Chapter 4

The story Kenya spun was simple and sickening. The video was a "prank." The men in the apartment were her "friends," there to "talk" to me about the "misunderstanding." My calling the police was an overreaction, a hysterical outburst that had damaged their reputations.

I stood there, my hand pressed to my stinging cheek, and stared at them. At the sociopath who delighted in my pain, and the man who enabled her.

"A prank?" I asked, my voice dangerously low. "You ruin my life, and you call it a prank? You kill my dog, and it's practice? You send men to my home, and it's a misunderstanding?"

I turned my gaze to Cooper. "And you? You let her. You stand there and let all of this happen."

A flicker of something-guilt, maybe-crossed his face before it was gone. He sighed, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "Alaina, Kenya didn't mean any harm. It was just a joke that went too far."

"A joke?" Kenya scoffed. "Please. I meant every second of it. I wanted to teach you a lesson. You're just too sensitive."

I was shaking with rage. "A lesson for what? For existing? For breathing the same air as you?"

I looked at Cooper again, my voice pleading. "Cooper, tell me you don't believe this. Tell me you see what she is."

"Alaina, you're making this a bigger deal than it is," he said, his voice laced with exhaustion. "You shouldn't have gone to the police. Now Kenya's name is involved. I've already posted a clarification online. Just go down to the station, tell them it was a misunderstanding, apologize to Kenya, and we can all move on."

Apologize. He wanted me to apologize.

My heart, which I thought couldn't break any further, splintered into a thousand more pieces.

"My reputation," I whispered, pointing a trembling finger at myself. "My life. It doesn't matter?"

He didn't seem to hear me, or maybe he didn't care. He grabbed my arm, his grip tight. "Let's go. The sooner this is over, the better."

I resisted, planting my feet. "No."

Kenya smiled, a cruel, sharp thing. "You know, Professor Albright seems to be very fond of you. It would be a shame if some nasty rumors about him started circulating. Maybe something about an inappropriate relationship with a student? My brother could make that happen with one phone call."

The threat hung in the air, vile and potent. They would ruin an innocent man's life just to control me.

My lip trembled. I bit down on it, hard, tasting blood. I had to protect him.

"Fine," I said, the word tasting like ash. "I'll go."

I told myself it was the last time. After this, I would be gone. I would take my baby and start a new life, far away from these monsters.

At the police station, I recited the lies they had fed me. It was all a misunderstanding. A lover's quarrel. I was emotional. I was sorry.

On the car ride back, I saw Cooper' s post on the campus forum. He claimed the man in the video wasn't him. He threw me under the bus, painting me as promiscuous and unstable, all to protect his own image.

"Why?" I asked, my voice hollow.

"It's for the best, Alaina," he said, not taking his eyes off the road. "It protects both of us. Just stay home for a while. Lay low until it blows over."

He was a stranger to me. The man who once held me and promised to shield me from the world was now the one pushing me into the fire. All his promises had been nothing but a performance.

I went home and did as I was told. I became quiet, obedient. I didn't cry. I didn't argue. I packed a small bag in secret, hiding it in the back of the closet. I just needed to survive a few more days.

A week later, Cooper told me I had to work an event at one of his family's clubs.

"Kenya's having a party," he explained. "She wants you there." He handed me a costume. It was a ridiculous, fluffy bunny suit, complete with a mask that covered my entire face.

"She doesn't want to see your face," he said, as if it were a perfectly normal request.

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. I put on the suit, my movements stiff and robotic. He was playing with me, and I was letting him. My heart was a dead, heavy thing in my chest.

After hours of serving drinks in the hot, suffocating costume, I slipped away to change. A staff member stopped me.

"Mr. Snow wants to see you in the VIP room," he said.

I followed him to a private room at the end of a long hallway. He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.

The room was empty, except for Kenya. She was lounging on a velvet couch, a wicked smile on her face.

I immediately backed away. "Where's Cooper?"

"He's not coming," she said, her voice a purr.

The staff member shoved me into the room from behind, and the door clicked shut behind me. It was locked.

Several large men stepped out from the shadows. They surrounded me, pushing me toward the center of the room. I stumbled, nearly falling.

Kenya let out a cold little laugh. "Still trying to hook up with my brother's friends? You're such a slut."

She leaned in close, her breath hot against my ear. "I know about the baby," she whispered.

My blood ran cold.

"You really think you're worthy of carrying a Snow? Of tying my brother down with a child?"