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8

In a panic, Alice closed the picture message, her heart pounding in her chest. The image was seared into her brain: her, bent over in the maid outfit, everything on display. The text beneath was worse:

"I thought it was only polite to let you know I just wanked over this."

She read it again, and again, hoping it would somehow change. But the words stayed the same, glaring at her like a neon sign.

“Who is that?” Joseph asked, his voice sharp with shock. “You never told me you had a man in your life!”

“I don’t… honestly,” Alice said, her voice trembling. For once, she wasn’t trying to hide anything—there was no "man" to speak of.

“But someone has a super revealing picture of you?” Joseph pressed, leaning in as though proximity would unravel her secrets.

“I…” Alice faltered, scrambling for a believable lie, but her nerves betrayed her. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you, but you can’t freak out. Promise me.”

Joseph’s eyes widened. “No promises. Spill!”

And so, haltingly at first, Alice spilled everything—every twisted detail of her dealings with Adam Hargreaves, the neighborhood bad boy with a reputation as dark as his leather jacket. She started with Jamie’s troubles and how Adam had inserted himself into their lives. She explained how one compromise had led to another, and how she was now trapped in this ugly cycle.

When she finished, Joseph sat back, mouth agape. “Adam Hargreaves? You mean that Adam? Alice, are you insane?”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Alice snapped, then softened, guilt spreading across her face. “I mean… maybe I did, but it didn’t feel like it.”

Joseph let out a long sigh, shaking his head as if to clear it. “I’ve heard some seriously bad things about him. Like, not the ‘bad boy with a heart of gold’ stuff you see in teen dramas. I mean bad bad. He hurts people, Alice. You need to get away from him.”

“I know,” Alice admitted, her voice a whisper. “But he’s helping Jamie. And if I don’t play along…” She trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.

As if summoned by the mention of his name, Jamie knocked lightly on the door before poking his head in, a plate of cake in hand.

“Cake delivery,” Jamie announced, grinning as he wedged himself between Alice and Joseph on the bed. The room was so small he had no other option, but Alice couldn’t help noticing how close he sat to Joseph.

“This cake is perfect,” Joseph gushed after his first bite. “Sweet, rich, and the frosting-to-sponge ratio? Perfection.”

Jamie laughed. “Wow, did I just step onto an episode of The Great British Bake Off?”

“What?” Joseph said, feigning indignation. “I like Paul Hollywood. He’s got those piercing blue eyes.”

“Ew,” Jamie grimaced, scrunching his nose. “He’s old.”

“I like an experienced man,” Joseph replied with a shrug.

Alice raised an eyebrow, glancing between her brother and her best friend. Something about their dynamic felt… off. Joseph was usually the mysterious one, always holding the power in flirtatious exchanges. Yet here he was, leaning in, hanging on Jamie’s every word.

When Jamie finished his cake, he scraped the last bit of fudge frosting off the plate with his finger and licked it clean. Joseph’s gaze followed every movement, his lips parting slightly as if he could taste it too.

“Alright, what’s going on?” Alice asked when Jamie left the room.

“Nothing,” Joseph replied, but the mischievous glint in his eye said otherwise. “He was totally flirting with me, though.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” Joseph smirked. “He squeezed my leg when he got up. Definitely not accidental.”

“Jamie? Flirting? No way,” Alice said firmly.

Joseph shrugged. “You’re his sister. You’re blind to these things.”

Before Alice could argue further, Joseph glanced at the time and leapt to his feet. “Crap! I’ve got a shift at Indigo Shark. Gotta run.”

Alice followed him to the door, kissing him on the cheek. “Don’t forget to actually show up on time for once!”

“Why start now?” Joseph quipped as he disappeared down the hall.

On her way back to her room, Alice caught Jamie taking selfies in the bathroom mirror. Instead of getting embarrassed when he noticed her, he proudly showed off his latest post.

“Wow,” Alice said, genuinely impressed by how many likes he’d racked up in minutes. Jamie’s confidence had grown lately, a transformation Alice couldn’t ignore.

“You weren’t flirting with Joseph, were you?” she asked, half-joking.

Jamie burst out laughing. “Me? Flirting? Please.”

Back in her room, Alice locked the door and sat on her bed. Her phone buzzed, pulling her attention. She hesitated before opening Adam’s message, dread pooling in her stomach.

"Send me more pictures. Nude ones."

Alice’s breath caught. She typed back, "It hasn’t been a week."

Adam’s reply was instant. "I decided I can’t be bothered to wait. From now on, you do what I say when I say it. Capiche?"

Her fingers trembled over the screen. "Do I have a choice?"

"Of course. But I’ve made your little bro happy, haven’t I? I can undo all of that just as easily."

Alice exhaled shakily. "Give me a minute."

After throwing on makeup and styling her hair into a high ponytail, she stripped down. The process felt mechanical, her emotions walled off. She snapped photo after photo, each click of the camera like a hammer striking her self-worth.

When she finally hit "send," she collapsed onto her bed, exhaustion washing over her. She was on the brink of sleep when her phone buzzed again.

"Nice," Adam wrote, followed by, "Don’t think I didn’t notice you hiding your face. I might make you do it again."

Alice groaned aloud. "I’m in bed now," she replied, hoping to end the exchange.

Her phone rang.

Alice stared at the screen, panic rising. Answering Adam’s calls always felt like stepping into a lion’s den. But ignoring him wasn’t an option.

“Hello?” she said quietly.

“I don’t care if you’re in bed,” Adam said brusquely. “If I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?”

“Please, Adam, just let me sleep.”

“Fine,” he relented. “But tomorrow, more pictures. And this time, look at the camera.”

Alice closed her eyes, relief short-lived.

“I liked the ponytail,” Adam added, his tone dripping with crude satisfaction. “I’m going to pull it while I fuck you from behind.”

Alice choked. “What—?”

“You’ll like it,” Adam said casually, as if discussing the weather. “Doesn’t matter if you don’t.”

Her throat went dry. Desperate for a subject change, she blurted, “How did your meeting go?”

“Fine,” Adam said, then laughed. “Thanks to you. Good girl.”

When the call ended, Alice stared at the ceiling, her mind spinning. Sleep didn’t come easily that night, the weight of her situation pressing down on her like a suffocating blanket.

“Shit,” she whispered into the dark.

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