Madison's POV
“What the hell were you thinking?” Barbara inquired as she paced up and down the living room. Being my manager and best friend, my impulsive act had affected her the most. I sat hopelessly on the floor, with my phone in my quivering hands. My tears had dried, and I had grown weary of crying. “Why did you even have your phone on you in the first place?” Barbara was furious, even though she felt my grief. “I get that you were trying to prove a point, but you didn't have to go that—” Her phone rang suddenly, cutting her short, and giving me a chance to recover from the constant verbal hammering I was getting from her. She stepped out of the room, to take the call, leaving me all alone with my thoughts of heartbreak and regret. I took up my phone to take one last look at the text which had me shattered. “I'm deeply sorry that it had to end this way between us,” the text read, “but I just can't stand the sight of you anymore. I had been keeping it all this while just so I wouldn't hurt your feelings, but now I feel free…” “You bastard!” I yelled as I broke out in tears all over again. How could he not stand Madison Carter, the celebrity crush of millions of people? It all didn't make sense to me. In all my years of handling relationships, I still didn't grasp how two people could go from behind madly in love to being the worst of enemies. Edmund and I had been going strong and steady, and I had been expecting a proposal at any point from then. But it was all in ashes. “Great…” Barbara remarked sarcastically, as she stepped back into the room. “That was the last one of our supporters. They called to withdraw as well.” I sobbed even louder at that. The one thing that I had managed to create for myself had vanished in just one moment of carelessness. “Goodness, Madison…” Barbara said, sitting beside me, and putting her arm on my shoulder. “It's not the end of the world—” “But it's the end of my career.” I couldn't see any ray of light at the end of the tunnel that I had suddenly plunged into. “It's the end of everything… everything I had worked for…” I cried, unrestrained. “I'm suffering this as well,” Barbara tried to get me to calm down. “We both worked for this…” “And I blew it,” I said, trying to wipe the hot tears. “I'm the one everyone is taking shots at online… I'm the one suffering the worst of it…” “Madison… get it together. I put a lot of funds and effort into this, and you blew it. But I'm not crying my eyes out—” “That's what this is all about to you?” I snapped angrily, looking up at her with my teary eyes. “I'm the one with a tarnished image and a broken heart. My life has been screwed up, so don't act like you know half the pain I'm going through…” “Wow…” Barbara sighed, nodding as she stood, and made for her room. I hadn't known when those venomous words had gone out of my mouth. “Julia… I'm sorry, I didn't mean—” The door of her room slammed shut, echoing just how terrible I was as a person. Perhaps my insecurity had been part of the reasons why Edmund had dumped me in such a horrible manner. I broke down all over again, as my conscience lashed mercilessly on me. I realized that I was a terrible person, as I had no one to cry with me in my darkest hour. *** “Another bottle…” I ordered angrily to the barman, who was a bit hesitant to act on my orders. The drinks were the best way I knew to flush away all the pain from the day's unfortunate happenings. I had come disguised to one of the famous hotels in town, just to help myself at the bar there. I just wanted to get wasted, as there was not a glimpse of hope in sight. “Ma'am, I advise that you have no more of this,” the barman said, holding the bottle in his hand, but still refusing to place it in front of me. “This could—” “Give me the bottle… you bastard…” I growled at him in my drunken state. “You want to create a scene? Hand me the fucking bottle!” “I'm sorry, but I can't,” the barman somehow had the guts to refuse. If only he knew who I was, or rather, who I had been a few hours ago before the catastrophic phone call on a live broadcast. The thought of it made me want to drink until I passed out. “I think you should go home, ma'am,” the formality in his tone didn't fail to annoy me. “You have had enough of—” “Give the lady what she wants, or you might have just had enough of your job,” a strong, powerful masculine voice ordered from behind. “Alright… sir,” the once confident barman was suddenly quivering in fright, and that had me curiously turning my head to see who it was. “Hello, beautiful,” he said, with a welcoming smile forming on his handsome face, as we made eye contact. Even though I was reeling from the shots I had downed that night, I could still see who I thought to be the most handsome man my eyes had ever seen. He had to be about six foot two. His moderately muscular build suited his height perfectly. The smile that formed on his stern-looking face was nothing short of magical. His dark blonde hair was like a perfect crown for the prince charming who was staring at me with his loving brown eyes. It almost seemed like everything had come to a stop when we made eye contact. “Hey, handsome…” I replied, not knowing when the words left my lips. “Seems like you had a tough time with the barman,” he drew close and put his hand on my shoulder. That sent a lot of fuzzy feelings through my entire body, causing me to giggle gullibly. “He was quite an asshole,” I replied, not bothered by how easily my body was responding to his touch. “But you came to my rescue… I wonder how I could repay you for this.” “Really?” his wicked smile, somehow, had me thrilled. “How about we head up to my room?” “Anything for my prince charming…” I giggled, as I took his hand and stood from the barstool.Madison's POV “No…” I let out suddenly, as I woke from a long nightmare where I had gotten in bed with a total stranger. In the naughty dream, we had a long steamy session together after he took me from the bar to the room, where we finally had it. “No…!” I covered my mouth immediately and screamed, as I realized that my nightmare was actually happening to me. The same man I had seen in my dreams was lying beside me, sleeping peacefully. My terror was just beginning as I looked below the covers to see my body bare and naked. I didn't need a fortune-teller to tell me what had happened when my eyes caught sight of my gown and my panties littered on the floor alongside a white shirt and a pair of black trousers. It almost felt like I was staring at a crime scene, except that I was part of the scene. Everything suddenly began playing back in my hazy mind. “Damn it…” I made the second blunder on the same day. Giving myself so cheaply to the man lying beside me, after ending my career
Madison's POV“Your stupid relationship advice turned my girl into a bitch,” he snapped at me, “And I finally have the chance to take out my revenge on you.”I was tongue-tied, yet again, as I recalled the story of the young billionaire who had gotten dumped by his girlfriend on the night that he tried to propose to her. The incident had gone viral almost immediately it happened a year ago, and it had been the talk of the whole city of Vegas. I could recall the comments I had made, which had clearly mocked the man who had been brutally turned down.If only I knew I would wind up with the man in the present moment, I would have commented much differently back then. But it was too late. “What do you want? Please…” I had to beg, as it wasn't something that money could take away. “Just say it.” I was desperate to save what was left of my reputation.He stared at those cold, brown eyes, which I had thought to be cute when I looked into them for the first time at the bar. But then, his st
Kylian's POV “That wretch…” I impatiently counted the seconds, as I waited for my men to return with my soon-to-be wife. Amusing, how she thought that she could outsmart me that easily. I relapsed on my sofa, staring at the screen of my phone to track the movement of the tracking device I had put on her while she had been asleep. My mind reverted to the drunken one-night stand. I was beyond surprised when I found out that the drunk lady that I had taken up to my room had been Madison Carter, the relationship specialist.“Sir, Stuart and the men have arrived,” Jake, my assistant and aide, said to me from behind the sofa.“Tell them to put her in one of the secure guest rooms and lock the door,” I ordered, putting the phone aside, as I prepared a speech for her. “No beatings or rough handling.”“Yes, sir,” Jake replied, as he scurried avidly out of the living room. I wanted to get the contract signing over with, as soon as I could so, I could face even more pressing matters. A lot o
Madison's POVMy heart skipped, as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I was startled greatly, as the sound resonated through the microphone. The eyes of the broadcast crew were all on me, with a look worth a thousand questions.It had been yet another wonderful broadcast until that call came.“So in essence, women are the prize to be won, and will always remain the prize in the relationship,” I had been proudly asserting into the microphone in front of me, how I thought men were more important in a relationship.The fact that I knew that there were millions of people listening to every single word I shot out of my mouth, gave me a feeling unimaginable and unexplainable.“Wow… that's quite an audacious thing to say, if you ask me,” Milly, the host, was still teetering from my previous statement.“Audacious, yeah, but that's the truth,” I asserted. “If your man is not literally, head-over-heels crazy over you, you are bound to be in one of the most miserable relationships ever.”“Hmm…” Mill