Chapter One

001

"I still can't believe you are stuck in Paris on my three-year anniversary!" I laughed, balancing my phone between my ear and my shoulder.

"Don't even remind me, Chloe," my best friend, Mia, groaned loudly through the speaker. "Fashion Week is a total nightmare. My boss is screaming at models, my feet are bleeding, and I would give anything to be back in the city with you right now."

"Well, you are missing out," I teased her, turning off my car engine. "I am parked outside Mark's apartment right now. I have the chocolate cake from that fancy bakery he loves. And, I got the big gift."

"Wait, you actually bought it?" Mia gasped. "The Rolex?"

"I did!" I smiled, looking at the shiny green box on my passenger seat. "I saved up for six straight months for this watch."

"Chloe, you are crazy! You spoil that man way too much," Mia complained. "He better drop to his knees and kiss your feet tonight."

"He has been so stressed about trying to start his own business," I explained. "I just wanted to do something special for him to show him I support him. Plus, it's our anniversary!"

"Fine, fine. You are the best fiancé ever," Mia sighed. "But tell me you are at least ready for tomorrow?"

"My interview?" My stomach did a nervous flip. "Yes! I am so ready, Mia. If I get this PA job at BluTech Industries, my whole life is set. The salary is absolutely insane. I will finally be able to stop working three part-time jobs."

"You are going to crush it!" Mia cheered. "You are the smartest person I know. The CEO would be lucky to have you."

"I hope so," I smiled, grabbing the cake box and the watch. "Anyway, I should go inside. I want to surprise Mark before he orders dinner."

"Okay, go get your man! Call me tomorrow after the interview. Love you, Chloe!"

"Love you too, Mia! Bye!"

I hung up the phone and stepped out of my car. The night air was chilly, and dark clouds were rolling in, but I didn't care. I was so happy. Mark and I had been through a lot, but tonight was going to be perfect.

I walked up to his front door. Instead of knocking, I pulled out my spare key as I wanted it to be a total surprise.

I unlocked the door quietly and pushed it open.

"Mark? Surprise!" I called out, stepping into the dark hallway.

No answer.

But then, I heard a weird sound coming from the bedroom. It sounded like heavy breathing. And a woman's laugh.

My heart froze in my chest. "Mark?" I asked softly, my voice shaking. "Are you in there?"

I walked down the hallway slowly. The bedroom door was slightly open, and the noises were getting louder. My hands started to tremble so badly that I almost dropped the cake.

I pushed the bedroom door wide open.

Smash. The cake box slipped from my fingers and hit the hardwood floor.

"Mark?!" I screamed.

Mark jumped up from the bed, his eyes wide with panic. He scrambled to pull the white bedsheet over his bare chest.

"Chloe?!" Mark hissed, looking like he had just seen a ghost. "What... what are you doing here?!"

"What am I doing here?!" I asked, feeling tears already gathering in my eyes. "It's our three-year anniversary! What are YOU doing?!"

"Chloe, wait, it is not what it looks like!" he begged, holding his hands up.

"Oh, please," a sweet, venomous voice purred from under the blankets. "It is exactly what it looks like."

A woman slowly sat up, not even bothering to cover herself. She tossed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and smirked at me.

I stopped breathing, and the world spun around me.

"Ruby?" I whispered, feeling like I was going to throw up. "My... my stepsister?"

"Hello, step sis," Ruby smiled, her eyes full of wicked joy. "Surprise."

"What is going on?!" I half-screamed, taking a step back. "Ruby, what are you doing in my fiancé's bed?!"

"Your fiancé?" Ruby laughed a cruel, ugly laugh. "I think you mean my boyfriend."

"Chloe, please calm down," Mark said, trying to reach for his pants on the floor. "Let's just talk about this like adults."

"Calm down?!" I threw the Rolex box directly at his chest. "You are sleeping with my stepsister on our anniversary! How do you expect me to calm down?!"

"It was just a mistake!" Mark lied, rubbing the spot where the box hit him. "It just happened tonight!"

"Don't lie to her, babe," Ruby sneered, wrapping her arms around Mark's neck. "Tell her the truth. Why hide it anymore?"

"The truth?" My voice broke. "What truth?"

Ruby looked at me with pure triumph. "We have been sleeping together for six months, Chloe."

"Six months?!" I gasped, grabbing the doorframe to keep from falling over. "But... Mark, you proposed to me two months ago! You gave me this ring!"

"That was just to keep you quiet," Ruby rolled her eyes. "You were getting so annoying, always asking where he was, who he’s with, what he’s doing, blah blah blah."

"Keep me quiet?" I looked at Mark. "Is that true? You just used me?"

"Tell her, Mark," Ruby demanded, kissing his shoulder.

Mark sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't look guilty anymore. He just looked annoyed and irritated. "Listen, Chloe... this just wasn't working out anymore. You and I are too different."

"Different?! I loved you!" I cried out. "Why her, Mark? Out of all the women in the world, why cheat on me with my stepsister?!"

"Because Ruby actually understands me," Mark fired back, his voice getting loud. "You just work all day! You are always tired. You never have time to support my dreams!"

"Your dreams?!" I screamed. "I work three jobs to pay the rent for this apartment! I bought your groceries! I saved up for six months to buy you a Rolex for tonight!"

Mark looked down at the green box on the bed, and his eyes lit up with greed. He quickly opened it and stared at the shiny watch.

"Wow," Mark muttered. "This is a really nice watch, Chloe."

"Give that back to me!" I stepped forward to grab it. "We are done! I am leaving!"

"Fine, leave!" Mark snapped, pulling the watch away from my reach. "But I'm keeping the gift. It's my anniversary too."

"You are a monster!" I sobbed.

Ruby laughed louder this time. "Oh, sweetie. You can cry all you want. But before you run away, you might want to check your bank account."

I stopped crying for a second. "What?"

"Check your bank app, Chloe," Ruby ordered, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

My heart sank to my stomach. My hands shook violently as I pulled my phone from my pocket, quickly opened my banking app, and typed in my password.

The screen loaded.

I stared at the numbers.

Available Balance: $12.50.

"Where is my money?!" I shrieked, showing the phone screen to them. "Where is it?! I had fifty thousand dollars in there! My entire life savings!"

"I transferred it," Mark said simply, putting the Rolex on his wrist. "I have joint access to that account, remember?"

"You stole my money?!" I lunged forward, wanting to hit him.

Mark caught my wrists easily and pushed me back. "I didn't steal it! I borrowed it for my new tech startup! Ruby and I are business partners now."

"That was my money for my future!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "I worked for years for that!"

"And now it is our money for our future," Ruby smiled happily. "Thanks for the generous donation, sis. We really needed the startup capital."

"I am calling the police!" I yelled, pulling my phone back out and dialing 9-1-1.

Mark suddenly lunged out of bed and snatched my phone from my hand. "Don't be dramatic, Chloe!" he growled.

"Give me my phone!" I demanded.

"If you call the cops, I will just tell them you gave the money to me willingly," Mark threatened. "Which you legally did, when you signed that joint account paper. The bank will say the exact same thing. So, you have zero proof."

I stood there, completely frozen, staring at the man I thought I would marry. He wasn't the sweet guy I met three years ago; he was a complete stranger.

"You are evil," I whispered, hating how my voice sounded completely broken. "Both of you."

"Just get out, Chloe," Mark sighed, tossing my phone onto the floor at my feet. "We are busy."

"And don't ever contact us again," Ruby added, blowing me a mocking kiss. "Have fun being broke!"

I snatched my phone off the floor, turned around, and ran.

I ran out of the bedroom, grabbed my car keys off the kitchen counter, and bolted out the front door. I practically threw myself into my driver's seat just as the sky ripped open, pouring heavy, freezing sheets of rain over the city.

I locked the car doors, gripped the steering wheel, and finally let out a loud, agonizing scream.

I had exactly twelve dollars in my bank account. My fiancé was cheating on me with my worst enemy, and my tiny rented room was over an hour away. My hands were shaking too violently to drive that far in a storm; if I tried, I would probably crash.

"Mia," I whispered to myself, wiping my stinging eyes.

Mia was in Paris, but her luxury penthouse was only twenty minutes down the road, and I knew the emergency passcode. It was the only safe place I had left.

I started the engine and drove through the blinding rain. By the time I parked down the street from her towering glass building and ran to the entrance, my dress was completely soaked, clinging to my freezing skin.

I bypassed the front desk, walked into the private elevator, and typed the security code.

Ding. The elevator doors opened into the massive, pitch-black penthouse.

"I have nothing," I sobbed out loud, stepping into the dark living room.

I didn't bother turning on the lights. I kicked off my wet shoes and stumbled through the darkness until I found the giant glass liquor cabinet.

"Fifty thousand dollars... gone," I cried to the empty room, grabbing the heaviest, fanciest bottle I could feel in the dark.

I popped the cork off and drank straight from the bottle. The amber liquid burned my throat like fire, making me cough, but I didn't stop. I needed the pain to go away.

"I hate you, Mark!" I yelled to the empty room, taking another huge gulp. "I hate you, Ruby!"

I slid down the front of the liquor cabinet, sitting on the cold marble floor in my soaking wet dress.

"Why me?!" I screamed, throwing my head back against the glass doors. "What did I do wrong?!"

I lifted the bottle to take a third drink, letting my tears mix with the alcohol.

Suddenly, a deep, raspy voice echoed through the dark room. "You are drinking my million-dollar scotch like it's water, little girl."

I froze, and the bottle slipped from my lips.

Click.

The massive crystal chandeliers above me flicked on, blinding me with bright light. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding up a hand to block the glare.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked up.

Standing ten feet away from me was a man wearing only low-hanging grey sweatpants. He had messy dark hair, terrifyingly sharp eyes, and a chest covered in hard, rippling muscle. He looked like a dangerous, dark god.

It was Mia’s older brother, Alexander Thorne, and he was staring right at me.