She Outshines All the Starlight

Under the starry sky, Jerry’s rough hands tore away the last scrap of lace from Barbara’s body.

She gasped—or tried to—but he sealed her lips with his own. Their breaths tangled, feverish, swallowing her half-hearted protest into broken, panting sighs.

Then a ringtone cut the night. Jerry’s brow furrowed. Annoyed, he fumbled for his phone, glanced at the screen, and released his grip on her slender waist.

He answered in French. “She’s here.”

Barbara’s skin, still flushed from his touch, met the cool night air. Before she could even form a complaint, the words that followed hit harder than any slap.

In the darkness, Jason’s voice carried clearly through the line. He replied in French, but Barbara’s mind translated every syllable into a cold, brutal truth.

“So she’s there. Don’t tell me you’re getting addicted to these little affairs, Jerry. Or have you forgotten you have a real fiancée?”

Under that vast, indifferent sky, Barbara felt herself plunge into an icy abyss.

Seven years. Seven years with Jerry.

Once, she had been the most promising painter at the Southborough Academy of Fine Arts. But on the eve of her first solo exhibition, her father’s company went bankrupt, drowning them in debt.

That was when Jerry appeared—her childhood friend turned savior. He cleared all her debts, brought her into his world, and cared for her with what she’d believed was devotion.

She thought he truly loved her. She believed he’d braved the gossip and opposition just for her.

Jason’s voice continued, dripping with casual cruelty.

“You and Claire are engaged anyway.” Amusement tinged his tone. “So what about Barbara? What are your plans for her?”

“Her?” Jerry let out a derisive snort, laced with contempt. “You think she’s some chaste saint? If she hadn’t crawled into my bed back then, using every trick in the book to seduce me, do you think I’d have spared her a second glance? Give her enough benefits, and she’ll behave. Besides, who else does she have to turn to now? Her bankrupt father? Or that mother of hers who does nothing but cry? Everything she has, I gave her. What right does she have to bargain with me?”

Barbara bit her lip until she tasted copper, forcing herself to stay silent.

So that was what she was in his eyes. A plaything. Disposable.

Jerry’s gaze, still dark with lingering desire, swept over her. His voice took on a taunting, vulgar edge.

“You have no idea. The way she moans… fucking obscene. Drives me wild. That milky-white skin, so soft to the touch… And the way her hips move, like a damn snake. Sets me on fire every time. Those legs… long, pale, wrapping around you until you forget your own name. And the sounds she makes… could melt a man’s bones. Much cleaner than the girls you find out there.”

Jason coughed, an awkward sound.

“Who are you trying to fool?” Jerry’s laugh was crude. He licked his lips, as if savoring the memory. “All