CHAPTER 1 Sold on My Birthday

LILA’S POV

The first sound that reached me was a breathless moan.

I stopped outside the study, frowning. 

Jason was supposed to be setting up the last part of my birthday surprise. At least, that’s what he’d texted me fifteen minutes ago.

Then I heard it again—higher, softer. A woman.

My hand tightened around the doorknob.

I lightly pushed the door ajar to look in. I wished I hadn’t, because I heard my cousin’s voice, breathy and playful: 

“Tell me again… who do you want more? Me or Lila?”

My scalp prickled. 

No. No, she wouldn’t—

Jason’s answer came out in a low, hungry whisper I’d never heard him use with me.

“You. God, you.”

Something inside me snapped taut. 

I pushed the door open. 

I saw Jason’s pants pooled on the floor beside the desk. My gaze drifted upwards to see them on the armchair, my cousin still in her dress that was bunched up around her hips, straddling my boyfriend. Jason still had his shirt on, half-buttoned, hanging open where she’d clearly tugged at it. Their bodies moved together in a way that left no doubt what was happening beneath the silk of her dress.

His breath hitched.

Her head tipped back.

It was obscene how normal the room looked otherwise—my birthday balloons drifting lazily against the ceiling while the man who was supposed to propose to me spent the afternoon inside my cousin.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked sharply. 

Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise, but there was no hint of embarrassment or guilt on her face. She didn’t even make any attempt to get up from his lap. 

I looked at Jason, who seemed mildly embarrassed but also not guilty. If anything, there was amusement tugging at his lips. 

The same lips I had imagined kissing me later tonight after he asked me to marry him. 

I willed my tears to stay back as I confronted him.

“Chloe has bullied me my entire life!” I snapped. “Is that something you find attractive, Jason?” 

“For god’s sake, Lil, you’re so dramatic,” Chloe rolled her eyes, adjusting her dress and getting off of him. Jason scrambled to cover himself with a throw pillow. 

I waited for his answer. Waited for him to defend me, to tell her to shut up. 

Instead, he just shrugged, like this was all no big deal. 

“Lila, I’ve always loved Chloe, you know that,” he said. 

The words hit like a slap. 

“She and I are getting engaged soon,” he added. “So… it’s about time you get over me.” 

I couldn’t believe the words I was hearing. My stomach dropped to my knees as I felt my dream of finally escaping slip from me. 

Jason had dropped several hints that he would propose to me on my birthday. I was turning 23, and it was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Not just because I loved him, which I did. But also because marriage meant finally getting freedom from my family’s home. 

My name is Lila Montero. Ten years ago, my parents died in a car accident, and my father’s brother, Andrew Montero, was kind enough to take me in and raise me. 

Or so I thought.

I later realized that he and his wife just wanted my inheritance. Once I was old enough to inherit my parents’ estate, they simply refused to hand it over and used lawyers to find loopholes in the will.

They controlled everything: my money, my movements, my future. With nothing of my own, it was impossible for me to leave their house—and they knew that too. They kept me caged at all times, only ever allowing me to step out for school and later, university.

Jason Shepard had been my only rebellion; my only escape. Whenever I felt powerless and alone, he was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. 

I met him when Uncle Andrew had applied for his construction company to be one of the contractors for Ambrosia Hotels, handled by Jason’s extended family. 

I didn’t doubt there was an advantage for Uncle there, but I didn’t care. I just loved Jason… 

But now, I only saw the light fading. 

I watched as he dressed himself and adjusted his collar before leaving. 

“Try not to start new drama while I’m gone,” he said, walking past me. 

He was gone. Just like that. And suddenly, the room felt smaller. 

“Your high expectations are so cute, Lil,” she said. 

I just watched as she buttoned her coat. 

“Did you really have no one else to go after, Chloe?” I asked quietly. 

“Go after?” she laughed. “Babe, he came on to me, and of course he did! He wants the real deal, not an outsider we took in out of pity!” 

“Outsider!” I exclaimed. “This house you live in is from my parents’ money! You stole everything!” 

She didn’t like that. 

Before I could register what was happening, she grabbed my hair. “What did you just say?” she demanded. 

My hair still in her grip, she pushed me to the floor. “You wouldn’t even be alive today if it weren’t for us!” she cried. “You’re going to cry over a few dollars when we saved your life!?” 

Pain exploded across my skull. 

It was nothing I wasn’t used to… Chloe did this anytime she felt belittled or upset. Every single time, I just endured it. 

From the corner of my eye, I saw Aunt and Uncle rush over, as usual, pretending to smooth things over but just making it worse. 

“Goodness, girls, be civil,” Uncle Andrew said. “This is no way for sisters to behave.” 

“And the way Chloe is cuddling my boyfriend, is that how sisters behave!?” I asked, indignant. 

“Please, as if Jason was ever going to seriously marry a stray!” Chloe laughed. 

“Better a stray than a thief!” I cried before Uncle Andrew glared at me… that usually meant if I went on, I’d get a slap. 

My aunt knelt down next to me and tried smoothing my hair as she offered me a glass of water. I took a few sips to steady myself. 

Aunt Maggie sighed. “Stop making a scene, Lila. We have arranged a better marriage for you. I know how much you want to leave us despite the kindness we have shown you.” 

There it was.

The guilt. The trap. Aunt Maggie’s one talent. 

“I don’t want to marry anyone else,” I said. 

“Don’t be silly,” Uncle Andrew cut in. “Edward has been our business partner and friend for years; you won’t find a better match. He’ll take care of you.” 

Edward…. 

Even hearing his name made me sick.

Edward Cunningham was 60 years old and was notorious for bringing a different 20-something-year-old to every party and social gathering. He had more mistresses than we could count and, to top it all off, he’d been married three times before, and all of his wives had mysteriously died. 

My only family in this world wanted to trade me like cattle to that man. 

“You cannot be serious…” I leapt to my feet, but started to feel dizzy. 

The room tilted. A strange warmth crawled up my spine. My limbs felt heavy.

I looked at the glass of water in Aunt Maggie’s hand. 

Realization dawned too late.

“Take her to The Regency Hotel, room 302,” I heard Uncle Andrew say before I slipped into unconsciousness. 

***

The room I woke up in was too bright and unfamiliar. 

My head throbbed violently, and I felt an acidic taste in my mouth as I blinked my eyes open. 

One look around the room—the boring abstract artwork and basic furniture—and I knew I was in a hotel. 

Suddenly, it all came rushing back to me: the fight with Chloe, Jason cheating on me, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Maggie saying—

Edward.

Oh.

Tears burned behind my eyes.

So this was it.

This was how my life ended.

I’d held myself back from crying for so long, I didn’t have the strength anymore. I felt hot tears spill down my face and slip into my hair. 

This was it. My life signed over to a monster. 

I tried to sit up in bed when my fingers brushed against something… a strong, solid arm, not frail or cold as I would have expected. 

It held me in place. 

I froze.

Edward’s hands were always pale, slack, and as unfeeling and dead as he was. But this one… this arm was warm and muscular.  

It was reassuring. 

I inhaled sharply.

The scent wasn’t alcohol or cigars, as I’d always associated with Edward. This was clean and fresh and expensive. 

Confusion replaced fear.

What…?