"Tess."

Zoey gave me a pat, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Yes?"

"Lorcan hasn't attended any of our class reunions since the high school graduation party," Zoey whispered in my ear.

I hummed lightly in response, then rose to my feet. "Excuse me while I use the washroom."

I knew Lorcan hated me, and by extension, he hated his high school days. After all, my affluent background was the total opposite of his unfortunate one. I'd ordered him around time and time again—demanding and unreasonable.

Between the ages of 8 and 18, Lorcan had always done as I asked without protests—until that fateful day. If I hadn't heard him tell me to scram and stay the hell away from him, I might have forgotten that he was a young man with his fair share of pride.

My guilt deepened at the thought. I approached the door with my head hung. As I reached for the doorknob, someone pushed the door open.

My eyes widened with shock as I met the dark, steely gaze on the other side of the door.

As it turned out, a lot could change in ten years.

The fine-looking little boy with a hard expression had grown into a grounded, impassive man. He was taller than when I last saw him, looking dapper in his well-tailored black suit that accentuated his long legs and broad shoulders.

His eyes were dark and depthless as he held my stare.

Another man at the door exclaimed, "Tessa Langley? It really is you!"

"In the flesh." I nodded and offered the man a smile. "Long time no see, Callum Sullivan."

I paid no mind to the dark, weighted gaze on me as I spoke and simply stepped aside to let them through. While heading out the door, I heard Callum's boisterous voice ringing out behind me. "Hey, Lorcan, Tessa's back! I thought you'd be more excited than this!"

The tissues crumpled in my grip as a wry smile tugged on my lips. Lorcan wouldn't be excited to see me. I was a reminder of his pathetic past. If anything, seeing me would make him hate me more.

The easy, partying mood seemed to wane a little after Lorcan's arrival.

He sat right across from me. Everyone at the table sneaked a furtive glance at him, then me. But in the end, they suddenly became interested in their meals and began to eat in silence.

Perhaps they didn't know how to behave now that Lorcan's and my dynamics had been reversed. After all, I had once been at the apex of the social pyramid.

Callum, being the life of the party and a chatterbox, immediately sensed tension in the air. Thinking on his feet, he broke the silence. "Hey, how about we play a game of Truth or Dare?"

The idea won favor with those who'd been dying of toe-curling second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness.

When we moved away from the dining table to the rest of the lounge, Lorcan still chose the seat across mine. He was half-sprawled on the couch, his eyes heavy-lidded as he spread his mile-long legs.

I felt his gaze on me, but whenever I looked up, he was always looking somewhere else. I thought I'd been hallucinating.

The atmosphere in the lounge eased after several rounds of truth or dare, at least until… the beer bottle spun and stopped right before me, its bottom pointed at Lorcan. I looked up and met his eyes.

"Oh, I'll start! I'll start!" Callum rubbed his hands together deviously, as if hoping to get some juicy gossip out of this game. He asked unabashedly, "How many boyfriends or girlfriends have you had?"

The game called for the party on both ends of the bottle to either tell the truth or be punished. In other words, Lorcan and I were in for a punishment.

The lively crowd around us grew quiet, and an odd tension permeated the air once again.

Zoey sat beside me, her hand tightening around my arm. I gently patted her arm and said softly, "I'll be okay. Go get me a glass of wine."

"Hey, what gives? Why the hesitation?" Callum pestered with the impatience of a petulant child. "It's a simple yes or no question. Why are you getting shy all of a sudden?"

When his eyes slid to me, he deliberately emphasized the word "no".

I cocked my head to one side and suppressed the inexplicable urge to laugh. After that, I cast a sidelong glance at the man across from me, my lips curving.

Lorcan was blessed with good looks. Ten years had passed, but he looked even better than before. He boasted defined features and a strong, well-defined jaw. His height was tall, and his build was masculine. In short, he was a work of art, lovingly crafted by the heavens themselves.

Zoey returned with the wine I'd asked for, and it was only then that Callum realized Lorcan wouldn't spill. As such, he turned to needle me instead. "Come on, are we still playing this game or not? You're dragging this out longer than necessary!"

"Three."

My answer earned a sharp look from Lorcan. I sipped my wine, then met his stormy gaze with a smile. "One of them was Credean, and the other two were foreigners."

The crowd fell silent, and even Callum held his tongue.

I was barely pulling myself together as I finished my explanation with a smile, my palms sweating profusely.

A tempest brewed in Lorcan's eyes, but it wasn't long before he snapped out of it. His eyes were near-obsidian, like a sea at night, as he stared at me. A long pause later, he said hoarsely, "None."

I chuckled inwardly, disbelieving. Was he keeping his true love like a dirty secret?

Ten years ago, our class had a graduation party. I wore the couture dress my dad gave me for my 18th birthday and happily bounded up to Lorcan with a huge rose bouquet. My grin was wide, so dazzling that even the roses in my arms seemed to come to life.

"Marry me, Lorcan. I'll give you a complete family."

The air that night had been chilly with an evening breeze. Everyone had been cheering for us and my proposal, even our homeroom teacher. Everyone and nature itself had been on my side.

Lorcan, however, only looked out for himself at my expense. He'd frowned at me in disgust and snapped, "Scram, and get the hell away from me!"

The breeze tousled my carefully styled hair and scattered red rose petals all over the ground.

That night, I went home without Lorcan for the first time in ten years. I stayed out late partying.

I slipped off my shoes under the silver moonlight, then gingerly opened the front door of my family villa. That was when I heard a familiar male voice coming from the corner of the house. "Don't worry, I'll bring you to Ashfield."

The young woman to whom he was speaking exclaimed, "Really?"

He sounded as dispassionate as ever. "Yes."

I stood barefoot on the icy tiles, my expression dazed. My heart felt like it had been pumped full of lead. It was as if someone had stolen the air from my lungs.

No wonder Lorcan had told me to scram and get the hell away from him. He'd wanted Sabrina Porter, not me.

A bitter smile curved my lips, but my heart was hollow and full of misery.

…

Our class reunion ended with a torrential downpour. Those who drove here disappeared into their vehicles, while others without cars asked for lifts home. Zoey tugged on my arm and offered, "Tess, why don't you come with me? I'll get my boyfriend to drop you off at home."

"It's fine, I can manage," I turned her down with a smile.

Lorcan approached us from behind and stopped about six feet away from me.

Zoey pressed, "Did you drive here?"

I shook my head, smiling as I held up my phone and waved it. "No, someone's coming to get me."

"Oh…"

As if on cue, a black car drove through the rain and pulled up by the curb. A towering man with a refined bearing stepped out of the car, holding up a black umbrella. He came toward me and grumbled in stiff Credean, "This is some weird weather!"

Something about the way he said it must have tickled my funny bone, for I couldn't help laughing. I linked arms with him with practised ease. "Yes, you'll get used to it."

I felt a dagger-like stare sweeping across me from six feet away. I found it odd and glanced over my shoulder at Lorcan, whose lips were pressed into a thin, hard line.

Beside me, Zoey went still with astonishment. "Is he one of your foreign boyfriends, Tess?"

Lorcan's eyes darkened dangerously, his heart tightening.

With my arm still looped through Jonathan's, I said without answering Zoey's question, "Bye, guys. See you around!"

The car wasn't parked far from the hotel entrance. As I walked alongside Jonathan, I felt Lorcan's dark, heavy stare on me like the sharpened point of a knife, ready to plunge through me at any second.

"It seems you've used me to ward off unwanted suitors again," Jonathan grumbled after we got in the car.

I put my hands together. "I'm truly grateful for your help, Jonathan. This is the last time, I promise."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Jonathan shrugged speechlessly.

I broke into a wide grin at his resignation.

Jonathan Kilbourne was my co-worker abroad, and he came to Credea with me this time because headquarters had arranged for us to scout new talents with celebrity potential to participate in the company's upcoming commercial production.

It so happened that Sabrina was a candidate, too.

The downpour grew heavier and more relentless. Since getting off the plane, I hadn't gotten used to the time difference before attending a class reunion. I was exhausted.

As the rain drowned out the rest of the world outside, I leaned against the window and dozed off.

Sabrina and I were nothing alike. Zoey had once told me I reminded her of a winter fox treading through snow—aloof, elegant, and gorgeous. Sabrina, on the other hand, was an energetic and bubbly beauty whose mother happened to be our family cook.

Sabrina's mother, Nancy Danes, had been our family cook since I was five. Her husband had died from heavy drinking, leaving her to raise her two-year-old daughter.

Generous and kind as he was, my dad took Nancy home and gave her a job. My mom had passed away when I was little, and Nancy practically raised me as her own. She and I were close-knit, and I'd always treated Sabrina like a younger sister.

Two years ago, with some help from my father, Nancy and Lorcan's father, Vincent Steele, settled down together. After that, Sabrina became Lorcan's younger stepsister.

She'd been in elementary school when Lorcan and I were in junior high. As continuity would demand, she'd been a freshman in junior high when we were in high school.

I could only blame myself for missing all the signs between Lorcan and Sabrina. When had they developed feelings for one another?

The suffocating memory of what happened during those wee hours of the morning suddenly flooded my mind.

Doomsday hit faster than any of us could expect it. Five hours later, my dad's company was plagued by a financial crisis and went bankrupt three days later. After a week, scandals and dirty rumors befell the company.

I packed up and left on a plane, flying far away from the land I called home.

My dad had died because of them. He'd jumped off a building, and I'd seen his death reported on the internet.

"Tess!"

I woke up with tears streaming down my face, only to see Jonathan staring at me worriedly. I grabbed a tissue and dried my tears, my voice hoarse. "I'm fine."

Jonathan handed me an opened bottle of water. I took it and let the water soothe my grainy throat. "Head over to Skylark Entertainment without me tomorrow, Jonathan."

Skylark Entertainment was the largest entertainment agency in the country. Lorcan acquired it five years ago.

"Why?" Jonathan asked, baffled.

A humorless smile tugged on my lips as I opened the car door. My voice was drowned out by the sound of the pouring rain. "Because I've still got some pride left."

Alas, an ordinary person's pride and integrity were only worth so much.

While researching potential celebrity candidates in the hotel, I'd only just come across a decent-looking young man when Jonathan called. "Tess, it's best if you come to Skylark Entertainment."

I looked no better than a bedraggled goblin as I leaned into the swivel chair behind my computer. "Did something happen?"

"The reps at Skylark Entertainment think your absence is a show of insincerity on our company's part," Jonathan explained.

Insincere? Those pricks!

I bolted for the shower. "Give me half an hour."

Half an hour later, Jonathan and I found ourselves waiting in the CEO's office at Skylark Entertainment. We were given a simple task—talk Sabrina into signing with us.

Ten minutes later, the CEO of Skylark Entertainment finished his meeting and strolled through the office door, his silhouette dashing and confident.

I stood up and met the CEO halfway, smiling as I reached for a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Steele."

Lorcan hummed in acknowledgment, then turned his gaze on me. "Sit."

"Mr. Steele, our company has already reached out to Skylark Entertainment with an invitation. We were hoping to—"

Before Jonathan could finish speaking, Lorcan crossed his legs on the couch and gave the documents he held a cursory glance. After that, he lifted his gaze to us and interrupted coolly, "Co-workers?"

"Uh, yes…" Jonathan was thrown off his curve by Lorcan's unexpected question.

My brows furrowed. "Mr. Steele, we came today to invite Ms. Sabrina Porter, a talent managed by Skylark Entertainment, to collaborate on our company's commercial production. If you're agreeable—"

"I'm not." Lorcan's gaze was as dark as obsidian, and he said in a cold, hard voice, "If your company is interested in working together with one of our talents on an upcoming commercial production, we're happy to let other excellent candidates collaborate with you. But Sabrina—"

"Fine, then," I cut him off brusquely and stood up to leave. "I hope we'll get to work together with Ms. Porter the next time."

I'd delivered that statement through gritted teeth, then dragged Jonathan with me as I left the office.

Lorcan was happy enough to let us hire any candidate under his management except Sabrina. I ought to commend him for his loyalty and dedication.

I was fuming, and it was a surprise smoke hadn't come out of my ears.

A week later, I attended a star-studded dinner party in an expensive cocktail dress.

Skylark Entertainment wasn't the only agency I could reach out to. There were plenty of fish in the sea.

I helped myself to a glass of champagne, and with a winning smile, graciously approached a nearby, fresh-looking young man. He was the high-potential candidate I'd found and researched back at the hotel.

Unfortunately, the entertainment industry was nothing more than murky, shark-infested waters.

Before I could get close to the young man, a greasy, stout, bald man approached me. His clammy, fleshy palm immediately found its placement on my waist as he leered at me. "Hey, gorgeous, why haven't I seen you around before?"

I scowled. "Let go."

"Oh, don't play coy with me. Women who come to these things are always looking for a rich man to go home with."

"Didn't you hear her? She told you to let go!" The next second, a long leg shot out and landed a swift, hard kick on the greasy bald man. He fell, landing on his backside.

Lorcan straightened, his face grim with the promise of violence as he slowly approached the bald man. The sole of his leather shoe, polished to the point of gleaming, pressed against the greasy man's right hand.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Mr. Steele, please spare me! I'm not worth your time!" the greasy man pleaded, practically prostrating at Lorcan's feet as despair twisted his face.

Lorcan stared down his nose at the creepy man, scowling. "Which hand did you put on her? This? Or this?"

He stepped on the man's fingers even harder until a distinct crunch rang through the air. The man let out a howl as his fingers were crushed under Lorcan's shoe.

I stared at Lorcan in bewilderment. It was as if he'd become the brash young man he'd been ten years ago.

My heart wrenched over and over. I mourned for him, as I did for myself. He would have been better off without me. I was an accessory to his most miserable, most humiliating moments.

…

While I was in a daze, the security came and dragged the greaseball away. It was only when Lorcan turned to look at me that I snapped out of my thoughts. Flashing him a smile, I said politely, "Thank you."

With that, I spun on my high heels and made to approach the young, high-potential candidate I'd been eyeing earlier.

"Tessa Langley." Lorcan's large palm suddenly wrapped around my arm.