CHAPTER ONE

Elise's pov

I ignored his calls after that.

I know he didn't do anything wrong but I just needed space, so I lied that I was sick whilst I buried myself in my bed and cried my hearts out in the dark.

It was all going well until he showed up.

I heard my front door unlock. Living in a luxurious neighborhood has its perks, so I wasn't even scared that someone was breaking in to rob me. However I was scared that he was going to see me at my all time low.

I cursed the day I gave him a key to my house.

As his footsteps approached my bedroom door I squeezed my eyes shut hoping that it would somehow make him go away.

I heard him pause, probably to collect himself and then my door opened and he walked in. I kept my back turned to the door because I couldn't bear to look at him.

After a moment the room fell into silence. I waited for a minute, then a few more and it seemed like he had gone so I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and then rolled to face the door and that was the worst decision I had ever made in my life because there he was, face right in front of mine, staring.

“Ah!” I screamed so loud I was sure it would be heard from the moon. My heart raced too fast . I thought it would burst out of my chest and all the idiot did was laugh.

“Glad to see you're alive.”

“Don't ever scare me like that you idiot!” I screamed clutching my chest.

His shoulders shook with barely contained laughter which burst out when I shot him a glare. “oh my God.” He said in between breath. “Yo-you should have seen the look on your face.”

“Shut up.” I threw a pillow at him which he effortlessly caught then moved my leg aside and sat on my bed with a sad expression.

“Why have you been avoiding me, lise?”

That looks… It crushed my heart. He had been so happy to introduce her to me and I ruined it.

“I…” what do I say? “I was honestly sick and didn't want to ruin your new couple's honeymoon.”

He gave me a deadpan look.

With a sigh I said, “look, I was surprised. You never told me you were seeing anyone and it hurt you know. As your best friend, you hid that from me.”

That was somewhat the truth.

“Oh, Lise.” He pulled me into a bone crushing hug. “I understand now. I'm sorry about that, I just… I don't know. I was an idiot. I'm sorry.”

“It's fine.” My voice was muffled against his chest as I tried my best not to melt into him.

“I promise this will never happen again.”

“Pinky?” I held up my pinky.

“Pinky.”

Like that, another promise was made.

“Now tell me about her.” Saying those words was equivalent to me swallowing class but I knew I had to be his friend first before my feelings.

His eyes lit up. “She’s the one, Lise. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know we're going to last.”

****

Well… they didn't last.

I guess there really was a big guy up in the sky listening to my prayers. Victoria turned out to be the worst thing to ever happen to him. Their relationship was toxic and on and off for years until they finally broke up.

While he was heart broken and crying, I comforted him and celebrated every night when I got home.

Who said miracles didn't happen?

Three months after they broke up things were finally coming back to normal and I had Marcus all to myself. I was slowly working towards the thought of telling him how I felt.

“Stop daydreaming, you're at work.” He said, voice cutting through my thoughts as he walked ahead of me.

We had come to LA for a business trip and he seemed awfully excited ever since we arrived. The way he looked at me and spoke to me, it was different.

“Care to share what has got you in a good mood lately?” I tried to pry.

He simply smiled, shaking his head. “Well… you'll find out tonight. Come to the penthouse by 8, dress beautifully. You wouldn't want to miss it.”

Before I could ask more, he got into his car and waved at me as he drove away.

Dress beautifully? What's going on?

****

At exactly 8, I walked into the Royal hotel dressed in the most beautiful crimson dress I owned. Make up perfectly done as well as my hair. I was ready for whatever he was planning.

I stepped out of the private elevator and it felt like deja vu. I shook off the weird feeling and took a step forward, straight into someone's chest.

“Oh!” I stumbled back, my purse slipping from my hand.

A deep voice spoke, fine filled with low amusement. “Easy there.”

I looked up and my breath hitched.

He was… gorgeous. Not polished and pristine like Marcus. He was rough and jagged. His dark hair was a little too long, falling over his stormy grey eyes. He had tattoos covering his entire left arm and disappearing into his dark shirt.

He looked out of place here, like he belonged in an alleyway with a cigarette between his lips, not outside the penthouse of the city’s most powerful CEO.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Excuse me, but what are you doing up here? This floor is private.”

His lips twitched like he was fighting back a smile. “And who might you be? The security guard?”

Heat flares in my cheeks. “No, but I know you’re not supposed to be here. If Marcus catches you sneaking around the higher-ups’ residences, you’ll be lucky if all you get is escorted out. You could be arrested.”

“Arrested?” he let out a smirk, and something about the way he said it sent a shiver down my spine. “That’s a little too much, don’t you think?”

“Not when it comes to people like you sneaking where you don’t belong.” I made my room harsher to hide the way he was unsettling me.

He paused for a moment, just studying me. There was this intensity in his eyes that made me shiver. Then finally, he extended his hand. “Sebastian.”

I hesitated then placed mine in his. “Elise.”

There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes but that was impossible because we had never met. Before I could allow myself to think much about it, I pulled my head back. “Well, Sebastian, I’d advise you to leave before you get caught. Consider this your warning.”

“Consider it taken,” he said softly, though the glint in his eyes suggested the opposite.

I stepped around him, determined not to give him another second of my time. He was probably a lower staff member who got curious or worse, a trespasser who thought he was smart.

Either way, he was none of my concern. The guards would take care of him.

I opened the door to Marcus's penthouse and froze.

At my feet lay… a path of roses.

A path of roses usually meant one thing, a proposal.

Was he… proposing to me?