All Chapters of BREAKING THE RULES : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

EVELYN"Get out." The words come out of my mouth, but they do not sound like my voice. They sound cold and dead.Anthony scrambles out of bed, wrapping the sheet around his waist. "Evelyn, wait, let me explain.""Explain what? Explain how my fiancé is sleeping with my cousin? In our bed?"Sylvia stands up, completely naked, and walks slowly to where her dress is draped over a chair. She takes her time getting dressed, enjoying this. Enjoying my pain."You should have called first," she says, zipping up her tight red dress. "Then this could have been avoided."I ignore her and focus on Anthony. "How long?""Evie, please.""HOW LONG?" I scream the words, and it feels good to break the numbness.Anthony flinches. "Four months."Four months. The room spins. Four months of lies. Four months of him touching her while promising to love me forever."You proposed to me six months ago.""I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."Sylvia laughs, actually laughs, as she slips on her he

EVELYNMonday morning arrives too quickly. I spent the entire weekend preparing for the Westwood presentation, trying not to think about the fact that I will be seeing Richard again but I couldn't stop thinking about him.Tonia attempted to convince me it would be fine, that Richard is a businessman who has probably had plenty of one-night stands and knows how to keep them separate from work.I want to believe her.My team meets in the conference room at nine. There are five of us working on the Westwood account. I am the creative lead, which means I will be doing most of the talking during the presentation."Nervous?" asks Joshua, our graphic designer."A little," I admit, which is the understatement of the century."Don't be. Your strategy is brilliant. They're going to love it."If only he knew.At nine thirty, we load into two cars and drive to Westwood Enterprises headquarters in Century City. The building is glass and steel, modern and intimidating, just like the man who owns it

EVELYNSunlight pours through the floor to ceiling windows and I blink against the brightness. For a moment, I forget where I am, then I feel the warm body next to mine and everything comes rushing back.I'm in Richard's penthouse, in his bed. I turn my head to find him already awake, propped up on one elbow, watching me with those gray eyes that seem to see right through me."Good morning," he says, his voice rough from sleep."Good morning.""Coffee?""Please."He gets out of bed, completely comfortable in his skin, and pulls on a pair of sweatpants before heading toward the kitchen. I sit up, pulling the sheet around myself, and look around the bedroom in the daylight. Everything is sleek and modern but somehow still warm. There are photos on the dresser and I get up to look at them.Most are of a little girl with dark hair and Richard's gray eyes. Grace. She is beautiful, with a bright smile that lights up her whole face. In one photo, Richard is holding her on his shoulders at w

EVELYNI make it to my car before I completely break down. The tears come hot and fast, blurring my vision until I have to pull over in a parking garage just to breathe.This cannot be happening. Not again. Not when I finally started to feel happy again.My phone rings. Tonia. I almost do not answer but I know she will just keep calling."Hello?""Evie? What's wrong? You sound terrible.""Everything is falling apart.""What happened?"I tell her about the photos, about the article going live tomorrow, about how my reputation is about to be destroyed. Tonia listens without interrupting."Okay," she says when I finish. "Here's what we're going to do. You're coming to my place right now. We're going to order food, drink wine, and figure this out.""There's nothing to figure out. My career is over.""Stop being dramatic. Your career is not over. So some trashy website is running a story. Who cares?""My boss will care. My clients will care. Everyone will think I slept my way into the West

EVELYNThree days later, I am sitting in a television studio, waiting to go on camera for the biggest interview of my life.Tonia is with me in the green room, helping me fix my makeup."You look beautiful," she says. "And more importantly, you look confident.""I don't feel confident. I feel terrified.""Fake it until you make it, babe."Richard is in the hallway, on the phone with his lawyers. We decided to do this interview together, to present a united front. The producer promised it would be fair, that we would have a chance to tell our side of the story.A production assistant pokes her head in. "Miss Hart? We're ready for you."I take a deep breath and stand up. Tonia squeezes my hand."You've got this. Just tell the truth."I walk out to the studio where Richard is waiting. He takes my hand and we walk onto the set together.The interviewer is a woman named Sarah Chen, known for being tough but fair. She shakes our hands and we sit down on a couch facing her."Thank you both f