Chapter 11: A Kiss That Breaks Rules
378 Words
The party after the premiere shoot was blinding with lights, choked with stars, and heavy with tension. Chloe wasn’t supposed to be there. She wasn’t even in the film.
But she owned the room.
She sat with her chin high, glass in hand, watching Mila from across the marble-floored lounge. Mila tried to stay calm, but her smile twitched at the edges.
“You’re enjoying this too much,” Mr . Grant muttered, sliding into the seat beside Chloe.
“I haven’t even started,” Chloe replied without looking at him.
Across the room, Ethan watched from the shadows, drink untouched. He hated parties, hated the way people stared at her, hated the way he was starting to care.
---
Flashback – Hours Ago
He had stormed into her apartment, furious.
“You think dragging her down will lift you up?” he’d snapped.
Chloe had just smirked. “No. But it’ll remind the world who I am.”
“And what about me?” he growled.
“What about you?” she asked coolly.
“You think I’ll just stand here and watch you burn everything?”
Chloe stepped closer, close enough he could smell the hint of cherry on her lips. “Then don’t watch.”
He grabbed her wrist. “Damn it, Chloe—”
She kissed him.
No warning. No hesitation.
Just a furious, fiery kiss that stopped the world for a moment.
Then she pulled back, lips flushed, eyes glittering.
“I warned you,” she whispered. “I steal what I want.”
---
Present
Ethan blinked back to now, that kiss haunting his every thought.
“You kissed her?” Daniel hissed from behind him, wide-eyed.
“I didn’t kiss her,” Ethan muttered. “She kissed me.”
“And?”
Ethan downed his drink. “It’s a problem.”
---
On stage, the director took the mic.
“Before we wrap, I’d like to announce a new addition to our project,” he said with a grin.
The crowd leaned in.
“Chloe Reed... will be joining us in a cameo role that wasn't in the script until five hours ago.”
Mila’s jaw dropped.
The crowd erupted.
And Chloe just smiled, slow and savage.
Let the war begin.
- Writer
