Chapter 1

Drisana

The elevator was taking too long.

I shifted my weight and checked my phone again, still nothing from Carter. No be there soon, no running late, no anything. Just two blue ticks that told me he had read my texts and decided I wasn’t worth a reply.

It was Sloane who convinced me to come tonight.

“Just show up,” she said this morning, sitting cross-legged on my bed. “Surprise him. Carter needs to see you make an effort, Dri. You’re always waiting for him to come to you.”

So I did my makeup, put on the jeans she said looked good on me, and drove across the city to surprise a man I didn’t even love because my best friend told me to try.

The soft ding of the elevator pulled me from my thoughts.

Carter’s door was already cracked open, just an inch. The living room was empty. TV was still on.

I wrinkled my nose as I walked toward the coffee table. My gaze landed on two used wine glasses, one marked with a lipstick stain on the rim.

He had done it again. I wonder who he fucked this time. Not like I care though.

I heard faint sounds coming straight from his bedroom. I stood outside his door for a long moment. Some part of me was giving myself a chance to turn around. To text him something came up, go home, pretend I hadn’t heard anything.

But I got curious and I pushed the door anyway. My stomach dropped.

My best friend was on all fours, back arched deep, while he gripped her hips and drove into her from behind. Her hair stuck to her sweaty back. His grunts mixed with her moans. His focus behind her was something he had never once directed at me ever since we've been together.

My bag slipped from my fingers and hit the floor with a thud.

They jerked apart. Sloane screamed and yanked the blanket over her naked body. Carter stumbled backward off the bed, dick still hard, and eyes wide with panic as he tried to cover himself with both hands.

“Fuck— Drisana, wait, this isn’t what it looks like—”

My eyes were fixed on Sloane. I couldn’t look away. She turned her entire body away from me like I was the intruder in their little moment. I really wished I was dreaming when I caught the smirk on her face. She looked pleased that I had caught her, my best friend, fucking my fiancé.

I didn’t see that coming.

Carter had always been like this. The crazy bastard never fails to chase something in a skirt. If he gets kidnapped out of the blue, I’d know he was lured by a woman into the van. So I don’t give a flying fuck about him or the women he slept around with.

I spun around and walked out. Carter chased after me.

“Drisana! Baby… please wait… let me explain. It was a mistake, I swear.”

“Explain what?” I said without stopping. “That you can’t keep your dick in your pants till the wedding? Save it.”

He caught my arm. I yanked it free so hard my shoulder ached.

“Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.”

“You weren’t even supposed to be here tonight,” he said, breathing fast. “Sloane came over and one thing led to another. You’re always so cold with me, Dri. A man has needs.”

“Needs,” I scoffed. “That is what you are calling it now? You were fucking my best friend!”

“You’re never even here!” he snapped back. “You act like you’re too good for this relationship.”

I laughed. “Poor Carter. Must be so hard for you.”

He tried reaching for me again but I increased my pace.

“We are done talking,” I said. “The engagement is over.”

“You cannot just decide that. Our families—”

I walked away before he could finish and banged the door shut in his face. The ride down to the underground garage took forever. The sound of my heels clicking on the floor echoed off the concrete walls.

By the time I reached my car, my hands shook so hard I almost dropped my keys. I clenched them into fists until my nails bit into my palms. I yanked the door open, slid into the driver’s seat, and slammed it shut behind me.

I slammed my fist against the steering wheel again and again. The horn blared. It still wasn’t enough.

I’d overlooked Cater’s womanizing bullshit more times than I cared to admit, but this was where I drew the line. I’d had enough. And Sloane just proved she wasn’t the dumb girl I thought she was.

I have to see my father. The engagement had to end first. Then I’d deal with them.

My father was in a meeting when I got to the mansion. His secretary tried to stop me.

She stepped in front of me. “Ms. Varma, he’s in a—“

“I don’t care. Get out of my way.”

I walked straight into his office. He was having a meeting with the crew members when I walked in.

“Drisana,” he said quietly. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“We need to talk.”

I turned to the men at the table. “Everyone. Out now.”

They exchanged glances and looked at my father for approval. He turned to them.

“You can leave. We will continue tomorrow.”

“Yes, Don,” they replied in unison.

I didn’t wait for the last person to leave the room completely before exploding.