Chapter 1

In my senior year of college, I secretly spent an entire month in a basement with my father's nemesis, Chase Wilder, the expelled bad boy.

I thought the rebel would change for me, that he'd take me away from my suffocating cage.

All of that ended at my father's sixtieth birthday party.

There, Chase projected an intimate video of us in a cheap motel onto the hall's giant screen.

"Professor Shaw, you're always lecturing about morality. Why don't you take a good look at how shameless your precious daughter was in my bed?"

With that, he threw a handful of condoms and a few crumpled bills in my face, then walked out.

When we met again, I was like a broken-winged bird in a gilded cage, scrabbling for a living in a nightclub.

Then Chase saw that yellowed abortion form. His legs gave way, and he crumpled to the floor before me, trembling.

*****

The boldest thing I had ever done was to attend my father, Henry Shaw's, sixtieth birthday party without wearing a bra.

Beneath that heavy, tailored gown, my lower back burned with a stinging pain.

Not long ago, I had a black thorn rose tattooed there, with the word "Wild" coiled around its heart.

Wild, as in Chase Wilder.

Backstage in the dressing room, I stared at my reflection of the prim and proper princess of the Shaw family, and felt a smile tug at my lips.

Just then, my phone buzzed. A message from Chase flashed on the screen: [Wait for me.]

Those three words were like a spark, igniting a tremor that ran through my entire body.

Just a month earlier, I had still been Henry's masterpiece: a top Ivy League student, a prodigy in classical ballet, and the fiancée-to-be of a scion from a powerful family.

Meanwhile, Chase was the notorious delinquent Henry had expelled three years earlier.

Everyone said Chase was gutter trash, a lost cause who would never amount to anything.

But I cared only for the scalding heat of his kisses in bed, and the rasp in his voice when he gripped my waist and groaned my name: Serena.

Henry's voice came from the doorway. "Serena, are you ready? Chris is here."

Then he stepped into the room.

He wore a tailored suit, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and that insincere paternal smile plastered on his face.

"Dad, I don't want to marry Chris," I said, clutching the hem of my dress in a final, desperate act of defiance. "There's someone else."

Henry's smile vanished, his eyes turning sharp and cruel. "Is it that Wilder trash? Serena, I thought you learned your lesson three years ago. If you dare make a scene tonight, you'll pay for it."

He stepped closer and adjusted my collar. "You carry the honor of the Shaw family. Don't let that lowlife taint you. Now go. Everyone is waiting."

Swallowing my disgust, I took his arm and let him lead me out.

Henry stood in the spotlight, basking in the guests' fawning admiration.

"Professor Shaw, Serena is a testament to your guidance," one guest effused. "Gifted, graceful, and her integrity is unquestionable."

"Absolutely. The Shaw family name stands for virtue," another added. "Such a pure, virtuous girl. She and Chris will be the talk of the city."

Henry beamed, raising his glass in a toast. "Three decades of teaching have distilled one truth for me: reputation rests on virtue. And for a young lady, purity is her most precious jewel."

At that moment, the hall doors were kicked open with a violent crash.

The whole place froze. Every guest fell silent in shock.

Silhouetted against the light, Chase stood in the doorway in black leather biker gear, a USB drive twirling between his fingers.

A mocking smirk played on his lips as his gaze sliced through the crowd and landed on me.

For a split second, my heart thundered in my chest. I truly believed he was my knight, come to rescue me.

"Who the hell are you? Security!" Henry barked.

"Professor Shaw, long time no see," Chase announced as he strode onto the stage, the sharp scent of tobacco and cold air clinging to him.

"I hear it's your birthday. I was quite the handful as your student, so I thought I'd drop by with a special gift."

Before Henry could react, Chase calmly plugged the USB drive into the projector.

"Wasn't everyone just praising Miss Shaw's purity and virtue?" Chase taunted, his voice low and dripping with sarcasm. He hit play. "Then let's see what Professor Shaw's perfect daughter is really like in private."