To get through a heartache after the sudden breakup, Arabella moves to New York City to start another chapter of her life.
Driven by the hope to make Adrian Castle, the man who left her broken to pieces with an excuse of protecting her against his w...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
There's a motorbike outside, and I'm surprised that Adrian rode with it. I guess that's how he waltzed here at the speed of the light soon after ending our call. But we take Camilla's car. I have the keys; I hand them to him. Without peeling his eyes off me, he stuffs my bag in the back seat and opens the front passenger door for me to slip in—which I comply with smoothly.
We don't talk the whole way, although I look at him at every chance I get. But he seems too deep in thought to give me so much as a glance. I wonder what's on his mind, and then I wonder what will happen next because every chapter of my life feels like a mystery to the unknown, and whatever is in the store doesn't seem to work in my favor for the most part.
I hate today, yet most of the time, I'm scared of tomorrow.
Adrian meanders alongside Madison Avenue, giving me enough time to enjoy the classic brownstone buildings and upscale rise-ups of designer shops and restaurants in the area. I'm still awed by NYC, especially at night, even though it's too otherworldly compared to the Las Vegas Strip.
We halt into a posh neighborhood perched in the borough of Manhattan, and according to Adrian's response to my query, it's called the Upper East Side. It's where the willy witch, Francesa, stays. We head into one of the fancy buildings, and after a small ride into the elevator, we stall in front of the door with an intercom, and Adrian presses a button.
The door swings open a moment later.
"I thought you'd take longer," I hear Francesca's voice. Funny, I still remember it. I'm standing a few steps away from Adrian's side who glances at me occasionally. "Didn't you say you had somewhere to stop by first? Did you—" She pauses her rain of questions and pokes her head out as though to confirm what's stealing at least half of Adrian's attention.
And boom! Here we go.
Our eyes meet, and I finally step into view. Shock jumps through her wrinkled, half-terrified face—now that she has no makeup on—and my eyes wander toward her full-length leopard print sleeping robe fastened loosely, revealing a lacy, black bra and black flip-flops with blood-red toenails. I inhale sharply, trying to stay poised and pay less attention to such details.
Jealousy has a way of summoning my nasty attitude, after all.
But wait, so she was waiting for Adrian dressed like that? I smirk as we look each other straight in the eyes, and as I'm certain as the Sun rising in the East that we hate each other equally.
"Oh, you're not alone, I see," she says contemptuously to Adrian, who looks at me briefly and then back at her.
He knows the drill. If that woman behaves then we'll both survive this night unscathed.
"Can we come in?" he asks in a baritone, ignoring her statement of disappointment.
Although reluctantly, Francessa lets us in, where she immediately lurks away with Adrian, leaving me with a blonde housekeeper in a sexy pink uniform. The nosy antenna in my head screams that she may be a sub to this dominatrix, and only God knows what goes on inside her kitchen or dining table daily.
