Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

The photoshoot takes six hours. Professional glam squad, designer clothes I can't afford, lighting that makes me look like I've never cried over a billionaire's revenge scheme.


Marcus arranged it. "You need to control the narrative," he said. "Make them see you're not broken. You're thriving."


So here I am, wearing a dress that costs more than my rent, posing for photos that scream "I don't need Chase Sterling."


Even though I wake up every morning checking to see what he's destroyed now.


The photographer reviews the shots on his camera. "These are perfect. Fierce, confident, untouchable. Exactly what you need right now."


My publicist appears at my elbow. "These are going to break the internet. Trust me."


I scroll through the preview images on the photographer's laptop. The woman staring back doesn't look like someone whose best friend won't return her calls. She looks powerful. Untouchable.


Chapter 11 - Social Warfare