escape route from my mother, her disregard for my birthday and her hatred of me. But the joke’s on her—I hate her back. Or maybe I hate that I wish I could but can’t.
Tonight, though, I will. Tonight, I will hate her so much that it will make up for all of my cowardice.
I twirl around, knowing my skirt will rise and show things I shouldn’t, but I don’t want them to stop cheering, watching, loving me. Laughter escapes my lips, molding and intertwining with the whistles before the sounds of shattering glass echo faintly around me. My head bobs forward lazily, impacted by how drunk I am, to take in the scene, and I have to give it a little shake.
“What’s happening?”
Everything is unfocused and on delay as my eyes adjust too late. I take a step forward, but my feet stumble, and I stagger backward, unbalanced, and fall from the table. Strong arms wrap around me, softening my fall, and stop me from plummeting to the ground.
“Caught you.”
He’s holding me like a bride. He probably already has one of those.
“You did.” I smile, slightly breathless and all too comfortable in my position.
His arms tighten around me, pulling me in closer to his chest, and I let my hand rest on his chest as I lay my head on his shoulder.
“Now, what am I going to do with you?”
His question seems innocent. But that’s the thing about men: they’re never that—innocent. They’ll always accept what I’m willing to forfeit because sex is a war that destroys everyone. The only advantage I have is that I control the rules because I own the prize.
“What do you want to do with me?”
“Things that I shouldn’t.”
He locks his blue eyes on me, licking his lips before they descend onto mine. The taste of deceit is heavy on them, and for a moment, I feel ashamed, but then he looks at me. He stares into my eyes deeply, silencing my thoughts. Because like a desperate soul, I believe the lie—the one that tells me that he sees me, that I’m special, that I’ll be loved.
Donovan
Present Day
My arms peek out from under my silver down comforter, stretching to opposite ends, as my body begins to wake from the deep slumber I’m so happily invested in. The heat that engulfs my body suddenly feels stifling instead of comforting, so I push it down, kicking my feet to help. My eyes flutter open as the air rushes in, making my skin prick with goose bumps.
The ceiling is all I stare at, letting my reality sink in. Damn. Today’s the day. The start of my new life. My ninth life if I was a cat.
Natural light fills my bedroom suite from the wall of windows directly across from my oversized California king. Although the window is tinted to keep the heat at bay, it doesn’t keep out the morning shine. My eyes squint as I look around, struggling to accept being awake. I despise early mornings, and I should’ve closed the shade before I went to sleep, but last night, I couldn’t bring myself to lower it.
I’ve seen a sky full of stars in every place I’ve lived, but there’s something about the lights of a city, crowded with skyscrapers. The vitality of life always seems to be busting at the seams, and that makes it too hard to pass up. I laid there watching time go by until sleep took me.
Funny enough, it was the most peace amongst chaos that I’ve felt since I don’t even remember when.
A rap on my door turns my attention, just as it opens to the butler entering with a forced smile on his aged face.
“Good morning, miss. I have your breakfast. I thought you’d like it in bed before starting the day.”
This treat is his polite way of telling me my father won’t be dining with me today. I want to say he seems apologetic, but I watched as his eyes darted away while he spoke, so I’d call this more of an irritation to his duty. It must suck to be the messenger.
The fact that my father communicates with me via the butler shouldn’t sting so much, considering Daddy dearest hasn’t spoken more than two words to me in the three days since I’ve arrived. I can’t blame him. Then again, I guess it’s a drastic improvement from the zero words I’ve received from him in the five years I’ve been living abroad with my mother—the woman he despises