“Who?” Noah asks.
“Rylee.”
“What does Rylee have to do with the supermarket?” he asks with an appearance of confusion crossing his face.
“She was there. It wasn’t her that told you?”
“No, one of my clients saw it all and let me know.”
Well, fuck. Rich girl kept her mouth shut. I’ll be damned.
“What do you plan to do for work? Your grandmother left you some money, but there’s not a lot.”
“I haven’t gotten that far. Though, I guess, it’s something I should look into.” Except for the fact that I’ve never worked a real job in my life.
“Do you want me to get you some work?”
I scrub my hand down my face and sit at the dining room table as he turns and stares.
“No.”
“August, this will only work if you go back to living a normal life.”
I chuckle.
What is a normal life? Even before prison, my life was anything but normal. My mother was the town whore, doing whatever she could for her next drink, even my damn friends. Disgusting.
Normal life? Yeah, I don’t know what that is.
“You can be whoever you want to be, August. If you look at it that way, I’ll do whatever I can to assist you.”
My knuckles rap on the table. “Why?” I ask. He’s done everything for free, and he’s one of the best lawyers in the city. His reputation as the next big thing is renowned, and yet, here he is, helping me.
“I don’t know if I told you this, but I was married before.”
I shake my head because I had no idea. Though we don’t share many personal things.
“She was a great woman. She told me I shouldn’t do everything for the greedy, that I should remember where I came from. Remember my roots.” He stares at me. “I remember, August. And believe it or not, we have a very similar backstory. My mother was someone you wouldn’t wish on your worst nightmare, and my father was never in the picture.”
“And look at you now,” I say to him, surprised by his words.
“And look at you. You’re free. Now, make the most of it,” he says before he heads out the same way he came in, leaving me to ponder his words of wisdom.
Chapter 5
Rylee
“Rylee.”
Fuck.
Fuck.
I didn’t see his car out the front. How did I miss that?
“We need to talk.”
Ha, no stinking way.
“Rylee, dear, Anderson has been waiting for hours to see you. Seems he keeps missing you.” My mother’s eyes narrow on me as if she knows I’ve been avoiding him. Hell, she probably does.
“Yes, let’s talk,” Anderson says and begins the journey up the stairs to my bedroom. I place my bag down on the floor as I watch him disappear.
“What are you waiting for, Rylee?” my mother asks as I stay where I am.
Turning to her, I see so much of me in my mother. The same color hair and bone structure. But it’s the eyes that stare back at me that aren’t mine. Hers are hard and demanding. She has expectations. I live in her reality.
What I should do is move out, leave this house. It’s not as if I’m not old enough or don’t earn enough money to set myself up. It’s been easier living here while studying and working, but now I don’t have any reason to stay.
I think it’s way past time, though.
“I’m going to move out,” I tell her. Her brows shoot up in surprise. “I’m going to start searching for a place tomorrow.”
“What about your brother? He enjoys having you here.”
“He can visit whenever he wants. He knows that.”
“You’ll end up just like your sister,” she warns.
“And there is nothing wrong with that. Rhianna is with a man who makes her happy. She has traveled the world and loves what she does right now, even if it’s not what you want.” My head turns back to the stairs.
My mother isn’t a bad person, simply demanding, and I’ve come to know how to work her better than either of my siblings.
“I have a ring picked out,” my mother chimes when I don’t give her my attention.
“Throw it away,” I say, as I begin the climb up the stairs, my hand gripping the banister, my knuckles turning white with the realization I’ll be in the same room with him by myself, and we all know that never turns out well—for me.
Anderson is standing at my door, leaning against it as he watches me walk past him. His eyes roam over me from top to bottom before he whispers, “I missed you.”
I shudder.
I haven’t missed him at all.
Not even in the slightest.
“You haven’t been answering your phone.”
“I drowned it.” I smirk as I tell him.
He laughs as if it’s some sort of joke.
“I’ll get you a new one.” Anderson reaches out and pulls me to him by my waist. I go because fighting him isn’t worth the hassle right now. “I’ve missed you,” he says again as he leans down and kisses my neck.
My hands remain by my sides, not lifting or touching him in any way, even if he doesn’t seem to notice or care.
“We need to talk.”
“Yes, later,” he says, his mouth leaving sloppy kisses all over mine. I attempt to pull away, but he keeps me close, his hands grasping hard, causing bruises, I’m sure. “I need you.”
“Not now, Anderson. I want to talk.”
“Later,” he says in a deeper, more stern voice.
I try to push away, but he doesn’t let me. “Anderson… Let. Me. Go.”
“No. You need to be reminded of how suited we are for each other.”
“No, I do not.” I pull back.
He stares at me. “You do. You love me.” He goes for my lips, and his mouth comes down hard on them. Anderson is a shit kisser—too hard and too sloppy. I don’t give him access, but that doesn’t stop him from taking what he wants as he tries to keep kissing me.
Managing to pull out of his embrace, I escape his hands and separate us.
“You need to leave.” He steps toward me, but I hold up my hand. “Leave,” I say in a voice I didn’t know I was capable of.
Anderson’s eyes lock on mine. It’s then he sees me. Sees I don’t want him. And when he does, a look passes across his face that truly makes me scared.
“You are mine, Rylee.”
“I am not. I am mine, Anderson. No one owns me.”
He laughs. “Bullshit! Everyone owns you. Your parents. Me. Fuck, who else does?”
“I’m my own person, and I don’t want you here anymore.”
“You don’t get to decide that, Rylee. You’ll be my wife soon,” he says through gritted teeth with a touch of smugness in his voice.
“I won’t marry you,” I tell him with as much force as I can muster. “I want you to leave and never come back.”
I watch as his top lip quirks up, then back down.
“You seem to be delusional right now.” He takes a breath. “I’ll give you a week to get your head right. That’s all I’m giving you, Rylee. Then I will be taking what’s mine.” Anderson reaches for me again, and I manage to step back so his hands don’t touch me. He glares at me with hard, uncaring eyes that hold no emotion. He doesn’t care about me. I’m simply a means to an end for him. A trophy, and I won’t have it. I won’t allow him to come near me again.