Chapter 2
I was a little dazed, just staring blankly.
Alex noticed me staring at him and, looking irritated, grabbed another stack of cash.
His expression suddenly darkened, and he threw the money right at my face. "Take the money and get lost!"
Eva glanced at me, her brows furrowed. "Don't come back here again."
Before I could say anything, Alex let out a cold laugh. "Stay out of my business. You're just my brother's wife."
He spat out those last two words slowly, through gritted teeth.
The hatred and frustration in his voice was unmistakable.
I grabbed the money off the floor, hugging it to my chest with shaking hands, and bolted out of there like my life depended on it.
When I got downstairs, Alex's assistant handed me a contract to sign.
He was all business, his voice cold and detached.
"Thirty thousand dollars a month. You'll be on call, and you'll do whatever he asks," he said.
"But there's one thing you can be sure of.
"Mr. Sterling's got someone he's crazy about, so he definitely won't lay a finger on you."
He paused, his tone laced with undisguised disdain. "I can't tell if that's supposed to reassure you, or just leave you disappointed."
Everyone in Harbor City was talking about Alex.
I didn't know all the details, but I'd heard the gossip.
Rumor had it he was the Sterling family's illegitimate son, and he'd had a thing for Eva since they were kids. They even dated for a while.
But Eva's parents thought he wasn't good enough, so they made her dump him and marry the Sterling family's eldest son, Alex's half-brother.
His ex-girlfriend became his brother's wife. People say that was what pushed Alex over the edge into severe bipolar disorder.
But honestly, I couldn't care less about any of that.
I just stared at the contract, my mind replaying how Alex had nearly drowned me in the pool not long ago.
I needed the money, but if I ended up dead, I might not even get it.
I looked up at the assistant. "So, even if it's something that risks my life, I still can't say no?"
The assistant paused for a moment, his tone evasive. "Mr. Sterling knows how far to go."
But I wasn't buying it.
I spoke up again. "I want 300 thousand dollars up front.
"After that, I'll be on call, doing whatever you ask until I've earned it.
"If I die before it's done, just treat that money as payment for my life."
The assistant looked stunned, and after a long pause, he finally asked, "Why should I trust you?"
I pressed my nails into my palm. "I've got nothing. Nowhere to go. You people run this whole city, you could crush me with a snap of your fingers.
"I'm putting my life in Mr. Sterling's hands. Who else would make a better plaything for him than me?"
Just as I finished speaking, Alex's laughter echoed from the stairs behind me. "Alright, it's settled."
*****
I went home, clutching a single check in my hand.
As soon as I reached the third floor, I saw a man dozing in the corner by the door.
He looked to be in his thirties, but he was holding a kid's backpack, which was pretty weird.
I walked over, crouched down, and gave his shoulder a gentle shake. "Hey, wake up."
My brother, Daniel Hart, jolted awake and scrambled to his feet.
He was way taller than me.
He looked down at me, his face lighting up with a childlike excitement. "Ashley, you're finally back!"
He never remembered anything.
He couldn't remember the door code, and he always got my name wrong.
I opened the door and led him inside, letting out a helpless sigh as I corrected him, "It's Lily, not Ashley."
He scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed, and gave me a goofy grin. "Oh, okay."
After that accident three years ago, his mind was never the same again.
The genius who used to crush it at school and was a star at work had become like a child.
It was only in the past six months that he finally learned to count from one to ten.
He said he wanted to go back to school, so after thinking it over, I enrolled him in a basic adult education class.
My nose prickled with emotion, and I was afraid Daniel would notice.
After I put him in the living room to watch TV, I headed straight to the kitchen to start cooking.
The kitchen was filled with smoke, making me cough hard. When I finally stopped, I realized there was blood in my cough.
My brother's voice came from behind me. "Lily, why isn't your boyfriend here tonight?"
I hurriedly wiped the blood off the counter and turned to see him standing in the kitchen doorway. "What boyfriend?"
He looked at me, puzzled, as if it was obvious. "Ryan Brooks, your boyfriend."
My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, it felt like my throat was stuffed with cotton.
That was when it hit me that I was supposed to have dinner with Ryan that night.
It wasn't just about dinner. We both knew what was really going on, even if neither of us ever said it out loud.
We'd grown up together, and he'd always been there for me.
I'd already made up my mind, since we both liked each other and he never looked down on me, I was going to say yes to him tonight.
But now I had to let it go.
Someone like me, who was already got one foot in the grave, shouldn't drag him down with me.
The whole meal tasted like ash in my mouth.
Ryan kept calling, texting, and messaging me nonstop.
I put my phone on silent, then just powered it off.
Daniel, sitting across from me, suddenly asked, "Lily, are you not happy?"
I shook my head, glancing at the phone I'd tossed aside. "No, I'm happy."
He stared at my face. "Then why are you crying?"