chapter 1

It was a Sunday evening the sound of heels clicking against marble echoed through the penthouse like the ticking of a countdown clock. My mother barely spared me a glance as she adjusted the diamond bracelet on her wrist, her silk dress clinging to her curves, looking every bit the wealthy socialite she was.

“Be good, Riley,” she said, her voice dripping with indifference. “And don’t cause trouble for Ethan.”

Trouble. That was all she ever thought of me as. Not her daughter. Not someone she should love or protect. Just a burden, an inconvenience standing between her and her jet-setting life.

“I won’t promise,” I muttered under my breath, arms crossed as I leaned against the doorway.

She sighed, exasperated, before turning to Ethan, her husband of three years. “Make sure she follows the rules,” she instructed. “No parties. No skipping school. No running off with boys.”

A smirk tugged at my lips as I met Ethan Carter’s unreadable gaze. He stood tall, a commanding presence in a tailored suit that fit his broad frame like a second skin. With his sharp jawline, graying temples, and piercing blue eyes, he was the kind of man women whispered about in hushed voices, the kind of man who never had to raise his voice to make you obey.

I hated that he looked at me like I was just another thing to control.

“I’ll handle her,” Ethan replied smoothly, his voice calm yet firm.

My mother seemed satisfied with that. She pulled on her coat, grabbed her designer handbag, and without another word, walked out the door.

And just like that, she was gone.

The air in the penthouse shifted, the weight of her absence pressing down on me like an iron grip. The realization hit hard—she wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Maybe never. I was stuck here, under Ethan’s rules, in his home, in his world.

I exhaled slowly, pushing off the doorway, ready to lock myself in my room for the night, when a low chuckle stopped me.

“You should have at least pretended to care,” Nathan’s voice drawled lazily from the couch.

I turned my head, glaring at him. My stepbrother lounged with a cocky grin, his long legs spread out, an expensive whiskey glass in hand. He was everything I despised—rich, arrogant, and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His dark hair was tousled, his sharp features unfairly attractive, and his eyes, a shade lighter than Ethan’s, danced with amusement.

“Why would I pretend?” I shot back. “She didn’t even look at me.”

Nathan hummed as he took a slow sip of his drink, his gaze flickering over me in a way that made my skin heat. “Well, princess, welcome to your new life. Just the three of us now.”

The way he said it sent an unfamiliar shiver down my spine.

I tore my eyes away from him and turned toward Ethan, expecting some kind of parental intervention. But he simply stood there, watching us both with that same unreadable expression.

I hated that.

I hated the way he could be so composed, so unaffected, while I was unraveling.

“You’re both assholes,” I muttered before storming off to my room.

---

The penthouse was too quiet at night.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling the emptiness of the space swallow me whole. I should have been used to it—being alone, being unwanted—but something about tonight made my chest ache.

I turned onto my side, the sheets cool against my bare thighs.

It was too hot in here.

Too suffocating.

Throwing off the covers, I got up, wearing only my tiny sleep shorts and an oversized shirt that barely covered anything. I wasn’t thinking when I stepped out into the hallway, wasn’t thinking when I padded barefoot toward the kitchen for water.

I should have been thinking.

Because the moment I turned the corner, I froze.

Nathan sat at the kitchen island, shirtless, sweatpants hanging low on his hips, a smirk forming as he spotted me.

“Well, well,” he murmured, his eyes dragging down my body with lazy interest. “Look who couldn’t sleep.”

I swallowed, suddenly aware of how little I was wearing. “Get over yourself,” I muttered, stepping past him toward the fridge.

But then I felt it.

A shift.

A presence.

I turned my head, my stomach flipping as I met Ethan’s gaze.

He stood in the dimly lit doorway, arms crossed, eyes locked onto me with an intensity that made my pulse spike.

Something unspoken lingered in the air.

Thick. Heavy. Dangerous.

And when he finally spoke, his voice was low, commanding, and utterly terrifying.

“You should learn to wear something more appropriate around here, Riley.”

I gripped the water bottle in my hand, feeling my throat go dry, my pulse hammering as I return to my room.

The father and son duo makes me want to puke most times.

I drink out of the bottle and I place it on the chest close to my bed. I tried pushing their thoughts out of my mind and replace it with the big party that was to take place tomorrow night.

Actually, I am lesbian, or so I want to believe. Leslie initiate me Into that last Friday and I enjoy every bit of it. Tomorrow I will be introduced to others in lesbian community.

Although, I can't deny the fact that I am attracted to other gender, but I want to remain a lesbian, because, my dad have always been an asshole. He cheats on my mother every now and then until she no longer care about his absence and this led to me losing my caring and friendly mother to wild night life and all.

I close my eyes to try to imagine my first time with Leslie, it was the best time ever. She pleasured me with so many toys in the school toilet before Sandra, the school cheerleader came in with her groups. We had to stop it at that it was so nice and I look forward to having more with her.

My mother knew nothing about me, all she thought of me is that I am as useless as my father. As if I care.

Tomorrow is the day I will finally lose my virginity to Leslie In the after party as planned.

"Ouch! I am damn wet."