Chapter 1

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:BECCA ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Two things were happening this weekend.

My best friend Ashley's birthday party on her father's private island.

And my first time with my boyfriend, Jason.

The yacht glided through dark blue water, and my stomach wouldn't stop flipping. Jason sat beside me, one arm stretched along the backrest, his other hand resting warm on my thigh, his thumb tracing lazy circles into my skin like he was already thinking about tonight.

Ashley lounged across from us, blonde hair spilling over one shoulder, sunglasses on, champagne in hand, looking like she belonged in a luxury ad.

"You've checked your phone like twelve times, Becca." she said. "Your brother's just sitting in your trailer like always. He's fine."

I blinked down at the screen in my hand.

I hadn't even realized I was doing that.

"He said he'd text."

Ashley groaned. "Oh my God. Becca, your brother has round-the-clock care, physical therapy, and medication my family pays for. He'll survive one weekend without you."

Jason brushed a lazy kiss against my shoulder. "She's right."

Easy for them to say.

Luke wasn't just my brother.

He was my other half.

And after the accident…

No.

Not thinking about that right now.

"I just want to make sure he's okay," I muttered.

Ashley sat up and pushed her sunglasses into her hair.

"It's my birthday, and I didn't drag you out here to spend it watching you play worried wife for your crippled brother." She flipped her hair over one shoulder. "Don't ruin this weekend with your guilt-trip sad orphan drama."

"Let it go, Becca," Jason murmured, those warm brown eyes fixed on me beneath messy brown hair. "Luke's probably asleep. He's fine."

Ashley Carson was the richest heiress in the city.

So yeah, everyone kissed her ass.

That included my boyfriend too.

She smirked over the rim of her champagne glass.

"See?" she said lightly. "At least your boyfriend knows how to relax. Maybe take notes."

I looked away, swallowing the heat crawling up my throat.

Here's the truth about Ashley Carson; I loved her. I really did. She'd been my best friend since junior year.

She was also the reason I was still in college.

Her family paid my tuition.

Paid for my brother’s treatments.

Paid for the parts of my life that would've fallen apart without them.

So when Ashley said cruel things… when she decided to be vile for no reason… when she reminded me, even without saying it, exactly who kept my world standing…

I swallowed it.

Because gratitude and humiliation start to look a lot alike when you can't afford either.

And because whether I liked it or not…

I owed her.

The island came into view, and my breath caught.

Huge white villas.

Palm trees.

Glass walls reflecting sunlight.

Private beach.

It looked unreal.

Ashley grinned.

"Welcome to Carson Island."

“Woah.” Jason laughed. "This is bigger than campus."

Ashley smiled like she'd heard that a thousand times.

"My dad likes privacy."

Her dad.

Alaric Carson.

Owner of Carson Global.

Founder of the Carson Foundation.

The reason Luke's treatments were covered.

The reason I was still in school.

I'd never met him.

But I knew his name.

Everybody did.

Ashley pointed toward the highest part of the property.

A penthouse built into the cliff.

Glass.

Steel.

Ocean wrapped around it.

"That floor stays locked," she said. "Dad's space. Off limits."

Jason whistled. "Looks intense."

Ashley laughed. "That's because he is."

I stared at it too long.

Ashley caught me.

Her smile sharpened. "Relax, Becca. He's not here."

Heat touched my face.

"I just… I'd always wanted to thank him personally for what the Carson Foundation had been doing for Luke and me."

"Yeah." She chuckled. "Girls make up all kinds of excuses to get with my dad all the time."

"God, Ash! I'm not trying to get with your dad."

"Good," Ashley said lightly. "Because my dad doesn't do college girls. Especially not those in thrift-store dresses."

Jason laughed.

Ashley laughed.

I laughed too.

Like it didn't sting.

The yacht docked.

The second my feet hit land, I checked my phone again.

Still nothing from Luke.

Jason grabbed our bags.

Ashley hooked her arm through mine.

"You're staying in the east cabana with Jason."

My heart skipped.

"Oh."

She smirked. "Oh?"

I looked away.

Ashley laughed. "Please. You've been dating for six months. It's about time."

She shot me a grin before she headed inside.

Jason leaned close, all lean frame and mint breath. "Nervous about tonight?"

My face warmed. "A little."

"I'll be gentle." He whispered with a soft grin.

God.

I love him.

I really do.

Maybe tonight would make everything feel normal.

For once.

My phone buzzed.

Luke.

Finally.

"It's Luke." I stepped away and answered.

He'd been napping. Took his meds, ate actual food. Told me to stop worrying and have fun. Even made some joke about condoms that made me want to die.

For the first time all day, I could breathe.

My brother was okay.

Now I could focus on tonight. On Jason. On finally being ready for my first time.

By the time I walked back, music was already blasting by the pool.

Jason was gone.

I frowned.

I scanned the area.

No Jason.

Maybe he went ahead.

To the cabana.

Setting up.

Waiting.

My pulse kicked.

Okay.

Tonight.

I followed the path toward the east side of the island.

Small lights lined the walkway.

The first cabana was empty.

The second had lights on.

Voices.

Laughter.

Then…

silence.

My steps slowed.

Something felt off.

That weird feeling in your stomach before bad news.

Like your body knows before your brain catches up.

My stomach sank like the Titanic.

But my feet kept moving.

I moved closer.

The curtains were half-open.

And then…

there they were.

Ashley.

My best friend.

On top of Jason.

My boyfriend.

For a second, my brain didn't even understand what I was looking at. Like if I blinked hard enough, the scene would turn into something else. Something normal.

But it didn't.

She was riding him hard, head thrown back, while his hands gripped her hips like he was starving for her.

"Harder," Ashley gasped.

And he did.

Like he'd die if he stopped.

My vision swam. My legs forgot how to work.

Tonight was supposed to be ours.

He'd just looked me in the eyes and whispered, (I’ll be gentle.)

And now this.

My stomach dropped so hard it hurt.

Then, almost like she felt me there, Ashley turned her head and saw me.

She didn't stop. Didn't slow down. She just smiled.

What the fuck…

She kept going… her eyes locked on mine the whole time, like she wanted me to watch.

Ashley Carson… my best friend. I wrote every paper she ever turned in. Gave her my necklace… the only thing I had from my mom… because she said it would look "so cute" on her.

"You want me, don't you?" she purred. "Not her. Me."

"Yes," Jason groaned. "Fuck…yes."

"Then show me."

He flipped her on the couch so she was on her back and slammed into her harder.

"God, you're so much better than I thought you'd be." Ashley moaned, loud enough for me to hear every syllable. "Does she even know what to do with a cock like this?"

Jason just fucked her harder.

My phone slipped from my hand, crashing on the floor.

Jason's head snapped toward the sound. His eyes found mine.

He froze… just for a second. His hips stuttered mid-thrust.

"Don't you fucking pull out," Ashley hissed, her nails digging into his back.

His face did this thing… guilt, maybe. Something like regret but not quite.

And…

He. Kept. Moving.

Like he couldn't make his body stop. She grabbed his ass, slamming him deeper, and she moaned like a siren calling ships to their death.

"Fuck…I'm almost…" Jason grunted. "Shit…Ashley…"

"Now," she whispered. "Right now."

Jason's whole body tensed.

For one second… one horrible, clarifying second… his face crumpled. Pleasure and shame twisting together.

His mouth moved. "I'm sorry."

Then his hips jerked forward.

And he came.

Right there.

While looking at me.

I stood frozen as my boyfriend finished inside my best friend with an apology dying on his lips.