“Send me a voice message,” the anonymous billionaire text-flirting with you demands. You hesitate, using a fake name, terrified he might somehow recognize your real identity.
Finally, you press record: “Hi. There. Happy now?”
In his dark Manhattan penthouse, Lucas Alejandro plays the audio. Heat hits him instantly. That slight breathiness at the end of your sentence slides directly under his skin. He replays it once, twice, a third time, completely losing his mind as his body reacts fiercely to just your voice.
He types back: “You have no business sounding like that, sweetheart. I’m going to make you scream my real name all night.” 🔥
CHAPTER 1
~ SCARLET~
No one noticed when I slipped away from the dance floor.
That was the good thing about rich people. They were too busy performing happiness to notice the quiet girl sitting alone near the back of the ballroom with untouched champagne in her hands.
Golden light spilled from the crystal chandeliers overhead, reflecting against marble floors and towering glass walls overlooking Manhattan’s skyline. Everything about the wedding felt expensive in a way I still wasn’t used to.
But Mom looked happy.
Truly happy.
I watched her sway slowly in Thomas Alejandro’s arms while the string quartet played somewhere nearby. After years of double shifts, overdue bills, and raising me alone because my father disappeared before I was even born, she finally had someone beside her who actually stayed.
And I was happy for her. Mostly.
Still, something restless twisted low in my chest. Maybe because tonight didn’t only change her life. It changed mine too. I wasn’t just gaining a stepfather. I was gaining a stepbrother.
My gaze drifted automatically toward the bar across the ballroom.
Luke Alejandro sat alone on one of the leather stools, one elbow resting against the counter while a glass of whiskey turned slowly between his fingers. Unlike the rest of the guests, he looked completely detached from the celebration around him.
Or maybe he just didn’t want to be here.
I couldn’t exactly blame him for that.
He was twenty six years old, heir to Alejandro Technologies, billionaire, Harvard graduate, and according to approximately half the women currently attending the wedding, devastatingly attractive.
Unfortunately, they weren’t exaggerating.
Even from across the room he looked unfairly beautiful. Dark hair slightly too long near the collar, sharp jawline, broad shoulders hidden beneath an expensive tailored suit that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe.
I’d only met him once before tonight, briefly before the ceremony started. Mom had introduced us near the garden entrance. Luke barely looked at me.
“Scarlet,” Mom had said warmly, touching my shoulder. “This is Lucas.”
His gaze flicked toward me for less than a second.
“Luke,” he corrected flatly.
Then he shook my hand once and walked away.
That was it.
At first I thought maybe he was shy, but after watching him all evening, I realized Luke Alejandro wasn’t shy at all. He spoke confidently with business partners, family friends, and women hanging off his arm every ten minutes.
Just not me.
Maybe he thought I came along with the package, some unwanted reminder that his father now had another family besides him. Another mouth near the inheritance.
The thought alone made me want to laugh.
In three days I was leaving for Harvard. I planned to bury myself in classes, internships, and campus life so deeply that I probably wouldn’t come back to New York for years. I didn’t want anyone’s fortune. I barely even wanted this wedding.
I only wanted Mom to finally stop looking tired all the time.
Still... maybe I should at least try. We were technically family now. I exhaled slowly and looked down at my champagne glass.
Terrible idea, actually.
But before I could stop myself, I stood from my chair.
Luke was no longer sitting at the bar.
I stopped near the empty stool, staring down at the abandoned glass of whiskey still resting beside a folded linen napkin. Ice slowly melted inside the crystal tumbler, meaning he had only left a moment ago.
I moved away from the bar. The ballroom connected to a long hallway leading deeper into the hotel’s private event wing. Most of the doors were closed, but warm light spilled from beneath a few of them while hotel staff carried trays back and forth toward the kitchens.
Maybe he went outside.
I was already turning back toward the ballroom when I heard a breathless moan.
I froze.
The sound came from somewhere farther down the hallway, muffled behind one of the partially opened doors. My face immediately warmed as realization hit me.
Oh my God.
I should leave.
Immediately.
But curiosity was a terrible, terrible thing.
Before my brain could catch up, my feet carried me farther down the corridor until I reached the door slightly left open near the end of the hall. Another low sound came from inside.
And then I made the mistake of looking.
Luke had one hand wrapped around a blonde woman’s throat while the other gripped her thigh hard enough to leave marks. Her back was pressed against the wall beside the window, dress shoved up around her hips while his mouth dragged slowly along her neck.
My stomach dropped.
Jesus Christ.
The woman let out another shaky moan as he kissed lower, and his hand slid beneath her dress—
“Oh my God,” I blurted.
Both of them looked up instantly and Luke’s eyes locked onto mine. For one horrifying second nobody moved. Then the woman gasped loudly and tried to pull her dress down while I nearly died on the spot.
“I’m sorry,” I said way too quickly. “Sorry. I didn’t—I was just—”
I turned and practically fled down the hallway before either of them could answer.
My face burned so badly it felt radioactive by the time I reached the ballroom again. I grabbed the nearest glass of champagne from a passing waiter and immediately took a long sip, praying alcohol could somehow erase the last thirty seconds from my memory.
It didn’t help.
Because now every time I blinked, I saw Luke’s hand on that woman’s throat. Saw the way he looked at her. Saw the way he looked at me after catching me there.
I stayed near one of the marble pillars, pretending to watch the dancing while internally planning my own death, when a familiar voice spoke beside me.
“My new little sister decided to spy on adult business?”
I nearly jumped.
Luke stood beside me now, freshly composed. His tie was fixed again. Hair still slightly messy though. He held out another champagne glass toward me, and before I could react, his free hand suddenly closed around my wrist.
“W-what? I wasn’t spying,” I whispered immediately. “I got lost.”
Luke leaned slightly closer, close enough for me to smell the faint scent of sex still clinging to him. His thumb slowly brushed the inside of my wrist while his gaze stayed fixed on my face.
One dark eyebrow lifted.
“I don’t care whether you were spying or doing some other childish little thing.”
My throat tightened.
“But remember this once and for all.” His fingers tightened around my wrist just enough to hurt. “Stay the hell away from me. Otherwise, I’ll crush you like an insect without even noticing.”
And with that, he let go of my hand and walked away.
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