Chapter 2

I threw my arms around his waist, clinging to him for dear life.

"No!" I cried out. "I won't let you leave!"

Christian stiffened.

Yet his voice came out completely detached. "Why not? After all, I was just a dare you took when you lost a game, wasn't I?"

How did he know that?

Had he known all along?

Guilt seized me, forcing my gaze to the floor. I couldn't bear to meet his eyes.

My silence was an admission.

Christian gave a soft, broken laugh.

"You won your bet."

"Why do you still need me around? So I can keep begging at your feet like a dog?"

"I'm tired, Amanda. I'm sick of rich kids and your cruel little games."

"I just regret ever falling for you."

Before I could find my voice, he pulled away and walked down the hallway.

His retreating back looked so desolate and utterly shattered.

The senior, whose face was already swelling with nasty bruises, actually had the nerve to crawl off the bed and whine.

"Amanda, he hit me so hard. How about a kiss to make it better?"

"Get the hell away from me!"

I couldn't hold back my spoiled temper anymore. I spun around and slapped him across the face with everything I had.

"If you breathe a single word about tonight to anyone, I swear to God you'll regret it."

He rubbed his stinging cheek and backed off without another word.

God, but what about Christian? Was he really done with me?

A cold ache clenched in my chest.

In the original storyline, Evelyn had warned him countless times to stay away from a spoiled brat like me, but he had refused to listen.

She was probably the one who saw me check into this hotel and tipped him off.

I silently thanked whatever divine force was watching over me that I had awakened before crossing the point of no return. If I had actually slept with that guy, Christian's pride would have never allowed him to look at me again, no matter how much he loved me.

That very night, I went looking for Christian's place.

After asking several classmates, one of his close friends finally gave me an address, though he hesitated visibly.

"Look, Amanda, I know you're some rich heiress none of us can mess with," his friend warned quietly, eyeing me with suspicion. "But since you dragged Christian into your life, the least you could do is treat him decently. He's had a really, really rough life."

I nodded frantically, my eyes stinging.

Had I truly been that terrible to him in the past?

I hurried to the address.

When I arrived, the sight took my breath away.

The neighborhood was pure urban decay. Down a crumbling, narrow alley, a drunk sprawled on the pavement grabbed at my coat, slurring crude jokes.

Swallowing my revulsion, I navigated the maze of broken pavement until I reached an apartment building that looked like it might collapse at any second.

Standing outside the peeling door, I hesitated, unsure if I should knock.

Suddenly, the crash of shattering glass echoed from inside, making me jump.

"You ungrateful little bastard! I raised you all these years, and you won't even give your old man a few bucks?"

"Always fighting me, huh? I'll beat you to death!"

Before I could react, the door flew open.

A heavy stench of stale tobacco hit me like a wall. A greasy, middle-aged man in his late forties stared at me under the flickering hallway light, making my stomach turn.

"Well, look at that. Never seen a girl this pretty around here. How much for a night, sweet cheeks? Guess coming home was worth it after all."

He grabbed my wrist, trying to haul me inside.

I struggled frantically, screaming at him to let go.

This couldn't be Christian's home. I had to have the wrong place.

Then my eyes met a familiar, cold pair of eyes inside the dingy living room.

Christian was standing there, his lip split and bleeding, his arms covered in dark, ugly bruises.

"What happened to you?" I cried out, breaking free and rushing to his side, panic flooding my veins. "We need to get you to the ER!"

The older man seemed to put two and two together. "Oh, so you're my boy's little plaything! Moving up in the world, aren't you, boy? Bringing home prime meat like this. Takes after his old man! But hey, since you're already sleeping with him, you won't mind spending a night with his dad, right?"

"And for free, too. Damn, talk about hitting the jackpot."

I instinctively shrank behind Christian.

Like a wounded, cornered beast, Christian shielded me with his body, his voice dropping into a dangerous, lethal growl at his father. "Touch her, and I swear I will kill you."

"You insolent brat! Talking back to your own father? You asking to die?"

Terror paralyzed me.

I watched in horror as the man snatched up a wooden stool and charged forward, swinging it straight toward Christian's skull.

Christian didn't even flinch. He didn't even try to dodge.

Without thinking, I threw myself across him.

The blow struck my back. As darkness swallowed my vision, the last thing I heard was Christian's raw, agonizing scream, and a wild, fleeting thought crossed my fading mind: "Does this mean you forgive me now?"

I never got the chance to ask.