Chapter 1

ONE

AELLA

T he Woodland Diner is on the corner of Main Street, and its outward-facing glass windows allow its customers to look out at downtown Twin Pines, Oregon. Charlotte is late, as always, but she's usually not this late.

"Still waiting for your guest?" the server asks for the fourth time.

I sigh and shake my head. "No, I don't think she's coming. I'm going to call it."

"Sure you don't want to order?"

I hand her over a twenty, more than enough to cover the one glass of wine I'd been nursing. "Keep the change."

She smiles with a bit of sadness, warping her mouth and nodding her thanks. "Have a good night."

"You too."

After downing my wine, I look around. It's not your typical old, smelly diner. The new owner had redone it. It has a rustic feel, dim lighting, and a fantastic wine list. Farm-to-table became big in our area a while back, and the new owner capitalized on it and has done well for himself.

I check my phone and see Charlotte hasn't said a damn thing to me. Scowling, I shove it back into my red Birkin bag. As I head into the cool night air, my heels click on the wooden floors. We're transitioning into summer, but we're not there yet. Today's high had been a chilly seventy-one.

The wind blows, rain stinging against my face, and I tighten my shawl around me. My Lexus lights up as I hit the fob, stepping off the curb to get into it. It had been a present from Carter after I said yes to his marriage proposal.

The leather is cold when I slide inside and set my bag on the passenger seat. I take a deep breath.

Charlotte is my only remaining friend from school, and sometimes I wonder why I give her the time of day. She made these plans, and yet if something came up she found more interesting, it would be nothing for her to ghost me.

The engine hums to life, and I take a moment to gather myself and let the anger fuel me as I head to Carter's house. Our house . I just moved in with him. We need to make things between us look more believable to the media.

Our marriage has been in place for as long as I can remember. My father, being the conglomerate he was, and Carter, the hungry son of a billionaire looking to make a name for himself, meant merging the two names would be great for business .

Don't get me wrong, I think eventually something could grow from our arrangement. Despite being arranged, my parents were utterly infatuated with each other.

Our two-story house, perched in a gated community, isn't far from downtown. It's not the area I'd have chosen, but I rarely get a say. You'd think I'd be used to it because my father has always controlled everything in my life, but I'm not.

Recently, I just wanted to run away from it all, but Aella Montague, daughter of Walter Montague, can't have those thoughts. I can't show weakness.

I narrow my eyes at the dark house when I park beside the curb. He's home. His Bentley is in the middle of the drive, leaving no room for my car.

I roll my eyes and turn the engine off, grabbing my bag and phone before exiting into the windy night. The stars above twinkle brightly, but there's none of the rugged, overgrown Oregon I love around. Not near the bougie neighborhood where Carter preferred we live.

My heels click through the night as I go up to the house, using my key to let myself in.

As I turn to the table in the entryway, ready to set my things down, a moan rings out through the house. It filters down the steps, jaggedly rubbing against my rapidly beating pulse.

"Carter! Fuck!"

I close my eyes as I drop my things.

Of course, I knew he had to be getting fucked somewhere, but in our brand-new house?

Removing my shoes, I silently make my way up the stairs, plan not formed as I tiptoe toward his bedroom door. Mine is right next door. Part of me wonders if he knew I was out before he let his guest in. Did he know right where I was, and that's why she's here?

His door is wide open, and she straddles him, naked, with her head thrown back in ecstasy.

Something in my belly clenches and rolls with nausea as I look at the profile of my best friend as she moans my fiancé's name again.

"Charlotte?"

I don't realize I've said it aloud until she turns her face toward me.

She doesn't stop. Her hands reach up and cup her breasts as she moans again.

It takes a moment for Carter to follow her line of sight. His reaction is genuine when he finds me standing in his doorway, having pushed the door all the way open to make sure I wasn't losing my fucking mind.

"Fuck, Aella!" He pushes Charlotte off him, and she lies on her back, still rubbing her hands over her body as she eyes me with not an ounce of remorse.

She meant for me to find them.

It's a realization that has anger overtaking the need to cry. Which I'm thankful for. Crying right now would make this even worse.

Carter grabs a blanket off the bed. It's the first time I've seen him naked, and it's not for the reason I thought I would.

He and I have danced around falling into the arrangement our parents made for us many times, but we have never sealed the deal .

"It's not what…" He trails off, realizing what I've seen.

I shake my head, tears burning the back of my eyes as I fight them. "Spare me."

Charlotte laughs, and it's full of malice. "Awe, Carter, she's going to cry. Look at her."

"Shut up, Char!" Carter yells at his whore.

I can't stand here any longer.

I turn and head back downstairs for my things. Carter's footsteps are right behind me.

"Aella! Come back, let's discuss this. We need to figure out where to go from here!"

I turn back as I get to the table, hands on my purse and keys. "Figure what out? You've been fucking my best friend, and she clearly isn't my friend, but that's something else entirely…"

I close my eyes as I steel my insides to the betrayal.

"There's nothing to figure out, Carter."

"Well, what are you going to tell your father?" he asks, and it cuts me deeper than anything else he could say.

It's all he cares about. He's never had feelings for me, and inwardly I knew it. He'd have made a move before now. Fuck, we're in our mid-twenties. We've been promised since we were teenagers.

"That this is done. I can't fucking do it, Carter. I deserve better."

He scoffs, and I open my eyes and swing them toward him. "Better than me? Good luck, Aella. You know, I might not fuck you, but you're pretty damned spoiled. "

My mouth opens to deny it, to fight back, but I don't have the fucking strength.

My world is crumbling around me; everything is finally coming to a head, and there are no words I can give him. Even though I want to cuss him out, get him back somehow, sting him as he has me, I don't have it in me.

I've been a broken girl for a long time, moving only when her puppet strings are tugged. And I'm so fucking tired.

I am so done.

"Goodbye, Carter."

I clutch my things as I move out of the house. The door slams behind me. I realize halfway down the sidewalk that I don't have shoes on, but I don't have the strength to turn around and go back inside that house.

So, I keep steady and head to my car.

The first tears trickle down my cheeks, but not in sadness or anger. I've wasted so much life I could've been living. While being Dad's good girl and Carter's betrothed, I've been slowly dying. The world has been passing me by.

I scream, not giving a shit who I wake up as I use my purse to beat my car. The alarm sounds through the night.

"Awful night?" a voice asks. It's deep and full of gravel.

God, what now?

I shut the alarm off with the fob, pulling myself together the best I can.

I close my eyes before turning. The embarrassment of what this person saw me doing claws at my chest. I know it's likely a neighbor. Even though I won't be back in this neighborhood soon, I don't need the headlines, either.

"Yeah, you could say that." I turn around and am thrown by what I see standing behind me.

A massive man, covered in tattoos, clad in jeans and a leather jacket, broods before me as he flexes his hands. It's almost as if he's trying to keep himself composed.

He doesn't belong here, though. He looks like a massive variance to the surrounding suburban housing development.

Though lights are flicking on in houses around us, I can only stare at him.

"Well, it's about to get worse," he says, putting one hand into his pocket.

"I don't think it can get any worse," I mutter, more to myself than anything. "You a friend of Carter's?" I only ask because he'd come from the side of the house as if he'd been in the backyard.

To look at him, though, I know there's no way Carter would be caught with the man.

He's so muscular I don't know how he'd gotten all of it into the leather jacket. His dark hair is shaggy and wind-blown, his lips full and menacing as they chew on a toothpick. His cheeks are sharp, and his jaw likewise. He exudes a dangerous aura, and I wouldn't be surprised if those hands he keeps flexing have blood tainting them.

"You like what you see, Bambi," he growls, stepping toward me .

Wit finally kicks in as I walk back into my Lexus.

My brain is reeling as I try to think of what to do. There's pepper spray in my bag, but he'd be on me long before I could open it.

"What do you want? Money?" I ask timidly, living up to the name he'd called me.

He snarls, lifting his lip over his perfect teeth in disgust. "Your daddy's money ruined me. I think I've had enough of it for a fucking lifetime."

His words make my stomach sink. My dad is a businessman, but I know he's not clean. I've heard many rumors about things he's supposedly covered up in this town, and I've been in the middle of the scrutiny when those rumors swirl, too.

"Well, you need to take that up with him. Not me."

His tattooed hand lifts, and I steel as he runs a finger down my face.

Fear slams into my insides as I try to breathe through it. I try to look as if I'm not afraid. I know I'm failing.

"Why would I do that, Bambi? When you are one of his best assets? You're the heir to his fucked-up fortune, are you not?"

Technically, Carter is the heir, but not until we're married. My father wanted boys and had only gotten me, so he bargained me off for the son he always wanted.

"Y—Yes," I stammer, opening my eyes. I feel the pressure change as he leans in.

His hair falls in his face, and it darkens the moment. "Then I think you're just the chip I've been looking to use on the table. "

"Please, don't hurt me," I beg, my lip trembling.

His answering laugh is devoid of emotion. Devoid of even humanity. "Bambi, I'm going to do more than hurt you. I'm going to ruin you."

A cloth comes over my mouth, a sickly-sweet scent of chemicals invading my senses. I try to fight against him, dropping my bag to the ground as I claw at his hand over my face. His other hand reaches up and holds the back of my head.

"Go to sleep, Bambi. When you wake up, we'll have some fun, you and I."

My thrashes against him are useless and waning as a heaviness comes over me.

"There's a good girl. Give into it."

His voice seems far away as my eyes roll back and my body sags.

"The sins of the father always come back to bite the offspring in the ass, Bambi. You're but a chess piece on the board. One that I need to win."