bAria’s /bPOV

The whole ce went dead silent. All the strippers were staring at me, mouths covered, some looking genuinely horrified.

“Aria!” Jace suddenly jumped up, and–for the first time–his voice actually shook.

Zane wiped the liquor off his face, staring at me. The smirk was gone. All that was left was a terrifying kind of coldness.

“Do you have any idea what you just did?” he asked in a soft, scary voice.

“Actually, I do,” I gritted. “And I also bknow /bwhat you just did. You humiliated me in front of everyone, simply you don’t like Alpha Grayson. Or because your little bro Jace whispered bsome /bbtrash /babout me. bBut /byou don’t beven /bbknow /bme. What bthe /bbhell /bdid I do to deserve this?”

He frowned–but I wasn’t done.

“I was here first. I brought a full proposal. I stood there and gave you a proper pitch. What did Jace bring besides strippers grinding on yourp? Did he even say one word about business? Or do you just like him more because he parties harder?”

No one said ba /bword, I took a breath, tossed the empty bottle to the side, and started walking off the raised VIP tform.

“Security,” Zane’s cold voice rang out behind me.

Then I heard the sound of guns being cocked.

The men in bck /bsuits who came with Zane suddenly pulled out their guns.

He baimed /bat me and fired.

BANG BANG. BANG bBANG/bb. /bBANGb. /b

I screamed.

I thought I was dead.

Then a few secondster, I realized I wasn’t. The bullets had flown just inches past my legs.

The whole club was in chaos. Screaming, shouting, total panic. Then, just bas /bfast, the guards fired into the ceiling–and everything dropped into dead silence again.

I stood frozen in ce, too scared to m

to move.

He was insane.

Zane Eirod is ban /bactual psychopath. A fucking lunatic!

I heard his footsteps behind me–slow, dragging. Then he appeared bin /bfront of me, hands in his pockets, smirking as he looked down.

“I could shoot you dead right now. You know that?” he asked.

I said nothing. Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

“Of course, killing you means I’d bhave /bto deal with Grayson’s fury–and that’s definitely a hell of a mess. But still. I could do it.”

I swallowed hard “I… I know.”

“Then why haven’t you apologized yet?”

My nails dug into my palm, pain anchoring me. The word “sorry” was right there on my to

my tongue–bbut /bat the bst /bsecond, I bsaid/b:

“No”

He arched a brow. “I’ve bgot /ba gun to your head. What the hell is wrong bwith /byou?”

9:48 AM

“Apologizing means I admit everything you said about me. That I’m the kind of woman who would sleep with I’d strip down and bdance /bjust to impress you, But I’m not that person.”

Zane stared at me–expression unreadable.

He kept staring. A whole minute passed in silence.

Then he said, “People’s opinions really matter to you huh

“That’s because you’ve never had anyone call you a shameless bitch to your face,” I muttered.

Heughed. “N

“Not a shameless bitch. But a useless bastard? Yeah, I’ve heard that plenty

Then, out of nowhere, he held his hand out to bme/b.

1 blinked. “What

“The contract,” he said impatiently. “Isn’t bthat /bwhat you came here for?”

I could barely believe it.

anyone for a deal. That

bBut /bI quickly pulled out the contract I’d brought, handed it to him along with a pen. He signed his name with a messy flourish band /bTossed it back to me,

“There. Now I’m not such an asshole.

I stared at him, stunned. “Oh my god, I I-

“ZANE!” Jace stormed over abruptly, absolutely livid, “What the hell, man?! bYou /bbjust /bhanded her the deal? I thought we were doing business!”

Zane crossed bhis /barms and lookedpletely unbothered. “Were we? ‘Cause I don’t recall you saying a single word about actual business. Meanwhile, she came in with a full pitch.”

“I thought we were rxingb, /bsetting the mood! That’s how we always do things!”

“Okayb, /bokay, easy Jace.” Zane pped him on the shoulder. “It’s just a small deal. No need to go nuclear. Let me help byou /bdown–let one of bmy /bgirls take care of you.”

He snapped bhis /bfingers at a dancer, and she wiggled her way over. But Jace shoved her aside so bhard /bshe almost fell.

chill the fuck

“This isn’t just some deal!” he growled, his eyes practically bloodshot. “Maybe it’s small to you, but it’s fucking important to me! Grayson treats me like shit, like I’m beneath him. I need bthis /bwin. Do you understand? I need this goddamn deal more bthan /banyone!”

Zane’s face went bcold/b.

“Are you yelling at bme/b?” he asked.

“No, of course not-

“Yeah this bdeal /bis nothing to me. I could give it bto /banyone–even one of those naked chicks in this room. But I get to fucking choose. So if you raise your voice at me again, we’re gonna have some serious problems bman/b.”

bJace’s /bface turned beet red–like someone had pped him across the mouth.

“So what’s it gonna be? You sticking around to party? Or should my guards throw you out?”

I’ll bstay/bb./bb” /b

“There we go!” Zane burst outughing, throwing an arm around bhim/b. “Shit, now I’m in bthe /bmood to bdrink/b. Come on, everyone— bincluding /byou, Aria! Turn the music up! It’s time to fucking party!”

We went back to the boothb, /bband /bthe club instantly came back to life. Dancers swarmed Zane, and the crazy hastard popped a bottle of champagne, spraying it everywhere while screaming.

Meanwhile, I pulled out the contract again, checked the signature at the bottom–yep, it was breal/b. Then I folded it up fast and went to

b9:48 /bAM

grab a drink. I still couldn’t believe it.

bJace /bwas in the corner, clutching a ss, sulking like a loser. As I walked by, he suddenly grabbed my barm/b.

“bYou /bmust feel real proud right now,” his breath reeked of booze.

b“/bCut it off. I didn’t expect him to sign either, but I worked hard for it. I deserve this.”

“The fuck you do!” he growled. “You just got lucky again because Zane also wants to get in your pants, that’s all!”

I stared bat /bhim, speechless. “Seriously?! I just met Elrod literally today. We barely even talked!”

He tightened his grip on my shoulders. “But you gave him th

the signal. Every time you walked, the way you wiggle your butt, flipped your goddamn hair, made eye contact with them–you were practically inviting them to fuck you!

“You’re drunk, Jace-

“I should never bhave /bbroken up with you

up with you!” he snapped. “Should’ve never let you go off seducing other men. bAnd /bnow you’d rather get on your knees and suck some stranger’s dick than beven /blook at me!”

med to p him. He grabbed my wrist and shoved me.

He shoved too hard and the floor was slick. My foot slipped–bhard/b–band /bI crashed into the rail behind us.

The next thing I knew, I was flipping over the edge.

Our booth was 10 meters off the ground. And I fell straight from the top.

田