Tears had carved rivers down her hollowed cheeks. "I'm shamelessly begging you... treat it as repayment for sending you back to the Masons..."
To honor that kindness, I signed the damn agreement.
From that day forward, I became the useless live-in boyfriend. Her shield against every arrow—open and hidden alike.
For three years.
I watched her drink herself into oblivion to close contracts, vomit splashing across her designer clothes. I carried her home. Cleaned her up. Tucked her in.
I watched her hide in restrooms, sobbing after the board cornered her. I quietly leveraged the Mason family's connections to solve problems she never knew existed.
Those three years had gone too smoothly. She convinced herself she was a chosen business genius.
And in return, she treated me like a servant.
"Hey! Kevin is talking to you! Are you deaf?"
A sudden chill drenched my skull. Amber liquid cascaded through my hair, stinging my eyes, dripping down my jaw.
Evan Whitney loomed over me, wine glass tilted at a mocking angle.