Chapter one

JESSICA POV

November 2024, I lived in a mansion, went to the best high school and through my father's connections I spent only two years in college before graduating top of my class, dating the guy i had a crush on since forever. I was an only child with mildly annoying parents who loved me, and access to everything money could buy, my life was perfect.

The day it went from Perfect to purgatory started like a normal day, I was in my perfectly furnished room sexting my boyfriend.

MAX- And then I`d stroke my dick as I watch you play with yourself.

ME- Yes . . . can I play with my nipples too; they ache so bad. They want your touch.

MAX- Yes, touch them for me.

MAX- are you touching them?

As I saw his message pop up, I abandoned my left nipple, realizing I could only play with one of my nipples at a time since I still had to reply to my boyfriend. I turned on the other side of the bed and started to type.

ME- yes . . .

MAX- What color are they?

I looked down at my chest and decided to just take off my shirt, even though my parents were around they`d knock before coming into my room. Hopefully. I decided to take the risk anyway, I temporarily dropped my phone on the bed and pulled my shirt over my head before responding to him. But I had to keep my phone down as quickly as I picked it up.

“Jess your- Ah!” My mom started to say and then stopped short as she saw my state of undress.

“Oh my God Mom can you knock?” I yelled as I scrambled to cover myself with my duvet.

“Sorry sorry sorry.” She said and hurriedly left the room.

I put my shirt back on as I grumbled out loud to myself.

You`d think that as big as this house was, somewhere in fifteen rooms I'd be able to have some privacy. And for some reason, my father keeps insisting that I don’t move in with my boyfriend, he probably thinks less of him because he doesn’t come from money and barely gets by with his job but I didn’t care because I was happy with him. Besides I am twenty three years old for God's sake.

As I stood up from the bed, my phone, the latest iPhone, fell on the floor and then I remembered the reason I was in this awkward situation in the first place. Max.

I picked up the phone and saw that he had left me messages.

MAX- I`m so hard right now.

MAX- are you wet?

MAX- Jess?

MAX- are you there?

MAX- wtf babe

Oh no, he was already getting upset.

I quickly started to type back a response explaining but he was already calling me.

“Babe I’m so sorry. My mom walked in on me taking off my top."

“Wait so you weren’t even naked?”

Yikes.

‘What if I was and that’s how she walked in on me.”

“But I was.” He whined.

“I live with my parents and they don't always knock..” I tried to explain.

“I’ve asked you to move in with me, but I guess my place is too trashy for you.” He lives in a one-room apartment in the not-so-fancy parts of New Jersey and is insecure about it even though he refuses to admit it.

 “Come on you know that’s not true.” 

“How am I supposed to? You won't move in, you won’t have sex with me.” 

Oh God, not this again. “I told you I’m waiting till marriage.”

“You sound thirteen instead of twenty- one What's the point of waiting, am I, not the one you want to marry?  Just admit it you are ashamed of me.”

“I love you,” I said sincerely.

“Then at least give me one thing. Call me when you decide if I’m worthy of fucking you."

And then the line went dead.

Ugh!

I let myself fall back on the bed aside contemplate what to do now.

I didn't want Max to break up with me but I wasn’t sure if this was how I wanted to lose my virginity. It may seem weird that I'm a millionaire's daughter holding on to something like that but I guess that's just me. Weird old Jessica who got bullied in middle school for preferring black over pink. But Max my first ever boyfriend didn't mind, he liked me right from the start 8 months ago and we started dating six months ago.

Our half-year anniversary was coming up soon and maybe that meant it was time and I was just being silly. He deserved it.

I then opened my iMessage app and hit a group call with two of my best friends. Ashley and Jennifer.

"You mind reader, how did you know I was about to hit the call button?" Ashley daughter of the New York governor and usually the bubbly one and life of the party and also my friend of 5 years since school joined the call first.

"This better be good, I'm in the middle of taking a dump." Jennifer`s voice joined us.

"Ew Jennifer," I replied to her. Jennifer came from a family of more modest means than we. Her parents were health workers and she was studying to be a doctor as well. She was the more straightforward and calm one.

"Your poop isn’t the only thing getting dumped. Guess who dumped who?" Ashley chirps in.

"There are several billion people on this earth how are we to know?" I said resisting the urge to face-palm myself.

"That question was for Jennifer you don’t even read the gossip magazine or watch celebrity gist so how do you know who is who?"

"Hey, I-" I reflexively started to defend myself.

"She's right actually, so spill the tea." Jennifer cheerfully interrupted. 

"That's not even why I-"

"Ethan Geller heir to billionaire empire dumps his girlfriend. Which means he is up for grabs!" Ashley interrupted.

"And you think you qualify, he doesn’t even know you exist. If anyone has a chance here it's Jessica since his father and hers are best friends."

"Yeah, but she's already dating which is why she’s going to hook us up."

"She has never even met the guy."

At this point, I realized there would be no opening for me to say what I wanted to so I decided to just blurt it out.

"I'm going to have sex with Max." That seemed to do the trick because they both went quiet. And then suddenly Ashley squealed.

"It’s about time!"

"I thought you were saving till marriage."

They both said almost simultaneously but in different tones. Jennifer was more worried and skeptical than Ashley since she didn't like Max.

"I was," I replied to Jennifer. "But what's the point since he’s the one I want to marry anyway."

"That sounds like Max's words, not yours." Jennifer sounded doubtful.

Before I could defend myself, I heard someone knock.

"Mom! I'm busy!" I said because as an only child, the only people that knocked on my room were either the housekeeper or my mom, and the housekeeper was done with my room for the day.

"You guys I'll have to call you back, my mom's being a total pain in my ass," I said after the knock persisted.

We said our farewells before I hung up and went to the door.

When I opened the door prepared to complain, my mom's expression stopped me short. Her eyes were red and swollen and she was sniffling. She had been crying.

"Mom, what's wrong."

"Your father needs to talk to you." She said hoarsely.

"Is everything okay?" I swallowed as an uneasy feeling washed over me.

"No, Jessica" She looked at me as a tear rolled down her cheeks.

"Mom what-" 

"Just put on something nice, we have company." She said hurriedly and left, leaving me confused.

Company? We rarely have visitors apart from Dad's formal meetings with business partners, but even that has reduced recently. Who came and what’s going on?

I put on a blue maxi dress and headed downstairs gingerly where I heard my dad's voice and the voice I had come to recognize over time as Dan Geller one of my dad’s closest friends. They both stopped their conversation as they noticed my presence.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Geller," I greeted him politely. He was a successful man, even richer than my father.

"Jessica, you've grown into a lovely young woman." He replied as he stood up from his seat and extended his hand for me to shake.

"That she has." My father agreed proudly as I took his friend's firm hand in mine.

"Jessica, we need to talk to you about something important." My father's voice was solemn.

"What is it, Dad?" I was so tense already.

 "We have decided to unify our families."

"Um okay . . ." I said not quite grasping what he meant and then Dan continued. "So as your father's only child, you will marry my son, Ethan."