Part 1Love's Demise

My best friend and I married into the same wealthy family.

Her mission: Seduce the overbearing older brother and drain his fortune.

My mission: Seduce the famous younger brother and drain his... stamina.

But the older brother was too rich; his fortune was endless. And the younger brother was a workaholic who was never home.

I sighed. "I think I'm giving up. You?"

My best friend replied, "If you give up, I give up."

So I packed our bags, and we made a run for it.

The older brother called the younger one in a rage. "Can you get your wife under control? If you can't handle her, get her a job or something. Just stop her from corrupting mine."

The younger brother was filming a live variety show. In an instant, the entire internet knew he "couldn't handle her."

That night, he cornered me in the bathroom, beads of sweat on his forehead. "I'll make it up to you," he whispered. "Just promise me you'll never run away again."

* * *

We were playing 'Truth or Dare' with eighteen male models at a club.

My best friend, Lucy, lost. Her forfeit was to have the models surround her and give her a private twerking show. She covered her face, feigning embarrassment.

"What's the big deal?" I teased from the sidelines. "Your husband is way wilder than they are."

"You know what? You're right," she declared, dropping all pretense of shyness. "If we're here, let's go all out." She jumped into the circle and started dancing with them.

Just as the party reached its peak, a line of bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses stormed in. They bowed to Lucy. "Ma'am, Mr. Blackwood requests your presence."

These were Liam Blackwood's men.

Lucy quickly dismissed the models and grabbed my arm. "Ava, what do I do? If Liam catches me, I'm dead."

"Run," I said, calm and clear. I pushed through the crowd, heading for the back exit.

It wasn't until I was outside that I realized Lucy hadn't followed. My phone rang.

"Ava, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice small. "I'm not running. Liam's actually… really good to me. The money is just too good. Where else am I going to find a man like him? I've decided to keep going with the mission."

I froze.

Just last night, when I'd said I wanted to quit, Lucy had immediately agreed. "I'm with you. If you quit, I quit."

And now this? Betrayed by a girl in love.