Shame Monsters Do To
1035 Words
Shame Monsters Do To
I froze, my limbs locked against the sides of the chair as chaos erupted around me. Crew members rushed in different directions, voices overlapping as they tried to figure out what had caused the sudden power failure.
But I barely heard any of it.
My heart seized at the sound of footsteps.
They were coming closer.
Someone said not to panic, that the lights would be back on soon, but the words barely registered. My pulse pounded so hard it drowned everything else out.
And when he finally reached me, I forgot how to breathe.
He leaned close, his breath brushing against my ear, his scent invading my senses—mint, flowers, and something darker. Dangerous.
In that moment, I knew one thing.
Whoever this was… he was a monster.
A monster who only took.
Dante POV
Standing so close to her, it took everything in me not to touch her.
The letters she sent.
I had finally come face to face with the woman behind them.
But this wasn’t the face I expected.
Betrayal surged through my veins.
She was everything.
She calmed the chaos in me, reined me in in ways no one ever had. But now that I knew she belonged to another, why couldn’t I force myself to remember one simple truth?
She wasn’t mine.
And yet, I would rather die than watch her belong to him.
She might be evidence of betrayal, but what better way to seek revenge than to make the one person who knew nothing pay for it?
I leaned in closer, her scent clouding my senses as I felt her breathing hitch.
Her body stiffened.
She might never have seen me before, but something in her recognized danger.
And if that didn’t stir something dark in me, I didn’t know what would.
“You always looked good in the dark, little star,” I murmured, my lips grazing her ear. “Shame monsters do too.”
Just as I expected, her breath caught again.
A chuckle slipped past my lips as I leaned even closer, knowing she wouldn’t dare move.
My nose brushed her earlobe.
She shivered.
My gaze dragged over her, taking in every trembling reaction.
She looked edible.
Dangerously so.
“My little star,” I whispered before stepping back, a grin tugging at my mouth as I walked away, knowing I had done exactly what I came here to do.
---
“What next, boss?” Diego asked, leaning against my SUV, his shades hanging loosely on his nose.
“Time to pay Aria’s betrothed a visit.”
A grin spread across his face.
“Oh, this is fun.”
---
Aria POV
Even after the lights came back on, I remained frozen in my seat, my gaze fixed on the doorway.
There had been no sound of him leaving.
Did I imagine it?
No.
I couldn’t have.
I saw him.
I felt him.
I heard him.
My hands clenched around the sides of the chair.
Little star.
The words echoed in my head.
Why did they sound familiar?
Why did they feel familiar?
No.
No, that wasn’t possible.
I shot to my feet, scanning the room filled with confused faces, but none of them had answers.
I moved toward my assistant, who looked up from his phone with a frown.
“I need to go.”
“What? Where? Why?”
“It’s important,” I said, already moving toward the exit. “Please reschedule everything. I’ll call you.”
“Aria!”
Vicky caught up with me just as I reached my car.
“Where are you going? Don’t you have a shoot?”
“I do,” I said, sliding into the driver’s seat, “but I need to get home. I need to get to the bottom of this.”
“Bottom of what? What are you talking about?”
“I promise I’ll explain later.”
Before she could stop me, I drove off.
---
I gripped the steering wheel, trying to steady my breathing.
But I couldn’t forget it.
The closeness.
The breath against my ear.
That scent.
God, that scent.
I had asked after he left if anyone had seen anyone near me.
No one had.
As if I were losing my mind.
But I wasn’t.
I saw him.
I felt him.
I heard him.
I smelled him.
“s**t,” I muttered, narrowly avoiding another car as I sped past the limit.
I needed to get home.
I needed to confirm this.
And I prayed I was wrong.
Prayed this was some cruel joke.
Because if it wasn’t—
The thought alone made my pulse spike.
---
I barely parked before rushing into my apartment building.
My breathing was uneven as I jabbed at the elevator button.
“Come on… come on…”
The wait felt endless.
The moment the doors opened, I stepped inside and hit the tenth floor.
Too slow.
Everything felt too slow.
The second the elevator doors opened, I bolted out, unlocking my apartment with trembling fingers.
I kicked off my heels and rushed to my bedroom, yanking open drawers.
“Where is it?”
Clothes flew across the bed as panic rose in my throat.
“I know I left it here…”
Drawer after drawer.
Nothing.
My heart pounded harder.
Could he have—
No.
No.
It had to be here.
I ripped open the last drawer—
And froze.
Empty.
My breath caught as something caught my eye.
A crumpled piece of paper tucked into the corner.
With shaking fingers, I pulled it out.
Only two words were written on it.
MY LITTLE STAR
My blood ran cold.
No.
No.
Hands trembling, I grabbed my phone and opened the security footage.
Fast-forward.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing—
And then I saw him.
Standing in the middle of my living room.
Still.
Watching.
Dressed in black, his face hidden beneath a hood.
But somehow…
I knew he was looking straight at me.
Straight through me.
And then—
The footage was cut.
Stopped recording.
My knees gave out beneath me.
He wasn’t done with me.
And somehow, that thought was more terrifying than the darkness itself.
- Writer
