Chapter 1

Present 

“I’m sorry, ma’am, we can’t lend you money at this moment.” I nipped my nails in frustration when the banker said this over the phone. Despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t get a loan to save my house. 

Now, I don’t understand what to do. 

I hesitated as I asked, “Can you try once again?” 

“I’m afraid I can not,” he replied with a sigh and paused for a moment. “Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Davidson?”

I rolled my eyes while gripping my cell phone in my hand. “No, thank you, Mr. David.” I hung up as fear twisted my gut. My life was in the middle of nowhere. Despite my wish to kill myself, I was unable to do so because of my three younger siblings.

“Camille…” suddenly, my father’s pale voice tumbled in my ears. 

I jerked my head towards his voice and nearly screamed out when I found his weakened body on the ground; he was grasping a glass and blood was dripping from the side of his mouth. I knew his time would come, but I never imagined that this would happen so soon. Our mother left us eight years ago, now my father was impatiently waiting to leave us forever.

As I watched his body lying on the floor and begging for death, tears formed in my eyes. I desperately wanted to help him and make him free of the agony he had been suffering from cancer for years, but I was powerless. His disease robbed us of everything, but I didn’t care about money. I wished he were still alive, but he was living the most painful life. He asked me to kill him at once, but no one knew better than him how much I loved him.

“Dad!” I cried out while running towards him. Kneeling, I placed his head gently on my thighs. Blood was still dripping from his lips, his eyes were half-open, and his face was wrinkled as if he had been dead for days. He was living the life of an eighty-five-year-old at fifty.

“Camille…” he whispered and wrapped his bony fingers around my hand. “Have...you...arranged...loan?” Hiding my disappointment, I gave him a brief nod and said nothing. “Good,” he coughed. “Then you won’t be homeless. I’ve never thought my bad habits would make me bankrupt…” 

My father had a dependence on drugs and gambling after the death of my mother. Her absence left him feeling emptied and lifeless. There was a time he tried to end his life, but the thought of his kids made him stop. I hated to accept it but if he had killed himself that day then I would not have to see this day. 

“I’m sorry, I’ve never wanted to leave my kids in this condition…” he rasped and peeled his eyes open. “I know you’re strong enough to take care of your siblings, aren’t you, Cami?” 

I’m weak! 

I couldn’t help but cry, realizing he wouldn’t be able to be there for us anymore. “Fact is, Dad, you’ve never given a damn about your children. If you’d considered your health and business, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

He squeezed my hand, his eyes shone with despair and failure. “You don’t realize until you fall in love how difficult it would be to live a life without someone who matters to you, Cami.” 

I felt my heart skip a beat when his face flashed in my head. Once I was madly in love with a boy, but he never looked back at me. How could he? He was the most handsome boy in high school and I was the ugliest. He was an angel, and I was a devil. He was kind and I was greedy. Everyone wanted to be with him and no one wanted to be near me. Maybe that’s why I was suffering because I made everyone suffer. 

My mother used to say no matter how hard life gets, you must always remain strong and brave. Nothing was permanent in this world, neither your happiness nor your sadness. But my life has always been sad. My life was not hard, but harsh. Despite my father’s multi-millionaire business, we had nothing left to run our family. My future was uncertain and so was the future of my siblings. After the death of my father, I didn’t know where I would be taking them because, after his death, the creditors would auction our villa. 

“Camille, dad is dying…” Caden, my ten-year-old brother said in his shaky voice and kneeled next to me, watching our father in fright. “He needs help.” 

“He wants to die,” I said blankly and fixed my eyes on him. “His time has come, Cad.” 

My teen brother Clarence asked bluntly, “Where will we be going after he dies? He left us nothing except debts. We’ll be bankrupt even after we sell our house.”

“Shut up, Clarence!” My eighteen-year-old sister, Natalie, scolded him. “Everything is going to be alright.” 

“Nothing will be…” Clarence was about to speak, but I cut him off. 

“Stop your argument and help me to lift dad,” I ordered him while grabbing dad’s head. “Come now!”

“Ugh, this old man stinks!” Clarence cringed, and my jaw flexed. 

“Shut up or I’ll break your teeth!” I gritted out and he snapped his mouth shut. 

We carefully placed our father’s fragile body on the bed and gently put his head on the pillow. His arms were shaking and so were his legs. 

“Give...me…your...mother’s...ring…” dad said shakily. “And...leave…me...alone.” 

Natalie cleaned dad’s face and I put our mother’s wedding band on his chest. He quickly fisted it in his hand and squeezed his eyes shut. I nodded to my siblings to give him space and we got out.  

“I’m scared,” Caden said. “How many days does he have?” 

“I don’t know, dear,” I muttered before closing the door.

******

Finally, the day arrived when my father died and our home was sold at auction. I was sad, stressed, and exhausted. We did not have enough money to feed our family even for a month. Our lives were in an unstable state and our future was uncertain.

I smoothed my long uniform skirt and fixed my hair. I was looking terrible with dark shades underneath my eyes and sunken cheeks. Pushing my rounded glasses above my nose, I checked my appearance in the mirror one last time. The more I saw myself, the more I hated myself. 

Ugly!

Plain! 

Zombies!

This was what people thought of me when they saw me. It had been one week since I left my hometown, South Carolina, for Boston to start over, and luckily, I got a job at an expensive hotel. Despite the well-paid job, I wasn’t able to provide a decent life for my siblings. Both my brothers had school to attend and my sister wanted to pursue a university education.

It was my dream to fulfill their dream, but twenty-four hours wasn’t enough to make much money. I wanted to do the things that my parents were not able to provide us with. My siblings were my everything, so I wanted to provide everything they wanted. In addition, I didn’t like seeing my sister working in the bar. She was a bartender who was different from me. She was charming, bubbly, and beautiful. I didn’t like her falling in love with a bad boy. This all started when I spotted her with a racer two nights ago. I would have to give a good lesson to that punter and tell him to stay the hell away from my sister. 

“Camille, come on…” my friend Lilly called out and directed me to the ballroom where hundreds of guests had gathered. 

“I’m sorry…” I cleared my throat and grabbed the serving tray before heading toward the ballroom. The banquet was exquisite and sumptuous as everything screamed to perfection. The ceiling was embellished with scalloped edging, and the floor was glossy hardwood and suitable for dancing. There were curved observation balconies on an upper level and massive tiered crystal chandeliers glittering in the soft light. I examined the women in their updos and exotic jewelry and the men in their expensive three-piece suits. 

“Are you aware that Scott Martinez is attending today’s banquet?” 

Hearing his name, I froze. 

Scott Martinez!

“Oh my gosh, is he here?” Another woman asked with the same enthusiasm. I slowly turned my gaze toward the gorgeous ladies talking about him. 

“Yes, he is here.” 

“He’s one of the most talented and popular actors of all time and one of the highest-paid in Hollywood.”

“He’s hot as hell.”

My heart had been broken so many times by Scott Martinez, the man I loved ever since I met him.

“I can’t believe he’s here.” the woman shouted as she pointed toward the entrance.

When he arrived, the murmur of the crowd had died away. Scott Martinez stepped into the hall as if he had owned it. His charcoal gray suit fitted perfectly to his athletic frame, and his brown hair was styled in a sleek way. I focused my attention on his squared jaw which was well-groomed, well defined, and emphasized his electric blue eyes. He looked so confident and so attractive as always.  

Disappointment washed over me when I saw her next to him. Maura Garcia. His fiancee was the reason for my shattered heart and a broken dream. I had dreamed of marrying Scott ever since the day I first saw him.

It all started when I was driving to the hospital to see how my mother was feeling. I caught sight of the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen. Scott Martinez was helping a dog that had been injured in an accident. I would never forget the pain in his eyes when he was treating a stray animal. Not only did he look like an angel, but he was one as well. He was a great person, both inside and out.

But today…

He turned into something else. He became greedy, violent, and mean. He had become a very different person from the charming prince he once was. It was all my fault he didn’t trust others. He changed because I forced him to, but still, I was satisfied. Even when he hated me and never loved me back, I was happy. He destroyed me; I was happy. As long as he was going to marry Maura, I was happy. Anyway, he didn’t deserve such an ugly, self-hating, and boring person as me. He deserved someone as beautiful as her.

I gulped, returning to the guest. I knew every eye on him. Everyone wanted to get a few seconds with him but he couldn’t care less. All he cared about was his fiancee, who probably forced him to attend this party. Scott loved Maura so much that he couldn’t think before fulfilling her stupid demands. I witnessed their love eight years ago. 

I gasped when suddenly someone bumped into me and made all the wine glasses shatter on the floor. 

“Are you fucking blind?!” Maura shouted angrily in my face. 

I quickly sat on my knees to hide my face, mumbling, “I’m sorry...” as I picked up broken pieces of glass.

“What sorry? Do you know how expensive this dress is!” She gritted out and my heart went into my throat. “You ugly rat!” 

I swallowed hard. My, and hands were shaking as I was picking glasses, unaware of their sharp edges. I badly wanted to get out of this party as soon as possible.  

“Stop it, Maura.” Scott approached her and I felt my adrenaline rushing. “Cool down baby, it was just an accident.” 

“She spoiled my dress!” She cried out. “How could I be cool? I hate it when paparazzi will take my picture in this stained dress.”

I squeezed my eyes, praying that they would not recognize me. My hands clenched into fists when Scott’s familiar scent washed over me. As much as I hated his smell, I loved to feel it. It made me feel at home. I was addicted to him. I loved everything about him. 

I loved him! 

“Camille!!” I was startled when a familiar masculine voice called out. I gripped the tray when the realization hit me hard. 

Archie Garcia!! Maura’s older brother. He reached out to me and helped me to stand up. I felt my heart pulsating so hard that it was hurting my chest. My palm got sweaty and my breath shook. 

“Camille!!” Maura exclaimed, her eyes widening. 

“Are you alright?” Archie asked while gently examining my hand. 

“I’m fine, thank you,” I mumbled, keeping my eyes on the ground because I didn’t want to look into Scott’s eyes. I knew what I would find if I looked into his eyes.

“Miss Camille Davidson, what a small world?” A chill went through me when I heard his dark, yet sexy, voice. I lifted my chin to look at him. Once my eyes locked with his, I couldn’t stop myself from shivering. He was no longer the man he was eight years ago. He appeared to be formidable and cruel. His blue eyes nearly looked dark due to rage. 

As I gripped the serving tray, I retreated my steps, my cheeks burning from humiliation. Everyone was watching us with keen interest. There was a time when Scott Martinez used to work for me, and now I am working for him. I was fully aware of his intentions. I knew why he was there and what he wanted from me. That time he would never let me go after all I was the one who had destroyed his small world. 

I murdered his brother. 

“Where’s the manager?” Scott barked and made me jolt. His fingers curled into tight fists as his jaw clenched harder. “Where the fuck is the manager?!” 

“Scott, listen...” Archie tried to speak out, but Scott didn’t let him. 

In a few seconds, the manager rushed into the hall, panting and sweating. “Yes, sir.” 

“What did I say?” Scott snarled and charged at him as if he was about to punch him right in the face. “You’ve been notified earlier not to hire this woman!” He shouted and made the manager tremble in fear. I bit into my lower lip angrily. “What the fuck is she doing here?” 

My legs trembled as I tried hard to be brave enough to face this monster. 

“I...I don’t…” the manager stuttered and glanced at me briefly. “I’m sorry, sir.” 

“She is a prostitute,” Maura muttered and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fire her right fucking away!” 

“Okay, sir.” The manager gave him a quick before approaching me. 

“You’re fired!” He said firmly and I squeezed my eyes.

Again he did this!! 

“But...I…” before I could utter. 

“You lied to us!” The manager cut me off, glowering at me. “You hid your true identity.”

I let out a sharp breath before turning around and heading toward the door. 

“Wait!” Scott said from behind me and made me stop. “Do you want money?” He taunted and my jaw flexed. “I’ll give you.” He approached me and brought his mouth near my ear, making my breath hitch. “But you’ll have to pick one man from this party and fuck him right in front of my eyes, Miss Davidson.” 

“I’d rather eat shit!” I hissed out without looking at him and heading towards the exit door.  

“Then why my brother, Camille Davidson? Why did you pick my brother?” He growled and I went pale. “Why him?”

I let out a shaky breath before facing him again. “Because I loved him!” 

********