Hearing Carl's name from Ellis' lips and tongue brought me back to reality and I realized this wasn't okay. This was wrong and against everything that I believed in. This wasn't faithful to Carl, despite what he might or might not have done to me. My parents would be disappointed at me, but even more so, I was disappointed in myself.Tears fell down my cheeks as I began to struggle beneath him, "Mr. Peterson… please stop!" I grabbed at any part of him to stop him from going further. I didn't want this. I couldn't want this. Ellis quickly came to his senses and moved away from me with a fast movement, sitting beside me on the bed and raising his hands in the air to show he was listening to me. "I'm sorry."His apology shot from his mouth like I had stung him. I stared at him and my brain was in a haze. How could this have happened?How could he have kissed me knowing I was his son's fiancee?! I grabbed the pillow from behind me and in anger, smacking him on the side

**Ellis POVI hadn't been in the best mood the last couple of nights. At least, not since I had kissed Olivia. Damn, I couldn't get the way her soft lips felt on mine off my mind, or the way her body felt beneath my fingertips. The way she had given me the gift of her kiss and touch made me feel more spoiled than I had in a long time. Not to mention the memory of that night wouldn't stop haunting me, teasing me, and making me crave more.I needed to get my head on straight and the best remedy for trying to solve that was walking through my garden. I had paid good money to make it look as gorgeous as it did.The shouts and hushed whispers from nearby echoed in my ears and drew my interest. I had no f*cking clue who was meeting in secret in my garden to shoot sh*t, but clearly someone was.Turning a corner around a wall of roses, I found Carl and Bethany talking about something that seemed unimportant. Honestly, I had no f*cking interest in what Carl was doing. That was unt

My heart was pounding in my chest as I peered around the club and got lost in the ocean of greedy, lascivious faces. It was even more disorienting with the way that everyone was hiding behind a different mask, concealing their identity from me.I didn't know where I was, and I never thought my night would have ended like this. I swallowed hard and tried keeping my composure, flicking my hair and standing straight. I couldn't let them know that I was terrified. Suddenly, bursting from the crowd of rambling numbers came a high bid in the form of a creepy looking, overweight man in his fifties, wearing a suit that was ill-fit for his stature. "One hundred thousand!"I could tell that his lips were chapped from here and he fondled a cigar in between his fingers, licking the end of it in a salacious way. A shiver ran through me at the sight of him flirting with me through his cigar and drink.The crowd went silent and only a cough was heard to break it for a second. "One hundred

I looked over at Ellis, who was driving through the streets of Manhattan. Going out to dinner with him seemed a bit unusual, but I was starving."Okay, I'll let you take me to dinner." I agreed with a flat tone and ever-so-slightly noticed the corner of his lips curl up as if he was pleased."Great, I know the perfect place."My phone went off and I pulled it from my clutch to see my mother's name. They must have stayed up waiting for me to return home.I brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?""Hello, dear. Is the concert over?" My mother's voice came through the phone laced with concern. "It's a bit late. Your father and I were worried about you."I completely forgot my parents would have been worrying about me. I quickly scrambled for a reply. "The concert was great! It was nice to have the night out."I knew lying to my parents was wrong. They'd be extremely disappointed if they ever found out. I chewed on my bottom lip, and noticed a smirk coming from Ellis' lips. He was focused on

**Olivia POVAs I turned the doorknob, hoping I could sneak in unnoticed, I was met with my parent's gaze focused right on the door. I quickly ran my hands through my hair and tried to make myself presentable."There you are," my father scolded as he was flipping through his newspaper. My mother added, "We were so worried about you," and she hurried up to me to give me a hug."I told you I was getting a bite to eat," I reasoned, but it didn't register. "Have you heard from your sister?" my mother questioned. The mere mention of Bethany sent a shiver down my spine. After what I'd witnessed, it was hard to believe she really was my sister anymore.I shook my head. "We hadn't been able to reach her for hours...." my mother remarked.I wonder why, I thought.... "I'm sure she's not far away," I muttered and began walking down the hallway away from the front door. My parents seemed to notice my unusual mood, but they didn't pry further.As I approached the staircas