Griffin ignored her question and took her hand. He pulled her away from the bar and placed a hand behind her back. It was an invitation for her to dance to a familiar song. "Let's have some fun," Griffin said. "I like this song." Scarlett didn't object. Her heart was thumping, and she was so close to Griffin that she could breathe in his scent—a fresh smell of lemons with a hint of expensive cigars that made her never want to let go. Her heart was beating for this man; it had done that ever since their late nights in Spain. Griffin was so beautiful inside and out. Scarlett was falling, falling, and falling so deeply in love with him. He was the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Of this, she was sure. Yet she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Griffin kept her eyes on hers and spoke in his deep voice. "Are you enjoying your birthday night, Scarlett?" "It became better when you arrived." Griffin smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Good

Scarlett lay restless in her luxurious king-sized bed. Her eyes were puffy from crying and stuck on the stars on the ceiling. Back in Spain, she had told Griffin the plastic stars in the ceiling had been her favorite thing about the foster home. They were lights in the dark, little things that kept her nightmares away. And Griffin had probably ordered to have these stars placed in the ceiling because he knew Scarlett would suffer nightmares without him. He was the only man she had let touch her after Jake had attacked her. She feared other men, but not Griffin. No. He was cold and reserved toward those who he didn't find necessary in his life. But he had treated Scarlett like a princess and held her every night. Scarlett choked on a sob. She missed Griffin's thick arms. His body had entirely swallowed hers, and he has rubbed his stubble against her in the most affectionate way. He was secretly a cuddler in bed, and Scarlett had felt safe being the small spoon to the behemoth.

Sebastian carried the gothic girl over to his bed. She wasn't sleeping but happily grinning up into his face. It was a bit creepy, but strangely enough, he didn't hate the attention. "You're like... Super pretty," Lucy said and felt his beard. A giggle left her lips as she stroked him. "And hot." Sebastian stifled a laugh. "And you're like... Super drunk." "I'm not that drunk!" "You're petting a stranger and calling him pretty—you're definitely wasted and need a good rest." "No! Lucy doesn't wanna sleep... She wanna dance..." Sebastian stared down at the crazy woman in disbelief. "Do you even realize how dangerous it would be if you behaved like this with any other man on the street? You would get thrown over their shoulder and voilà, kidnapped." "I can fight." Those words actually earned a laugh from Sebastian. "Honey, you're like what, five-foot-five and probably weight like a little more than a hundred pounds? You're underweight and the perfect size to kidnap off the street

Two weeks laterScarlett woke up with the worst nausea of a lifetime. She wasn't the type that got sick often, but today she had the worst migraine ever. Her head wouldn't stop pounding, and she felt dizzy. The outside world seemed too bright, and her blinds were closed to not let in the sunlight. And today, even the songbirds were her enemies; why wouldn't they just fall down and die?"I think you're overexaggerating, Scarlett..." Lucy sighed into the phone. She was at school. "You can't be that sick.""No, Lucy, it's horrible," Scarlett wrapped her blanket around and shuddered at the cold. Her toes were especially frozen. "I don't know what type of disease I've caught, but it's bad... I'm feeling miserable, and most of everything, I just want someone to shoot me to end the misery. Why can't someone just throw out my brain on the street and run it over with a car? It would solve everything."Lucy laughed at her friend. "A little overly dramatic, don't you think? You sound like you'r

When Scarlett drove up to the apartment, Sebastian was already waiting for her outside. His face was shrouded in shadows, and he was by Scarlett's side as soon as she parked the car. "Hello, Sebastian," Scarlett grabbed her purse, pausing when she saw her butler already grabbing the groceries from the passenger seat. He peered down at her while holding the bags. "Were you followed by anyone when you left the hospital?" "I think the men hired to watch me would have told you something if that was the case," she met his eyes, studying his face. "You know what happened today, don't you?" Guilt washed over Sebastian's features, and he sighed. "I was informed, yes. But let's talk about this inside, okay?" Scarlett nodded with an inhale. She finally experienced hope of being given the light of what was going on. "Okay, let's head inside. We can talk inside the kitchen." Sebastian briefly smiled before wordlessly turning on his heel, effortlessly carrying the bags. It hit Scarlett as she