Barry was the boyfriend I conned into loving me. He was deaf. My favorite thing was to take off his hearing aid when we were tangled in the sheets and whisper wicked things in his ear. Then I found out he was Barry Seret, heir to the Seret empire. So the night we broke up, things got ugly. With eyes rimmed in red, Barry told me to get out. So I did. I didn't dare set foot in New York again until three years later, when the news of his engagement broke. I thought I could slip in unnoticed. But Barry, with a face as calm and cold as a frozen lake, turned around and tied me up with his belt. "Where do you think you're running this time?" he murmured. "My… fiancée." 1 I kept my head down, pretending to adjust my camera, but my palm was slick with sweat. I never thought I’d run into Barry this soon. "Mr. Seret, don't let her age fool you. Linda here has been raking in international photography awards for years," Rebecca, my editor, said, patting my shoulder with a playful grin. "I had to pay a small fortune to poach her from L.A." "I guarantee you won't regret giving us the exclusive for your first cover shoot." Barry’s gaze swept over me, as placid and undisturbed as still water. "Is that so?" "Well then, I'm in your hands, Ms. Shen." It was the most formal, impersonal pleasantry. I lowered my voice, trying to make it sound deeper, less like the girl I used to be. "Of course, Mr. Seret." He gave a slight nod, his eyes holding no flicker of recognition, before looking away. I let my eyelids fall, my lashes trembling. He didn't recognize me. Then again, I had changed my last name. With a mask covering half my face and my current style, no one would ever connect me to the vibrant, wild Linda Reed of the past. The entire shoot, Barry was a professional. With the slightest direction, he gave me the perfect angle. Whispers erupted from the crew behind me. "God, Mr. Seret's body is insane. I am looking respectfully." "Okay, I see why Rebecca paid top dollar for this Linda girl. Her understanding of the human form is incredible. The angles, the poses… I can feel the raw power under his shirt just from looking at the monitor." My mind drifted. I remembered a boy, his neck flushed red, completely naked. Even though I’d drawn him countless times, he was still impossibly shy. Well, for the first half, at least. Somehow, our life drawing sessions always ended up migrating to a different location. The bedroom, the sofa, the bathtub, the floor-to-ceiling windows. I’d always end up more exhausted than if I'd sketched ten different models. "Barry, it's always like this!" I’d kick at him, exasperated. "I'm never drawing you again! I'm going to find a new model! One with an eight-pack!" He’d catch my ankle, his grip firm but gentle, saying nothing. After a long moment, he would lean down and kiss the corner of my mouth. "Linda, I'm sorry." I'd pause. Was he actually admitting fault? Was he going to change his ways? The next second, he'd take off his hearing aid. Four boxes of condoms, assorted flavors. I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for a week. Damn him. And he had the nerve to apologize. So polite. But in the end, we still broke up. That night was a catastrophe. The corners of his eyes were a faint, painful red, his voice ice. "Linda, this is the last time. I don't do second chances." I hung my head, my "okay" barely a whisper. He clenched his jaw, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Fine. Get out." "And don't ever let me see you again." "Or I swear to God, I'll kill you." 2 During a break, I slipped back to the equipment room to grab a portrait lens I’d forgotten. Suddenly, a shadow fell over me. A familiar, woody cologne filled the air, wrapping around me. My body went rigid. I turned, forcing a calm I didn't feel. "Is something wrong, Mr. Seret?" He looked down at me, his gaze the same as it had always been. I held my breath, my fingernails digging into my palms. Don't lose your cool. "Nothing," he said, his voice smooth. "Just looking around." His eyes were dark pools, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But you, Ms. Shen. What are you so nervous about?" I hid my trembling right hand. "The camera is heavy. My hand starts to shake after holding it for so long." "Is that so?" I lowered my head. "If there's nothing else, Mr. Seret, I should get back to the set." I didn't wait for a reply, just turned to leave. "Ms. Shen," he called out, stopping me in my tracks. "If someone who betrayed you showed up in your life again, what would you do?" 3 Our breakup had been a disaster, but I wouldn't call it a betrayal. And knowing Barry, if he had recognized me, he would have exposed me on the spot. He wasn't capable of this cool, detached act. I took a deep breath and turned slightly, my voice laced with a professional, smiling tone. "Mr. Seret, while I don't know the history between you and this person, I believe one should always look forward. There's no need to get bogged down in the minor details of the past." "Minor details? You're quite magnanimous, Ms. Shen." He smirked. "But what if I'm the type to hold a grudge?" "That's a personal matter, Mr. Seret. I'm just a photographer. I'm afraid I can't help you with that." He stared at me, silent. My carefully constructed composure felt like it was about to shatter. After a long moment, he finally smiled. "You're right. Just a photographer, after all." 4 The rest of the shoot went smoothly, and we wrapped an hour ahead of schedule. After sending Barry off, I started packing up my gear. My assistant, Chloe, ran over and grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the door. "Linda, come on! It's an emergency!" "What? What's going—" The words died in my throat. The platform outside the studio was blanketed in roses. In the center, candles spelled out my name. It was... incredibly cheesy. I had already turned Ryan down three times. I couldn't believe he was still trying, and this time, he'd opted for a public spectacle of cringe. No one knew that under my mask, my face was breaking out in an angry rash. I have a severe pollen allergy. Thank God for the mask. I tried to turn and leave, but Ryan blocked my path, holding a massive bouquet. "Linda, I really, really like you." "I'll be so good to you." "Please, just say yes." For a second, I was lost in a memory. I had said those exact words to Barry. 5 My thing for Barry was pure, unadulterated lust. Of all the men I had ever seen, he was the only one who was perfectly, flawlessly my type. He worked as a model at a high-end lounge, but he had this untouchable, almost severe air about him. The hearing aid only amplified his cool, fragile beauty. Later, I found out the Seret family owned that lounge. I was obsessed. I pulled out all the stops. I chased him, lied to him, scammed, conned, and clawed my way into his bed. That night, I leaned close to his ear and whispered a torrent of sweet nothings. "Barry, I like you so, so much." "Barry, I'll be so good to you, the best you've ever had." "Barry, please, be with me." He lifted his head from the crook of my neck, his dark eyes burning into mine. "You really... like me that much?" I was too far gone to analyze the storm of emotions in his eyes. "Yes, really." His voice was a raw whisper. "Promise me you'll only ever want me, for the rest of your life, and I'm yours." At the time, I didn't think twice about what "the rest of your life" meant. I just tilted my head up and bit his lip. "Okay. Only you." It was only after we were together that I discovered his cool, restrained act was just that—an act. He was greedier than anyone I’d ever known. I loved to take off his hearing aid when we were lost in each other, whispering filthy things in his ear, screaming his name without abandon, just to watch the rigid control on his face crack, even though he supposedly couldn't hear me. I was spoiled, with a notoriously short temper. But Barry was endlessly patient. He catered to my every whim, let me get away with everything. He made me believe that "forever" was a real thing. Until, one day, I saw a photo of him with his father. It was a lazy summer afternoon. Barry’s fingers were gently combing through my hair, the warm hum of the hairdryer a comforting buzz. And it hit me. Barry Seret. The Seret family. My world plunged into an icy abyss. 6 The sound of cheering pulled me back to the present. Sometime during my reverie, Ryan had dropped to one knee. "Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!" A crowd was gathering. The chanting grew louder. More and more people were pulling out their phones to record. My skin was crawling with secondhand embarrassment. I took a deep breath, trying to keep my temper in check. "Ryan, I—" A hand shot out and clamped around my wrist. The grip was so tight it hurt. I looked up. His eyes, dark as spilled ink, were a net, ready to swallow me whole. Barry's voice was sharp, cold. "Linda. We're going home." 7 "What's wrong? Afraid I poisoned it?" Every dish on the table, even the soup, was loaded with chili peppers. I was the one who loved spicy food; Barry’s palate was famously bland. I was stunned, unable to figure out what he was doing. And this apartment—the one we used to share—he'd actually bought it. I stood up. "Thank you for helping me out of that situation today, Mr. Seret. It's getting late, I should be going." He looked up at me, a humorless laugh escaping his lips. "Mr. Seret? You're quick to draw the line, aren't you, Linda?" "Now that you're back, aren't you going to stay and catch up?" I looked down. "There's nothing for us to catch up on." "Nothing?" His jaw tightened, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Right. After all, you could watch me die right in front of you and not even blink." He stared at me, his face a mask of cold fury, but a vein pulsed in his neck. I met his gaze. "Barry," I said softly, "we're adults. Why are you still clinging to the past—" "The past? To you, I'm just the past?" he cut me off, his voice savage. "Linda, you never fucking loved me, did you?" "If you didn't love me, why did you even bother coming after me in the first place?" He grabbed my wrist, his eyes dark and cold. "Linda, I told you." "If I ever saw you again, I would kill you." "You wouldn't, Barry," I said, looking up at him. "I know you." "You know me? What do you know?" he sneered. "That I'm obedient? Innocent? That I'd do whatever you say, that I'm some kind of saint?" He laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "That was all an act, Linda." "I was just pretending, trying to please you." "Ruthless, selfish, vengeful—that's the real me." I took a deep breath. "Barry, it was my mistake to show up and disturb you," I said, my voice low. "I'll resign from the magazine tomorrow. I promise you'll never—" "Linda." His face was grim, his words ground out between clenched teeth. "I really want to cut you open and see if you even have a heart." The pressure on my wrist tightened. He pulled me closer, his breath hot on my skin. His eyes were churning with a raw, desperate desire. I struggled against him. "Barry, let me go!" Everything was a bowstring pulled taut, ready to snap. The next second, his pupils contracted. He abruptly threw my hand away from him, his eyes a storm of emotions. After a long moment, a smirk twisted his lips, a look of pure self-loathing. "Fine. Good for you, Linda."
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