smile on his face and a coffee cup in his hand.

"Pierce sent this for ya, he specifically said to not tell Zayn because he only got one for you," he says, placing the coffee cup on the only empty space my desk had. "Thank you," I forced a smile on my face.

It's not that I didn't appreciate the coffee. An act of kindness is hard to find these days but I was so caught up in the work layered in front of me.

"Are you doing okay?" He asks me, one hand in his front pocket and the other on the door handle. "Of course, you?" I returned. "Good. Always. Anyway, Uhm...I've been wondering if it's okay with you if ask you out soon? Just as friends obviously but..." Julius goes quiet for a moment, like whatever he's about to say is more difficult than the rest.

"I- Pierce and I- wasn't friends with you because of Zayn. We really like having you around..." he says softly, avoiding my eyes as the words reached my heart. I'm afraid they remind me too much of Zayn and what we shared, it will be hard to move on as if he wasn't missing.

But I can try.

"Yes, you can ask me out soon," I answered and Julius beams, shooting victory fists into the air. "Yes! Great. Okay, talk soon!" After that, he bolts out the door running. Laughing, I bring the coffee cup to my lips- delicious.

Obviously, I like tea more but I enjoy coffee too.

When I finished my last assignment, I emailed everything to Zayn and cleaned up my station. After that, I made a beeline to the exit.

"Good night, Miss Sage," the kind guard says to me as I leave the building. "Good night, Herald!" I wave at him and when I see him smile, I turn around and make it to my car.

Gym time.

Arriving at the gym, I scan my card and one of the workers told me that the gym was closing at 10 tonight. Quickly, I made my way to the bathrooms which are connected to the changing rooms.

I freshen up, receiving a few friendly smiles from ladies that I've seen regularly here. I changed out of my usual work attire and into something more comfortable and allows more movement. That being leggings and a sports bra with a loose top over it.

The boxing class goes on for an hour and after that, my adrenaline still hasn't died. The gym closes in an hour, most people were leaving already. I'm never one hundred percent confident and free at the gym because there are so many people around me.

Everyone is in their own world and I'm sure no one is ever looking at me but it always feels like it.

There were a few empty spots on the treadmills so I took one of them, cooling down and warming up at the same time. After that, I planned to put on a pair of boxing clothes and try out a few moves before calling it a day.

HARRY
STYLES

Niall:
Just got to the gym.
Esrin is here

Niall:
Walked right back out.

I shake my head as I read the message, so much for not avoiding her, right? I replied with some emojis and without thinking much about it, I got up and went to change into more gym appropriate clothes. That ended up being workout shorts and a tank top.

Sitting on the porch, I laced up my shoes and took off running there. Just my luck that it wasn't too far away, was it? Louis still wasn't done with my car. He assumes on Wednesday and it's Monday.

It was around ten PM when I finally pushed through the doors of the gym. There are around three people left in the gym and it closes soon. However, with a few words spoken to the staff, I get to be the one that locks up tonight.

It's a good thing when the owner owes you a few favours.

Like my eyes are a magnet for her, I find her easily in the middle of the boxing ring with mats around her, her fists flying punches and kicks at the dummy. It's one of those man boxing dummy ones.

I watch her in action, every detail about her. Her stance, her calculated movement, the rise and fall of her chest. Easily, I realised that she was too good at this to be something learnt recently.

So caught up in her little world, she doesn't notice me at the corner getting into the ring.

ESRIN
SAGE

"You're still going to be pathetic and weak no matter what you do," Breathless, I spin around and my alarmed eyes landed on Harry.

No.

I groaned, throwing my head back my hands pushing down. "Are you stalking me?" I blurted out, staring at him now, angry that he had to be here. Harry only smirks and walks closer until he was right in front of me. Out of heels and into sneakers Harry was taller than me. He wore a tank top that left his tattooed arm on display and shorts that ended on his knees.

My eyes scanned over him, he looks so fresh and clean. No signs of the mess I'm in for being here for hours. So I hope he just arrived. I should've gone home earlier like I always did.

"Just a coincidence," he hums and I rolled my eyes at that. "You're the pathetic one here, why don't you leave me alone for once?" I jabbed, wanting everything and more to punch that look off his face. He doesn't get to show up in my life again and judge and ruin everything I do.

"Oh yeah?" Harry laughs to himself, walking even closer. "Sad to admit that Miss perfect princess could ever be so flawed?"

I kept repeating in my head over and over that I was stronger than this. Harry doesn't know me, not for the past ten years. Truthfully, no one knows the real me. Unless he does, his opinion doesn't matter. My eyes scanned the gym quickly, seeing no one else besides us.

"Did you do it?" I blurted out, my heart still aching from the news about Luther. "Do what?" He asks but nothing on his face tells me that he was curious. He's playing me and I played along because I wanted to know. "Did you kill him? Luther," I say.

Harry fakes a gasp, his hand flying to his mouth to extend his dramatics. "Oh? What gave it away?" He's grinning now.

Screw it.

I swing my hand and punched him on the side of his face with as much force as I could. His head barely moved but I could see the blood rushing to the area. "I think you give me all that shit because you're the one that's actually weak. Wait till everyone finds out how ruthless Death Hood really is," I spat.

I wondered how are we the same kids that would never leave each other. Whenever there was Esrin, there was a Harry.

"You're going to fucking regret that," Harry says with a promising tone with dark eyes. Body acting on its own, I turned my body sideways and kicked him the highest I could've which was on his chest.

The drum in my chest beats hard. Harry's knees bend and then he falls to them, a sigh leaving his lips. Sweaty curls falling over his forehead, chest rising and falling, parted lips, blown out eyes. Wet lips parted, beads of sweat trickling down the sides of his head. I love this sight.

When the longer I stare at him like this I start feeling familiar shots of desire down there. I wondered what it would be like to feel those lips on my body or that soft hair through my fingers.

What is wrong with me?

Satisfied with him on his knees, I take a step back and turned to my side. I did a side kick as hard as I could. One foot remained planted on the floor, I bring my other knee up and extended my foot, right in perfect timing.

My shoes collided with the side of Harry's face, forcing his head to harshly turn the other way. I stumbled back from the action and Harry's body falls forward, collapsing to the floor of the boxing ring with a nice thud.

Not hesitating anymore longer than a second, I unsnapped my boxing gloves and dropped them, bolting out of there and on the way, I grabbed my bag.

"Fucking Sage!" Harry's shout is the mixture of a groan and an angry demanding call. I kept rushing to the exit but Harry's taller and bigger than me, so it was easy for him to catch up. "Nice fucking try," Harry's voice is low.

Next, my shoulders are grabbed with a harsh grip intending to spin me around. The bag I was tightly holding onto drops to the floor on impact. My back collides with the wall, my head leaning forward so it doesn't knock into it as well.

Trapping me there, Harry slams both hands beside me. Right beside the door that I was very close to escaping through. So close, yet so far.

"Let me go," I demanded, looking straight into his eyes that were darker than usual. I try to struggle against his hold but he's too strong. Curling my hands into fists, I pounded at his chest but Harry doesn't even flinch. Instead, with one hand he grabs both of my hands and slammed them above my head.

His chest touches mine every time they rise and fall rapidly. His head dipped, our foreheads nearly touching. Our breaths mixing every time we'd exhale together. The next hand wraps around the middle of my neck, his grip wasn't like the one before.

"Take your hand off me now," I uselessly commanded, gritting the words through my teeth. Harry's like he's in heaven. Loving every single bit of this.

"You like it that you have me here, don't you?" I finally broke the silence, still not taking my eyes off his. "Yeah, I do," harry presses his lower half to me and at the same time, he presses down on the right spot at the side of my neck that makes me moan, my eyes fluttering shut.

"Fuck," the word falls off my lips when I felt how hard Harry was beneath his shorts. His lips brushed my ear, his breath hitting my neck as he whispered the words.

"Little freak."

"Guess we're the same then," slightly hazy, I say. Unexpectedly, Harry releases my wrists and steps away all at once and I can't say I'm not happy about it. He steps away, adjusting his pants in a way that it's less noticeable. He grants me space to escape but I don't.

There's distance between us and my thoughts get louder. Because when Harry's around, they become quiet, so blank I can't read any of him. All of my attention was on him. It's been too long since I've had any sort of sexual intimacy.

Now I'm craving it. Certainly, not from him.

"Is that all? You're not going to give me another reminder as you always do? Try to make me regret?" I broke the silence and his hateful eyes snapped to mine. "Watch your fucking mouth, Esrin. Don't forget who you're dealing with," Harry warns.

"I'll do what I see fit and the next time you question me, it will happen sooner than needed." Anger morphs his face, deepening the features of his face. Nostrils flared, a knot of lines forming between his eyebrows, green dark storms swirling in his eyes.

"Yeah?" I lifted my eyebrow," and when is this going to stop?" my voice betrays me by asking. It's the truth though, I was tired of this back and forth pulling and tugging between us.

"Because certainly, I'm tired of whatever games you're playing. I don't need to be afraid of you for you to trust me," I stated firmly," I'll stay quiet. Give me a chance to prove that to you."

I'm so tired of this. I just want to go to the gym in peace, or a business meeting or a damn Halloween store.

Silence is never a good thing with him, I've realised that much. His words that follow after his silence are usually the ones that make me regret the most. Yet I kept talking.

He's tethered with my life enough.

"I told you that I'm not afraid of you but I'm beginning to think you're afraid of me," I'm basically digging my own damn grave. "I think you're scared that I'll tell everyone. Why else won't you leave me alone?"

Harry steps closer and it felt like I had a thousand guns aimed at me by this one way he looked at me. "Is that the same flare you attacked someone with?" I couldn't help it, I flinched when I heard that name.

"I was framed," each word held emphasis, trying to say them as strong as I desired to feel. "What's written on paper isn't what happened that night," I spat. It's so hard to push away the memories when he keeps resurfacing them all the damn time.

I wasn't in the wrong, I was thrown under the bus but there's no way to prove that. The best I could've done was try to erase it as much as I could. So it wouldn't be accessible and it was. It was easy to pretend as if it never happened. Until Death Hood. Until Harry.

"It's never what people think, is it?" Another step he takes closer, less oxygen around me. "The words in the newspapers would never explain the truth just like that file doesn't explain what happened to you. We're not much different after all."

Now it's my turn of silence. "You're a brave little thing, they don't see that spark inside you. It's not enough though, nice try," Harry smiles wickedly, in his eyes I could see how pleased he was by all of this.

His fingertips dragged up my arm, across my shoulders until his fingers were wrapped around the base of my neck. Leaning in, I feel his breath on the pulse of my neck as he slides up until his lips brushed my ear. "I own you, Esrin," Harry stated with a voice that sent unwanted tingles right down, I had the need to clench my thighs together. "And I won't let you forget it," he finishes, lips brushing my skin.

Harry pulls back and I gasped for air, not because I couldn't breathe before but because my lungs forgot how to function for a second.

His attention is no longer on me though, it's on the bag that I've dropped to my side. He bends down, opens it and fishes out my phone that sat on the top. "What are you doing?" as he stands up straight, holding my phone.

He doesn't answer me, instead, Harry places his hands on either short side of the thin device. I watched with my jaw on the floor as Harry bends my phone right down until it snaps in half, tiny splinters flying to the ground.

"Whoops," his shoulders shrugged and he flashes me one of his smiles again- that told me he really didn't give a damn.

"I'll take care of the security cameras," he tells me and then walks out the door, leaving me here all alone. Stunned, shocked, confused- all of it.

He broke my phone.

Like actually, broke my phone in half. Not shattered the screen or bent the phone, no. It's in two pieces.

What the fuck?

———
AUTHOR'S
NOTE

Woah, that felt like a lot of information. Thank you so much for reading and for 3k reads❤️ the fact that you guys are reading every chapter makes me so happy. Thank you. Can't believe we're at chapter ten already.