Villainous Kingpin: Lovers-Enemies-Lovers Forced Marriage

WynterFOUR MONTHS EARLIER “This is a girls’ night,” Juliette complained, glaring angrily at me. “Stay.”I shook my head. I didn’t have the luxury of wasting time. Theoretically, I should be in California right now, vigorously training every damn day with Derek. I was a champion in singles figure skating, but couples skating was new to me. My mother had been an up and coming figure skater but having a child and knee injury cut her career very short. She had skated with my father, but I knew very little of him. She never said anything about him except that she trusted him on the ice. I guess that was all that mattered to her.For me, trust came harder. Trusting someone to catch me after throwing me in the air took some getting used to. My instinct wanted me to land on my feet rather than rely on Derek, my skating partner, to catch me. I was used to relying on my own strength and confidence to fly through the air, jump, and skate on the ice with speed and precision.Figure skating. I

WynterTHREE MONTHS LATER We sat in my Jeep in the parking lot of Whole Foods on the Upper West Side in New York. The top was down, the May breeze blowing, and it was a welcomed reprieve. I was fuming on the inside, like flames licking at my skin. Ironic really given our current situation.We just meant to go get Davina’s stuff while Garrett, her now ex-boyfriend, was still at work. Unfortunately, Juliette went all rogue and Ivy clumsily dropped a match on his alcohol soaked rug.I could scream at them, but it wouldn’t do me any good. I was just as guilty as they were.I pressed my head against the steering wheel, regret and hindsight plaguing me. It was so damn stupid. I should have known better. Now Davina’s ex-boyfriend’s entire goddamn house had burned down. We were lucky the entire neighborhood didn’t go up in flames.Soot marred my cheek and my clothes, but I was too tired to keep rubbing it off. It seemed like I cleaned one spot and another would appear. Like a damn disease.