THE TEMPTRESS

||Stalker||

•STEPHANIE•

I went off the grid for a whole week and needed some space and time to sort myself out. After that emotional breakdown at Kaden's place last week, something inside me just shifted.

Facing him again felt impossible without wanting to throttle him in my mind. I was losing my composure, and my guard was slipping away.

That breakdown made me realize something profound—how important it is to feel human again.

Losing Russ hit me hard. He was more than a friend; he was my companion forever. He didn't deserve to die like that. Just the thought of him taking a bullet for me twisted my gut.

On that day, I could've snapped and taken Kaden down for what he did. But I didn't. Instead, my guard slipped, and I ended up revealing how angry and hurt I was.

It wasn't intentional. None of it. My genuine feelings for him got in the way, and I broke down in front of him, showing a side I never meant to share.

The rules have changed, and this game is getting tougher by the day.

Taking a week off was necessary to clear my head and get back on the mission. 

I needed to finish what I started.

OoO

The streetlights hung above me, casting a warm glow on my path.

The night air was chilly, and I stuffed my freezing hands into the pockets of my dark zipper hoodie, putting one foot in front of the other.

I don't know why I felt the need to take a walk at this hour, but I don't regret stepping out for some fresh air and a moment to clear my mind.

I decided to lay low at my other place, the one everyone knows. I vanished off the radar as Stephanie Dellamonica, not Stephanie Gray.

I thought it would be smarter to stay incognito until the chaos I'd unleashed finally settled down.

My regular phone kept blowing up with calls and texts every day. No doubt, it was all from Kaden. But keeping my distance should've clued him in that I needed some space.

He probably thinks it's about what went down in his study a week ago, but I sense it's more than that. That's why he hasn't stopped blowing up my phone.

Turning around the curb, that's when it hit me that something wasn't right.

I slowed down, taking in the empty, dark street around me. A sound echoed from behind, and my body froze.

It was the unmistakable hum of a car engine, undoubtedly tailing me.

I twisted my head slowly, confirming it when I caught a glimpse of a dark vehicle in my peripheral vision. Headlights off, it trailed me a few feet back.

I clenched my hands in my pockets, eyes forward, calculating how to lose the trailing car in the next minute.

A sign appeared, and an idea popped into my head. I picked up my pace, approaching the sign before making a sharp left turn into a dark trail leading to the cemetery mentioned on the sign.

No streetlights in this area. I took the chance to glance back at the vehicle. They wouldn't see me looking, and I confirmed they were covertly following me.

The car screeched to a sudden halt by the sidewalk. I swiftly turned, picking up my pace without a clear sense of where I was heading.

Owls hooted from the looming trees, sending shivers across my skin.