Chapter 3
But things didn’t go smoothly.
As dawn approached, I sniffled and bit Evan through my tears.
“I’m gonna file a complaint… give you a bad review… it hurts…”
Sweat beaded on Evan’s forehead as he sighed, then kissed me again, voice hoarse.
“Sorry. I should’ve been gentler.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it! Your skills are terrible!”
I glared at him angrily, eyes red and puffy with hurt.
His lips brushed the tears on my cheek.
“Baby, give me another chance.”
He was innocent, really–my first time meant pain was inevitable.
But I was being unreasonable: “If it hurts again, I’ll get you fired.”
“Okay…”
Evan cupped my waist, lifting my leg gently.
In the dim light, I could’ve sworn his eyes softened as he kissed me, a tenderness pooling in his gaze.
Maybe it was the first time I’d indulged so recklessly, but I slept fitfully–even waking before
Evan.
Sunlight seeped through the half–drawn curtains.
His arm was tight around me, breathing steady in deep sleep.
Staring at his face for a moment, I gently pried his arm away–then froze.
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The Internet’s Favorite Couple Was My Marriage’s Worst Nightmare
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Chapter 3
On his left wrist: a dragon tattoo.
I knew enough about L.A- elite families because of Julian.
Such a tattoo was reserved only for the heir of Thorne family….
a clan with notorious underworld ties, practically untouchable in both regions.
I’d mistaken the Thorne family heir for a male escort…
and slept with him.
Images of L.A tabloids flashed in my mind: women marked for death by the triads.
Without a second thought, I threw on clothes and fled, skipping even a shower, booking the first flight back to New York.
When Evan woke, he reached for me instinctively–only to find empty sheets.
Sleep vanished.
Sitting up, he saw the pearl earring I’d left behind.
His lips twitched.
Clara Ward… She’d surprised him.
a
A timid, proper “good girl” who’d hit a nightclub for an escort, then brought him to a hotel. Bold but inexperienced, crying and biting him last night, then curling into his chest like a scared rabbit.
Yet he’d still stay up half the night coaxing her, and watching this, his heart would melt,
Clutching the earring, he stared at the bloodstain on the sheets.
Now, though-
perfect.
She’d slipped away again, just like always.
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The Internet’s Favorite Couple Was My Marriage’s Worst Nightmare
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Chapter 3
He, the Thorne family prince with connections in both worlds, had been slept with and
dumped.
Where would he even hide his face if this got out?
Evan grabbed his phone.
“Track Clara Ward’s location. Find her… and let me bring her back myself.”
He hung up, ripping the stained sheets from the bed as he stood.
With graduation near, most classmates were interning off–campus.
I took a leave of absence and stayed in a New York hotel–avoiding home.
The second night, as I went downstairs for takeout, two men in black windbreakers in the lobby made my skin crawl.
I thought of Evan’s dragon tattoo, of that night in the hotel, of the Thorne family’s reach.
He could find me here, no matter how far I ran.
Ditching my
“y meal, I checked out immediately.
The taxi pulled up downstairs.
As I stepped out of the hotel lobby, I vaguely sensed those two men trailing me outside.
I nearly fell in my rush, heart pounding until the car had driven for miles, no tail in sight.
Maybe I’m overreacting.
The Thorne heir had better things to do than chase a nobody like me… right?
Meanwhile, the phone in Evan’s hand buzzed.
“Sir, we located Miss Ward.”
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