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For the sake of revenge, I willingly dragged myself into the gutter and became a woman of the night. Men became nothing more than weapons in my hands, tools to be used and discarded. I once promised myself that I would cut off all feelings and never fall in love again. But when that man appeared in my life once more, I still rushed headlong toward him and lost myself completely. My devotion. My silent sacrifices. My desperate waiting. All of it only led to his careful schemes, his suspicion, and his cold calculations. In the end, I was nothing more than a pawn he threw away. Then, in the depths of despair, a single ray of light appeared. I knew I didn't deserve it, yet I clung to it like a drowning person clutching at the last straw. What I didn't realize was that I was falling into another abyss, one even deeper and darker. In that abyss, I finally fought back. I finally learned how to sever love completely. In the end, I won at life. But I lost the person I loved. Only then did I realize that you can cut off desire, but love is something you can never truly quit. ****** A woman jumped from the rooftop of Siren Lounge. At the exact moment she leapt, Kaelan had me pinned against the floor-to-ceiling glass window on the eighteenth floor. The thin strap of my dress had already slipped down to my waist. One of his hands restrained me while the other tore away my bra. My chest pressed against the cold glass, sending a chill through my body, while his rough breathing burned against my ear. "Lyra," he murmured hoarsely. "So, you finally came back." I struggled and shook my head, trying to break free, muffled protests escaping my lips. His large hand clamped over my mouth. His chest pressed tightly against my bare back, the heat of his firm muscles scorching my skin. When his hips pushed forward, my legs trembled uncontrollably. "Let go of me," I managed to gasp. "I'm not Lyra." Kaelan had no intention of stopping. His hand slid down along my waist, his fingers roaming lower, igniting sparks of desire wherever they passed. That was the moment the woman jumped. She fell from more than thirty floors above, dressed in a flowing white dress. As she passed the huge glass window, it looked as though she was plunging straight toward us. Then she vanished in an instant. A second later, a deafening thud echoed from the street below. She had landed on top of a car, leaving a deep dent in the roof. Her life ended there. For a brief moment while she fell, our eyes met in midair. In that instant, it almost felt as if she were mocking me for becoming nothing more than a man's plaything. The entire Siren Lounge descended into chaos. Someone knocked on the door. "Mr. Thorn, something's happened. Should we head down?" Kaelan finally released me. Before leaving, he gripped my chin, his gaze dark and unfathomable. "Whether you're Elara or not," he said quietly, "don't even think about running." The hallway soon filled with hurried footsteps. Several of the girls rushed downstairs to watch the commotion. Long police lines were being set up outside. I didn't go. Instead, I sat cross-legged in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and lit a cigarette. Through the haze of smoke, a cold smile slowly curled at the corner of my lips.ic_default