parsley was the first to break the silence. "Yes, I decided to break up with him."
Dalton banged a fist down on the couch. "Why? What's going on?""I…" she hesitated, looking down at her feet. "I wanted to. I had to."Dalton waved her off. "It's normal for couples to quarrel with each other, but you don't quit. Your Mom and I argue all the time, and we're still together!" He said, waving at Norah. "You know, we are living by the Yontzs," explained Dalton, stubbing a smoke."I know, but…"Norah stood up. "Think about it for a moment! How will you support yourself? We've given you everything and have never asked for anything in return, and then you do this? What's wrong with you?" she lamented.parsley grit her teeth: "Aunt, when you adopted me, you took father's stock as payment from his company. So, actually, I don't think I owe you anything. And least of all," she said, standing to meet her gaze, "letting you decide who I should marry.""Oh! Now you answer back!" She screamed, pointing the finger at her and turning to face the room. "And now you accuse us –us!- of taking advantage of you! You wicked girl!" She said, rounding on her, jabbing a finger into her chest. "How could you? Your mother abandoned you! Your father, too!"This stung parsley. He'd loved her, and he'd given her everything."That's not true!" She screamed"-and years later, you'd ruin your uncle?! My goodness! What a heartless girl!"Norah flounced about as Dalton and Valerie tried to comfort her.parsley seized the chance and ran upstairs to her room, slamming shut the door behind her. "You wicked girl!" Called Norah after her. "Go, ask an apology to stephan!"She threw herself in the bed, plugged in her headphones, and sniffed back the tears. Modest Mouse was playing. Hadn't they noticed her clothes? She thought after the rush of emotion had washed over her. The bruises on my body? My bare and swollen feet?If her dad were still there, he'd have defended her, and mom…She struggled to remember her face but could recall her warmth and her smell.She burst into tears again. Great, heaving sobs that wracked her chest. Then there was a knock at the door, and she got up and opened it.Dalton came in, his shoulders drooped. "parsley…" he started, standing awkwardly by the doorway. "Your aunt got a little too excited, but she was right. Our factory should have gone broke years ago if it was not for the Yontzs. And if you leave, they'll… well, they'll want blood." He said, sighing. "They'll cancel their orders, and our factory will close. So just- just think about it before you leave Stephan, okay?"She suddenly felt ashamed.Uncle Schultz was her only family, how could she be so selfish as to destroy everything that he'd worked for? And all everything her father had worked for, too. The money her father left had been invested in that factory. It was as much hers as it was theirs. It couldn't fail. Norah was right; she is wicked.parsley hugged Dalton. "I know, I'm sorry." She said. "I'll try and fix it right away."Dalton squeezed her tight in his arms and smiled. "Thank you."***Amongst the winding roads of Beverly Hills, Stephan liaisliaised with Ryan in his luxury villa.Ryan was sitting on the sofa, cross-legged, his face gloomy: "Just say it, stephan. Why did you send her to me like that?"Sat nearby, stephan smirked. "Uncle, it didn't mean anything, I swear. I saw you staring at parsley pictures that day, and I thought you were interested, so I gave her to you." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "You are my uncle. My fiancée, my wife, it doesn't matter. I just want you to be happy.""Get to the point!" barked Ryan, his face set in granite.stephan held up his hands. "Okay, okay... I have recently invested in a business, and I need a capital injection from the Group. One-hundred million. But the other shareholders insist on your signature. For the sake of expediency, uncle, please help me this one time!"Ryan, the youngest, but also the most ruthless chief executive of Sterling Group, has individual powers that superseded the Group.He was the only one who could help.Ryan thin lips curled into a sardonic smile: "What makes you think I would give you one-hundred million for a night with your fiancée?""Uncle!" stephan sputtered. "parsley and you both entered your private suite today, which has been captured by the hotel's surveillance." A wicked glint entered his eyes. "What if those videos started circulating in public? What would they think of you if they knew you'd slept with his nephew's fiancée? Grandpa might eliminate your post of the CEO..." Mark glared at Stephan, how dare he threaten Ryan!Ryan stood up, and calmly walked towards stephan, his gray eyes flitting with anger. He leaned over to stephan ear: "you'd threaten me?"Stephan felt himself freeze: "What? No! I just want to make a clear situation for you.""Get out," Ryan replied, pointing a finger to the door."Uncle, please." stephan became restless."Shall I say it again?"stephan pulled on his jacket and backed out of the room, pleading with Ryan as he left.The door closed behind him, and Mark came up. "Sir, he has a point. We can't let that video get out. It'd ruin you." Ryan smiled dryly. That he slept with her would be a matter of course if she was his, nominally, and the surveillance video would be useless.Well, the girl was looking for a rich man, so here he was. It'll be easy, he grinned. And I might even enjoy it.***The moon was high in the deep blue vaulted sky. parsley had just arrived at Stephan house and was about to ring the doorbell when she saw that it was already unlocked.She carefully walked into the hallway and paused. Upstairs, she heard a man and a girl's intimate breathing.parsley heart missed a beat. Then, carefully, she crept up the stairs towards the bedroom… and froze."Babe, am I pleased to see you." She heard stephan say. "It's been a fucking awful day."She heard a girl coo and comfort."My fiancée – your sister – she left me... She left me, Valerie. Fuck." He sighed. "And then – ha! - my uncle decided not to invest in my company. I feel like an idiot." She heads the bedsheets shift. "I don't know what I'd do without you, babe. I really need you right now." There was kissing. parsley eyed through a crack in the door."Why did parsley leave you? She's such a nice girl…" She eyed him. "Always the obedient one, that one, and terrified of crossing you," She joked. A throaty laugh. "What did you do?"He grunted. "Nothing. The girls an idiot: Too dumb to figure out how the world works, and it drives me crazy, like, how?" He huffed. "I don't want to talk about it.""I'm sorry." She soothed, throwing her arms around his neck."You're so sweet; the gentle
She screamed.He'd somehow found her and kidnapped her. He was going to kill her. She needed to escape."You—let me go!" Cried parsley, as his powerful arms constricted her.She raked her nails across his face, and he cursed loudly. Regardless, he lifted her in his arms and dropped her into the bed."Don't -" He warned, pointing the finger at her.She froze like a deer in headlights.He slowly sat down on the sofa in the corner of the bedroom, cross-legged: "Lilly.""Yes, sir." Said the maid, Lilly checked Parsley feet. Luckily, there were only cuts to her feet. Judy hurriedly disinfected the cuts and bandaged them. Then she left the room.The atmosphere of the room cooled down. But Parsley didn't feel like the storm had passed, more that she was in the eye of it. "I…Why am I here?"She had figured this was his house already, or at least one of his houses. This guy was rich. Mega rich. That somehow explained why Stephan gave her to him, she guessed."I saw you faint outside Stephan ap
stephan ground his teeth. Women fell over themselves to be with him. And now parsley thought she could just dismiss him, like some stray dog?"What?" He spat. "You can't leave me."parsley glanced at Valerie through the window, "I wouldn't want to get between the two of you," she said quietly, turning back to the garden.stephan nodded slowly and then barked a laugh. He slung his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight. "Now listen to me. I own you, you frigid cow." His voice was a sharp whisper in her ear, and his hand-dug into her flank so that she yelped. "If it weren't for my grandfather, who insists that I marry you to avoid 'gossip,' I would happily leave you. I hate you, do you hear me? I mean, why would I want to marry an orphan girl who always looks so miserable?" He crooned another laugh. "Don't ask too much from me, parsley. The wedding will take place as planned next month. After that, you stay out of my way, and I'll do the same. But if you don't agree… ?" he shrugge
Mr. Sterling—" The guard protested."Was I not clear?" He said, stooping into the car."Actually…It doesn't have to be..." She squeaked, suddenly guilty over the whole thing."Are you always so kind to those who hurt you?"parsley buttoned her lips.The car drove up the gravel drive to the villa. parsley got out and followed him inside to a spacious living-room-slash-office space with a glass wall at the far end and a cream leather couch. Minimalist bookshelves and a desk in the other corner with a globe nearby."What's up?" Ryan asked casually, walking the length of the room.He had poured a glass of wine (he hadn't offered her one) and was now sitting on the sofa rigid and stern like he was about to discipline her. The sunlight streamed through the window behind him, somehow amplifying his charismatic and elegant demeanor. Like a sexy Jesus, she thought. Laughed, swatted the idea down, and sat down in the armchair opposite him.parsley wrung her hands and squirmed in the armchair. "
Stop," said Ryan, raising a hand.Mark then said, "Sir, it's your father's sixtieth this weekend. It's at the Ritz. Your younger sister called me just now, asking if you'd like to go.""Tell her I'm busy," he sighed. "And arrange to have a gift sent, something big and expensive."Mark hesitated for a moment, "Since you returned to Los Angeles, you haven't been back to see your family. This time…""That's enough." Ryan interrupted stern-faced. It was getting dark out, and he could see the phosphorous street lights were flickering on, one by one in the distance. "Pick up, parsley, and drive her home."Mark bit back his tongue and nodded, went to leave.Lilly hurried over. "Oh, you know the poor relationship between Mr. Sterling and his father," she hissed. "why keep bringing it up? You know it only makes him upset."Mark forced a smile, "I just want to know why. It feels like there are secrets everywhere with this family, and I know none of them."He'd been Ryan private bodyguard for tw
Fuck you, Valerie." She said, the words coming out like sparks from a furnace. "How long has it been, huh? You and Stephan, your secret 'meetings,' how long!" In the last part, parsley growl through clenched teeth, and Valerie momentarily recoils.Valerie had known that parsley had discovered them. Stephan had told her as much the day before. And good innocent parsley would keep feigning ignorance, and she'd thought, only she wasn't… not anymore. Then remembering this was her house, her parents, and that she was the older one, she loomed upright and began fighting back. "At least I'm loved, parsley. At least I'm wanted by him. Something you'll never know, you leech. You parasite! You think he wants to marry you, so you can bleed him dry? Ha!" she barks. "You stupid girl.""What the hell is wrong with you? I really, really, don't care. If you want to become Valerie Yontz and marry the idiot, be my guest. But I'm guessing he's using you the same way he's used me." parsley sighted, pity
stephan parked in front of the hotel. It was crowded with people in pretty dresses and dark suits, and they were slowly making their way inside to the main hall. There was a marble fountain, and several parked cars outside, and stephan stopped as close as he could to a red car. They got out, and stephan took parsley by the arm and introduced her to his mother, Hannah. It was her red car."Hello, my dear!" she said, flinging her arms around them both. "stephan, you look so handsome! And so pretty, parsley!" She smiled. Took a swig of wine."Are you already drunk?" Asked Stephan."No, not yet. A few wines, that's all." She waved at Norah, Dalton, and Valerie behind them, struggling with the car door. "The Schultz's. The perfect family." She said, as they finally joined them and kissed Norah and Dalton on the cheeks. "Thank you so much for coming. It wouldn't be the same without you."Norah blushed. "It's a pleasure."" She snorted and placed a steadying hand on Norah's shoulder as she l
stephan hissed into her ear, "you heard the man. We'd better get to it soon, eh? Was I thinking… tonight? If you're free, that is?"She elbowed him hard in the ribs, but he didn't back off. "Remember what happens if you mess this up for me. Be nice now, and later tonight, you can be as naughty as you like." He grinned so wide she worried his ears might drop in. She bit her bottom lip hard, so hard it drew blood. If Mr. Sterling didn't come soon, she knew, then she would have to sleep with his guy.Then, quickly, the room grew silent. It was like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. A fork clattered; a mother silenced a child; a wine glass chimed. Then, shoes hoofing on the marble floor, growing louder, each stride resonating purpose.A man entered, tall and handsome in a charcoal grey suit. Chest out shoulders back, hands in pockets. Such elegance and confidence that he commanded the attention of everyone there. parsley's eyes fixed on him and realized that figure. It was Mr. S