Chapter 2

I hadn't been calm at all. I'd only been pretending. I loved Axel so much that I'd been willing to throw away my pride for him.

He used to tell me all the time, "Valerie, you're crazy."

So even though I'd finally decided to walk away from him, it still hurt like hell.

I cried so hard as I drove that I could barely hold the wheel steady. Eventually, I had to pull over and wait until I got myself back under control.

It was well past midnight. Most of the shops along the street were closed, and only a vending machine on the corner was still lit.

I bought a bottle of water and awkwardly tried to twist off the cap with my injured right hand. The cuts had only just started to clot, but the effort tore them open again.

I couldn't grip the cap hard enough to twist it off, but I didn't care. I kept trying, almost as if I were punishing myself.

Maybe if my hand hurt enough, it would take my mind off the pain in my chest.

Blood soaked through the gauze and stained the bottle cap red.

Suddenly, someone pulled the bottle out of my hand. He twisted the cap off and handed the bottle back to me with a teasing smile.

"I've been watching you struggle with that for a while. Here. Drink."

Most people would've been scared. It was the middle of the night, and some stranger with a gun tucked into his waistband and blood on his face had just walked up to me on a street corner.

He looked like someone you didn't want to mess with.

But Axel was right about one thing. I was crazy.

I took the bottle without hesitation and drank from it with my left hand.

"Thanks," I said politely.

"No problem. I was thirsty too. I was going to just take it from you. Someone put a bullet through my phone, and I don't have any cash on me. But then I saw you and figured you had enough problems already."

I looked him over.

Sure enough, there was a faint smell of blood in the air. I'd assumed it was coming from my own wounds, but apparently, it wasn't.

I opened my car door. "You're thirsty because you've lost too much blood. Your body's trying to compensate. At this rate, you're going to go into shock. Get in. I'll take you to the hospital."

The man raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. "Thanks, but I can't go to the hospital."

I was starting to lose patience. If he actually passed out, there was no way I could move a guy his size by myself.

So I grabbed him and shoved him into the passenger seat. "I have access to a private hospital."

He passed out on the way there.

Luckily, I got him there in time. The doctors stitched up his wound and gave him two units of blood. After that, he was out of danger.

By the time I finally left the hospital, the sun was already up.

My phone buzzed twice in my pocket.

Mom and Dad had just landed in their private jet. They'd been so worried about Rosalie that they'd flown back overnight.

Apparently, they'd remembered they had a biological daughter too, because they invited me to dinner at Quade Manor.

I was going to make up an excuse, but Mom and Dad were unusually persistent. They called me a few times and insisted I come over that evening.

They sounded so eager to have me there that I could almost believe they really loved me. So I agreed to go.

But the moment I stepped inside Quade Manor, I knew I'd been tricked.

This wasn't just dinner. Rosalie was throwing a dinner party, and Mom and Dad had used dinner as an excuse to get me there because they could never say no to her.

The whole thing had been set up to humiliate me. A giant message on the screen made that perfectly clear.

"Congratulations! Axel Hooper finally got rid of his clingy ex, Valerie Gates!"

A massive table had been set up in the middle of the main hall. Axel and Rosalie were running the betting pool.

Everyone was betting on how many days I'd last before I came crawling back to Axel and begged him to take me back.

The second I walked in, the room erupted with laughter and taunts.

"Come on, Valerie, give us a hint. How long are you planning to hold out this time? I put a lot of money on you, so don't make me lose too much!" one guy called out, laughing.

"Oh, please. You really think she'll make it past three days? All Axel has to do is snap his fingers and say, 'Babe, I'm sorry. From now on, you're the only one I love,' and she'll come running.

"She does it every time. At this point, she's practically his lapdog!"

"Seriously, don't you have any self-respect? Anyone can see Axel only has eyes for Rosie. If he doesn't love you, then you're the other woman, not Rosie. Get it? His girlfriend? My ass!"

Axel walked over slowly with an arm around Rosalie.

He gave me an amused smile. "Valerie, want to get back together? If you say yes today, I promise I'll only love you from now on."