The Burn

The heavy service door slammed shut behind me. The thick wood completely cut off the sound of Adrian’s frantic, panicking voice as he scrambled to lie to his fiancée. I stood right there in the dark transition hallway for a second. I did not quicken my pace. I did not look back. I slowly lifted my hand to brush a thick smudge of grey hallway dust off my black tailored trousers. My hand did not shake at all. My chest rose and fell in a perfectly slow, steady rhythm. Inside my inner pocket, my fingers slid over the cold, sharp corners of the black USB drive. It felt heavy against my ribs.

I pushed through the heavy velvet curtains and stepped back out into the bright, blinding glare of the main ballroom. The live band was still playing a slow jazz melody. But the moment my shoes hit the polished marble floor, the nearest group of rich socialites stopped talking. Their heads turned instantly. They stared at me.

"Noah."

Julian Vance stepped right into my path. His massive frame blocked out the light of the central crystal chandelier. He clutched a glass of dark amber liquor in his hand. His knuckles turned white around the crystal glass. His dark eyes drilled into my face. Then his gaze tracked slowly down to my neck. His jaw clenched so hard that a muscle jumped near his ear. He had spotted my slightly rumpled silk collar. He knew something happened.

"Where is the groom?" Julian’s voice dropped into a low, vibrating growl. He stepped closer. His chest was nearly brushing mine. "He took you through that curtain four minutes ago. If he touched you, Noah, he isn't leaving this building on his feet. Tell me right now."

Before I could answer him, a heavy palm clapped down onto my right shoulder from behind.

"Oh, back off, Julian," Leo Sterling’s voice purred right in my ear. The famous actor stepped up to my left side. His signature camera-ready smirk was firmly in place. He tilted his head. His sharp blue eyes locked onto mine, searching my face for any sign of fear. "Look at him. Noah doesn't look like he was trapped in a dark room. He looks like a man who just finished breaking a very expensive toy."

Leo reached up. His fingers casually gripped the lapel of my suit jacket. He pulled the dark fabric straight. His thumb intentionally brushed against the bare skin of my jawline. He let his thumb linger there, rubbing the skin softly. "But hey, if the Hayes kid did try something stupid, my publicist has the top three tabloids on speed dial. Just give me the word, beautiful. I will ruin him for you."

Julian’s eyes snapped to Leo’s hand on my jaw. He did not say a word. He just took one sharp step forward. His large, calloused hand wrapped violently around my waist. He yanked me hard against his solid side. The rough movement forced Leo's fingers to slip off my skin. Our hips ground together tightly.

"I told you to back off, Sterling," Julian muttered. His voice was dead and lethal. "He is with me tonight. Do not touch what is mine."

"And he's my muse," Leo countered. His playful smirk vanished completely. His shoulders squared up. He refused to step back an inch from the billionaire.

I looked from Julian's bruising grip on my hip to Leo's dark, angry stare. I let a slow, ice-cold smirk spread across my lips. I did not pull away from either of them. They were powerful, dangerous, and completely twisted up over me. They had no clue they were just pawns on my board. I liked the feeling of their heavy hands on my body. It felt hot.

BANG.

The service hallway door did not just open. It slammed violently against the drywall.

Chloe Vance marched out into the ballroom. Her face was bright red. Her breathing was ragged and loud. Her expensive diamond earrings rattled against her neck with every aggressive step she took.

Right behind her, Adrian stumbled out into the light. He looked like an absolute corpse. His pristine white tuxedo jacket was wrinkled and twisted. His neatly styled hair was a tattered, messy disaster from where my fingers had just been gripping it. His knees were coated in grey floor dust from being on the ground. Sweat poured down his temples as he lunged after her, begging.

The jazz music kept playing, but the entire ballroom went dead silent. Hundreds of pairs of eyes locked onto the messy couple. Glasses stopped clinking. People held their breath.

Chloe scanned the quiet crowd wildly until her eyes hit my face. Her mouth twisted with pure hatred. She thrust a shaking, manicured finger straight at my chest.

"You," she hissed. Her voice cut through the silence like a blade. "This is because of you! You ruined everything!"

"Chloe, stop! Please! Shut up!" Adrian panicked. He finally caught up to her. He grabbed her bare arm, spinning her around so she was forced to look at him. He was breathing heavily. Sweat rolled down his pale face. "You saw it wrong. I swear. I tripped in the dark hallway. Noah was just... he was helping me up. It’s a total misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?!" Chloe shrieked. Tears instantly spilled over her eyelids, ruining her dark makeup. She shoved his chest hard with both hands. She pointed frantically down at his stained trousers. "You were on your knees, Adrian! Your face was right against his legs! His hand was in your hair! Do you think I'm fucking blind?!"

The entire ballroom gasped loudly. The whispers exploded like wildfire through the room. People were laughing behind their hands.

Adrian’s face drained of what little color it had left. He looked at the whispering crowd. Then he looked back at Chloe. His hands trembled as he tried to grab her wrists to calm her down. "Chloe, think about the press outside. Think about our families. The stock will drop. We can talk about this upstairs in private. Just don't do this here."

"Don't touch me! Get away from me!" Chloe yelled. Her voice cracked with pure disgust. She yanked her hands away from him. She looked at his messy hair and wrinkled white jacket like he was a complete stranger. Like he was a piece of trash. "The wedding is off, Adrian. The merger is done. It's over!"

She grabbed the heavy train of her white wedding gown. She turned on her heel and ran toward the grand exit doors, sobbing loudly into her hands.

Adrian stood frozen for a split second, completely torn. His whole life was breaking apart. He took two steps to chase after her. His leather boots clicked loudly against the marble. But just before he reached the heavy double doors, he stopped.

Slowly, helplessly, Adrian turned his head back around.

He did not look at the crowd whispering about his shame. He did not look at the shattered glass on the floor. His bloodshot, desperate eyes locked straight onto me. I was standing perfectly between Julian and Leo. The raw pain and regret on his face were completely exposed for everyone to see. He had just lost his fiancée. His family's empire was on the line. And yet, his body was still shaking as he stared at my thighs, drowning in my shadow.

Beside me, Julian’s hand tightened around my waist until his fingers dug deep into my hip bone. His chest heaved with jealous anger as he watched Adrian stare at me with that desperate look. Leo’s smirk completely vanished too. His fingers gripped my shoulder with a sharp, warning pressure. They both hated how Adrian looked at me.

But as I raised my chin to give Adrian an ice-cold, victorious smile, my phone violently buzzed in my inner pocket.

I pulled it out, expecting a news alert about the Hayes family stock crashing. Instead, a blocked number had sent a single, terrifying photo.

I tapped the screen. It was a live, candid picture of me standing between Julian and Leo from the back of the ballroom. It was taken just seconds ago. Someone was watching us right now from the crowd. Underneath the photo, a single line of text read:

“You look so beautiful playing with your new toys, Noah. But you forgot who owns the ashes you rebuilt yourself from. Turn around.”

My breath caught hard in my throat. My heart gave one violent, agonizing thud against my ribs. It hurt.

Six years ago, there wasn't just Adrian. There was someone else. Someone far more dangerous. Someone who had truly broken my body and mind before vanishing into the shadows.

Slowly, my body freezing up, I began to turn my head back toward the thick crowd.