CHAPTER 8
OLIVIA
On my first day of school, I woke up to Lovelace calling my name, telling me it was time to wake up. She was a bitchy little AI diva. But she came in handy. If she hadn’t ripped me from another nightmare, I would have overslept.
After sleeping on the ground for months, the mattress was softer than a cloud. A little slice of heaven. I’d taken for granted so many simple life pleasures. And now that I had this dream life, I didn’t want to throw it all away.
I wanted Drake to keep me.
Forever.
I held onto the hope that one day he would see me as worthy. He’d already given me his time and attention, but I wanted everything.
With Tate at Marine Corps boot camp, the house felt colder than usual. It was bulletproof glass, providing the perfect view of the bay from all angles. The Battle Fortress lived up to its name and felt like something from a movie.
Lights turned on as I walked through the house, guiding the way. Drake had programmed Lovelace to do this so I wouldn’t get lost. In a home of this size, that was easy to do.
On the dining room table, the chefs had prepared baskets of bread, pastries, and various carafes of juices, along with coffee. At the head of the table sat a plate covered by a stainless steel cloche. Beside it, there was a handwritten note.
Liv,
I had planned to drive you to school for your first day, but something came up at Battle Industries. Carmella will take you to Astor Prep and pick you up.
You will do great.
Don’t be scared.
Call me if you need anything.
~ Drake
I was about to text him on the fancy new iPhone he’d given me to ask who Carmella was. And then, I heard a woman’s voice behind me. She didn’t sound like a computer-generated person.
“Good morning, Olivia.”
I spun around and found a gorgeous blonde in her early twenties with curly hair down to her hips, huge breasts spilling out of a low-cut top, and a short skirt that hugged her slim waist. She was a vision, like a model from a magazine. In a pair of expensive pumps, her legs looked even slimmer, her body shaped in all the right places.
Meanwhile, I looked like me.
Average.
Plain.
Nothing special.
Of course, Drake would be involved with someone like her. I was so stupid to think he would ever see me as anything but his ward—his responsibility.
“Hi,” I said, nearly choking on a bite of buttered toast. “You must be Carmella.”
“I am.” She moved toward me, flashing a smile. “It’s so nice to meet you. Drake has told me a great deal about you and Tate. It’s a shame I didn’t get the chance to meet him before he shipped out for boot camp.”
Funny, he never mentioned you.
I wanted to scream. Cry. Throw a fucking hissy fit. Here, I had been planning this imaginary life with Drake in my head, and he was already taken.
“I was on vacation for the past week. Otherwise, I would have been here to greet you both. I’m Drake’s assistant. If you ever need anything, just ask.”
I finished the toast and downed a cup of coffee in two gulps. Already running behind, I needed to get my ass in gear. I knew firsthand how much it sucked to be the new girl at school. All the awkward stares. The whispers behind your back. Rumors that spread faster than smoke in the wind.
