Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Evangeline sits on the edge of the bed, her hands shaking, the way mine used to after one of his “lessons.” “What if he’s already watching us?” she asks, her voice thin, barely audible.
“He probably is,” I say. “But he wants you afraid. He wants you paralyzed.”
I walk over to the dresser and pick up the onesie. It’s singed along one sleeve, charred but not destroyed.
A statement. A message. I can reach you. I’m already close.
My throat constricts. Change erupts inside me. I’m done being the bitch in heels. The narcissist craving attention she didn’t get from Mommy and Daddy.
I’m my own person, raised by a man who tried to break me.
But I’m here. A little fractured maybe but still standing.
“You’re not alone in this,” I say to Evie.
She meets my gaze, her eyes brimming with tears. She’s always been composed. An elegant perfectionist. Matchmaker and event planner to the elites.
She’s none of that now.
“I thought he was just another powerful bastard,” she says. “They're all cold as ice. I've seen it before. One I could use for my own gain. One I could walk away from.”
“He’s not,” I say. “He doesn’t let go.”
She nods. “And the baby…”
“He always liked to wait,” I say. “Wait until you felt safe. Wait until you believed maybe, just maybe, you were finally out of his reach.”
“And then?” she asks.
I don’t answer. I can’t.
I move to the window. The sun is starting to dip, casting long golden shadows over the garden paths below. Staffers bustle in preparation for the bachelorette events, completely unaware that a predator might be among them.
“How did he find us?” she asks.
“Money talks,” I say. “Security here is tight, but it’s not impenetrable. All it takes is one staffer with debts or a grudge. One shipment delivery. One leak.” I pause. “Or someone who already knows.”
She frowns. “You mean one of the contestants?”
“Maybe,” I say. “But they didn’t hear it from me. Who else have you told?”
“No one,” she says, a little too quickly.
“Try again.”
She opens her mouth but the phone buzzes again, interrupting her.
Another message.
This one’s longer.
You were always good at running, Misty.
It’s addressed to me.
My hands go cold.
“Shit,” I mutter.
He’s not just watching Evangeline. Not just watching the baby.
He’s watching me.
EPISODE 235
TEMPTED
Sienna
I freeze outside River’s suite, my hand ready to knock, when I hear a voice—Emily’s voice—cool and sharp right through the door.
“Why exactly would you be fucking up anything for Brett?”
My breath catches. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.
My gut twists.
Brett’s name.
When I returned to the mansion, I went straight to Emily’s suite. When she wasn’t there, I took a chance and tried River’s.
Clearly I was right. She’s here, which means the two of them are okay.
I want to be happy for her. Truly, I do.
But I’m in turmoil. The man I thought was the love of my life loves someone else, and I can’t compete with a twenty-year-old memory.
I don’t know what Emily and River are talking about, but for once in my life I put myself first.
I knock anyway.
Out of necessity. Because if I don’t, I’ll spend the rest of the day spiraling.
Three soft knocks.
The door opens.
River is shirtless, damp and flushed in a way that makes it painfully obvious I’ve interrupted something. He doesn’t look annoyed, but he doesn’t look thrilled either.
Emily stands, also flushed, wearing nothing but a sheet. Her cheeks are pink, her lips slightly swollen. She looks…glowing. Happy. Awash in post-coital haze.
And I hate how much I envy her for it.
A third person is here as well.
Jake.
My competition.
“I need to speak to Emily,” I say quickly. “Privately.”
“Are you okay, See?” Emily asks, walking toward me. “No, of course you’re not. You look like the kettle’s broken and there’s no more tea.”
Even Emily’s British banter doesn’t make me smile.
“You poor thing,” she says. “Let me get some clothes on and I’ll be right with you.”
She disappears into the bedroom, the door clicking softly shut behind her.
I stay standing just inside the entryway, but the tension swirls around me like it’s stitched into the air itself.
Jake doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. Everything is in his expression—the guilt, the ache, the embarrassment.
“Sienna,” he says finally.
I shouldn’t answer.
But I do.
“What?”
“Jake…” River begins.
“No, Riv. This concerns me.”
“She wants to talk to Emily,” River says.
“He’s right.” I sigh.
Jake nods and exhales slowly. “I get it. And I won’t take a lot of your time, but can we talk? Just us?”
I hesitate.
Excuse me? He’s serious? We don’t know each other.
Of course, we have one very important thing in common.
So I nod. “Sure.” I turn to River. “Tell Em I’ll be back. I do want to talk.”
“You sure about this?” River asks me.
I shake my head. “I’m not sure of anything anymore. But I should hear him out.”
Jake smiles.
And I hate how utterly handsome he is. Not as pretty as Brett, but with the lighter hair and leaner build, he has an almost boyish charm that mixes with his grown-man sex appeal—the kind that makes you forget your own name.