Chapter 1
A New Day
Hillary Beck
My heart was racing as I closed my eyes and thought about him. I thought about Gale and the way he touched me and ignited such strong feelings in me, and how we had lain together in bed all night, wrapped in each other’s arms. I remembered the way his fingertips had danced over my skin, sending thrilling sensations running through my body. I remembered how his strong, masculine hands had held me, pinning me down as he took me again and again. The raw look in his eyes, the look of lust and desire as he had his way with me.
I remember how it had felt when his throbbing member penetrated me, and how my body had exploded. I had seen stars as he took me with his hard, pulsating member. The pleasure just kept rolling off me, strong, unyielding, and endless. Most of all, I remember how much I was desired. Afterward, we’ve embraced, reveling in the warmth of our bodies while we cuddled and talked all night. Gale had been so open, and he’d told me that he resented Stella and how he couldn’t wait to find a way to get rid of her. We talked about the Avery case and what are we were going to do about it. We talked about his father, and his past, and all he had done. And finally, we had made a promise. A promise not to allow fear to tear us apart anymore. To defeat whatever obstacle stood in our way together, as one.
∞∞∞
“Erica, this place looks amazing,” Julie said, looking around the small, cozy restaurant.
“Jodie has owned it for years,” Erica said. “But now she is getting old, she is looking for someone to manage it with her. I was ecstatic when she asked me! I have some ideas about how to spice this place up and make it the main hub of the town!”
“I am glad to see you are doing better,” Christie said. “I am glad to see all of you doing well. Julie is positively glowing now, with the baby inside her. Erica is now a manager at a restaurant, and Hillary is working for some big-shot law firm. I must say, girls, I think we have all done a marvelous job. Especially considering where we all started; we are doing well in life, aren’t we?”
Yes, they were doing well. I smiled as the girls twittered about some TV show, thinking of all I had gone through. Living with Joe and bearing his abuse, eventually escaping him, and starting my own career. He had come back, threatening to take away my freedom, but I had persevered. And now, I also had someone who loved me. Someone who had agreed to stand with me against all odds. We were going to get through it together.
“I need the bathroom,” I said. “Excuse me, girls.”
“Hurry back,” Christie said. “Erica promised us all some of their delectable cheesecake.”
“Be right back,” I called out, making my way to the small bathroom. After doing my business and washing my hands, I made my way out, my mind still lost in thoughts about Gale. I had taken the morning off from work to visit Erica at the new place she was working at. She had been appointed manager of a restaurant, and even though the place wasn’t that well known, and barely anyone came here, I was happy for her. She had been planning on how to make it better, and I was glad to see Erica recovering and moving on after all that had happened.
I was just about to enter the dining area when I heard a familiar voice in the restaurant. I froze, wondering if it was really who I thought it was. It couldn’t be who I thought it was, could it? What would she be doing here, after all? I quickly dropped to my knees and crawled under the table, hoping the long table cloth would keep me hidden.
“This place should be just fine,” I heard Stella say. “No one comes here. We won’t be seen.”
Who was she talking to? I peeked out from behind the cloth and had to suppress an audible gasp. It was Daniel! He sat there with Stella, a detached look on his face as he gazed around the restaurant.
“Hello, what would you like to drink?” I heard Erica’s chirpy voice.
“Two coffees,” Daniel said. “And make it quick.”
As Erica walked off, I thought of my friends waiting for me in the kitchen.
“I did as you said,” Stella said. “I warned him of the Avery case.”
“The Mavericks will pay us well,” Daniel said musingly.
“What’s our next plan?” she asked. “We have him right in the palm of our hand. He will do anything to keep his father’s actions a secret.”
“Patience,” Daniel whispered. “I have been planning this for a long time. I have to break Gale thoroughly. I have to ruin his reputation, destroy his career, break his heart. I need to shatter him so completely that what is left is nothing but a shell of a man. I want to take every single thing from him. Everything.”
Daniel became quiet, and in the silence, I could hear my own heartbeat racing in my chest. He was the one behind it all? He had been sabotaging us? But Gale trusted him. He was supposed to be his best friend and his confidant. I knew Gale trusted Daniel with his life, so why was he doing all this?
“He will resign from the Avery case,” Daniel said. “It will take the public favor away from him. Amid the scandals surrounding his company, his actions of leaving the case when it’s about to start will turn the public against him. They will hate him for playing with the hopes of Avery and the other victims. And once he is no longer popular, I will inflict the final blow. I will reveal everything his father has done and destroy his career. I will show the recordings that prove that he was aware of his father’s actions. His conversations with you will cement his destruction. I would have taken everything from him. His career, his reputation, his life, and I have already taken away the woman he loves.”
“And after all that, we will be together?” Stella asked. “Like you promised?”
“Of course,” Daniel said. “Just like I promised.”
As Erica walked in with their coffees, I collapsed on the floor, my heart racing. I couldn’t believe it. What the hell had I just witnessed? How could any of it be true? I had to get to Gale as soon as possible. I had to tell him the truth.
