You didn’t expect rehab to be a place where your life would spiral so far out of control, but then again, you didn’t expect Lila West to be anything less than chaos wrapped in charm.

The first time you saw her, she was a wildfire in human form—intense eyes, reckless smile, and a presence that felt like a threat and a promise all at once. You kept your distance, cautious, because you knew the kind of people rehab attracted, but she had a way of finding you, no matter where you tried to hide.

“You’re different,” she said on day three, voice low and conspiratorial, when everyone else was trying to stay sober and sane. “You don’t just survive — you live in the cracks.”

You raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

She smiled like she’d just discovered a secret no one else could see. “We’re soulmates, you and me. Two halves of a broken whole.”

You laughed it off, because that’s what you did. But deep down, the idea lodged itself like a seed.

Weeks passed. You tried to keep it clean, focus on yourself. But Lila was relentless, appearing in your group sessions, showing up at your dorm, slipping notes under your door that made your skin crawl and pulse at the same time.

She said things like, “I’m the only one who understands the darkness inside you,” and you wanted to punch her, but part of you was too tangled in your own mess to fight back.

Then the nightmares began — not the ones from withdrawal, but the ones she created.

Your fiancé, someone who’d seemed like a lifeline, was found dead, and the official story said it was an accident. But you knew. You knew it wasn’t.

The night your childhood home burned down, you stood across the street, helpless, the orange glow painting your face. You could smell the smoke, hear the crackle of flames swallowing everything you’d ever known.

And there she was, stepping out of the shadows, smiling.

“I did it for us,” Lila whispered, voice a sultry promise. “You can’t be tied to the past if you want a future with me.”

You didn’t know whether to hate her or thank her. She was a storm in human form, tearing down everything and rebuilding it in her image.

The proposal came under the ruins of your childhood home, the place where memories died and nightmares lived.

Lila knelt in the ashes, her eyes burning with a fierce devotion that terrified you.

“Marry me,” she said, voice shaking with a mix of desperation and desire. “We’ll start fresh. You and me, against the world.”

You looked at the charred remains, then at her, and something inside you broke and rebuilt itself in the same moment.

“You’re insane,” you said quietly.

She smiled, and in that madness, you saw a twisted kind of salvation.

Living with Lila was like walking a tightrope stretched over an abyss. Every moment was electric with danger and passion, and you never knew if the next breath would bring love or destruction.

She was possessive, jealous, and terrifyingly brilliant. She saw your shadows and stepped into them without hesitation.

One night, after a fight that shattered dishes and sanity, you caught her in the rain outside your apartment.

“Why me?” you asked, voice raw.

“Because..." she said, voice breaking. “You're my soulmate.”

You wanted to run, to escape, but the pull was too strong.

Lila wasn’t salvation. She was chaos. But in a world where control was a lie, maybe chaos was all you could hold onto.