“Did your pussy brainwash him or something?” Piper asked.

“Nah, he’s in love,” Violet replied. “The look he gave you makes perfect sense to me now.”

“Warren King doesn’t know how to love,” Piper shot back, but she was wrong.

I knew she was wrong. And I wish I had listened to what he tried to tell me back at his house instead of fucking all this up so badly.

And even though I hurt him, he was still trying to take care of me. Even now. Even back then when I hadn’t known…

Fuck.

“Addi…”

Piper’s hand was warm on my back as she rubbed slow circles over it.

My resolve hardened.

“I need your help,” I said, looking up at her. “I don’t have the connections I used to, but I need information.”

“Tell me what you want to know,” she said.

I swallowed thickly.

There is no going back after this, but I don’t care.

“There was something Warren left out of his reports about my father, and I need to know more about it.”

And in the meantime, I would click those fucking links. And I would find out just what my father had done.

35

WARREN

Another month, another auction.

I never thought I'd actually get tired of them.

But as I looked at the girls mingling with my guests… I couldn’t help but wish Addi was amongst them. Not among them, but by my side.

It was the night of the welcoming party. The one where all the billionaires came to take a peek at what we had to offer while the women were paraded around in extravagant dresses and masks.

This should have been the most exciting part.

The party overlooked the city as the sun set. I found myself watching it more than the party itself. I had lost track of how many whiskeys I’d had, and the noise fell around me in a low murmur.

Every so often I found myself following what I thought was a glimpse of her blonde hair, but it always turned out to be nothing more than my own longing manifesting itself.

I could have been the bastard she once thought I was. I could have gotten away with not paying her and around the early termination clause with ease. But I wouldn’t do that. Not to her.

I wanted Addi to have it. She deserved it.

She was the perfect girl for me. Fulfilled every one of my desires. Even if she was a brat, she knew I loved it.

She saw right through me.

And at the end of it, I felt woefully undeserving of her.

I felt… guilty about everything. Even if I had been right in trying to get justice for my own father, I had taken hers away and doomed my best friend.

It was and it would always be my fault.