Extra Chapter - Teaser First Chapter Sequel

Lenore 

Her high-pitched giggles sound like razor blades in my ears as my gaze is fixed on the huge diamond sparkling on her finger. 

“Well, you will surely understand, right?” Jason asks with a stupid grin as he shoves the hand of his new fiancée under my nose. “We weren’t compatible anyway.” 

I force up a smile, caressing my arms as I hug myself against the cold. “Of course, you are so cute together.” 

“Thank you so much,” Gina squeals in her fake happy voice, putting her hand on her chest. “It was so important for me that you would understand.” 

This scene is so telling. 

Also, because I’m standing in the open, freezing to death in my cute dress while the snowflakes fall on me, sticking to my hair and melting into my already freezing skin.

My best friend and my ex-boyfriend, on the other hand, are standing beneath the roof of the entrance to his house, smiling at me like it’s about to be Christmas.

And luckily it is. 

I gave the best days of my life to this man, my high-school love, only to discover that he was cheating on me with the most person important in my life after him on the day I thought he would propose. 

And to add to the humiliation, he asked me to talk things out tonight and thinking he would want me back, I even dressed up. 

Only to find this. 

I’m such an idiot! 

“Of course,” I repeat, my cheeks getting numb from the cold and hurting because of my fake smile. 

*** 

Sighing, I lean back on my office chair. The email that I just got catapulted me to the lowest point of my life and, unfortunately, it didn’t get better than that. 

—-

Lenny, I’ll pay you after the wedding. How can you want to disrupt the most beautiful day of my life with your selfish demands? J. 

—- 

My stupid demands are the money he owes me. 

Credit card debts he made because he wanted to buy his lover beautiful things and take her to beautiful places. 

They even went to Paris with my money, and I couldn’t even afford to think about Paris. 

Pushing on my chest, just above my heart, I take a calming breath. 

I guess I have to continue to eat water and bread, even when I'm not even sure to be able to afford any bread this month because I’m completely drained while they are planning a wedding in a castle. 

But well, I’m used to having people walk over me. I simply can’t bring myself to stand in for myself. 

I jump as a pile of documents gets slammed onto my desk. 

“Get it rolling, Lo–Nore!” my coworker sneers, walking away with a cackle. 

Rolling my eyes, I pull myself to my desk and start going through the files. 

In the hopes of starting a new life, I came to New York, accepting my dream job in a small law firm that is known to take up a lot of civil rights law and pro bono cases. And if being broke and cheated on wouldn’t suffice, I landed in a place where I was getting mobbed as well. 

And I didn’t even do anything. 

I just baked a cake on my first day, and all they could see was that I came from Ohio. 

Idiots. 

They even started to call me Lo-nore with a long break in the middle to hint at them wanting to call me a loser. 

Whatever. 

I get a lot of joy out of my work. And my luck is that I love doing the public defense cases they gave me because nobody wants to do it because it cuts the bonus. 

And even if I need the money, I have to see the bright side of things. 

Getting out of the office later than anybody else because they kept piling files onto my desk, I go to my small apartment. 

It’s cozy, so I don’t care, and the best thing is that it has a little space with a bow window, making it really romantic. There is where I installed my cozy reading corner, with a chaise long and many colored pillows. 

I let my purse slide to the floor and as I slip out of my shoes about to take a book off the shelf and already wanting to change into my pjs as I always do, I halt in my movements. 

Looking down at the illuminated street, something clicks in me, causing a strange desire to stream through me.

Pulling out my entire wardrobe, I put on my cutest dress and slip into some high heels before I put on my most expensive make-up. And after grabbing my purse, I go out with my heart beating into my throat. 

My neighborhood is surely a pretty unsafe one, but I’m set on pushing down my scaredy-cat attitude, wanting to finally have some fun. 

In fact, what could ever go wrong?

I smile at the huge bouncer that glares at me disgusted as I must look like a girl going to her prom. I’m already preparing myself to fight for my entry as he steps to the right, moving the curtain out of the way to let me through. 

Squealing, I enter the dimly lit hall that is bustling with dancing bodies. The music pumps loudly through the room, the beat vibrating through my skin as I stare at the acrobatic dancers in awe. 

I push to the bar, wanting to loosen up my nerves with a shot and I drown it with a grimace under the amused gaze of the barkeeper. I thank her before turning back around. 

Taking a deep breath, I get on the dance floor and start swaying awkwardly to the music. I try to blend out my uncomfortable sensation, wanting to have fun and let the alcohol take over my senses. 

Even though I’m needy for a bit of intimacy, I decline the approach of several men and continue to dance on my own. 

Needing another drink, I get to drown another shot and catch a strange movement in the corner of my eye. 

A Hulk of a man is shouting into the face of another guy who is as muscular as he is but seems a little bit more on the lean side. 

And he looks gorgeous.

Even if it is the scene that should be capturing interest as it is obviously a fight about to break out, it is the man with tousled light-brown hair who holds my attention. 

The scene seems terrifying yet the man who managed to take me hostage is grinning up at him with a smug expression. He seems to provoke him while his adversary is hitting his forehead against his, pushing him back. 

Did he provoke the fight?! 

As I watch him getting pushed back, my feet act on their own, detaching themselves from the spot I was frozen to, suddenly running towards the quarreling men as if I was remotely controlled. 

I don’t know what I’m trying to do, and only as I get between the two men do I recognize how stupid this action has been. 

“Stop it! What are you doing?” I shout at him, trying to keep up my poker face. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” the brute yells over the music, making me whimper. “Get the fuck out of the way or I’ll beat your ass up just like his!” 

The man standing behind me finally moves, pushing the other man onto his chest, getting him to stumble backwards. 

“Erm… but for real. What are you doing, princess?” he whispers in my ear, making me shudder pleasantly and I look at him wide-eyed, especially as I never felt this kind of reaction to someone whispering. 

His smile is gorgeous as he lifts his brow at me, making me stutter, “I don’t know. I’m sorry!” 

“Don’t fucking touch me, Evans!” the brute shouts enraged, charging towards the man standing behind him. 

I fear getting in between, and my breath hitches in my throat as I see the blade of a knife flash up. I already see myself getting stabbed, as he pulls me out of the way, standing in front of me. He reacts insanely fast, dodging the hit and punching the aggressor repeatedly into his stomach and face, knocking him out. 

“Oh, my God,” I yell, leaning over the guy groaning on the floor. “Are you okay?” 

“This is not the time to act nice, superwoman,” the man chuckles, grabbing my wrist to drag me out of the club. “Run!” 

I squeal, doing my best to keep up with him as he drags me through the alleys. 

“Oh, wait,” I say, making him halt and turn to look at him. I gulp as I lose myself in his eyes momentarily, and finally stutter, “I live just a block away.” 

He scrunches up his nose, looking behind me as he nods. “Okay, let go!” 

We restart running, him always being a few steps ahead as I keep showing him the way. 

“Here! This one,” I say, taking the keys out of my purse. 

I stand into the door while he leans in to me, caging me in with his arms as he watches me find the right key to get us to safety. 

A huge bang makes us jerk up, and we look in the direction where it came from, the noises adding to disturbingly loud shouting. 

“Hurry up,” he urges me and I finally get the right key into the lock and open my apartment building. We hurry up the stairs and enter my apartment. 

He keeps me from switching on the light as he pushes me against the wall, putting his finger on his lips. I press my lips together, waiting while squirming at being so close to him. 

“Oh, this is nice,” he says finally, walking toward the cozy corner and looking out of the room. “I guess they are gone.” 

Flicking on the light, I step into my apartment, looking at his broad back while he stands at the window. “Thank you. It’s small but cozy.” 

“Yeah, I see that. I like your style,” he compliments me with a smile as he turns around. 

I walk into the kitchen, slipping off my shoes. “Do you want something to drink?” 

He reaches me in the kitchen, looking over the bar. As my apartment is practically just one small room with a separate bedroom, he doesn’t take long to get to stand in my entryway aka living room aka kitchen. “I appreciate your vibe, Superwoman. But you really shouldn’t take strangers into your apartment like this.” 

“Oh,” I get back up, holding a can of Coke in my hand. “Oh!” 

He laughs, and just as I’m about to panic, I see that he is injured. “Oh my, you are bleeding!” 

“That’s nothing,” he grimaces as I step forward to grab his hand, making him hiss. 

I pull him through my apartment and into the bathroom. Getting the first-aid kit, I start sanitizing and applying a dressing as he keeps staring at me. 

“Don’t worry. I really had it worse,” he chuckles, making me purse my lips. 

“As if that would matter. Cutting wounds really need to be taken care of,” I answer. 

He scoffs, making me look up at him, getting him the possibility to capture my lips in a kiss. 

*** Sequel Announcement | Coming April 2025 *** 

Lenore is a quiet and shy girl with many dreams. As she moves to New York, she thinks that it will be the first step to making them become true. But she hits the cold floor of reality harder than she thought.

After being scammed, ridiculed, and cheated on, she decides to finally overcome her fears and move to the City, thinking of leaving her old self behind.

But it doesn’t quite go as she imagines.

As she gets involved in a fight between members of rival families in a club, she is ready to run out of town and never come back.

Until she finds a gorgeous man with a beaming expression, stealing her away from the scene. 

As they end up in her apartment, they spend the night together, talking about everything apart from their names. 

She tries to go on with her days, feeling stupid about the fact that she can’t get the gorgeous stranger out of her mind. 

As she is called to court for a public defense case of a guy named Deiniol Evans, her gorgeous secret wet dream grins at her, seemingly amused even if he is in a precarious situation. 

“Did you miss me, Superwoman?”