Part 3Escaping Their Dangerous Obsessive Love Games

I stared at her flat stomach, my mind racing through the timeline, trying to calculate the odds.

She saw the doubt in my eyes. Standing up and using the hallway table for support, she reached back and pulled her silk nightshirt over her head in one fluid motion.

I didn't have time to look away. My eyes landed on the soft curves of her torso, her chest rising and falling rapidly in the dim hallway light.

A small, triumphant smile touched her lips. She took my hand and pressed my fingertips against her lower abdomen. Her skin was smooth, tensing and then relaxing under my touch.

"Feel that, baby?" she whispered.

Before I could pull away, her other hand hooked around the back of my neck. She pulled me down and kissed me with a desperate, unyielding hunger.

[False alarm. She’s not pregnant, she’s just thirsty.]

[Well, she is the Heroine. That body is basically the gold standard for this genre.]

[Obviously. Why do you think she’s kissing the side-character now? She knows things are going to get 'intense' once the Male Lead takes over, and she wants to get it out of her system.]

[Heartbreaking. She’s using Parker as an outlet while saving her 'pure soul' for the Male Lead.]

I felt a surge of humiliated rage. I bit her lip hard—hard enough that the metallic taste of blood filled our mouths.

She let out a low, breathless laugh and pinned me against the wall, her arms boxing me in. She opened her mouth to say something—something meant to be seductive, no doubt—but I glared at her with everything I had.

Then, I dropped low, ducked under her arm, and sprinted out the door.

Piper: ...What?

The screen:

[Rare. The side-character actually rejected her?]

[Just a 'hard to get' tactic. He'll be back.]

[Now that she’s confirmed he’s 'playing hard to get,' she can finally focus on her new assistant. Get ready for the sparks!]

I ignored the voices. I spent the next hour on the phone with my lawyer and my secretary, figuring out how to bypass the missing seal.

When I got to the office, I saw Isabel standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows. The morning sun framed her in gold. She was listening to a consultant, looking every bit the power player.

She caught my eye and gave a small, subtle nod. I put on my "professional" mask and joined the meeting. Between her influence and my negotiation, the contract was saved.

I thought she’d leave once the business was done. Instead, she stayed. She sat in my office, watching me work.

I started to wonder what her angle was.

Then the text appeared:

[The 'Alpha Female' is so calculated. She knows the Male Lead wants to be a CEO. She’s scouting Parker’s company so she can short the stock and buy it out as a gift for her future man.]

My heart did a painful somersault.

You can mess with my feelings, but messing with my life's work? That’s where I draw the line.

Trying to stay polite given her stature, I cleared my throat. "Isabel, don't you have a multi-billion dollar empire to run?"

She bit her lip, standing up to button her blazer. She looked... hurt? "Right. I’ll get out of your hair. Call me if you need anything."

I nodded. I’d sooner call a debt collector, I thought.

By the time I finished work, I was exhausted. I drove into my parking garage, but I found myself paralyzed by the thought of going upstairs. I didn't want to see Isabel. I didn't want to see anyone.

I sat in the dark car, browsing Zillow. I needed a new place. Something temporary, something mine. I found a listing for a vacant condo nearby and messaged my assistant to buy it immediately.

Relieved at the prospect of an escape, I finally went upstairs to pack my things.

Of course, I ran into Isabel at the door. She didn't say anything, and I wasn't in the mood to pretend.

But when I opened the door, I froze.

There was Piper. She was wearing a Hello Kitty apron, standing in the foyer like a 1950s housewife.

"Welcome home," she said.

"Dinner’s ready, sis. You too, Parker. Wash up."

Piper had this eerie, Stepford-wife smile plastered on her face. It was deeply unsettling.