LOGINThe bar was dark or maybe it was just my eyes being puffy from crying. I had to make sure Roberts didn’t follow me because he had insisted that the bar was too rough and dangerous for someone of my status—I knew he meant to say personality.
Well I didn’t care anymore.
If my husband and best friend could join forces and betray me, why should I care? I sauntered over to the bartender and flashed a smile.
“Vodka please” I said and he stared at me, tilting his head to the side.
“You alright miss?” He said in a British accent and I rolled my eyes.
“Give me the damn drink” I snapped, and he nodded and pulled out a glass and vodka bottle. I grabbed the bottle and the glass.
“I’ll pay for the bottle, be ready to give me more if I ask” I said and he stared at me in surprise. I guess it wasn’t everyday he got a female customer in an expensive dress demanding for a drink like a sailor.
Not that I care……at least not now.
I headed over to a dark corner and settled down. A lot of interested eyes followed me, men licking lips, some were openly staring which made me wonder why Jason would ever do that to me. For a moment the emotions came flooding back and my eyes watered.
No, no. No tears
I sucked in my breath and cocked open the bottle pouring a glass of vodka in the glass cup and chugged it down my throat. I gritted my teeth a bit as the sharp taste filled my senses and I sighed. My head felt a bit light and the chatter around me suddenly felt dim.
Good.
This felt like peace, I poured a glass again and raised it to my lips.
“Miss” someone with another British accent called and I sighed..wonderful, now I was being admired by British men, why are they so much here anyway or was my head playing tricks with me.
“Yes Brit” I said and he smiled, he wasn’t bad looking but not handsome either and his eyes were a rough blue and from his face I could tell he was a proper hooligan, but for some reason, or rather for a reason I didn’t seem to care.
“Can I sit?” He asked indicating to the chair across mine and I grinned at him.
“Of course Blud” I said faking an accent, “You can”
He smiled at me as he sat and poured himself a drink without permission and I just smiled.
“Vodka” he said simply, inhaling before drinking. “Good drink”
“Yes it is” I said, sipping mine. I stared at him, “Why are you here?” I said, I never would have asked bluntly on a normal day but things weren’t normal with me right now.
“You’re beautiful, sexy, everything a man wants” he answered simply and I chuckled bitterly.
“Everything a man wants?” I said, trying so hard not to be hysterical, “Are you fucking with me?” I said dangerously close to annoyance—not at him but for everything that’s happened.
He leaned forward and not even backing down.
“Yes, I would fuck you now if you would let me” he said and at first anger was my reaction, then I was reminded of my loyalty to Jason but I stopped. Why should I remain loyal to the man who had no right to deserve my loyalty? Why should I even refuse a man who really wanted me, thug or not? And this was my chance to forget all that had happened, maybe sex is all I need.
“Alright” I said with a drunk grin as I took another sip, the drink going straight to my head.
“Alright?” He echoed and I smiled at him, suddenly happy…..the damn drink.
“Alright, I’ll let you do it, what’s your name?” I said and he raised a brow then he grinned.
“Good girl. The name’s Tom” he said, he stood and pulled me up. He started to lead me upstairs but suddenly our path was blocked by a…
Oh my God was I seeing things.
The man in front of us was tall, maybe six foot eight, his green eyes looked like a mini stormy sea. He was well built and there was his face, in my drunken state I could register it but I was very well aware of how handsome he was….very handsome.
“I want that one….” I slurred and the man in front of us, frowned.
“She’s drunk mate, let her be” his voice was soothing deep and I closed my eyes as it ran through my bones.
“Why, so you can fuck her yourself?” Tom asked and the man in front of us didn’t even react.
“No, not like you Tom, like I said…Fuck off” he said and Tom scowled gripping my hand or tight it hurt.
“Or what?” he growled and the other man laughed. He reached for his waistband and Tom’s eyes widened and he dropped my hand, and raised his.
“Whoa I am sorry mate” he said backing up, “I’ll leave now”
“Scot” the man said and Tom ran off. He watched Tom go then he turned to me.
“Hey baby” I flashed a grin and he didn’t even smile back, he picked me up in his arms and headed outside the pub.
I groaned and thrashed in his arms, “Hey my drink, I need it please” I said and he shook his head.
“No”
“Please” I begged, near tears. “You don’t understand, I need it or……” I stopped and his green eyes suddenly rested on mine and even in my bold drunken state I looked away suddenly shy.
“Or…?”
“Or I’ll remember” I said and he nodded. I could see in his eyes that he knew what I was talking about or had an idea.
“Alright let’s take you home” he said and I stared at him in surprise.
“Home?” I asked and he dropped me in the backseat of his car.
“Shhh” he said and without warning covered my face with a bandana, I felt myself going weak and my eyes widened.
“You…..” I started and he pressed harder and suddenly I went limp.
“Night night” he said before my world went dark.
Jason's POV. “What is this?” I seized the piece of paper in my hand, the words written on it not more than a hundred, yet the hairs at the back of my neck. Quickly, I flung it away.Rebecca rushed to retrieve it, curiosity burned in her eyes to see what frightened me so much, she saw my demure shift from the calm composed me to something violent.In under a second.I stood from the chair I was seated on. My movement was swift, and the guard who'd brought me the information almost didn't see me. I was by his side in a second, gripping his collar tight.His eyes almost popped out of their sockets, his face red, he trembled under my grip, shivering for his life.“How dare you bring me so much rubbish?” I growled loudly.He shrank next to me, whimpering, “Sir, I'm just a common guard. I was asked to bring this to you, I have no part in this.”He was right but that didn't exempt him from the foolishness of his master, the very man who'd promised me he had something good on Four and could
Veronica’s POV. Silence detonated between us and in that silence, Four changed. It was subtle, anyone else might have missed it. But I had spent enough time around him now to recognise the shift: the internal door closing, the walls sliding back into place, the distance he wore like armour settling over him again.And I knew instantly what I had done. I had crossed something. My journey has crossed it for me.Something in him hardened, not explosively, not cruelly but with that terrifying, absolute control that meant there would be no arguing with whatever came next.When he spoke, his voice was low and even. “You do not get jealous.”The words landed softly. They still cut. Heat rushed to my face. “I—”He lifted a hand once, not touching me, just stopping the sentence before it formed. “No.” He said quietly.The denial wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It carried finality in a way that made my throat tighten.I stared at him, pulse loud in my ears. “I didn't say I had a right to be
Veronica’s POV. Four, I thought as the silence returned. That man would not be the death of me. I stayed in the chair long after Mia’s footsteps faded down the hallway. The suite felt too large again, the quiet stretching in uncomfortable layers around me. The faint hum of the city filtered through the glass, distant traffic and muted horns, life moving on outside while something inside me refused to settle.I stared at the door she had just closed behind her. Together. The word kept echoing unwanted and sharp.We were together but only briefly. My throat tightened. I leaned back slowly, pressing my head against the chair, eyes fixed on the ceiling. The chandelier above fractured light into soft gold shards that trembled across the plaster and for a moment I focused on them just to keep my thoughts from sliding back into the same place.But they went anyway. Her arm brushes his. That photo. The ease in her posture beside him. Not cautious, not uncertain. They definitely had somethin
Veronica’s POV. The day passed in a blur of muted sunlight and half-hearted attempts to focus. I had tried to eat, tried to scroll through the endless notifications from my assistant, Lily, and even tried to nap but my thoughts refused rest.Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing the girl— Mia.Her small frame and curious eyes, the way she smiled when she was confused, almost shyly. She looked happy, almost like she wished Four was hers.I had to know.The curiosity twisted inside me like a blade. Who was this girl? Really?How long has she been in Four’s life before me?Why had he brought her here? And why had she lingered so closely, so comfortably, why was she still around him?I started small. The Internet offered nothing directly about Mia's name. It came up in obscure forums, mentions of modelling work, some charity events, and an old photo where she stood near Four at a gala. She had been around him before I ever came into the picture. My chest tightened at the thought.J
Veronica’s POV A knock on the door disrupted our lovely chat. The girl twisted her head, attention focused on the door.“You have a visitor.”“Must be Four. There's no one else I’m expecting.”“I'll have a look.” The locks clicked, the hinges squeaked, and a shoulder poked inside. Four was back.“Hey.”“Welcome Mr Four” her voice was far softer than I’d heard since she'd come. Four ignored her, a casual nod to her greeting and then his gaze shifted to the bed where I was“How are you feeling? Gotten something to eat?”“I have,” I observed how he walked in. Lazy, bent over to slouch but his voice was still as sharp as when he left. “I fixed the Jason problem.”Jason's problem? I stared blankly at him, pressing my eyelids hard, a signal of the third presence with us. “We can talk about that later, don't you think?”“Mia is one of us, no need to worry.” He sighed, took his jacket off and handed it to her. “Have this cleaned, I'll need it by morning.”“Yes Mr Four.” she bowed slightly. T
Veronica's POV The blood was from me.A cut I got while running. My dress should have hooked tightly on the door on one of those days and I scratched myself while we ran.So much for being careful. I guess I wasn't as fast as I thought I was. An hour had gone by and Four wasn't back. No call, no text message, just the sound of the television playing in the background while I lay in bed, eyes pinned on the ceiling, lost in my thoughts.My phone beeped a couple of times, and my assistant, Lily still tried to update me as much as she could with everything going on.The nettings in the company, the staff and their concerns for me, their employer. The material I ordered from Italy had just landed, along with some good designers I was meant to be meeting today.A lot of work still pended from the last night Four and I went for the showoff but there was nothing I could do to handle it.I felt a kick in my stomach, I gasped, searching down to find it. It happened again, faster this time, wi







