Chapter 2

2

She didn't listen. Instead, she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward her car.

"I'm driving you home."

I wanted to fight it, but she seemed to read my mind before I could even move.

"Try to run and I'll scream harassment. Your choice."

I sighed and slumped into the passenger seat like a defeated puppy.

During the drive, the silence was deafening. I caught her glancing at me occasionally, and she looked like she was fuming.

I guess being a CEO had made her temper even more unpredictable.

At a red light, she slammed on the brakes so hard I nearly ate the dashboard.

"Why didn't you go to college after graduation? Do you have any idea how long I waited for you that first semester?"

Back then, we had both been accepted into the same university.

But I knew I couldn't go. I had a bed waiting for me in the oncology ward instead.

"Family stuff came up," I lied. "I had to start my degree two years late."

"Are you sure you weren't just hiding from me?"

In a way, I was. I had been pretty brutal when I turned her down.

I'd heard through the grapevine that she took the rejection so hard she actually got sick for a while.

"I'm sorry, Sienna. I was wrong back then. I'm truly sorry."

She didn't say a word. She just laid on the horn at the car in front of her and sped off as soon as the light turned green.

When we finally reached my place, I fumbled with my seatbelt, desperate to escape.

"Thanks for the ride. See ya."

She looked at me with a blank expression and pressed a button on the console, deadlocking all the doors.

"Asher Lindberg," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Are you playing me? You played with me for two years in high school, and now you want a sequel?"

I had no idea what she was talking about. When did I play her? She was the one who confessed to me!

"What are you even talking about?"

"Nothing. I'm just playing back."

Before I could process that, she leaned over and bit me right on the neck.

It didn't hurt, but it sent a jolt of electricity through my body that made my skin tingle.

I was completely stunned. "Sienna, what the hell―"

"What? Are you going to act like you're the victim now?"

I… I literally had no comeback for that.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the window. She jumped back and unlocked the doors, slowly rolling the glass down.

When I saw who it was, I felt like I was looking at my savior.

I scrambled out of the car the second the door opened.

Sienna stepped out, her face a mask of cold fury. "Who is she?"

I reached out and pulled Lana Shaw into a side hug.

"Hey, babe! You're finally here!"

Lana was confused for a split second, but she was sharp. She picked up on the vibe immediately and started acting.

"Hey, honey. Should I call the cops? This looks like a classic case of workplace harassment to me."

Sienna's face went pale, then dark with rage. There was a flicker of something that looked like heartbreak in her eyes.

Lana was a fellow survivor I'd met during treatment, and she lived right next door to me now.

She was the only one who knew the whole story between me and Sienna.

As Sienna's car screeched away, Lana looked at me. "Why don't you just tell her the truth about being sick?"

I kicked a loose stone on the sidewalk. "Playing the pity card just makes people resent you more."

"Why are you so sure? Don't you think she actually loves you?"

Why? Because it was obvious.

Back in junior year, I had lost a bet. I was forced to confess to Sienna in front of the whole school.

I never expected her to say yes.

But she had walked right up to me, pressed her body against mine, and whispered so only I could hear.

"I don't like you, but you can hold my hand so we can get away from this crowd."

We walked down the hallway hand-in-hand.

She gave me my dignity when I should have been humiliated. I knew then that there was a massive gap between our worlds.

For a while, everyone thought we were actually dating.

But before long, she started spending all her time with Harrison West, the school's golden boy.

The lie fell apart.

I became the guy everyone felt sorry for.

The funniest part? Harrison was the one who had come up with the bet in the first place.

He and I had always been rivals for the 'hottest guy' title, and the only thing he had on me was his family's bank account.

He was right. A girl like Sienna could never actually love someone like me. They were in the same social class.

I didn't see Sienna for the next few days.

But I did hear about her from some of her employees in the elevator.