LOGINCarmen’s POVBy the time I left the old penthouse, I was drenched with so many emotions, more than I could even express.“Carmen, you are back,” Lori said as soon as I stepped into the house.And that was when I saw him.Donny.The man who took a young teenage boy, took advantage of him because he didn’t have anyone else to fight for him, and worse, he didn’t stop at Chase Maddox.There was also Derrick.“Honey, are you okay?” My dad asked. “I was told you moved back in, but we haven’t seen each other since you did,” he added.Goodness, he was really great at pretending!Before now, I would have been skeptical about his reception because I only had to worry about his desire to control my choices, but now, it was way more than that.He was a monster.He was a beast.He deserved to be in jail for what he had done, and as painful as that was, it was the right thing to do. Chase Maddox needed justice. Granted, he murdered his father, but if he had gotten a good lawyer, he would have bee
Carmen’s POVI thought that Chase Maddox was going to insist on not saying a single word, and then he would kick me out, especially because he hadn’t said anything to me or anyone about what happened, but he didn’t.Instead, he did answer my question.“Do you really want to know?” He asked me, his eyes deep with a sadness I had never seen before.“Yes, please,” I managed to respond, wondering if this was the right thing to do.What if it turned out to be something I couldn’t handle? What if it was worse?Chase nodded and swallowed. We were both standing, and he didn’t sit or asked me to sit before he began. Still, I could barely believe that Chase Maddox was really telling me.“I grew up in a very toxic home, Carmen,” Chase started deeply. “You have no idea how lucky you and every other person are not to have experienced what I did,” he added.I shook my head.There was nothing lucky about how I grew up.Fine, maybe my upbringing wasn’t as bad as Chase’s, but it certainly wasn’t rosy
Chase’s POVTerry wanted me to come to his house, but I turned it down, and eventually, we both realized that it was for the better.Paparazzi and bloggers were everywhere; my house, facility, and almost immediately, Terry’s house.I had to choose somewhere else where no one would know that I was there.I needed to be alone and Terry understood that.Besides, things had fallen apart between Carmen and Millie, and Terry was trying to be there for her. He also wanted to be there for me as well, and I could tell that it would make him torn because he wouldn’t know whom to give more attention to.I didn’t want to put him through that.Again, I needed to be alone.Everything had been taken away from me and I was back to how I was before Donny found me in that cell; empty.“Don’t do anything stupid while I try to get you out of this,” Terry had told me. “You know I am not suicidal or harmful to myself,” I had reminded him.“That’s right, but I am going to bring food to you and whatever you
Carmen’s POVIt turned out that Steven Noble didn’t fire me.“Is something going on between you and Sean?” He had asked me in his study.“What do you mean, sir?” I had asked, not sure I understood what he meant.Because of the text message I had received from Sean Noble, I had thought that his first statement would be that I had been fired, and not this question.“Are you having an affair with Sean?” He had asked more clearly.“No, I am not, sir,” I had responded without hesitation.And I was certain that Steven Noble had seen the irritation on my face that accompanied the response. I couldn’t even stand being touched by Sean Noble, but then again, I couldn’t blame Steven Noble.The blogs made it easy for him to think that.“Steven Noble,” he corrected me for the umpteenth time. Then he had sighed heavily.“The truth is, Sean Noble has had his way with every single manager I have hired for him since he became a professional hockey player, and as soon as I find out, I don’t hesitate i
Carmen’s POVI was almost done packing when Millie arrived, and I groaned internally. I really didn’t want her to find me here when she eventually chose to return.“Carmen,” she called remorsefully, but I didn’t respond to her.Instead, I concentrated on finishing up with the packing so that I wouldn’t stay here any minute longer, and as soon as I was done, I proceeded to roll my boxes out.But Millie stood by the door, deliberately preventing me from walking out.Hence, I had to speak to her.“Please, Millie, get out of my way,” I told her.“Carmen, please, let’s talk,” she pleaded.I scoffed out loud as rage fueled inside of me.“Talk?” I asked her, sounding as disgusted and infuriated as I was really feeling. “You really want me to stand here and talk to you?” I asked her.“It just happened!” Millie blurted. “I swear, I didn’t mean to continue seeing Terry, but…” she continued, but I was just too disgusted to listen to her.“He placed a gun on your head, didn’t he?” I asked her sar
Chase’s POV“Do you want me to come with you?” Terry asked me, sounding all protective.Even though he was berating me a few seconds ago for telling Carmen about his affair with Millie, he was still my Brother, and the moment we exchanged that look, he became who he had always been to me; my protector.I cleared my throat and said, “I don’t think there will be need for that,” and then shook my head.“Why not?” Terry asked. “We have always been in this together and you need someone like me with you,” he added.I touched him by his shoulder and squeezed it.“Whatever it is, I believe I can handle it,” I assured him.“What if…” Terry began to ask me but his voice trailed off.We both knew what he was going to ask.He was worried about me getting arrested; maybe the big league had prepared an arrest, but he didn’t say the words, or maybe he just couldn’t bring himself to saying them.“I will call you and let you know how it goes, Brother,” I told him.I wasn’t going to allow fear envelop







