Chapter 1

AMELIA

"I hate you so much," I said with teary eyes, voice shaking as I stared at the man I was supposed to marry.

"I hate you even more, Amelia. Why don't you just fuck off?" Ethan shot back, his face twisted in disgust.

We were standing in the middle of what should've been a quiet dinner, a time to finalize wedding arrangements. But Ethan had other plans, like parading his mistress around the room as if I didn’t exist.

"Do you really have to be like this? We're getting married in a week. Did you have to bring her and do this here?" I asked, trying to hold back my tears.

He let out a humorless and cold laugh. "I can bring whoever the fuck I want. And don’t act like you care. You’re just here for my father’s money. What a fake bitch."

His words hit hard, and yet it was familiar. This wasn’t the first time he’d do something just to humiliate me. He turned to his mistress and kissed her, slowly and intentionally, like he was making a point.

Then, looking back at me with dark eyes, he added, "I don't care what you do with yourself, woman. I'm only marrying you because that's what my father wants."

I felt something snap inside me.

"Fuck you, Ethan," I said and stormed out.

I grabbed my keys, my vision blurred with tears. My hands trembled as I started the engine and drove off. I didn’t care where I was going. I just needed to be anywhere but there.

The city lights blurred into the night as I sped through the streets. I ended up at a secluded little spot I often retreated to when everything got too loud, a quiet car park surrounded by trees and soft garden lights. It was peaceful, and far from the chaos of my life.

I popped open a bottle I kept stashed in my glove compartment and sat on the trunk of my car. The liquor burned on the way down, but at least it drowned the noise in my head.

"I should get fucked tonight," I muttered with a dry, bitter laugh. My mind was spinning. I didn’t care. Anything was better than feeling like nothing.

And then, like some twisted fate to my desperation, I saw him.

A man stood near the edge of the parking lot, lighting a cigarette. He looked like he belonged on a runway, tall, muscular, dressed in black with messy hair and sharp features. There was something about him, and I didn't mind finding out.

The thought came again. A one night something, might just lift my mood by a thousand.

I undid a couple of buttons on my shirt, just enough to show some cleavage. Then I walked over.

"Hey," I said. "I'm horny. Wanna fuck?"

He looked me over, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Who are you?"

"Does it matter? Just fuck me and get it over with."

Without another word, I took off my shirt. His eyes darkened.

"Damn… I wouldn’t say no to that."

He didn’t waste time. His hands grabbed my breasts, in a rough and possessive way. He turned me around and slid into me with one firm thrust.

I gasped, he was big. His grip on my hips was tight as he thrusted deeper in me. Pleasure clouded my senses, it has been long since I felt anything close to this.

When we were done, I slipped back into my clothes, breathless.

“That was nice,” I said, heading for my car.

"Are you going to tell me who you are?" he called after me.

I blew him a kiss. "Nope."

I was about starting my car to drive back home when I looked back at him through my mirror and noticed something off.

He was surrounded by three men and it didn't look like they were having a normal conversation. One of the men had a knife, he was being attacked.

Shit.

I hesitated, heart racing. My hand moved toward the glove box, pulling out the small pistol I always kept there.

My instincts screamed to drive away but I wonder if I could live with the guilt, after all he was a man I just fucked.

I quietly moved out of my car and walked slowly to them. I targeted the man holding the knife and watched carefully in case things got out of hand.

Just as the man lunged forward to stab him, I pulled the trigger.

The man dropped to the ground and almost immediately, the other two men dropped dead too. Someone else had shot them.

What the hell?

I ducked, my heart pounding as I tried to take in what was happening. I thought he was alone. What on earth was happening?

“Come out!” he barked suddenly and signaled to someone, “Find her.”  

I realized I wasn’t safe. I backed up slowly, trying to make it to my car. But then I suddenly bumped into someone.

I tried to make a break for it but his hands caught me immediately. "Where are you running off to, bunny?" He asked, yanking my gun from my grip.

“Boss, this her?” he asked, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look up.

Did he just say boss? Who the hell was he?

“Let me go!” I snapped, struggling. “I was trying to help you!”

He narrowed his eyes. “You expect me to believe you just happened to be here… generously wanting to fuck?”

“I saw him attack you, and I shot. That’s it. If anything, you should thank me.”

He looked unconvinced. “Tie her up. Find out who she’s working with.”

“Hey! You don’t want to do this. Do you even know who my father-in-law is?!”

They didn't care. The man bundled me up and tossed me in the car. He stepped down and when he returned his hand went straight over my face.

He pressed my nose with a cloth that smelt toxic, I couldn't breathe. I felt weak as I slowly lost consciousness.

"Take her there."