Before Alexander leaves, he comes to my side of the bed and kneels down. “I need to go to the manor to get ready for work, but think about tonight, okay?”

I’m tired, still sleepy in the six o’clock hour, but I’m honest. “I will.”

He kisses me on the head, and whispers, “Have a good day.”

“Love you.”

Before he leaves the bedroom, he sends me a wink that would make my knees weak if I were standing. When the door closes, I grab the pillow he slept on and bunch it in my arms, inhaling his musky male scent into my lungs. The smell of his sweat turns me on, but I could get drunk on the smell that lingers from our early morning connection.

I take the hour I have left and close my eyes. I’ve not felt this content in a while. Everything feels right, feels how it should. Finally.

* * *

The morning hours fly by with classes, and then I’m rushing to the library. I reach the second floor where the group usually meets. Maya and Shelly are there. Cal is sitting at the head of the table and Ryan’s next to the empty seat I take. “You guys are early.”

“Friday night,” Ryan says. “My fraternity is having a party. I need to get back and help set up.”

Maya asks, “Do you have plans?”

She crossed a line when she talked to Alexander behind my back. “Yes, with my boyfriend. He asked me to move in with him, and we’re going to be celebrating all night long. If you get my drift.”

“Sara Jane.” Shelly’s tone is cautioning.

Shooting Shelly a glare, I don’t back down. Maybe it’s the stress of the last few weeks or the memory of Maya flirting with Alexander that set me off, but we are not friends, and I refuse to pretend we are. If I make claims on Alexander in the meantime, so be it. “What? She hits on my boyfriend, then she asks me a question, fishing for information on him. So I was just letting her know that I plan on fucking my boyfriend all weekend long.”

“What the—?” Shelly stands. “What has gotten into you?”

Maya protests, “I wasn’t hitting on him.”

Cal stands with his hands out. “Let’s all calm down.”

Ryan sits back and laughs. “Holy shit. Girls play dirty.”

“If you only knew,” I joke, not really, nudging him like we’re locker room buddies.

Shelly steps around the table. “Are you drunk, Sara Jane?” When she walks by me, she says, “We need to talk.”

I roll my eyes, but get up and follow her to the corner windows. As we stare down at the quad, she asks, “What in the hell are you doing?”

Irritated, I look her way. “Why are you so upset? I’m the one who was betrayed by my friends.”

“It doesn’t matter how you feel. You can’t act like that.”

“Like what? I’m lost on what the hell you’re talking about.”

“You’re with Alexander—”

“And?”

“And you’re better than what you displayed back there.”

“I am so confused. Are you saying because I’m with Alexander I need to act a certain way?” She looks around and if I didn’t know her better, I’d say she was nervous. “Shelly? What is going on? First you lie to me for what? Months? Years? Now you’re telling me I should be acting a certain way because of whom I’m dating?”

“Look,” she starts in a hushed tone. “I shouldn’t tell you, but I’ve hated lying to you—”

“How could Alexander trust you more than me?”

“It’s different.”

“How? This betrayal cuts deep, Shelly.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I really am. Please. It was never about trusting me more than you. It’s about him loving you too much to risk losing you.”

“Don’t defend him. There is no defense for the lies. You were my friend first. You should have never lied to me.”

“I had to. For Chad. He needed the money, and I missed sleeping with him.”

“You kept massive secrets from me over sex with your boyfriend?”

“No. That’s not it. I didn’t mean sleeping with him sex. I meant actually sleeping at night together. He was never home, and I missed him. We were drifting apart. I did what I could to save my relationship.”

“So you sold our friendship out?”

“Don’t say that, Sara Jane.”

“It’s the truth. You sold me out for Chad.”

“You would do the same for Alexander.”

“No. I wouldn’t lie to you. You know why? Because there’s nothing I would do behind your back that I would need to lie about.” I move to return to the table.

To my back, she asks, “What about Alexander?”

I pause to absorb her question before turning back around and crossing my arms over my chest. “What about Alexander?”

“What does Alexander have to lie about? Why did he need to hide what he’s doing from you if it’s all on the up and up?”

She knows how to get my blood boiling. Seething, I come back, so we can finish this. I get closer, and whisper, “You tell me. You seem to know all about what’s happening over at that fancy penthouse. What are you doing when you hang out over there all night?”

“They trust me.”

“So they don’t trust me? Whatever you’re implying, just say it, Shelly.” I huff. “And for the record, I trusted you and got burned. Do I need friends like that?”

The frown on her face arches lower before she pleads, “Please don’t hate me. I was protecting you just like they were.”

“From what?” I run my hands through my hair in frustration. “I’m so tired of this. I just want to go back to when everything and everyone was normal.”

“See, that’s the thing. Was it ever normal?” Her tone softens, her own exasperation evident as she sits in a chair nearby. “I’ve been around that place enough to learn a few things.”

“Like?”

Her shoulders are hunched, but she looks up. “Alexander owns fifty-one percent of Kingwood Enterprises.” My eyes flash to hers in astonishment. She goes on to say, “His mother’s money enabled Alexander Kingwood III to start the company. She didn’t want a position, but she remained the majority shareholder.”

“So?”

“So I think Alexander is right. I think his mother was murdered, and maybe by his father.”

I lean against the table next to her, staring off across the library. The shock of her secret hits me hard. Oh my God. Poor Alexander. “What does Alexander say?” When she doesn’t respond, I look her way. Her eyebrows are bunched together, and I quickly catch on. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

She shakes her head. “He has no idea that he owns the majority of Kingwood Enterprises.”

“He has no idea that he’s worth millions.”

“He knows he’s set to inherit millions. What he doesn’t know is that he’s worth billions.”

And it comes full circle. “I can’t act like this because when he inherits the money and company, all eyes will be on him. Everything I do and say—”

“Will be used against him.”

Sighing, I drop down into the chair next to her. “So you’re looking out for me, and I didn’t even realize.”

“He loves you, Sara Jane. He’s made it more than clear he wants to be with you, that he wants to build a life with you. He’s been preparing and once asked me about rings and what you’d like. He told us he wants you to move in with him, but you weren’t ready. Roommate to roommate and friend to friend, I need to know if what you said back there to Maya is true. Are you moving in with him?”

“You make it sound ominous when it could be amazing.”

“Kingwoods die. There are only two remaining, so yeah, I worry about you.”

“Everyone dies one day, Shel.”

“It’s not the same and you know it. I haven’t learned much about his life, but I know that family is cursed.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you. I know you love him. I care about Alexander too. He’s good to you, but he has a death wish, and I’m scared I’ll lose you.”

“I’m not leaving him. I tried.”

She stands. “Next time, try harder. For yourself. For your family. For me.” She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “I’ve told Chad I want to move when we graduate.”

“And go where?” I ask, standing.

“Anywhere but here. There’s no good ending. We all know this. Alexander knows this, but he throws money at it as if that will make it better. Once we graduate, Chad and I can get jobs. We won’t need this dirty money.” If Shelly is defending Alexander, she is certainly not quiet in expressing how disgusted she is about it.

“You’ll be leaving me behind.”

“You can come with us.” But that’s the thing; I can’t leave with her. And she should know this.

She hugs me. “You’ll always be my best friend. I love you.”

I wrap my arms around her, willing my tears away. If she wants to leave, I may not like it, but I have to respect her wishes. “I love you, too.”

When we separate, she says, “You can’t tell him about the company. Not yet.”

Wanting to safeguard him from any dangers that might be lurking, I say, “His life could be in danger.”

“He’s safe. His father could have done something long before now if he wanted him gone.”

“You talk about his life so casually when I feel sick to my stomach. Are you sure he doesn’t know he owns the company?”

“Have you ever heard him talk about owning it?”

“He doesn’t even like it. He hates working there.”

“It’s not too late for you two. You can leave as well, start your life over somewhere else.”

“He won’t leave until his mother’s murder is solved.”

“Then we’ll make the most of the last year we have left.” Checking her watch, she adds, “We should get back to the project, but I want you to know, despite keeping the penthouse a secret, you can trust me, Sara Jane. You always could. I know it doesn’t seem that way right now, but I wanted you happy and the Kingwood family . . . just be careful.”

“I’ve been with Alexander for three years. I plan to be with him a lot longer. I know him. Don’t warn me about him. As for his father, I’ll need all the good thoughts you can spare.”

“Are you okay?”

“I will be.” This time I leave her standing there, needing to get Mr. Kingwood out of my head since he already controls my fear.

“Hey.”

Turning back, I ask, “What?”

“Go easy on Maya. She’s an idiot, but I don’t think you need to worry about her.”

“She should learn to keep her hands off my boyfriend.”

“I’ve never seen this jealous side of you.”

I’ve never felt this kind of jealousy before. The rage of someone trying to take what’s mine away is getting the better of me, considering I’ve never even seen Alexander’s eye stray to another woman. The image of Maya touching him has amplified my irritation. “People change. Apparently.”

“Guess so.”

We wrap our project up early, all of us anxious to be done for the weekend. I was useless with this new information swarming around in my head. Alexander is majority shareholder of Kingwood Enterprises and doesn’t even know it. But I do. This secret is big. Too big to stay buried for much longer. I griped at him for doing what I’m expected to do now. I don’t want to lie to him, but until I know more about what his father’s plans are for us, I need to tuck away this secret.

I head back to Kingwood Manor with my stomach tied in knots. My feet feel sluggish as I walk up those stairs and down the hall. Once I’m in Alexander’s quarters, I scan the room. I’m alone. A rushed exhale of relief comes out, and I lock the door.

Checking the time as I cross the room, I have less than two hours to get ready. For Alexander, I’ll go. Only Alexander.

A note is taped to the mirror when I walk into the bathroom. I recognize the handwriting before I can read it. Taking it down, I read: Please join me tonight, Firefly. Kingwood Enterprises offices. 8 o’clock.

Smiling, I leave the bathroom and head to the closet to see if I have anything I can wear or if I need to go home to get dressed. When I open the door, a black, satin dress hangs from a hook above designer shoes that must have cost more than a few of my car payments combined. A typed note card is attached to the dress that reads: Please say yes.

“Yes, Alexander,” I say out loud just because I will always say yes to that man.

* * *

After parking my car in the building’s garage, I take the elevator to Kingwood Enterprises. I’m greeted with the shiny gold letters of the company, check my coat with the assistant, and make my way through the glass doors. Past the cubicles, the sound of the party escapes the company break room.

I wish tonight could be different. I wish I could walk right into Alexander’s arms and hug like we used to, like we did before his father ruined that dream. I didn’t tell Alexander about his father being in the bedroom earlier, or the offer, if that’s what it can be called. I might call it blackmail. I won’t keep it from him longer than I have to. Knowing his father and his evil deeds, he’ll twist it and set me up to look like I betrayed Alexander. I can’t have that. I won’t. With my chin raised high, I walk forward.

The doors are open and the staff has overflowed into the hall just outside the room. I’m tempted to hit the bar, but I want to see Alexander first. Looking around, he normally stands out with his tall frame, chestnut hair, handsome face, and cut jaw, so it’s weird that I can’t find him.

Working my way through the crowd, I feel empowered by how men look at me. This dress is flattering to my frame, making me feel pretty. I’m also starting to believe I’m the woman Alexander always thought me to be.

The height of the heel of my new shoes gives me a good vantage point, but I still don’t see my boyfriend. A sickening feeling starts to fill my belly though. I feel exposed and vulnerable, like unwanted eyes are caressing me in ways that are a violation to my body. Looking over my shoulder, I see Mr. Kingwood—champagne in hand, smirk firmly in place, eyes on me. I lower my gaze and move past the buffet into a shadowed corner. With my bare shoulder blades against the wall, I examine the room more thoroughly.

He’s not here. I check my watch. 8:05. Where is he? Why would he be late, knowing I would be here on my own? With my eyes scanning, I make contact with the one person I would love to avoid. Again. Unfortunately, he’s coming right for me. “Good evening, Ms. Grayson.” I don’t reply, biting my lip to hold in the curse words on the tip of my tongue. “I knew you’d look stunning in that dress when I saw it.”

Looking down at my dress in horror, I ask, “You bought this?”

“I did. The shoes are perfection with your delicate ankles and toned legs.” Oh, God. I feel sick. He chose this dress for me?

“Please don’t speak to me like anything about this conversation is okay. It’s not.”

I move to leave, but he says, “Speaking of conversations, we need to have one in private. Let’s go to my office.”

“You are not my boss, and as someone who is not my boss, you don’t get to tell me what to do.”

Coming up behind me, his hand wraps around my upper arm as he walks forward, taking me with him. “That was not a question. If you’d like to continue to see Alex, you will grace me with five minutes of your virtuous time.”

I stop fighting and walk on my own accord. “Where’s Alexander?”

“So untrusting. Were you always this paranoid?”

“Not until I met you.”

He laughs. “Good one. I enjoy a spot of humor from the female persuasion.”

“Humor? I don’t find anything funny about this situation.”

He unlocks his office door. “Good. Then we can skip the foreplay and get down to business.”

“I want to wait for Alexander.”

“He’ll be joining us shortly.” He holds the door open for me. “If you please.”

Standing at the gates of hell, I glance around once more, hoping to see Alexander. When I don’t, I push down my fears, and walk straight into the devil’s den.