I've been in a secret relationship with my stepbrother, Caesar Kane, for eight years. He promises he'll marry me after graduation.

As graduation approaches, he tells me he's tired of me and has found someone younger and prettier. I throw away the ring he gave me and cut up my wedding dress.

All of his friends place bets on how long it will take before I come crawling back to him.

Caesar has always treated me like I'm his property and declares with complete confidence, "Give it three days tops. She'll come crawling back in tears, begging me to take her back."

So I accept the invitation from a prince from my Farbourne University prep program. I follow him to Snowcall, leaving behind the stepbrother who clearly doesn't care about me anymore.

Caesar finally cracks and calls me. "Miranda, enough with the drama. Come home."

A man's low, amused chuckle comes through the phone. "Pro tip—you shouldn't wait around if you want to win your woman back. Someone else might sweep her off her feet."

Caesar practically snarls into the phone. "Put Miranda on the phone!"

The man leans down and kisses me. "Sorry, we wore each other out pretty thoroughly just now, and she's out cold. Give me a second to wake her up properly."

I had been secretly involved with Caesar Kane for eight years.

To the outside world, he was the dazzling billionaire heir who became my stepbrother after my mother's remarriage. Behind closed doors, he was the man I planned to spend my life with.

I risked being discovered by my family to maintain this forbidden relationship with him, but that all changed the night I overheard him talking with his friends at a bar.

"Miranda? God, I got bored with her ages ago," Caesar said, blowing out a lazy smoke ring with that familiar arrogant expression.

"The same woman for eight years. It doesn't matter how good she is in bed—you get tired of anything after that long," he added.

His friends erupted in laughter around him.

"I still can't believe what started as a dare actually got you into your stepsister's pants," one of them said.

"Seriously, though. Caesar, Miranda's crazy about you. You really gonna break her heart?"

Caesar shrugged off my devotion like it meant nothing. "She's just too desperate to please me. I need someone with more fight in them."

He had actually told his friends about our relationship. But he had promised me he would never tell anyone about our forbidden affair!

That night, I felt my heart shatter, but I didn't storm in to make a scene. I slipped away quietly and made up some excuse when he called later. He barely acknowledged me before hanging up, not even bothering to ask if I was okay.

That night, I made my decision to break up with him.

Within days, word spread throughout the school that Caesar was pursuing the campus belle. He never tried to hide it when he was pursuing someone, and he was generous with his money. It took him only a few days to win her over, and he brought her to our usual group gathering.

The moment they walked in, everyone went silent. Caesar sat down with his arm around her, looking directly at me where I sat at the center of everyone's attention.

"Miranda, let's break up. I haven't had feelings for you in a long time," he declared.

My fists clenched so tightly that the ring on my finger dug painfully into my skin. Everyone's probing stares made me feel completely humiliated.

Caesar was extremely controlling and would threaten breakups whenever he was upset, testing me and enjoying how I'd scramble to win him back. However, I was exhausted too.

With all these people watching, I couldn't bring myself to beg anymore, no matter how desperate I might have been before.

"Molly is young and innocent. I really care about her. She's not like you. I don't want to hurt her, so I need to make things official with her," he said.

I could hear the seriousness in Caesar's tone and see the way he looked at Molly with genuine affection. Even though I'd tried to prepare myself, it still stung when reality hit.

Everyone was waiting for me to lose it, but I kept my voice steady. "Okay. Let's break up then."

Caesar's eyebrows shot up, clearly surprised that I wasn't putting up a fight. He replied, "We'll still be family, though. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

"That won't be necessary." I stood up and shook my head. "Since we're done, we should stay that way. Your girlfriend might get the wrong idea otherwise."

Caesar watched me with that knowing smirk, like he could see right through whatever brave face I was putting on. After a beat, he nodded.

I walked out, but I could hear someone inside asking, "So how long before Miranda comes crawling back this time?"

"Maybe a week?"

"She looked pretty torn up. I'm thinking two weeks."

Caesar's casual voice carried through the door. "Three days, tops. She'll be back within three days, crying and begging me to take her back.

"It's the same pattern every time. I know her inside and out. She's completely dependent on me."

When I got home, I took out my wedding dress. The custom design had Caesar's and my names embroidered on it—such a waste, since I'd never get to wear it now.

Looking at the dress felt like staring at eight years of pathetic delusion. Tears suddenly spilled down my cheeks, staining the fabric.

Since it was ruined anyway, I grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting it into pieces. There was no point keeping something around that would just remind Caesar of our mess when he eventually came home.

Before leaving, I slipped off my ring and left it on the coffee table. I didn't bother leaving a note or explanation and just booked a red-eye flight to Snowcall.

My best friend, Erica Steele, lived there. So, I figured a change of scenery might help clear my head.

Erica was thrilled when I showed up unexpectedly and threw an impromptu party to celebrate my visit. However, someone at the gathering caught me completely off guard.

"Elvis, what are you doing here?"

"I was in the area for business and heard classmates were getting together."

Elvis Fairmont made polite conversation with everyone. His eyes scanned the room before settling on me for a long moment, then slowly looking away.

Erica nudged me. "Don't you think Elvis came here for you?"

I looked up at him through my alcohol-induced haze. He was tall and had a commanding presence, the kind of person who naturally drew attention just by standing there.

I shook my head. "That's impossible. We were just classmates in the Farbourne University prep program. We haven't talked in forever."

Erica was frustrated by my lack of initiative and stood up to get Elvis's attention.

"Your Highness, Miranda's had too much to drink. Could you possibly give her a ride?"

Elvis's gaze landed on me, and I found myself sitting up straighter without thinking about it. I was bracing for rejection when he surprised me by nodding.

"It would be my pleasure," he said.

Erica grinned as she practically pushed me toward Elvis. "Aren't you tired of sleeping with the same man for eight years? Take advantage of tonight. Caesar's running around with other women, so why can't you find someone better than him?"

I grabbed Erica's hand helplessly. "That's Prince Elvis Fairmont we're talking about. How do you know he'd even want to sleep with me?"

Erica gave me a knowing look. "I've dated enough guys to field a football team, and trust me, the way Elvis is looking at you? He wants to devour you."

When we reached my hotel, I politely thanked Elvis. "Thank you for the ride."

As I got out of the car, I noticed the fire in Elvis's eyes and found myself making an impulsive invitation. "Want to come up for a while?"

Elvis agreed without hesitation, and he couldn't even wait until we got out of the elevator before kissing me. I was already tipsy, and his kiss left me breathless. It made me bolder as I wrapped my arms tightly around his solid waist.

"Easy there, sweetheart," he purred.

I looked up at him, my fingers playing with his tie as I pulled him closer. "You've already kissed my lips swollen, and now you want me to take it easy?"

Elvis's expression darkened, and his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "You won't get a chance to regret this now, sweetie."

We didn't even make it to the bed the first time. Elvis lifted me up, and my bare legs wrapped around his waist.

My back scraped painfully against the wall, and even when I tried to protest, Elvis pretended not to hear me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I bit down on his shoulder.

"Be gentle… my back hurts…" I cried.

Elvis's warm palm protected my back, but his movements below didn't stop. I couldn't take it anymore and screamed as I climaxed several times before Elvis finally groaned and picked up his pace.

As the waves of pleasure slowly faded from my body, my mind gradually became clearer. At some point, Elvis had carried me to the bed.

I had actually slept with Elvis! He was only the second man I'd ever been with besides Caesar.

Even just the thought of Caesar made tears suddenly spill from my eyes.

Elvis, fresh from his shower, frantically wiped away my tears. "Did I hurt you somewhere? Don't cry. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

I shook my head through my sobs. "I shouldn't have gotten involved with you."

Elvis pulled me into his arms, sliding his arm under my head. "But you already have, sweetie. So let's see this through to the end."

On my seventh day in Snowcall, one of my friends, Lucas Freeman, called me out of the blue.

"Miranda, when are you coming back?"

"I'm not planning to anytime soon," I replied.

"Norton's birthday is next week. You're not going to come celebrate?"

"I'll pass, but I'll send something."

The conversation went quiet, and I could hear Lucas awkwardly passing the phone to someone else. "Maybe you should try talking to Miranda. She usually listens to you," he said.

Caesar's cold voice came through the speaker. "I don't give a damn whether she comes back or not. Honestly, it'd be better if she stayed away permanently."

I heard our mutual friends trying to intervene. "Come on, Miranda's obviously really hurt this time. She took off her ring and everything.

"You've been pretty brutal with this whole new girlfriend thing. You really humiliated her."

The sound of glass shattering cut through their voices as Caesar threw his drink. "We're done, okay? What the hell else do you people want from me? Nobody contact her! Let's see how long she wants to drag this out!"

While everyone scrambled to defend me, Caesar was apparently having a complete meltdown and blocked my number right there in front of them all.

"She better fucking not come crawling back here in tears! I'm never taking her back like I used to!"

I heard a door slam as he stormed out. The whole thing had been on speaker, so I'd caught everything.

Having Elvis around for comparison was really putting things in perspective. Caesar sounded like a tantruming teenager.

"I'll send Norton's birthday present. And please don't call me when Caesar's around anymore," I said.

They were still trying to persuade me to make peace with him when I ended the call.

"Sweetie, what do you want for dinner? I'll come pick you up."

Before I could even process the hurt from that phone call, Elvis's text appeared and smoothed away all my frustration.

In all these years, Caesar had never once called me anything like "sweetie". He thought pet names were cheesy.

Elvis arrived quickly, like he'd been waiting downstairs the whole time. He asked, "Have you decided what you want to eat?"

He was so gentlemanly, reaching over to buckle my seatbelt for me. I shook my head.

"How about seafood boil then?" he suggested.

I looked at Elvis in surprise. "I can't believe you even know what that is. I figured you only ate whatever your nutritionist put in front of you."

Elvis raised an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't originally. But I remember you mentioning back in our Farbourne University prep program that you really loved it."

I was amazed that Elvis remembered something I'd said so casually years ago. Caesar never would have joined me for messy food like this.

He thought eating with your hands and getting sauce everywhere was undignified. He didn't want to get his hands dirty. I'd given up foods I actually enjoyed to accommodate Caesar.

I watched as Elvis clumsily peeled shrimp while trying not to get sauce on his fingers, and it made me burst out laughing.

For a moment, he seemed completely mesmerized. Then, his expression shifted to something I couldn't quite read.

"Miranda, are you full?" he asked.

"Pretty much. Why?"

After Elvis paid the bill, he drove me back to the hotel. It wasn't until after my shower, when Elvis pulled me close on the bed, that I realized he'd gotten aroused watching me laugh at dinner.

Before I could think about it more, we were already lost in each other.

"Oh! Elvis..."

I was quickly swept into waves of pleasure, my voice soft as I called out his name. The sound didn't come out angry at all—it was more like satisfied contentment.

The slightly rough movements contrasted sharply with Elvis's usual gentlemanly demeanor, though he was still attentive to how I was responding. "Miranda, do you like this?"

I shook my head, avoiding the question. Elvis chuckled softly as he trailed a series of tender kisses across my cheeks, neck, and chest.

His touches were driving me to the edge, and tears of pure sensation leaked from the corners of my eyes. "Mmm, Elvis, yes… it feels amazing…"

Elvis's breathing grew ragged, and his muscles tensed as things intensified between us.

I was being consumed by desire, and just as my consciousness was starting to slip away, Elvis whispered something in my ear.

"Miranda, if you like this, promise you'll never leave me, okay?"