I reached for another drink, but Vanessa grabbed my arm.

She smiled. "Just drinking is kinda boring. Let's raise the stakes."

Someone jumped in immediately. "Then the loser has to take something off."

Another guy laughed. "Outerwear's lame. Make it underwear."

The room erupted.

"Take it off! Take it off!"

My hands clenched so hard my knuckles went white. Every muscle in my body locked up.

Vanessa tilted her head, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Elle, I'd love to help, but your luck sucks. There are so many people here tonight. I can't let everyone down."

As she spoke, she melted back against the man beside her.

I glanced at him.

He lounged on the couch, not even bothering to look up, like the whole scene had nothing to do with him.

The chanting kept getting louder.

I stood there, jaw clenched, unable to say a word.

Then a deep voice cut through the noise.

"You work at a place like this. Don't play innocent."

His tone was flat. Casual, almost bored.

After saying it, he tipped back his glass and finished it in one swallow.

Then he looked at me.

The second our eyes met, my whole body went rigid.

Cold eyes.

Sharp features.

Other than the heavier presence he carried now, he looked exactly the same.

Matt Martinez.

The college guy I'd slapped years ago.

Now the founder of Martinez Corp.

The man half of Averyton seemed to answer to.

The room went quiet for a second.

Then laughter and agreement exploded from every direction.

I looked at Matt and smiled. "You're right. Girls who work in places like this shouldn't act so innocent."

I lifted my hands and reached for the zipper on my back.

Every guy in the room immediately locked onto me, barely hiding their anticipation.

The zipper had only moved a fraction when his voice rang out again.

"Get out."

I looked up at Matt.

His expression didn't change, but the veins at his temple stood out. Something dark flickered behind his eyes.

Vanessa flinched.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but one look at his face shut her up.

I smiled.

"If Mr. Martinez doesn't want to watch, then I'll leave."

My gaze swept across the room.

"Have fun, everyone."

The second I stepped out of the nightclub, I couldn't keep it together anymore.

The alcohol churned in my stomach, wave after wave, leaving a bitter-sweet taste in my throat.

I dug out a couple of hangover pills, swallowed them dry, and crouched against the wall.

I stayed there for who knew how long.

Just as I got to my feet, a cold laugh came from behind me.

"You've got some nerve."

I turned around.

Matt stood there.

His face was dark, anger written all over it.

"Who told you to come here tonight?"

I flashed him a sweet smile. "What? Didn't like it?"

I rose onto my toes, looped my arms around his neck, and breathed the words into his ear.

"I thought you'd enjoy it."

Matt went still for a second before pulling me off him.

His voice turned cold. "I told you not to cross the line."

I looked at him and almost laughed.

Cross the line?

What he really meant was that I wasn't allowed anywhere near Vanessa.

I could take his money.

Live in the apartment he bought for me.

Whenever he called, I had to be there.

And most importantly, I had to remember my place.

A woman who could never stand in the light.

A woman who wasn't allowed to hope for anything more.

For years, I'd followed every rule.

But tonight, for the first time, I'd crossed the line he drew.

I brushed my hair back and laughed.

"Of course I remember. Tonight was an accident. Maybe if you paid me a little more, I wouldn't still be working part-time at that nightclub. Then none of this would've happened—"

Before I could finish, his face darkened.

The next second, he grabbed me and shoved me into the car.

The door slammed shut, cutting off the noise outside.

The driver hit the gas and wisely raised the privacy screen.

Matt pinned me against the back seat.

His face was inches from mine. His voice was ice-cold.

"Have I spoiled you too much? So much that you've forgotten who you are?"

I leaned back obediently.

Forgotten who I was?

How could I?

Three years ago, my family lost everything.

My parents jumped from the roof of the company building, one after the other.

I ended up trapped in an alley by creditors.

They'd already ripped open my collar.

Maybe my screams finally caught someone's attention.

A black Bentley pulled up at the mouth of the alley.

The window rolled down.

Inside was a face I'd seen before.

Matt.

He sat there, coldly watching as those men shoved me around, put their hands on me, and laughed at me.

Then I used the last of my strength to shove them away and collapsed in front of his car.

Tears splashed onto the pavement under the headlights.

I lowered my head and begged again and again.

"Please... Please help me..."

The car door opened.

That night, Matt took care of the creditors.

And after that, this became us.

I tilted my head and smiled. "Mr. Martinez, you're joking."

I lifted a hand and lightly brushed my fingertips along his jaw, teasing.

"I'm just a toy you paid for. How could I forget who I am? Or who I belong to?"

Matt's eyes darkened. He caught my wrist.

"Good."

The second the word left his mouth, he kissed me.

Hard.

Like a warning.

I didn't pull away. I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him back.

The car sped through the empty city streets.

The air inside grew heavier by the second.

Our breaths deepened.

The zipper of my dress slid down, and his hand settled against my bare skin.

Hot and cold.

Then a ringtone shattered the silence.

Matt froze.

He pulled out his phone, glanced at the screen, and answered.

Vanessa's voice came through immediately.

"Matt, where did you go? Why've you been gone so long?"

"Mm." His tone gave nothing away. "Something came up at the company. Had to deal with it."

Vanessa went on for a bit before suddenly changing the subject.

"Oh, right. Remember the girl that club manager brought in tonight?"

Matt glanced at me.

I was still sitting on his lap.

"Who?"

Vanessa paused, sounding careful. "Elle. Back at the nightclub, I went over to talk to you, and she insisted on butting in. Then you turned her down, and she..."

Matt's hand stayed at my waist, his palm burning through the fabric.

His eyes stayed on me as the corner of his mouth slowly curved up.

"And then she slapped me?"

The car went dead silent.

So did the other end of the line.

Matt didn't seem bothered.

"I remember." His voice was lazy. "Why?"

Vanessa laughed, something probing hidden beneath it.

"Nothing. I just think it's funny. Back then, she was so full of herself. Always looking down on everyone. And now? Look at her."

She clicked her tongue.

"Matt, what do you think of her?"

His breath brushed my skin.

His gaze dropped to the mark on my collarbone.

Then he smiled.

Casual.

Mocking.

"She's nothing special. Just a nightclub girl. Same as any other hostess."

Vanessa sounded pleased.

"That's what I thought. You weren't interested in her when she was an heiress. Now that she's serving drinks, there's no way you'd think twice about her."

The call ended.

Matt watched me for several seconds, like he was waiting for a reaction.

When none came, he kissed me again.

"You really don't care."

I said nothing.

Vanessa only cared about what Matt thought.

She remembered the slap I'd given him.

But she'd forgotten to ask if I remembered why my family went bankrupt.

Or why my parents died.

That was okay.

There'd be plenty of time to remind her.

I smiled, wrapped my arms around Matt, and closed my eyes.

The next morning.

The traces of last night still lingered in the room, but Matt was already pulling away.

He buttoned up his shirt, calm and efficient, like last night had been nothing more than a brief distraction.

Before leaving, he said, "Stay away from that place for a while."

I smiled and tilted my head.

"What? Worried about me? Afraid I'm working too hard?"

He paused, grabbed his jacket, and tossed a bank card onto the bed.

"I don't like trouble."

Then he walked out.

The door clicked shut.

His footsteps faded, and the room went quiet again.

I turned the card between my fingers for a long moment before laughing.

Matt really was generous.

Too bad.

I happened to like making trouble.

Not long after he left, the doorbell rang.

Slow.

Steady.

Patient.

I walked over and looked through the peephole.

A smile tugged at my lips.

I opened the door.

A woman stood outside, perfectly made up, carrying herself like she owned the place.

She looked a little surprised that I'd answered so quickly. Then she smiled.

"Aren't you going to invite me in, my dear best friend?"

I lifted my chin and stepped aside.

"Of course." I smiled back. "You're always welcome."

Vanessa clicked in on her heels.

She still looked polished and in control, but the second her gaze swept the room, her face went stiff.

Matt and I had been reckless last night.

The couch. The floor. Even by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Proof was everywhere.

The aftermath of last night was impossible to miss.

His tie lay abandoned on the carpet.

Vanessa stared at it for two seconds, then looked up with a smile.

"Looks like I came at a bad time."

I leaned against the doorway and nodded. "You did. Your fiancé just left."

For a split second, the polished mask Vanessa always wore almost cracked.

But she recovered fast.

She crossed the room and sat on the couch like nothing had happened.

"You're still the same. Always joking." Her tone stayed light. "But here's a little advice. Some men aren't meant to be touched."

I raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"

Her voice softened, almost sympathetic. "Matt, for example. Men in his position get bored. They want something new. Keeping a woman around for fun isn't exactly rare. I've seen it happen plenty of times."

She smiled and met my eyes. "You're not the first, and you won't be the last."

Her gaze lingered on me. "You don't actually think sleeping with him a few times changes anything, do you?"

I laughed.

Vanessa's eyes darkened. "What's so funny?"

Tilting my head, I answered lazily, "I was just thinking... when Matt hung up on you at your birthday party last night and kissed me instead, he never mentioned he was just looking for something new."

The room went dead quiet.

Vanessa's hand tightened on her knee.

The smile never left her face.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a bank card.

"This kind of childish provocation doesn't mean anything to me."

With a casual flick of her wrist, she tossed it onto the table.

"There's five hundred thousand dollars on it. Take it and leave Averyton. And stop chasing someone else's man like a bitch in heat."

Another bank card?

This really was a lucrative line of work.

I glanced down, picked up the card, and turned it between my fingers.

Then I almost laughed.

"Five hundred thousand?"

I looked up at her.

"Is that really the best you can do these days?"

I set the card back down.

"I'm pretty sure that's not even enough to cover the necklace Matt bought me at auction last week."

Vanessa's expression instantly changed.

I acted like I hadn't noticed.

Flicking the card between my fingers, I went on casually.

"Oh, right. I remember you called him a bunch of times that night. Sorry about that. We were having too much fun in the jacuzzi. I even told him to answer, but he got annoyed and turned his phone off—"

"Enough!"

Vanessa finally snapped.

The word came out almost as a scream.

Her chest rose and fell sharply. The polished, elegant mask she'd been hiding behind shattered completely.

She glared at me, eyes burning with venom. "What are you so proud of? Who do you think you are, Elle Emerton? You're nothing but a toy.

"Look at yourself. Your parents are dead. Your family's company is gone. You were cornered in an alley by creditors like some stray dog. What, did you forget all that?"

Her voice shook with pure hate. "When your mom jumped from that roof, the wind blew her skirt everywhere. Who in Averyton didn't see it?

"And your dad was even more pathetic. He died without ever knowing who leaked that confidential file."

My face stayed blank.

I didn't say a word.

Vanessa seemed to slip into some twisted high.

She sneered and kept going. "Don't blame me. Blame your parents for being idiots. They were so easy to fool. My dad barely set the trap before yours signed the papers.

"And your mom...

"She actually cried and begged me to take care of you. Hahaha. How can someone be that stupid?"

Her laughter cut off.

Because I suddenly held up my phone.

The red recording light blinked on the screen.

Vanessa's eyes widened.

Finally, she realized what she'd just confessed to.

"You—"

Her face twisted with rage.

The slap cracked across my face.

My head jerked to the side, and blood filled my mouth.

But that wasn't enough for her.

She grabbed my hair and yanked.

"You bitch! You set me up! You Emertons really are—"

"Let her go."

A cold voice sliced through the room.

Everything went still.

Vanessa froze.

Slowly, almost like she couldn't believe it, she turned toward the door.

Matt stood there.