AMELIA POV The attention I'm receiving is overwhelming. People I don't even know are crying along with my parents. There's an electricity running up and down my spine as I look at the crowd who is standing and clapping for us. When the publicist said it's time I was introduced to the public, and that the gala dinner would be the perfect place, I certainly didn't expect this response. My picture will be all over the media in the morning, and I will no longer be a nobody. Back when Mai was killed, my father pulled some strings, and I was kept anonymous, but now everyone will know everything about me. Poor Brandon is probably regretting ever coming here, but he waits at the bottom of the stairs for me like a true gentleman as my father rounds up his speech. "Are you okay?" He asks me in concern. I just nod. Brandon is perfect. He's the kind of guy I should be interested in. He's calm and steady, and he would make a great life partner to any girl, I think. Even my f
ALONSO POV "Amelia." The name rolls off my tongue like it belongs there. She can change her name. It doesn't mean I wouldn't still want her. My gaze holds hers captive as we gently sway to the music like we're the only people there. I must have forgotten how beautiful she is up close because my heart aches as I look down at her. Her body has changed, and I want to explore it with my tongue. She has a softness to her now that she didn't have before. She has definitely lost some of her athleticism, but I like this new version of her. Her hips are rounder, and her breasts are definitely one cup bigger. She's a woman now, and the man in me is desperate to touch her the way that I want to. "I have so many questions." My eyes rake over every inch of her that I can without looking like a creep. Her hair is a golden halo under the ballroom lights. "Where have you been all these years? I've been looking for you." Those blue eyes I have been dreaming of every single nigh
AMELIA POV There's an unusual, awkward silence around the breakfast table that has never happened since I met my parents. My mother and father keep on exchanging glances, and if it was another day, I would just have asked them what's up, but Brandon is also at the table. The poor guy was so sweet last night when I emerged from the bathroom. He asked me numerously if I was okay, but never once did he ask me about Alonso. That asshole. He really left me with a quivering pussy and flushed cheeks. Everyone saw us dancing together and him running after me. The rumor mill is probably already running rampant in the whole of Washington. It doesn't help that Alonso is so fucking famous either. As if college wasn't enough for girls throwing themselves at him, the pros have probably been even worse. And yes, I've followed his career over the years. I just couldn't help myself. A part of me also just really wanted him to succeed because he worked so hard for it. "So, Brandon." N
ALESSI POV Alonso is successful because he goes into things head first. If he has a problem, he addresses it quickly. If he wants to achieve something, he immediately works for it. It suits him. It works for him. Arc believes in fate and all that bullshit. He believes things will work out the way they're supposed to, that whatever happens, were supposed to happen. I do things a little differently. I like to assess each and every circumstance. I like to lie in wait and analyze situations until I'm sure. Research plays a big part in how I do things. The one thing us three do have in common, though, is not one of us likes to lose. And we're all taking this little competition we have going on very seriously. I'm probably the brother Juliet likes the least, but I don't intend on losing. I've felt that pussy only once, and if I get to fuck her every single day of my life, I would be a happy man. Even if she despises me. And we do have something in common she doesn't have
AMELIA POV Goosebumps break out over my skin as I look up into the stormy mix of green and brown eyes. There's something exhilarating about being ensnared in Alessi Moretti's embrace. Something I don't experience with the other two. "It seems like you and your brothers have something about bathrooms." My voice comes out as cool as a cucumber, the total opposite of what I'm feeling. "You're following me." "I am." He admits just as calm, as if there's nothing wrong with doing it. "I could get you arrested." My body is a traitor to these men. His hand moves up to squeeze my ass, and it's been so long since I've been touched this way that I lean into him, asking for it. "You could." His voice drops even lower as his fingers slip underneath my lace panties to teasingly trace the slit in between my ass cheeks. Why can't I simply say no to these men? Why can't I push them away and go on with my life? I should be fucking mad at Alessi. He was the one associated with Bai
AMELIA POV Brandon smiles sadly down at me. He's a good person, and he's handsome too. He's just not my guy, and he will make someone else a very happy man one day. Me? I'm jaded and spoilt. And I have no business going into a relationship I'm not ready for. Or one that I don't even want. "So, this is goodbye then?" He sighs deeply like he's lost something important, but we never even began. He should've done the smart thing and stayed far away from me. "Well, of you ever find yourself this side of the pond again, give me a shout." I smile at him and hug him quickly like a friend would. "Now, don't go breaking any hearts in London." He gives me his signature wink. "I'm not making any promises." I watch the good guy walk away to go to the country I won't be returning to, a country that provided me anonymity and a chance to escape. If I knew what was good for me, I would have been leaving with him, go on that date with him, and put the past behind me. Instead, I'm w
ARCANGELO POV I love music. I think when I was in my mother's womb, my ears were more developed than my brothers'. I find music in everything, in the rhythm of the wind, the rustle of the leaves in the park, in the steps of people on a busy street. Music is who I am. Creating music is part of my DNA, getting up on that stage and receiving the energy of the crowd is what makes me feel alive. Fame, however, is a thorn in my side. I have become like a recluse ever since my first album was released. I only go to the studio, to my brothers' places, and home. Then I have the occasional concert. Other than that, I try to stay away from the public eye as much as possible. I have people managing all aspects of my social media, but I do have a fake account to check if I don't see anything Juliet related. Or Amelia. So far, nothing, which doesn't come as a surprise. She never had social media when we were in college. So, color me surprised when I find an article that states she
AMELIA POV I feel like a bird trapped in a cage. I love my parents. They are everything I've ever wanted, and the last four years have been bliss even though I was living in London. When I told my father I wanted to come back, I didn't expect that I would be thrust into the public eye like this. I don't understand why there have to be publicists and talk show appearances. I know that his job is prominent and highly important, but we don't need to be doing all of this, in my opinion. But it seems like I'm the only one who is bothered because even C.J. doesn't look like he's nervous in his navy uniform looking dashing. My mother takes my hand in hers on the car ride over to the studio. "This is the only time you will have to talk about this, I promise. Just this one show." I look out the window of the city that I always dreamed of living in one day, but this was not the way I wanted to explore it for the first time. "Just don't look at the cameras." C.J. says with a smi
ALONSO POV "The NFL has decided to suspend you until after a thorough investigation has been done regarding the pictures." I faintly hear Uncle Kevin's voice over the white noise ringing in my ears, and I take another swig of my father's expensive cognac that I swiped from his alcohol display. I gather he has enough money to replace it. The bottle is abruptly grabbed from my hand. "I'm not going to stand by and watch you kill yourself." My mother takes her own swig from the bottle and then slams it down on the table. "For fuck's sake, Alonso, this is not the end of the world." I shrug nonchalantly. "Might as well be." There's a hole where my heart used to be. My career is literally being flushed down the drain. All the hours I spent in the gym, all the plays I studied, the millions of game tapes I've watched. I've always loved to party, but I always only had two light beers. I could've been fucking it up, but I was so focused on that one dream. Then Juliet came al
AMELIA My stomach clenches in agony, and I screw my eyes shut, not wanting the light streaming from the open curtains to penetrate my soul. If it wasn't for Miss Daisy, those damn curtains would've never been open in the first place. I don't need light. The darkness was just perfect for me. I'm officially a prisoner in my own house. I'm even wondering if it is my house. Did I ever belong here in the first place? I might be an Astor by DNA, but I didn't grow up with them. As much as I love them, and as much as it was none of our fault what happened, the truth remains that when I was molded into a person, it wasn't under their hands. Yet I felt like I belonged when I met them, but I feel even more at home when Alonso holds me down and fucks me ruthlessly. Or when he transforms into a huge teddy bear afterward and snuggles me. Do I believe that Alonso did that to that girl? Yes. I also know that she was probably begging for it, too. I was jealous at first when I
ALESSI POV I failed. I failed to protect my brother. Now, my family is trying to do damage control that may not succeed. Alonso is a fucking mess. Yesterday morning, images were shared on every social media network of some idiot influencer who had bruises and bite marks all over her body after spending the night with Alonso. The bigger problem is that the influencer is now nowhere to be found to tell the damn media that whatever happened between them was consensual, even though the images may look alarming. Apparently, she sent the photos to a friend to brag about her night with the infamous Alonso Moretti, and now it has blown up in his face. If you look at the photos alone, it does look like the girl was attacked. It's classic Alonso behavior, though, and the same reason I diligently checked out everyone he slept with in college. I clearly can't be everywhere at once anymore, and now we have a catastrophic problem. Brands are threatening to end their contracts w
ALONSO POV I felt on top of the world right after the win. I showed the assholes who said I was just a rich kid who was overhyped. I had the girl I always wanted waiting for me, and they showed how she and my mom hugged on the jumbotron. For a second life was everything I ever wanted. Then, like an ice-cold bath, reality came knocking on my door when Uncle Kev reminded me that we still had the press conference afterward and that things might get sticky there. Now I'm sitting next to Uncle Kevin waiting for the vultures to spew me with their questions, my leg bouncing nervously. Uncle Kevin's hand reaches underneath the table to squeeze my shaking leg, and I still. The first question is aimed at him. It's entirely professional. How he feels about the future of the team. How he developed the team so that we played so well. My eyes rove over the sea of reporters. Which one of them will bring up the alleged sexual assault? It could be any of them. Was my father able to s
AMEILIA POV I'm nervous when Alonso takes me up to his family's box. This will be the first time I will face them after everything went down, and they undoubtedly know what I tried to do. Even though the triplets don't hold it against me, I still don't understand how they don't, I don't know how their parents will treat me. They have every right to treat me as the piece of shit I am. Maybe everything I'm experiencing right now with my real parents is my punishment for trying to break a family apart. I'm so worlds away from that girl, I still can't believe I carried that vengeance in my heart. I was lying awake most of the night, my head tucked in the crook of Alonso's neck with his breathing softly rustling my hair, and all I could think of was how I did him wrong. I had sex with his brothers, the same brothers whom he shared a womb with, and who means the world to him. And even years later, when I saw them again, I still had this pull towards them. I don't know why it feel
SUMMER POV My heart hammers in my chest as I look up into the gorgeous eyes of Alessi Moretti. Is that disappointment that flashes in its depths at my words? Alessi Moretti was everything I never knew I wanted. He was like a knight in shining armor when he first showed interest in me. I've received plenty of interest from men at the hospital ever since I started working there over two years ago, but I never took the bait. You see, I've always been looked at as the pretty girl. The one every boy in school wants to have sex with, but not commit to. Once, I let myself be that girl, and I got discarded and forgotten about. I vowed that no man would ever make me feel like I'm disposable again. Yet, I fell for Alessi's beautiful exterior and gallant gestures. I should have known he was just like all the other assholes who were just out to use me and discard me. I've never felt so dirty after he told me that he wanted his keys to his apartment back. Keys I never even asked
ALESSI POV I'm feeling jittery, and nervous as fuck. Usually, I would tell my brothers as soon as something as big as an ex-situationship being pregnant happens, but now is not the time. I'll tell them after the game. My mother narrows her eyes at me like a hawk. "Is everything okay?" You can't hide shit from her. "Everything is good." I lie. Everything is shit. I can't believe I'm going through the same shit again! And unless Summer was really sneaky and fucking someone behind my back in the hospital, there is a big chance that child might be mine. I ran away like a fucking coward after I looked into her chart. Memories of my mother placing Bailey's child into my arms and the panic attack that I almost had when I looked into his face came running back to me, and I couldn't breathe. I had to get out of there. I've been avoiding her at work, and I think she's been avoiding me too, but I know that I'm going to have to address the issue as soon as possibl
LOLA POV My eyes go to Arcangelo for probably the hundredth time as I go over the contract with not one but three lawyers present. This can't be happening. Not to me, at least. Good things like this don't happen to people from my part of the woods. People always ask me why I don't just sign with a label and get Cassy out of the dump we stay in, but I wasn't about to sell my damn soul for a record contract. This contract is different, though. It allows me to have control over the kind of music I want to make and the image I want to portray to the world. It's unheard of, is what it is. My father was a musician, one of the best. The music he wrote got stolen, and he never saw a dime of the money it made. So you can call me shaded. Because of this industry, my father became a drug addicted alcoholic who ruined everything in his path. Including me. I had to learn from a very young age that I had to take care of myself because the adults in my life wer
ARCANGELO POV I look in the rearview mirror as I drive from the studio to the hotel I booked for Lola and her "kid," who didn't end up really being her own child, but her little sister. Cassy is a five-year-old hellion who has been entertaining me for the last two days ever since I put them on the company's private jet and brought them to New York. The last two days have been a whirlwind, and I don't know if I've ever laughed so much as I did in these two days. We've been in the studio ever since we arrived on Friday, and after she sang Mai's Song in that bar, I did the unimaginable and let her record it and made it into a duet. My music has always been personal. Every word of my lyrics, every note that I pen down comes from my soul, and sure, I've written songs for other artists before, but never one as deeply personal as Mai's Song. The way Lola sang that song like I had written it for her made me feel compelled to let her sing on it. I haven't asked her what happe