Chapter 2
Zack frowned, about to explain, but I rushed over and hugged him tightly, my eyes rimmed with tears. I said, "Don't do anything rash. I won't tell anyone what happened last night."
Samuel's chest heaved with anger, and his eyes kept flicking between Zack and me in disbelief.
Zack looked annoyed at my hug and was about to push me away, but I whispered, "You've got a bunch of bite marks on your chest. If you shove me off, people will instantly know what you were up to last night."
Zack's face flushed, then darkened. He tugged at his shirt, only to realize the buttons had popped off at some point.
Suddenly, as if something clicked, he pulled me close, pressed me against his chest, and led me out of the room.
Samuel was absolutely furious, thinking Zack was really trying to take me from him. He charged at Zack, ready to throw a punch, but Yvonne grabbed him and held him back.
Yvonne said, "Samuel, don't do anything crazy. There are paparazzi everywhere. If they catch you two fighting, it'll ruin things between the Goodman and the Summers families."
She was the one who brought the paparazzi, hoping to catch me in the act with another guy.
But instead of making me look miserable and getting trashed by everyone, it ended up looking like two guys fighting over me.
Yvonne's jealousy was written all over her face.
Even though Zack was born out of wedlock, he was the only son in the Summers family. Unless something huge happened, he was set to inherit the whole Summers legacy.
As we walked away, Yvonne deliberately called out, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Zack didn't really spend the night with her, did he?"
Samuel pulled his arm free from Yvonne and replied coldly, "No way she would."
Yvonne shot back, "There's no girl Zack can't win over. Remember that ice queen from the finance department? He got her in just two days."
Halfway through, she caught the freezing glare in Samuel's eyes and quickly shut her mouth.
Just as they were about to leave, another guy strode out of the penthouse suite.
He had a sharp, angular face, and his torn shirt strained over his torso. His frame filled the tailored black pants, and he gave off a cold, untouchable energy.
His name was Wade Quinn, and his family had served in the military for three generations.
Spotting Samuel, Wade marched straight over, grabbed him by the collar, and shouted angrily, "Where's Chloe? If I find her, she's dead meat."
Samuel was already boiling with rage, and without hesitation, he threw a punch at Wade.
Yvonne stepped right between them, taking the punch full on.
She yelped and went down hard, her face swelling up instantly.
Samuel came to his senses and hurried over to her side. Seeing her mouth full of blood, he had to rush her to the hospital.
Before leaving, he gave Wade a cold, hard look and said, "I don't know what went down last night, but if you so much as touch Chloe, we're through."
With that, Samuel pulled Yvonne along as they hurried out.
In the underground parking lot, Zack fixed me with a cold, predatory stare, like a wolf sizing up its prey.
"Why did you lie to us?" he asked, his voice icy.
His accusation made my skin crawl.
They were the ones scheming from the very beginning, yet now they expected me to just play along, like I wasn't even allowed to fight back.
What made them think I would put up with this?
I put on my best innocent face and said, "I'm not the one who lied to you. It was..."