Chapter 3

I stared at the messages.

Bianca: "You saw the pics, right? Good. Take the hint and walk away from Seth on your own. Otherwise, things are gonna get ugly."

Bianca: "You know who Ashton Grayson is? He's my brother!"

Bianca: "Mess with me, and you're messing with the Grayson family. Don't test me unless you wanna get run out of this city."

I looked up at Ashton, who was sitting on a stool and watching me with a goofy smile on his face.

I did, in fact, know who he was. Though, to be fair, I'd only found out a few days ago.

"Hey, do you have a sister named Bianca Grayson?" I asked.

When Ashton heard what I said, he narrowed his eyes, and something dangerous flickered in them. His voice took on a low, obsessive edge. "Why are you asking? She's my dad's illegitimate daughter. I'm nothing like her. You're not gonna leave me because of her, are you? You're mine, Cami. You can only—"

"Alright, that's enough." I reached out and pinched his lips shut with two fingers.

I'd just wanted a simple answer. He always managed to twist everything into something deranged.

Ashton didn't say anything or bat my hand away. I felt a faint puff of air against my finger and knew he was breathing me in.

Sure enough, a second later, his Adam's apple bobbed. He carefully slid his hand up to my arm.

I didn't pull away. I just looked down at him from above as he savored the moment. He looked like he was touching something sacred. When his eyes met mine, they were reverent and obsessed.

I let out a soft laugh. He really was something else.

…

On the sixth day, I got a text from Seth. He'd probably had his fun with Bianca and finally gone home. He hadn't sent me a single message the entire time he was away.

Seth: "Cami, where are you? Why's it all dusty at home?"

Seth: "The neighbor said you haven't been home in six days. Did something happen?"

Those were the only two texts he sent. After that, he just kept calling me.

After the car crash, I'd told Seth that I couldn't stand the sound of a ringing phone. The second I heard it, every nerve in my body would go on high alert.

It was clear now that he'd forgotten about that a long time ago. Thankfully, I'd already put my phone on silent.

He kept calling every few minutes. I got so sick of it that I just switched my phone off and tossed it to the other side of the bed. I lay there staring at the ceiling, doing nothing.

It wasn't long before Ashton came back. He'd seen something on the security cameras.

When he kicked the basement door open and came down the stairs, he still had that faint chill of the outside air clinging to him.

Our eyes met, and I arched a brow. For the first time, I saw real fear on his face. It was a stark contrast to his perfectly pressed suit, which didn't have a wrinkle in sight.

For once, he pulled me into his arms without asking. I could feel him shaking; his grip was so strong it made my waist ache.

"Delete him, will you?" Ashton's hands were forceful, and his words carried a threat, but his voice trembled. "Delete him. Delete everyone. I want your whole world to be just me. He's nothing. Cami, you're mine. Cami, Cami…"

He kept repeating my name and begging me to delete all my contacts.

The choice was obvious, really. Between lazing my days away in this basement and everyone from my phone, I chose the basement.

After my parents had died in the car crash, the whole world had lined up to blame me, saying I never should've begged to go out that day. If I hadn't wanted to go out, Dad wouldn't have taken that call while driving, and there wouldn't have been an accident.

After that, there wasn't a single person in my contacts I could honestly call a real friend.

Back then, Seth hadn't comforted me at all. He'd just started coming home later and later every night. Come to think of it, that was probably when he started cheating on me.