My Unfazed Mind Saves Me Chapter 01

My Unfazed Mind Saves Me Chapter 01

I was born without whatever gene lets people take a hint.

Back in elementary school, a group of kids cornered me and mocked me for being an orphan.

I lifted my chin. “That’s right. I’m the only orphan in this whole school. That makes me one of a kind.”

The principal overheard the whole thing. He took one look at me and assumed the bullying had finally knocked something loose in my head.

He hauled every one of those kids into his office, called their parents, and by the time they got home, they were suspended and grounded for the rest of the year.

Freshman year of high school, some guy decided it’d be hilarious to fake-confess. He showed up with a bouquet of dead roses.

I accepted them like he’d just handed me a dozen fresh, expensive blooms. “Oh my god, how did you know? Dead roses are literally my favorite.”

After that, I made a point of finding him every single day. “Hey! I still love those roses you got me.”

He spent the rest of high school known as Dead Rose Guy.

Then my biological parents showed up. Turned out they were loaded, and they wanted me back.

On my first day, the girl who’d been raised as their daughter threw herself onto the floor the second I walked in — screaming like I’d shoved her.

“I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me!”

My parents and brother came running, ready to tear into me — but I beat them to it.

“Oh, you’re rehearsing! I wasn’t even ready — let’s take it from the top!”

I hauled her to her feet and shoved her right back down.

My family watched the whole thing, saw how calm I was, and were too stunned to even argue. They just stared, completely thrown off guard.

Weeks later, the whole family headed to Bayridge for a high-society gala. The fake heiress cornered me during the party and shoved me into a dark room.

Standing right there was the man everyone in Bayridge feared, the lord of Bayridge himself. At his feet, a man lay slumped on the floor, badly injured.

My hands flew to my mouth. His eyes narrowed, and he started toward me.

“Oh my god.” I was practically bouncing. “Is this an actual film set? Can I be in it?”

…

He stopped.

Half his face was swallowed by shadow. I couldn’t read him.

All I could see were his eyes — sharp, fixed right on me. He was studying me.

Victor Sterling knew what people said about him. Cruel, ruthless, unpredictable — all true. He’d ended people without flinching.

The last person who’d walked in on something like this had been shipped off on a one-way freighter. Nobody knew if the man was still breathing.

Either way, no one ever saw him again.

This girl had to be acting. Fear made people creative.

Fine. He’d play along.

He tipped his chin toward the door. “It’s unlocked. You can go.”

Obviously, he was lying. Walking out that door would’ve proved everything I’d just done was an act.

One step toward that exit and his men would’ve come out of the shadows to grab me. Whatever came after that wouldn’t have been friendly.

He waited. I didn’t move.

Instead, I walked deeper into the room and crouched beside the man on the floor.

I poked him. A damp mark came off on my fingertips.

“Is this stage makeup? It looks so authentic.”

The man on the ground gasped weakly for air. “Save… save me…”

I stared at him for a second, then glanced over my shoulder.

“What’s my line? ‘I’ll save you’ or ‘no way’?”

Victor’s eyebrows went up. He snapped his fingers.

Two men stepped out of the shadows. They put the injured man into a large duffel bag and carried him off.

The whole time, I was scanning every corner of the room for the camera. Nothing.

Of course. Hidden cameras. Had to be.

Once they were gone, the door shut behind them. Victor settled into a chair a few feet away.

“What’s your name?”

I blinked — then snapped to attention like I was at an audition. Feet together, hands at my sides.

“Chloe Bennett!” I projected like I was onstage. “I’m a hard worker, I learn fast, and I can handle any role you throw at me. I really hope you’ll give me a shot!”

Victor’s mouth twitched.

But what she’d just seen involved family business — the kind that couldn’t leave this room.

“Everything you just saw is strictly private,” he said. “You don’t tell anyone. Not a single word.”

I nodded like my life depended on it. “My lips are sealed!”

He waved me off. My shoulders dropped.

I didn’t get the part.

I headed back toward the party. Stella Bennett was the first person I spotted — laughing it up with a circle of guests.

I walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.

She spun around, and the second she saw my face, hers went white. “You’re — how are you okay?!”