His Contract Her Rules

Chapter 5:The Stranger In the Dark

Ava's POV

I wasn't planning to go out. Not after everything.

But Kylie wouldn't stop until l gave in.

“You need distraction,bby”, She said, dragging me to the loudest, wildest club in the city.

The air was heavy with sweat, perfume,and secrets. The lights flickered like warning signs, but l ignored them l was there to feel nothing.

I wore the shortest black dress l owned, paired with red lipstick l didn't even recognize on my own lips. I didn't feel like myself and maybe that was the whole point.

I lost Kylie halfway through the night. The music was loud, and bodies pressed together like they were dancing for their lives.

Then l felt him.

Someone watching me.

Not in a creepy way-but like he knew me.

I turned around,and there he was.

Leaning against the bar like he owned the place. Dressed in black. A look that said, “I don't chase, they come to me”.

His jawline? Sharp. His eyes? Cold and unreadable. His energy. Dangerous.

He walked up slowly. Close enough for me to smell his cologne.

“ You look like trouble” he said. His voice was deep and careless.

“You look like the type that like trouble” I shot back.

He smiled. Not the type more like the devil's smirk.

We danced. We drank. We didn't talk much.

We didn't need to.

And then…l let it happen.

One wild night. One night to forget Edward.

One night to feel alive.

The Next Morning

I woke up in a hotel bed…naked, confused,and alone.

My head pounded. My heart?. Even worse.

What the hell did l do?

I turned to the and saw a black business card. No name. Just a number. And a note: “Last night was fun. Don't catch feelings. - Z”

Z??? Who the hell is Z?

I crumpled the card and stormed out.

Later That Day - On Campus

I had barely recovered when Kylie dragged me to a guest seminar.

“ He's some big shot business. Might give internship offers”, she said .

I walked in and nearly dropped dead

There. In a nevy blue suit. Speaking to the entire crowd like he ran the world was him. Z.

Except now,he wasn't a mystery. He had a name.

Zane Carter.

Fred's half-brother.

Billionaire. Untouchable. Dangerous.

And the same held me like a secret just hours ago.

Our eyes met.

He froze for a second,then gave me the same smirk from last night.

I glared back like l could stab him through my lashes.

“ What the hell is he doing here?” I whispered to Kylie.

She gasped.

“ Wait,you know him?”

“Unfortunately”.

Zane's POV

I didn't expect to see her again.

Last night was supposed to be nothing.

She didn't ask for my name. I liked that. She didn't act impressed l liked that even more.

But now here she is,walking into my seminar like a plot twist l didn't authorize.

Pretty. Angry. Dangerous.

Just my type

After The Seminar

I tried to walk pass her. Avoid the drama.

But she blocked my way.

“So…you're Fred's brother?” She asked folding her arms.

“Half. Luckily”.

“Does he know you sleep around with random girls and leave notes like a coward?”

I smirked

“ Only when the girl acts like she doesn't care and then comes crying the next day”.

She scoffed.

“ Trust me,I don't cry over one - night mistake”.

“Good. Because I don't date my brother's leftovers”.

That one it. Her eyes lit up with fire.

“Watch it, Zane. I'm not someone you can play with”.

He leaned closer.

“Neither am l”.

We stood there like two storms waiting to destroy each other.

And maybe we would.

But something about destruction makes it hard to walk away.