Chapter 5

Stella’s POV

The morning sunlight spilled through the curtains like gold dust, but it couldn’t warm me. It had been weeks since the bar, weeks since his voice - that voice that shattered me, told me I wasn’t enough.

The world kept spinning as if nothing had happened, yet inside me, something was stuck between silence and screaming. I hadn’t stepped outside in days. The walls of my small apartment had become my refuge and my punishment all at once.

Talia arrived unannounced, her usual whirlwind of perfume and chatter breaking through the dull rhythm of my thoughts. She dropped her bag on the couch and turned to me with a look that said she was tired of waiting for me to move on.

“You look awful,” she said bluntly. “And before you glare at me, yes, I mean that as a friend.”

I forced a weak smile. “Thanks, Talia. I’ve been practicing.”

She rolled her eyes and joined me on the sofa. “You’ve been avoiding work, ignoring calls, and I swear if I see one more of those untouched soup bowls in your sink, I’m calling the health department.”

“I can’t go back there,” I whispered. “Not after what happened. Everyone saw it. Everyone knows.”

“Knows what?” she pressed. “That some jerk with an ego the size of a mountain couldn’t see your worth? Please, Stella, if that’s enough to end your life, you’ve been living for the wrong reasons.”

Her words stung, but maybe that was what I needed, to feel something other than this strange emptiness. I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the window.

The dreams had returned last night, more vivid than ever. Him, his eyes glowing like moonlight, his voice calling my name in the dark forest of my mind. I used to wake up trembling, but lately, the fear had turned into something else. A pull. A need I couldn’t explain.

“They’re getting worse,” I murmured.

Talia frowned. “The dreams again?”

I nodded. “They’re so real, Talia. I feel him there. Every time I wake, it’s like he’s standing right beside me.”

“You’re overthinking,” she said softly. “You’ve been through trauma. It messes with your head.”

I wanted to believe that, but deep down I knew it wasn’t just my mind playing tricks. Something about that man, about Alexander, had attached itself to my soul, like a mark I couldn’t wash off.

Before Talia could reply, a sharp knock echoed from the door. We both froze.

“You expecting someone?” she asked.

I shook my head and stood, hesitating before unlocking it. A tall man in a black coat stood outside, crisp and formal, like he had stepped out of another world.

He held a small brown envelope and offered it to me with a polite bow.

“Miss Stella Beilingham?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“I was sent to deliver this. Your appointment has been approved.”

“My… appointment?” I blinked, confused.

He smiled, the kind of smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Your employment offer. The family is expecting you today.”

I stared at him. “There must be a mistake. I didn’t apply for anything.”

“Perhaps not recently,” he said smoothly, “but your credentials were impressive. The position is urgent, live, in nanny, generous pay, excellent conditions. They’ll handle your transportation and continue your medical treatments if necessary.”

Talia stood, suspicion flashing across her face. “Hold on, who exactly sent you?”

The man didn’t look at her. His attention remained fixed on me. “The family prefers discretion. You’ll understand once you arrive.”

Something about his tone - calm, confident, final, sent a chill through me. I glanced at the envelope. My name was written in neat cursive across the front. No logo, no signature. Just Stella Beilingham.

I should have asked more questions. I should have refused. But a part of me - the desperate, restless part, saw it as a chance. A way out of the hole I had fallen into. A new beginning.

“How soon would I start?” I asked.

“Immediately,” he said. “A car is waiting outside.”

Talia gaped. “Stella, you can’t just....”

“I need this,” I said, surprising even myself. “I can’t keep sitting here, Talia. Maybe it’s time to move forward.”

“By following a stranger to who knows where?”

I gave a shaky laugh. “It’s just a nanny job. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Her frown deepened. “That sentence never ends well in movies.”

I tried to keep my voice light, but inside, my stomach twisted. Still, I went to my small room, folding clothes with hands that trembled slightly.

The dreams had shown me forests, silver moons, strange houses I didn’t recognize, and for some reason, as I packed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this job was leading me straight into one of them.

Talia followed me to the door. “Please call me when you get there,” she said. “Promise?”

“I promise,” I lied, though I wasn’t sure why it felt like a lie.

The man loaded my bags into the back of a sleek black car. The moment I stepped inside, a faint scent filled the air, something familiar. Woodsmoke and rain. My pulse stumbled.

“Where exactly am I going?” I asked as the car pulled away from the curb.

“To the Calum estate,” the driver replied without turning.

The name hit me like a physical blow. Calum. My breath caught. The car kept moving, tires whispering over the road as the city faded behind us.

I pressed a hand to my chest. “There must be some mistake,” I said softly. “I can’t”

But the driver only looked at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes cold and knowing. “Fate doesn’t make mistakes, Miss Beilingham.”

The world outside blurred into trees and mist. My heart hammered against my ribs. Every instinct screamed that I should tell him to stop, that I should run back, that this was too strange, too fast, too deliberate. But another voice - deeper, quieter - whispered that this was where I was meant to go.

When the gates came into view, tall and iron-black, the moon broke through the clouds above, washing everything in silver. For a second, I could have sworn the wind carried a voice, low, familiar, and full of longing.

You can’t escape me, Stella.

I turned toward the sound, but there was only darkness beyond the trees.

The car rolled forward through the gates. The sound of them closing behind us echoed like a heartbeat, heavy, final, and certain.

And just like that, I realized the one place I had sworn never to return to was waiting at the end of the road.