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Content Warning: This chapter will contain strong sexual content and profanity.
Spice meter: 🌶️🌶️
Note: This chapter will be longer in length.
─── ⛧⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆⛧ ───
The city stretched below me, a restless machine grinding away in the dark. Lights flickered like dying fireflies, their glow failing to penetrate the smothering cold of my apartment. The glass in my hand was half-empty, the crimson liquid swirling lazily. A cheap distraction.
Behind me, the sound of heels clicking against the polished floor broke the stillness. I didn't need to turn. Charlotte always made her presence known,intentional, calculated.
She stepped into view, draped in the shirt I'd left discarded earlier. It hung loose on her, slipping off her shoulder to reveal the marks I'd left behind. Red crescents on her skin. Evidence of how easily she surrendered, how predictable she was.
"Lost in thought again?" she asked, her voice an irritating mix of feigned curiosity and condescension. She leaned against the counter beside me, close enough to invade my space.
I set my glass down with deliberate slowness, the sound sharp in the silence. "Not particularly," I replied, my tone clipped.
Her laugh was soft, mocking. "Liar."
I finally looked at her, taking in the smug curve of her lips, the faint defiance in her posture. She always did this pushed and pushed, testing how far I'd let her go before I snapped. I should have learned by now that Charlotte thrived on chaos.
"You did, didn't you?" she asked suddenly, her words cutting through the air like a blade.
I didn't flinch. Didn't blink.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. "I'm right, aren't I? God, you're so easy to read, Mads."
"You always think you know everything," I muttered, my voice laced with quiet disdain.
"Don't I?" she shot back, tilting her head. "It's not like you've ever been subtle."
Her words stung more than I cared to admit. She was right, of course. Charlotte always knew exactly where to press to make it hurt.
She stepped closer, her fingers trailing along the edge of the counter. "I thought you'd changed," she said, her tone softening, though her words carried the weight of a challenge. "But here you are, same as always. A monster trying to wear the skin of a man."
