Chapter 4

That one word, "please," crushed what little remained of Lily's pride.

Mason stared at her in disbelief. After all the suffering he'd put her through, she'd never once bowed to him.

Throughout the hell of her senior year, she hadn't shed a tear, not even when those boys accidentally stepped on her arm and broke it. She hadn't cried when he tore up the college acceptance letter she'd been so thrilled to receive after placing among the top fifty students nationwide on her entrance exams.

When he ruined every chance she had of finding respectable work, forcing her to beg and sing on the streets for money, she'd refused to give in. Even when he sent her to prison, all she'd said was, "Leave my sister alone. I'll pay for what I've done."

Yet now she was kneeling at his feet, her bony fingers clutching his pant leg in a desperate attempt to please him. There was something worse than humiliation in the way she held herself. It was downright degrading.

Mason should have been thrilled to finally see her reduced to this. Instead, an inexplicable anger rose inside him, and it took several steadying breaths before he managed a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Lily, that's not how you ask someone for a favor."

He hooked a finger beneath her chin, tilting her face toward him.

"Please me. I want to see just how low someone like you is willing to stoop."

He was convinced she was putting on an act. She knew how much he'd once hated seeing her hurt, and now she was trying to exploit that weakness by making herself look helpless and pitiful.

To his surprise, Lily began taking off her clothes before settling onto his lap. It wasn't until her lips brushed his that Mason realized what she was doing.

She was painfully inexperienced, her every movement awkward and hesitant. Something about it made his heart ache, and for a moment, he found himself wanting to kiss her back.

Then he remembered how much he hated her.

His hand closed around her jaw, gripping it so tightly that she winced.

Lily looked at him with empty eyes. "Mr. Whitmore, am I doing something wrong?"

Wrong? Everything about this was wrong!

Mason gave a cold laugh. "I knew you were rotten, but I had no idea you were this cheap!"

His anger spilled over as he tightened his grip on her jaw.

"Do you have any idea where I was when you pushed my mother down those stairs? I was lying on an operating table, having surgery on the throat I'd damaged breathing in smoke to save your life! Do you know how much pain I was in? It hurt so badly I couldn't even get the words out to confront you!

"What did I ever do to you, Lily? What did I do that made you hate me enough to try to kill my mother?"

Before being wheeled into surgery that day, Mason had reassured Lily that she had nothing to worry about. Even when he heard the doctor say the operation had been successful, his first thought hadn't been relief that his throat would recover. He'd been happy because Lily would no longer have to feel so guilty about his injuries.

But when he woke from the anesthesia, devastating news awaited him.

His mother was gravely injured, and the woman he loved had betrayed him.

The shock had been almost impossible to bear. Mason had refused to believe Lily was responsible, but the surveillance footage left no room for doubt. In the end, he'd had no choice but to accept it.

Throughout his accusations, Lily kept her eyes lowered, silently enduring the pain in her stomach. When he finally stopped speaking, she carefully leaned forward to kiss him again.

"Mr. Whitmore, if I manage to please you this time, please remember to give me that employment contract."

"Mason, you're not the only one who's suffered," Lily said inwardly.

This time, Mason pushed Lily down onto the couch and pinned her beneath him. His kisses rained down on her face, hard and punishing, leaving her struggling for breath as her hands clawed helplessly at his back.

Just when she thought she might suffocate, he finally pulled away long enough to let her breathe.

"What's wrong? Weren't you acting like such a slut a minute ago? If you want that contract, then keep it up!"

He immediately resumed kissing her, leaving her breathless once more.

Lily's cheeks burned with shame. She must have been out of her mind to have done something like that with Mason!

"Stop struggling!" he snapped.

She struggled harder, accidentally tearing his shirt in the process. But the moment her fingers brushed the raised, uneven scar on his back, all the strength seemed to drain from her body.

The scar was as large as her palm, a reminder of the day Mason had rescued her from the burning equipment room. He'd taken what could have been a fatal blow to protect her.

Lily stopped resisting, her heart aching with bitterness.

"Mason, after everything you've done to me, I still don't have the right to hate you," she thought.

When Mason noticed her tears, he stopped. For a moment, he simply watched Lily lying curled up beneath him, crying silently. Almost against his will, he reached out to wipe away one of those infuriating tears.

Before his fingers could touch her face, the door swung open.

Grace stood in the doorway, her eyes wide with shock.

"Y-you two..."

She burst into tears and ran.

"Gracie!"

Mason immediately got up to chase after her, but Lily caught the hem of his shirt.

"Mr. Whitmore, my employment contract!"

He turned back, his long lashes casting shadows over eyes filled with contempt.

Mason looked back at her, his eyes filled with contempt. "Do you seriously think you're more important than my girlfriend?"

He roughly shook off her hand, his next words cutting Lily to the core.

"Stay here. My girlfriend needs someone to take her anger out on."

With a bitter smile, Lily took out two cheap painkillers and swallowed the sweet, metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

So Grace needed someone to take her anger out on? Fine.

Once the painkillers kicked in, she should be able to endure it.

Shouldn't she?