All Chapters of Rayne's Revenge: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My reflection in the boutique mirror mocked me. The emerald dress, the one that supposedly accentuated my perfect curves felt a little too provocative for an "Engagement party dress.”Elliot stood a few feet away, his designer suit as stiff as his posture. His gaze was fixed on his phone, not even a single interest in the woman he was supposedly going to marry."You look… green," he observed finally, without looking up.He finally acknowledged my existence with a bored glance. I just wished he could look at me differently. “I could get another one if you want?”"Let's just fucking get this over with," he sighed, his voice far from any warmth.Elliot Levin, my childhood crush, the boy whom I worshiped the ground he walked on, hated me. It wasn't a secret. He'd never looked my way in high school, and here we were, engaged to be married. Except, our "engagement" was a carefully crafted publicity stunt for Star-Struck, my father’s entertainment agency.We exited the boutique. "So," I st

The uniformed lady left the room with a final chipper, "Enjoy your evening, Miss!"“Evening?” I mumbled in utter confusion. Disoriented, I blinked at the digital clock beside the bed. 4:00 pm. Panic washed over me, cold and sharp. The engagement party! How long had I slept?My phone, abandoned on the nightstand, buzzed with a notification. Ten missed calls – all from Mom, Dad, and even Zia. The enormity of the situation crashed down on me. I had missed my own engagement party. What would they say? What would Elliot do?But the thought of facing my family – their hurt, their disappointment – filled me with dread. The thought of returning home, of explaining the inexplicable, felt undoable. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. What a mess I had made. Maybe, I thought with a sliver of hope, a simple apology would suffice. Maybe I could explain, beg for forgiveness. Boy was I wrong.I returned home ashamed of myself. As I pushed open the living room door, the air was tensed. Da

He had someone usher me into a spacious room with a breathtaking view of the city skyline. His office was a testament to his success. I perched on the edge of a plush leather couch, nervously fiddling with the hem of my shirt. A minute later, he entered, his face conflicted.He stared at me for a long beat, his gaze was intense, searching my face as if trying to unlock a forgotten memory. "You… you don't remember me, do you?" His voice was barely a whisper.A frown creased my brow. Remember him? Should I? "I'm afraid not," I admitted. "We've never met, have we?"“Never met?" He repeated, laughing in between. He ran a hand through his hair, his brow furrowed in frustration. "Look," he sighed, “what’s your name?”“Rayne,” I said, “it says it here on my name tag.” I pointed at the name tag on my breast area. “Alright, Rayne," he began, leaning against his desk. "Let's start over. Five years ago, you spent the night with me at a Hotel. We… well, let's just say we shared a very memorable

The energy between us was tense."You should lighten up a bit. I'm really sorry about what I said" he apologized again and after moments of sulking, I let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll stay. But don't think that means I'll change my mind.""Understood." He nodded, looking pleased by my decision to stay. "We should eat" he grabbed the bottle of wine and opened it while I started to eat my food. It was delicious."So, if we're going to be good company, let's start with something simple. What do you like to do for fun?"I couldn't help but smile at the absurdity of the question given our circumstances, but I indulged him."Fun? Like hobbies?""Exactly. Do you have any hobbies? Do you like to read, paint, play sports?" He listed off some hobbies and I honestly did not know how to answer his question because I had not really done anything fun in the last five years since I had Leo so it was kind of a tricky one"I used to love to read" I smiled remembering the days I used to just read through

NATHAN'S POVThe day's leading to the day I was to get the results of the investigation on Lila was almost unbearable. I found it had to do any reasonable work at the office and my secretary had to ask me numerous times if I was okay because the behavior was really unlike me and my anticipation even got a lot worse when I got the news that I needed to be in an important meeting at California. The thing was I did not want to receive the news of the investigation results over the phone. I wanted to be present and in the same room as Max while he told me everything he had found out.My trip to California was going to be for a week and it killed me to realize that I had to wait more days than I had originally planned but I didn't have a choice because my presence was urgently needed at the meeting.I left for California grumpy as hell and throughout my stay, my mood remained bad. During the meeting I had zoned out a couple of times, making them worried about me."Mr Nathan are you good?"