Part 1His So-Called Love

I was Chase's "nanny" for ten years, staying by his side from middle school all the way through college.

Yet because of him, I was relentlessly bullied, whipped, suffered broken bones, and was nearly drugged and assaulted!

Through all of it, he remained completely indifferent, holding his darling first love in his arms and flirting:

"Women just aren't built for driving! Blair's an exception, of course."

Later, when another man appeared at my side, he completely lost his mind:

"Are you that desperate for a man? You bitch!"

Much later, he claimed that everything he did was because he loved me.

A pounding headache throbbed behind my eyes. Chloe and I had just stepped out of our private lounge when a chorus of loud laughter echoed from the room next door.

I intended to hurry past, but my name drifted through the slurred chatter.

I paused and leaned in. A circle of guys was laughing over how much of a desperate dog I was for Chase.

"Hey Chase, last year on your birthday, Harper actually went street racing just because you told her to? How'd that turn out—did she win or lose?"

A dismissive male voice echoed through the room:

"Lost, obviously. Broke her leg in half. Like I said, women just aren't cut out for racing—"

He paused, kissing Blair on the cheek. "Except for my Blair, of course."

Laughter and catcalls followed, only to be cut short by a woman barging through the doors.

It was Chloe, my best friend who grew up with me in the foster care system. I couldn't grab her in time; when she was drunk, she was stronger than a bull.

Peering through the cracked door, I saw her eyes blazing. She grabbed a drink off the table and hurled it directly into Chase's face.

She screamed:

"You piece of trash! Harper barely even had her driver's license, and you forced her to race Blair?! Why don't you just drop dead?!"

"And do you even know that bitch sabotaged the car?!

Harper told me from her hospital bed with a fractured bone—her brakes completely failed halfway through the hairpin turn! She almost died!

And here you are, acting like it was just a broken leg?!"

If people weren't holding Chloe back, she looked ready to rip his throat out with her bare teeth.

Hearing this, Chase's arm around Blair loosened slightly. A flicker of suspicion crossed his eyes, gone in a flash.

"Where's your proof? Harper just sucked at driving. Stop throwing dirt on Blair! Besides, it's not like I forced her..." Chase's voice trailed off, distinctly guilty.

No, he didn't physically force me. He just threatened that if I didn't act as a sparring partner for his precious muse, he'd kick me out of the Montgomery family and get me expelled from university.

I was ten when the Montgomeries took me in. Not because I was special, but because some spiritual astrologer claimed my birth chart perfectly countered their young master's bad luck when he fell gravely ill. They needed a scapegoat to ward off his misfortune.

And I was the unlucky soul chosen.

I was about to graduate and intern at Montgomery Enterprises. Enduring a few practice laps seemed bearable enough.

Except when we got to the track, Blair changed the rules.

"Aren't you an Ivy League genius? Street racing should be a piece of cake for you. I'll give you three days. Race me then."

A professional female racer against a complete amateur.

Needless to say, I was bound to lose.

Humiliation was her only goal.

"I'm not doing it," I had told Chase, who was standing nearby.

"Aren't you always such a fast learner? Huh, straight-A student?" Chase mocked, his smile cold and empty.

Meaning: I had no choice.