Valerie’s POV

Gavin cut the engine of his black Camry, parking along the crowded curb of a sprawling, multi-million-dollar estate in Lincoln Park. Even through the rolled-up windows and the hum of the air conditioning, the low, thumping bass of a live DJ hit the car like a subtle pulse.

I popped open my compact mirror, tilting my head under the vanity light.

“Off-shoulder red dress is a killer babe,” Gavin murmured, leaning over the center console to press a light kiss against my collarbone. His thumb caught a stray lock of my hair, tugging it gently. “Up or down? Honestly, Val, you look hot as balls either way. You’re going to turn every head in there.”

“I’m just trying not to look like I put in four hours of effort for a party full of twenty-something trust-fund babies,” I muttered, adjusting my eyeliner with practiced precision. “Does Peter even remember my name, or am I just ‘Gavin’s corporate girlfriend’ to him?”

“Peter loves you,” Gavin laughed, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket. “He’s just stoney as shit most of the time. Hang on, I’ll text him to walk us past the bouncers at the gate. The line outside looks like a damn club entrance.”

Before Gavin could even tap out the message, the massive wrought-iron front gates swung open. A tall, blonde guy in a crumpled linen shirt stumbled out onto the driveway, holding a glass of scotch in one hand and half a joint in the other. He looked glazed, smelling like top-shelf bourbon and loud weed from three feet away.

“G-Man!” Peter hollered, spoting Gavin through the windshield. He dragged himself over to the passenger side, slapping his palm against my window with a loud thump. “Get your ass out here!”

I killed the vanity light, tucked my lipstick into my clutch, and stepped out onto the cool pavement. The night air reeked of expensive cologne and summer humidity.

“Valerie, my girl!” Peter threw his free arm around my neck, pulling me into a suffocating, weed-scented hug that nearly took out my hoop earrings. “Look at you! Absolute smokeshow. I told Gavin he’s kicking way above his coverage with you.”

“Coverage isn't a word, Peter, but happy birthday,” I choked out, laughing as I wriggled out of his grip. “Are you already drunk? It’s barely nine o’clock.”

“It’s my twenty-fifth, baby, time doesn't exist!” Peter declared, slinging his arms over both our shoulders like an overly affectionate golden retriever and steering us past two towering, stone-faced security guards at the entrance. “No sober people allowed in my house tonight. You guys need drinks immediately.”

The front door opened into a grand, double-height marble foyer that looked less like a residential home and more like a high-end Vegas lounge. Custom neon signs blared from the walls, colored strobe lights bounced off mahogany paneling, and a private DJ booth was set up near the sweeping spiral staircase, blasting heavy house music into the crowded living space.

Peter clapped his hands together, swaying slightly to the bass. “Alright! Gavin, I need you in the back lounge right now. The guys from the firm brought a bottle of thirty-year Japanese whiskey, and we’re taking shots.”

Peter paused, glancing at me with wide, bloodshot eyes. “Val, do you mind if I borrow your man for five minutes? I swear I’ll return him in one piece.”

“Go ahead,” I smiled, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m not going to ruin your birthday boys' club time. Go drink your expensive poison.”

“You’re the best,” Gavin said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Stay right here? Or grab a drink at the main bar. I’ll be back before you even miss me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go.”

I watched them disappear into the sea of moving bodies toward the back patio. Left alone near the staircase, I smoothed down the front of my red dress, taking a second to look around the crowded room. I didn't know half these people, most were Gavin’s old college fraternity brothers or Peter’s high-society circle.

Then, across the marble floor, near a massive indoor fountain, a tall girl with honey-blonde highlights and six-inch platform heels caught my eye. She was wearing an impossibly tight black leather jumpsuit, holding a martini glass, and looking thoroughly unamused by a guy trying to talk to her.

My jaw practically hit the floor.

“Maya?!” I yelled over the music.

The girl whipped her head around. Her eyes went wide as saucers, her mouth dropping open. “Valerie?! What the actual fuck?!”

We practically sprinted across the foyer, dodging a tray of champagne flutes, and slammed into each other in a chaotic hug.

“What are you doing here?!” I screamed, pulling back to inspect her outfit. “You told me you were staying in tonight to eat takeout and binge watch your favorite series!”

“I was!” Maya shrieked, clutching my arm. “I was literally in sweatpants three hours ago! How are you here? This isn't your usual crowd!”

“Gavin’s childhood bestie is the birthday boy,” I explained, gesturing toward the back patio. “Peter. The one who owns three crypto firms and still lives off his dad’s black card. What’s your excuse?”

Maya groaned, rolling her eyes so hard I thought they’d get stuck in her head. She took a heavy sip of her martini. “I got bored. And... okay, don't judge me, but I answered a text.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, a slow, scheming grin spreading across my face. “No. Way. Is Mr. 5’5 here?”

“Shut up!” Maya hissed, slapping my shoulder, though her face flushed bright red. “Do not call him that out loud! He’s five-foot-seven in his Air Forces, okay?!”

“Girl, you literally told me on Tuesday that he looks like a pocket-sized middle school vice principal and that you were cutting him off!” I cackled, clutching my stomach. “You said he was a hard pass!”

“I was weak!” Maya defended herself, though she couldn't hide her laugh. “He said his friend was throwing a party in Lincoln Park! Plus... look, you know what I said about his situation down there.”

I snorted out loud, covering my mouth. “Right. The anomaly. The five-foot-five miracle.”

“Exactly!” Maya winked, nudging me with her hip. “A girl has needs, Val. Don't judge my charity work.”

“Hey, no judgment here,” I raised my hands in mock surrender. “If the dick is good, the height is just a suggestion.”

Maya burst out laughing, grabbing my wrist. “Come on. I need another drink, and Mr. 5’5 told me there’s a VIP bar up on the rooftop pool deck serving custom tequila infusions. He said it’s way less chaotic up there.”

“A rooftop pool bar? Damn, okay,” I said, smoothing my dress. “Lead the way. I need something strong enough to make small talk with Gavin’s frat bros later.”

We cut through the main living room and headed up the grand marble staircase, leaving the loud house music pulsing below us. The second floor was much quieter, lined with long, carpeted hallways and closed doors leading to guest suites and private lounges. Dim, warm lighting glowed along the baseboards, giving the corridor a sleek, moody vibe.

Halfway down the hall, Maya suddenly pulled up short, grabbing her lower stomach.

“Oh, wait,” she muttered, wincing slightly. “All that tequila from earlier is hitting my bladder. I need a bathroom right now or I’m going to ruin these leather pants.”

“There’s gotta be a guest bath up here,” I said, scanning the hallway.

A few feet ahead, one of the heavy double doors at the end of the hall was sitting slightly ajar, warm light spilling out onto the dark hardwood floor.

“That looks like a master suite or a powder room,” Maya whispered, pulling me along by the arm. “Let’s just sneak in real quick. If anyone’s in there, we’ll claim we got lost on the way to the roof.”

We stepped silently toward the door. Maya reached out, pushing it open another inch—

And both of us froze dead in our tracks.

The sound of the hallway carpet under our shoes vanished, replaced instantly by the wet, rhythmic slap of skin against skin and a low, breathless moan echoing off the suite’s high ceilings.

“Fuck, baby... yeah, right there... hit it harder, ughhh...”

I blinked, my brain momentarily failing to process the sight in front of me.

In the center of the lavish bedroom, illuminated by the soft glow of a bedside lamp, a man had a girl pushed up against the edge of a velvet king-sized bed. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist, her back arched, her hands buried deep in his dark hair as he drove into her in a frantic, sloppy quickie.

The man’s jacket was tossed onto the floor. His white shirt was unbuttoned, pulled down at the shoulders.

My heart didn't just stop, it felt like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed it until it burst. I knew those shoulders. I knew the silver watch glinting on his left wrist under the lamplight. I knew the little crease that appeared beside his mouth when he was trying not to make a sound during sex.

“...Gavin?”

The word ripped out of my throat, raw and barely audible over the sound of their heavy breathing.

Instantly, the movement on the bed ground to a violent halt.

Gavin’s head whipped toward the door, his eyes wide with absolute, blind panic. Sweat glistened on his forehead, his chest heaving as he froze mid-stroke.

The girl beneath him let out a soft, irritated gasp, slowly shifting her head over Gavin’s shoulder to see who had interrupted them. Her long, platinum-blonde hair fell back, exposing her flushed face, smeared red lipstick, and smug, bedroom eyes.

My blood turned to pure, sub-zero ice. The room started spinning so fast I had to grab the doorframe just to stay upright.

“What the fuck... Chloe?”

Valerie’s POV

“Fuuuckk...”

The word leaked out of Maya’s mouth in a stunned, breathless drawl. She stood frozen beside me, her eyes darting between the bed and my face like she was trying to calculate if this was a horrific hallucination.

I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink.

The girl on the bed was Chloe. My stepsister. My stepmother’s golden-child daughter who had spent the last three years acting like my breath was taking up her oxygen.

“I didn't even know this bitch was at this party,” I whispered, my voice coming out raspy, stripped of any warmth.

A sick, cold realization pooled in the pit of my stomach, heavy as lead. All the late-night ‘just a friend’ calls Gavin suddenly had to take. The sudden "parties" he couldn't invite me to. The way Chloe had started wearing his favorite designer cologne scent like a taunt. I had seen every single red flag, and like a total fucking idiot, I’d swept them all under the rug just because I wanted us to work out.

Gavin scrambled off the bed, hastily yanking up his trousers and fumbling with his belt. Chloe didn't bother to rush. She sat up, casually pulling her silk slip dress down over her thighs, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder with a sneer that hit me like a splash of acid.

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Valerie,” Chloe snapped, sliding off the edge of the mattress and grabbing her heels. “Stop whining like a helpless little baby. Did you seriously think he loved you? You are so damn dumb. He’s been fucking me for weeks right under your nose, and you didn't suspect a single thing.”

My chest heaved. I looked at Gavin, who was standing there staring at his leather shoes like they were the most fascinating things on earth.

“Wow,” I let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh, my stomach twisting into a knot. “You can’t even speak for yourself? You’re just going to let her run her mouth?”

Gavin finally looked up, raising his hands in a pathetic, defensive gesture. “Look, Val... it doesn't really mean anything, okay? We were just having fun. You’ve been so stressed with work lately, and….”

“Don't you dare try to turn this on me!” I spat, taking a violent step forward.

“Ugh, don't cause a scene, Valerie,” Chloe rolled her eyes, stepping in front of Gavin with her hand on her hip. “Nobody likes a bitter…”

“You know what? I’ll show you a fucking scene,” Maya growled.

Before I could even react, Maya launched herself across the room. She grabbed Chloe by her synthetic blonde roots, yanked her head back until Chloe let out an ear-splitting shriek, and dragged her straight out into the carpeted hallway.

“Get off me, you crazy bitch!” Chloe screamed, flailing her manicured nails.

Maya slammed her against the wall and delivered a flying, open-handed slap that echoed down the corridor like a gunshot. SMACK.

“Maya!” Gavin yelled, rushing out of the bedroom.

Chloe scrambled on the floor, weeping and clutching her bright red cheek. Maya lunged again, but Gavin wrapped his arms around Maya’s waist, hauling her backward with everything he had to separate them.

“Get the fuck off me!” Maya snarled, kicking violently at Gavin’s shins until he stumbled back.

Chloe pulled herself up by the wall, trembling, her cheap mascara running down her face. She tried to muster her usual superiority, pointing a shaky finger at Maya. “Yeah! Back the fuck off, bitch!”

I didn't waste another second looking at Chloe’s pathetic face. My hands were shaking violently as I looked down at my right hand, catching the glint of the delicate platinum promise ring Gavin had given me on our two-year anniversary. “A down payment on our future,” he’d lied.

I pulled it off my finger.

“Here’s your stupid ring,” I said, my voice dropping into a deadly, freezing quiet. I whipped it directly at Gavin’s chest. It hit his white shirt and clinked onto the floor. “I can’t believe I listened to a single word of your lies. Fuck you.”

“Val, wait….” Gavin choked out, taking a step toward me.

“Touch her and I will break your fingers,” Maya warned, stepping between us, her breathing heavy and her hair wild. She grabbed my arm, her grip tight and protective. “We’re leaving.”

Maya dragged me down the spiral staircase, past the thumping bass of the DJ, past the sea of oblivious drunk twenty-somethings, and out into the cool night air.

The second the front gates closed behind us, the dam broke.

Tears surged past my eyes, hot and blinding, spilling over my cheeks. I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth to force down the ugly sob clawing at my throat. I refused to look back. I refused to let Gavin or Chloe see me broken.

“Come on, baby, I’ve got you,” Maya muttered, unlocking her beat-up hatchback parked down the street.

It had started to rain, a heavy, relentless Chicago downpour that turned the asphalt into a black mirror. We scrambled into the front seats, slamming the doors shut against the storm. The sound of rain lashing against the windshield filled the dark cabin.

I sank into the passenger seat, pulling my knees up to my chest in my red dress, and just cried. Raw, furious tears.

“I hate her,” I choked out, wiping my nose with a handful of glovebox napkins Maya handed me. “I fucking hate her, Maya. Chloe has been doing this my entire life. Ever since her and Evelyn moved into my dad's house, she’s taken everything she could get her hands on. Every leverage, every friend, every target. And now him.”

Maya started the engine, pulling out into the dark street. Her face was set in a hard, furious scowl as she navigated the windshield wipers.

“Hey,” Maya said softly, glancing over at me. “Listen to me. Gavin is an absolute trash-can human being. He wasn't meant for you, Val. You shouldn't beat yourself up over a spineless, weak boy when there are plenty of fine-ass, grown men out there waiting for a girl like you to look their way.”

“I just feel so stupid,” I sobbed, though a wet, pathetic laugh snuck out of my mouth. “I literally let him wear my dad's old cuff links last week.”

“Okay, well, first of all, we’re breaking into his apartment next week and stealing those back,” Maya snorted, flicking her indicator. “Second of all, Chloe looks like a knock-off Barbie that got left on a hot dashboard. Did you see her extensions when I pulled them? Half of them came out in my hand. I have them in my purse right now if you want to burn them.”

A real, loud laugh burst out of my chest, cutting right through my tears. I wiped my face, leaning my head back against the headrest as Maya kept going, firing off dry, ridiculous insults about Gavin’s wardrobe and Chloe’s terrible posture until my crying turned entirely into breathless giggles.

“God, I love you,” I mumbled, scrubbing the mascara from under my eyes.

“I know you do. Now stop crying over garbage,” Maya smiled, merging the car onto the grand, open lanes of the I-90 highway. The rain was coming down sideways now, lightning flashing pale purple across the heavy clouds above us.

We were cruising down the slick asphalt when a violent, metallic BANG echoed from beneath the floorboards.

The rear passenger side of the car dropped instantly. The steering wheel jerked violently in Maya’s hands, the hatchback sliding sideways across the rain-drenched lane with a horrific screech of rubber against wet concrete.

“Holy shit!” Maya yelled, gripping the wheel with white knuckles, wrestling the fishtailing car back into line before we could smash into the concrete median. She slammed her foot onto the brake, forcing the car onto the narrow gravel shoulder of the highway.

The engine sputtered and died. Smoke billowed out from under the hood, instantly washed away by the torrential rain.

Silence settled over the car, save for the violent thumping of the rain on the roof and the hazard lights blinking a dull, rhythmic orange.

Maya and I sat frozen, wide-eyed, staring at each other in the dim light.

Slowly, we unbuckled and cracked our doors open, stepping out onto the flooded shoulder, shielding our eyes with our hands as water instantly soaked through my red dress and Maya’s leather pants.

I leaned over to look at the back wheel. The tire wasn't just flat, it was completely shredded to pieces, jammed awkwardly against a broken axle.

I stood up straight in the pouring rain, water streaming down my face, ruining my hair, and soaking me to the bone. I looked up at the dark, storm-filled sky and let out a dry, hysterical laugh.

“Fantastic,” I yelled over the thunder. “As if this day couldn't get any fucking better!”

Highway Strangers

Valerie’s POV

“Yeah, that tire is completely fucked,” Maya wiped rain out of her eyes, kicking the mangled rubber of her rear wheel. “I’m gonna have to call a tow truck. Ugh.”

Water was currently pooling inside my designer heels, my red dress glued to my skin like a second layer of frozen wrap. “Call Jules,” I yelled over the roaring downpour. “Maybe he can pick us up.”

“On a Friday night? Girl, please,” Maya scoffed, pulling her phone out of her leather jumpsuit. Her screen was flickering violently, half-drowned by the storm. “Jules is probably three cocktails deep in the club by now. He’s definitely not answering.”

She tapped out the call anyway, holding the phone to her ear. Five seconds later, she pulled it away, glaring at the screen. “Straight to voicemail.”

“Told you,” she muttered.

I was shivering so violently my teeth were practically clicking together. “What else are we supposed to do? Walk down I-90 in six-inch heels?”

Before Maya could launch into another rant, blinding headlights cut through the heavy gray curtain of rain behind us.

A sleek, black Maybach SUV, at least what I thought it was, pulled onto the shoulder, smoothly gliding to a stop just a few feet in front of Maya’s smoking hatchback. The engine purred with silent, terrifying precision.

Maya and I locked eyes instantly, a shared, silent look communicating- who the hell is pulling over right now?

The driver-side glass rolled down silently, revealing a sharp, shadowed profile.

“Looks like you two are stuck,” a voice cut through the sound of the rain. It was deep, smooth as velvet, and carried an effortless, commanding gravel that sent an electric shiver straight down my spine. “Mind taking a ride?”

Maya and I stepped closer to the window, shielding our eyes from the headlights to catch a glimpse of the driver.

My breath instantly caught in my throat. My brain hit a complete, screeching halt.

Carved jawline. Cold, striking features. Piercing, icy-blue eyes that could freeze water.

Damon Blackwood.

The Damon Blackwood. The untouchable, brutal billionaire CEO of Blackwood Corp.

Beside me, Maya’s hand grabbed my thigh in a vice-like grip, her long nails digging into my red dress as she frantically tugged at my leg under the rain. Her wide eyes were practically screaming, Girl, are you seeing what the actual fuck I’m seeing?!

I pinched her wrist right back, signaling a hard, silent play it fucking cool.

Neither of us said a word about who he was. Out in the real world, we were just two drenched women stranded on the highway, inside Blackwood HQ, we were workers on floor fifteen and twenty-two who had only ever seen his face on corporate press releases and high-floor elevator screens.

“We.….. yeah, we would really appreciate a ride,” Maya said, finding her voice first and putting on a smooth smile. “Except I can’t just leave my car stranded here.”

“Don’t worry about the car, I’ll handle that” Damon said smoothly, his icy gaze flickering to me for a fraction of a second before unlocking the rear passenger doors. “Hop in out of the rain, and give me your keys.”

We didn't hesitate. Maya scrambled in first, sliding across the wide, plush leather bench of the back seat, and I tumbled in right behind her, slamming the heavy door shut against the howling storm.

The sound of the torrential rain instantly vanished, replaced by the quiet, hummed purr of the custom engine. The cabin smelled suffocatingly expensive.

Maya fumbled with her dripping purse, her hands shaking so violently from the cold that her keys clattered against her designer clutch before she managed to pass the ring up to the front console.

By the time Damon picked them up, a black Range Rover serving as an escort vehicle had pulled over behind the Maybach and parked along the gravel. A towering security guard in a dark suit stepped out into the rain, marching directly to Damon’s window.

Damon rolled his window down two inches, handing Maya’s keys through the gap to the guard without even turning his head.

“Stay behind,” Damon instructed, his deep voice carrying effortless command over the storm. “Get this car towed to the corporate garage. Have Miller’s team fix it tonight and charge it to my account. Make sure it’s fully repaired. I’ll text you the address and have it parked out front by morning.”

“Understood, sir.”

The guard took the key and stepped back into the rain.

Damon rolled the window back up, draping his long, suit-clad arm over the back of the passenger seat as he smoothly checked his side mirror. He shifted the Maybach into drive, pulling us seamlessly back onto the slick, dark road.

“Give me your addresses,” he commanded softly, his eyes lifting to the rearview mirror.

For a moment, neither Maya nor I said anything. We still hadn’t fully processed what was happening. Just minutes ago, we’d been stranded trying to figure out what to do. Now we were sitting in THE Damon Blackwood’s Maybach, and somehow he was driving us home.

Maya blurted hers out first. I gave mine right after, my voice sounding impossibly small against the low hum of the engine.

Damon pulled out his phone with one hand and sent Maya’s address to his bodyguard before setting it back down.

“Your car will be at your house by morning,” he said, his gaze flicking toward Maya through the mirror.

Maya blinked. “Thank you so much.”

I swallowed. “Thank you.” His eyes lingered on us for a moment before his expression hardened with something more serious.

“Are you two alright?” he asked.

His gaze caught mine in the glass, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. His eyes were an ungodly, razor-sharp blue.

“Oh, we’re totally fine,” Maya piped up instantly, her loud mouth running at absolute warp speed. “Well, if you don’t count the fact that my best friend Valerie here just caught her scumbag boyfriend actively fucking her stepsister !”

“Maya! Ugh!” I groaned, delivering a sharp, furious slap to her arm that made her leather jumpsuit react with a loud thwack. My face instantly ignited in absolute, searing mortification.

Damon’s dark brows twitched upward in the rearview mirror. His eyes locked onto mine through the glass, holding my gaze with a heavy, suffocating intensity that made my lungs freeze.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he murmured.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” I muttered, grabbing my dripping hair and pulling it over one shoulder just to have something to do with my hands.

As I glanced back up, I caught him. His eyes weren't on my face anymore. They dipped lower, slowly and deliberately tracking the sheer, wet fabric of my off-shoulder red dress, lingering on my boobs, and the outline of my chest where the rain had made my dress cling like liquid latex. The sheer heat in his gaze was so heavy it practically scorched my skin through the glass.

My breath hitched violently in my throat. I smoothed down the wet fabric of my dress, forcing my eyes toward the blurred city lights outside the window.

“No, it’s not fine!” Maya insisted, completely oblivious to the thick, suffocating air filling the back seat. “Gavin is an absolute douchebag, and Chloe is the literal devil. I should’ve pulled out more of her extensions.”

“I assume Gavin is the boyfriend?” Damon asked, his tone smooth, dangerously calm, and entirely unbothered.

“Ex-boyfriend,” I corrected sharply, my chest heaving as I looked back at the mirror. “You mean ex.”

A small, almost imperceptible smirk tugged at the corner of Damon’s sharp, sculpted lips.

“Well,” Damon murmured, his deep voice dropping an octave into something low, and lethal. “For what it’s worth... Any man would have to be a complete fool to cheat on a woman like you”

The sentence hit the dark cabin like a live wire, sending an electric shock straight down my spine. My mouth went completely, hopelessly dry.

The rest of the drive passed in a thick silence that felt heavier than the rain outside. By the time the Maybach pulled up to the curb outside Maya’s high-rise apartment building, the storm had finally died down to a soft, misty drizzle.

“This is me,” Maya said, gathering her wet clutch. “Thank you so much. Seriously, you’re a total lifesaver.”

As she unbuckled her seatbelt, Maya leaned across the leather seat, pretending to pull me into a goodbye hug. She lowered her head straight to my ear, whispering at a frantic, borderline-violent speed.

“Girl… he is DEFINITELY checking you out! The fucking Damon Blackwood! If he’s trying to get laid tonight, you should let it play out so you can take your mind off stupid-ass Gavin!”

My eyes widened. “Maya,” I hissed, barely managing to keep my voice down.

Before I could choke out anything else or smack her across the face, she pulled back, flashed me a manic, unhinged grin, and made a quick hand gesture telling me to call her. Then she wiggled her eyebrows up and down in absolute, shameless teasing.

I rolled my eyes. “Bye, Maya.”

“Call me,” she mouthed, pointing at me one last time.

I shook my head, fighting the urge to laugh despite myself. “Yeah, yeah. Go.”

Maya opened the door and stepped out into the night, slamming it shut behind her.

And just like that, I was completely alone in the quiet darkness of the back seat with the most ruthless billionaire in Chicago.