The hum grew louder, a low, electric pulse that seemed to vibrate through Aria's bones as she followed Lila down the shadowed hall. Damien trailed behind, his presence a weight at her back, like gravity pulling her deeper into something she couldn't name. The Miami skyline flickered outside, its neon pinks and blues fading as the corridor swallowed the light. Aria's heels sank into plush carpet, her pulse a wild drumbeat matching the strange rhythm in the air. She should've turned back, every instinct screamed it, but the memory of Damien's hand, Lila's taunt, and that silk tie kept her moving.
Lila paused at a sleek black door, its surface gleaming like liquid obsidian. She glanced back, her green eyes glinting with something between amusement and hunger. "Last chance, influencer girl," she said, her voice a velvet blade. "This isn't your Instagram story."
Aria's throat tightened, but she forced a smirk. "I'm not here to post selfies." The lie tasted sharp, she was terrified, exhilarated, caught in a current she didn't understand but couldn't resist.
Damien's hand brushed her lower back, a fleeting touch that sent heat curling through her. "Then open it," he said, nodding at the door. His voice was calm, but the command in it made her skin prickle.
She reached for the handle, her fingers trembling as the hum spiked, almost alive. The door swung open, revealing a room that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi fever dream. Walls pulsed with soft blue light, veins of circuitry glowing beneath smoked glass. A circular platform dominated the center, ringed by leather chairs where shadowed figures sat, their faces hidden in the dim. The air smelled of ozone and something sweeter, like jasmine laced with sin.
Lila sauntered in, her red dress catching the light like blood on fire. "Welcome to the Circuit," she purred, gesturing at the platform. "Where the real players come to win."
Aria's breath caught. The platform wasn't empty, a woman stood there, blindfolded, her wrists bound in glowing cuffs that pulsed in sync with the room's hum. Her dress was sheer, clinging to curves that begged to be touched, and the figures in the chairs watched with a stillness that felt predatory. Aria's stomach twisted, not just from shock but from a dark curiosity she hated herself for feeling.
"What is this?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum.
Damien stepped beside her, his gaze fixed on the platform. "A game of control," he said. "The Circuit reads desire, yours, hers, theirs." He nodded at the figures. "It amplifies it, strips away the lies. You play, you learn who you really are."
Lila laughed, low and throaty, circling the platform like a shark. "Or you break," she added, her eyes flicking to Aria. "Most do."
The blindfolded woman shifted, a soft moan escaping her lips as the cuffs glowed brighter. Aria's pulse hammered, her mind screaming run while her body leaned closer, drawn to the raw energy in the room. She glanced at Damien, his face unreadable, then at Lila, who was already slipping off her heels, like she was about to join the game.
"You want me to…" Aria's voice faltered. She couldn't finish the thought, but the images flooded her, stepping onto that platform, feeling those cuffs, letting the hum pull her apart.
"Not yet," Damien said, his hand closing around her wrist, firm but not cruel. "Watch first."
Lila stepped onto the platform, her movements fluid, deliberate. The cuffs on the other woman dimmed as Lila raised her arms, and new restraints snapped around her wrists, glowing violet. The hum shifted, deeper now, like a heartbeat synced to Aria's own. Lila's head tilted back, her lips parting as the light pulsed faster, and the figures in the chairs leaned forward, their whispers rising like static.
Aria's skin burned, her breath shallow. She didn't know what the Circuit was, tech, magic, something else, but it was alive, pulling at her like Damien's voice, like Lila's smirk. She wanted to hate it, to call it wrong, but the heat pooling low in her belly said otherwise.
Damien's grip tightened, grounding her. "Feel it," he murmured, his lips close enough to graze her ear. "That's what you came for, Aria. Not fame. This."
She shook her head, but the denial felt weak. The platform's glow reflected in her eyes, and she couldn't look away as Lila arched, a gasp breaking from her like a confession. The figures clapped, slow and deliberate, their faces still shadowed but their hunger palpable.
"You're insane," Aria said, her voice trembling. "This is..."
"Freedom," Damien cut in. "No filters, no fakes. Just you, raw." He released her wrist, stepping back, giving her space to run or stay. "Your move."
Lila's eyes opened, locking onto Aria from the platform, her smile sharp and knowing. "Join us," she called, her voice thick with whatever the Circuit was doing to her. "Or watch her take your place."
The hum surged, and the room tilted, like the world was rewriting itself around Aria. Another figure rose from the chairs, a man, tall, his silhouette sharp against the neon. He stepped toward the platform, his hand already reaching for Lila, and Aria's chest tightened with something dark, jealousy, want, fear, all tangled together.
The door behind her was still open. She could leave, forget this night, go back to her broke-ass life. But the Circuit's pulse was in her veins now, and the thought of walking away felt like losing something she'd never known she needed.
To be continued…