Chapter 5 Remember, You Asked For This

Velvet Bar pulsed with electric energy, the air thick with sweat and the sharp tang of spilled liquor. Strobe lights carved jagged shadows through the smoky haze while the bass hammered, relentless and wild. Bodies pressed together on the dance floor-half-dressed, laughter spilling as they chased the next thrill, ice tinkling in their glasses.

Leaning heavily on the counter, Daniela tossed back another shot, the burn barely registering. Her thumb flicked aimlessly through her feed-until Bella's update stopped her cold.

Photo after photo paraded across her screen: Bella wrapped around a bare-chested man, diamond ring flashing in every shot, the hem of a wedding dress peeking into the frame. Bella's smile was sweet.

She didn't need the full picture to recognize the man. It was none other than Joshua.

The caption dripped with syrupy sweetness, almost to the point of gagging. "Every day with him is happiness."

A stream of comments rushed in, sugary and vicious at once.

"Such a gorgeous couple. Glad the eyesores are gone."

"Bella's in a class of her own. No backwater bumpkin stands a chance."

And there at the top, glowing blue, was Joshua's like.

A brittle laugh slipped from Daniela's lips-sharp and humorless. That sort of blow might have crushed her once. Tonight, it only fueled a vicious urge to see them both ruined.

She reached for another shot, but someone's hand clamped firmly around her wrist.

A deep, gravelly voice brushed her ear, cutting through the blaring music. "Daniela... When did you get so pathetic? Drowning yourself for a man?"

Blinking hard, she tried to focus on the silhouette in front of her. The room spun, lights smearing across her vision. His face was just a dark blur edged in neon.

"For a man?" she echoed, slurring the words as she swayed in her seat. Her flushed cheeks glowed beneath the club lights, breath warm with whiskey. When she tried to stand, her knees buckled. She toppled forward with a carefree giggle, crashing right into his chest. "Come on. If I wanted a man, I'd have a dozen lined up by sunrise."

Tonight wasn't about heartbreak. This was her resurrection-her one-woman celebration.

She traced her fingers up the man's jaw, squinting at him through the buzzed daze. "I gotta admit-you're cute."

The man's jaw clenched, color flaring on his cheeks even in the dimness.

"You're getting bold, Daniela," he growled, his voice thick with heat. "Why don't you look again and figure out who you're talking to right now?"

She tugged him in by the collar, lips brushing his ear as she murmured, "Want to see just how bold I can get?"

Before he could answer, she rose unsteadily and pressed her mouth to his.

The kiss was messy and inexperienced, but she barely cared. He didn't look impressed-yet he didn't pull away, either.

Liquor rushing through her veins, Daniela's hands wandered boldly, sliding over his chest and shoulders with wild confidence.

A second later, his fingers tangled in her hair and he yanked her in, devouring her lips in a bruising, breathless kiss. Their mouths collided, breaths mingling, neither willing to let go.

Without warning, he scooped her up and carried her upstairs, his voice gravelly in her ear. "Remember, you asked for this."

She wrapped herself around him, arms and legs clutching tight as heat flared between them, burning away the last of her restraint.

Drunk and desperate, she surrendered to him, letting herself get swept up in the wild, dizzying blur of the night. They lost themselves in each other-giving in to every reckless urge until dawn bled into afternoon.

...

When the sunlight finally spilled across the tangled sheets, Daniela slowly woke.

Every muscle throbbed; her back and waist ached so much it felt like she had been split in half.

She blinked at the disarray around her, memory coming back in a slow, mortifying rush.

She had slept with a stranger last night.

Her mind was a blur, but one image stayed sharp-that man's devastating physique.

Before she had time to gather her thoughts, Daniela's phone vibrated insistently-Daisy Clark's name flashed on the screen. Joshua's bratty little sister didn't bother with greetings. "Daniela, where are you? You're not in the lab! Get your butt over to the restaurant and help out. We're swamped!"

With a weary sigh, Daniela pressed her fingers to her aching forehead, wincing as the hangover throbbed behind her eyes.

Joshua's parents hadn't come from money. For years, they had worked grueling shifts at a factory, pinching every penny just to survive.

Opening a restaurant had been her idea-her way of giving them a better life. She had handled everything: drew up the business plan, poured in the investment from her pharmaceutical patents, called in favors, pulled strings with suppliers.

Because of her, the restaurant had turned into a citywide obsession, with tables booked months in advance.

But whenever she dropped in, the Clark family barely looked up, barking orders at her as if she were just another waitress hustling for tips.

The most infuriating part? They didn't even realize anything was wrong.

She had planned to swing by soon, and here Daisy was, calling her to help out at the restaurant.

After a long, steaming shower to clear her head, Daniela called the butler and asked him to bring up a fresh outfit and her makeup kit.

She didn't notice the slip of paper left on the coffee table, its edges sharp and the handwriting bold and unmistakable.

"Got called in for an office emergency. After all these years, maybe it's time you took me off your blocklist." A phone number followed, scrawled beneath the words.

At the very bottom, signed with unmistakable flourish-Aiden Lambert.