Rhys

I watch her because I can. Because I have to. There is nowhere else I could look with her in the room. It sounds creepy, but it’s not. Really. I’ve been captivated by her since I was thirteen, and there’s never been another woman who could compare to her. That’s just the way it is.

We grew up as best friends, and then we both felt more. Sneaking around made it exciting, but she’s what made it magnificent. It was the best time of my life, and then it was the worst. I lost her, and if I’m being honest, I also lost myself.

She glides across the dance floor in the arms of her husband, both of them the picture of wealth and sophistication. I’m supposedly an example of that same kind of picture, but if the people in this room saw beneath the mask, they’d be horrified. Even more than they were when my “perfect” sister, Rhieve, got together with Calum. Calum could buy and sell most of the people in this room, but he fell from grace long ago, and never cared about getting back up.

I wish I could say the same about myself, but whether I want to or not, I care what these people in this room think of me. Most importantly, I care what that woman dancing with her husband thinks of me. I was warned to stay away from her years ago, and even if she wasn’t married, she wouldn’t want me now. What self-respecting woman would if she knew what had happened to me last year? Being kidnapped by a pair of women from a sex club, and offered as a plaything to any woman who wanted me doesn’t exactly scream “class and sophistication”. There were a few men, too, but since I don’t swing that way, I’ve worked hard to block them out. I screamed a few times, if I’m being honest, and most of the women in this room would run from me if they knew what I’ve had done to me. Including Vivienne.

Especially Vivienne. My next-door neighbor. The first—and only—girl I was ever in love with. The girl I was repeatedly told to stay away from, because there were plans for her. The woman who married one of the most powerful men in this room five years ago. The woman I can’t take my eyes off, even now. She’d never accept what I’ve become, even if it was her who drove me into the beds and dungeons of other women. Even if she knew I still thought of her while I came inside of them. No, she’d never choose me, even if she could.

So, I watch her from afar at parties like this, keeping a smirk on my face and knowing she’ll never look my way. Knowing socialites will try to keep my attention, and fail. Knowing I can never have the only thing I’ve wanted since I was thirteen. The only woman I’ve wanted. I’ll watch, and hope that one day I’ll be wrong and she will look my way, just like she did all those years ago.

Vivienne

I know Rhys is here. I can sense him, even though I would never dare look at him. Christon would destroy him, if he even thought I still cared. Oh, how I care, and hope, but he’s not mine to covet. The day he walked away from me, I lost more than just my heart; I lost my will to care about how I live my life, which is how I ended up here, on this dance floor, with a man I hate.

My husband, whose ridiculous name caused him to be bullied most of his life, now enjoys nothing more than bullying me. He won’t touch me—in any way—but he knows how to hurt. In fact, he knows his not touching me hurts me the worst, because I want a houseful of children. It’s why he won’t have sex with me any longer. His needs are met elsewhere while I cry myself to sleep.

“Your smile has slipped, Vivienne. Pull yourself together. We both know you’re nothing more than your looks, and you need to be looking like nothing makes you happier than me. The fact that you can’t even manage this one small thing just proves how stupid you are.”

The words barely sting, because he says much worse to me on a daily basis, but as I allow myself to look out over the crowd, I feel a spark of that hope I’d thought I’d lost forever.

“Matt and Reina Corrigan just walked in.”

He immediately whips his head around, until he spots them. “Let’s go.”

I knew he couldn’t resist the chance to try and impress the most influential couple in the world. Social climbing is an art I’ve never had the inclination to master, but my husband has no shame in his game. He thinks they’ll elevate him to the top, but I know they hate him almost as much as I do.

“Hello,” Reina says as we approach, her smile tight.

“Good to see you, Matt,” Christon says, ignoring her in favor of her husband. It’s the wrong thing to do, but he doesn’t see it.

“Vivienne, it’s wonderful to see you,” Matt tells me, ignoring my husband. I know I’ll pay for that later, and I just can’t do it anymore.

As Reina leans in for the obligatory air kiss, I take the only chance I have. “Please help me,” I whisper.

Anyone watching wouldn’t notice her stiffen, but I do. There’s no hesitation in her actions, as she moves to the other side of me, but her hands tighten on my shoulders. The Corrigan & Co. Foundation she runs helps women, and no matter what happens, I know she’s going to help me. I’m betting my life on it.