Tonight had been much more of a success than I had ever anticipated. All the waitressing and odd jobs I had to work, sacrificing ungodly hours just to get by living in this expensive city while chasing my ambition had finally come to fruition.

The night air was crisp, still, and dangerously inviting. It cleared my senses from the stifled surroundings I had been in moments before. Heaving out a breath of relief, I stared at the darkened hills surrounding me as images of my struggles flashed before my very eyes, leaving a yearning for something I had lost. This was my dream come to life. Yet, it didn’t feel as good as I had imagined. It should have been sweet, triumphant even, but somehow, it lacked those gratifying aspects.

The stellar reviews for the online streaming show was plentiful, but as much as I wanted the praises, I didn’t know how to handle it. Obviously, it wasn’t a mammoth success compared to blockbuster films. However, shows with well-thought-out plots and an outstanding cast were being recognized through the recent years more than ever. Not to mention, it was an amazing platform to show one’s craft and potential.

I was lucky to have been casted in Clover, surrounded by people with like-minded souls. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I was happy, enthralled. Amongst it all, however, I couldn’t deny the blatant fact that something was amiss.

Feeling beyond dejected, I considered heading back inside to rejoin the party, when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck spring to life. This meant one thing and one thing only.

He had finally found me. He was here.

We were entwined in almost psychic ways. And God help me, after two years of absence, the pull was just as powerful as I had remembered.

Biting back a disgruntled groan, I remained unmoving, composed and immobile, waiting with bated breath for him to break the charged silence that seemed to choke the life out of me.

“Cara Quinn, I’ve found you at last. Congrats on the new show, by the way.”

Ah, Satan had definitively arrived.

I had often wondered how long it would take him to seek me out once those promotional billboards were plastered all over Sunset Boulevard. It didn’t surprise me that he had shown up for the show’s party. This was, after all, his oyster, and I had just stepped into it. His glittering jungle of beauty, vanity, and narcissism.

River Ellis was Hollywood’s newly minted favorite bachelor. Dangerously handsome with his dark looks, equipped with a chiseled body and a stellar ability to act with profound complexity. Not to mention, he could sing in a deep, throaty voice that went straight into one’s soul. He was the ultimate package, so it wasn’t a shock that he had made it in this industry without breaking a stride.

His supporting role in a major production film was his huge breakout into the star he was today. He simply had it in him. He was born for this acting lifestyle; whereas I, it had to be thoroughly developed through drama classes. And of course, with the help of Mrs. Newell.

Nevertheless, he was just River to me. The man I grew up with in a group home, the one who had protected me when I was bullied, the one who I had loved with my entirety yet had let me down in all ways possible. And he was one of the reasons I came here … just so I could prove my worth, to him and to myself.

Pressing my lips together, I spun to face the man I had loved with no rhyme nor reason once upon a time. River Ellis still looked gorgeously lethal, but I knew better.

Instead of the usual heart palpitation and breathlessness I was so accustomed to whenever we were together, this time around, I felt nothing. My heart didn’t jump for joy. It was cold, cold as ice, though I could swear that, if he kept roving those hawk eyes all over me, I would thaw out.

“Why bother coming here at all? If you’re here to taunt or mock me, I’m not in the mood.” I wanted to easily dismiss him so he could leave me be. Knowing how the man functioned, though, he wasn’t going away just because I shooed him off. No, this man was as stubborn as they came. Just like Satan, he was sinful, just as deceiving, and ruthless to the core.

Through the blanket of darkness, I could see his eyes peruse me, studying me with blistering intensity, like I was some unique specimen. My daring black cutout dress made me feel naked when those laser-like eyes roamed over my body.

“They did say success sometimes makes people bitchy. Don’t let it get to your head, Cara. You’re better than that.”

His distasteful retort didn’t rile me up. It left me more guarded.

“Thanks for the lecture, but I must get back inside,” I said while giving him a death glare. “Enjoy the party.”

River’s dark eyes sought me out. I could feel his anger vibrating against the energy between us. It was charged, as suffocating as it was threatening. “I came back for you, Cara, but you were gone,” he hissed out between clenched teeth. “You up and left without warning.”

Why? I wanted to interrupt, but I didn’t bother. Whatever for? Why make the effort? After he had strung me along for a future that had never happened, I saw no point harping on the past. Life was less complicated without him in it. And I wanted it to stay that way. If he had any designs in keeping me in his life while he pranced around tinsel town, hopping from one bed to the next, he could think again. I had no desire in being part of his long list of harem.

“You’ve congratulated me, and I thank you for that, but honestly, River, I have nothing else to say to you. Goodnight.” I gestured for him to step aside, meaning to walk away from him, but he hastily grasped my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

“You can dismiss me all you like, but you can’t run from me forever. I’ve found you after almost two years without hearing from you, Cara. Don’t be stupid to think that I’m easily going to let you go. No. Not this time. Never again.”

I wasn’t his property. I could do as I pleased. Those days were long gone. He had me, and what had he done? He royally messed it up like any playboy would. Idiot me had eaten up whatever promises he had thrown my way. That naive girl had long since died, along with our wretched memories.

Recalling how he had mistreated me stung to no end. For some time, I had been relieved to have escaped them—him. Now it seemed that it was time to face the tune of my past.

Scrutinizing him with pure and unreserved disdain, I stood my ground and found strength to fight fire with fire. “Not let me go, River?” I questioned with disbelief. “I’m with Parker now. I’ve replaced you, just as you thoughtlessly did me.”

His grip on my arm tightened, clearly stung by my words. “No matter what you think and believe, I’ve never forgotten you, Cara. Not for a moment … Not by any means.”

If his purpose was to disarm me, he had better try again.

“It’s much too late for any of that.”

Once upon a time, hearing him utter those words would have made me run back to him in a heartbeat, but a lot of time had passed. Now, I could honestly admit that I was immune to his empty promises. That was all he could ever offer me, nothing more.

“I need to get back inside. Parker will be looking for me soon.”

He looked perplexed as he held his breath, staring down at my determined face. He was so close I could feel the warmth from his body, slowly breaking down my barriers. His sex appeal was unparalleled. He radiated potent sex, and as much as I hated to confess it, he still affected me. Undoubtedly, he was still the sexiest man I had ever gazed upon. At that slight admission, an unwelcomed tremor zinged all over my body. Ugh, not now. Damn hormones.

“Meet me sometime later, just this once … to talk. Nothing more, I promise.” His voice was low and steady, while his body was in complete restraint, trying to hold back from something. It reminded me of a caged animal; ready to pounce.

“And why would I be so stupid as to do that?” Talk? He meant closure, right? Surely, I could handle finally closing the lid on my past? But I wasn’t too sure, not when he could demand my body’s attention by simply gazing at me.

“Because we owe it to each other, and to the seven years of love and friendship we shared,” he stated resolutely, with an acute emphasis on the word “love,” as though I were too dense not to comprehend.

Oh yeah, love. He spoke so freely of the word that I thought he knew what it entailed. Apparently not.

River was going to dredge up everything—the good, the bad, and the downright rotten. I sensed it. I knew him enough to know that he wouldn’t hold anything back.

What would he try to prove? I worriedly wondered. He had been the one to leave the relationship. Although he wouldn’t fully admit it, he had mentally checked out the moment he selfishly began choosing decisions that affected the both of us. Ones that had left me in tatters, emotionally unstable and physically insecure. I’d had no one—no parents, no family to speak of—so for him to stab at the very core of my instability made me realize that being his side piece wasn’t going to cut it. I’d had to save myself, and that was what I did. And now that I had accomplished it, here he was, marching back into my domain and threatening to ruin the fine threads that held me together.

River never did like rejection, and I could bet my life that this weighed heavily on his ego.

Though he was being emotionally manipulative, if this would get him to leave me alone, then I would meet with him. One must face and slay their demons at some point in their life. This was my chance. Besides, deep down, I knew I had prepared myself for this very moment.

I comforted myself that I was truly done with him. As long as I kept that in mind, I was safe from River Ellis’s selfish grasp. Top it off with the fact that Parker and I had just begun dating, I didn’t need the ghost of my past ruining anything with my new budding relationship. Knowing how River was, it would be wise to settle scores with him now than let this fester to a point where it would be difficult for me to read him. There were shades of his anger I was familiar with, and right this instant, I could see that as long as I held my ground, his intentions, good or bad, were going nowhere.

“Fine then. Where do you want to meet?”

“Give me your number; I’ll text it to you.”

The last thing I needed was for him to get ahold of my number, yet I begrudgingly gave him each digit at a time as he keyed in my information with furrowed brows.

“It’s in the valley. It’s about half an hour drive from here. Take a cab or even Uber, but don’t you dare get behind the wheel. You’re beyond the legal alcohol limit.”

My breath gave it away, though I wasn’t even drunk. I was so sober I could count backward. Regardless, I wasn’t going to argue. My nerves wouldn’t dare allow me to drive. Calm was my exterior, but internally, I was all sorts of chaos deep inside.

Disconnecting from his penetrating, dark eyes, I glanced around at the throng of people happily chatting away, unaware of my discomfort.

Just as I was about to revert my gaze back to the unyielding man next to me, Parker came out, eyes scanning the outside crowd on the patio. The second he found me in an intimate conversation with River, his face contorted in blatant confusion.

I smiled nervously at my curious and impatient boyfriend, hoping to ease some of the tension written all over him before I gestured that I would join him in a moment. Then, reverting my attention back to the man next to me, I gave him an impertinent look.

“I’ll be there at half past midnight or so.”

River’s eyes were glued on where Parker stood, looking deadly. “Come alone, Cara,” he vehemently gritted out. “And don’t keep me waiting.”

Calling the shots now, was he? I would arrive on my own terms. I wasn’t going to do his bidding. Never again.

“I have to go,” I reiterated before giving him a last deadpan look. “I’ll arrive whenever I fancy. No one tells me what to do.” And with those parting words, I sashayed away from him and back into Parker’s arms.