Chapter 3

The moment I stepped out of the lounge, a group of street thugs grabbed me.

They dragged me into a dark alley near the club, kicking and punching me while spitting out curses.

"Asshole! Your old man's dead, but his debt didn't die with him!"

"I don't give a shit if you steal or rob, if you don't pay up, I'll beat you to death!"

In the darkness, I curled into a ball on the filthy ground, offering no resistance.

The bruises and broken ribs on my body were already from their previous beatings. Fighting back would only get me beaten worse.

To spare myself more agony, I begged, "Please... by the end of the month. I swear I'll pay by the end of the month."

The thug spat on me in disgust. "Bullshit! With a face like that, you can't even find a rich cougar at the club to pay your bills? Who the fuck are you acting tough for?!"

My fingernails dug deep into my palms. I lay there in the cold, swallowing every insult.

Blood trickled into my eyes, blurring my vision.

Through the haze, I saw a pair of designer high heels slowly approaching.

Chloe stopped right in front of me, looking down like an icy queen. "How much does he owe you?"

She transferred the money to the thugs on the spot. But once the leader saw how easily the cash arrived, his eyes turned greedy and lustful.

"Hey beautiful, why waste your cash on a broke pretty boy like him? How about you come hang out with me instead?"

Chloe's eyes turned lethal. She slapped his reaching hand away. "Take the money and get lost."

"Ooh, feisty. I like that."

Grinning nastily, he and his crew stepped forward to surround her.

"Didn't you hear her tell you to get lost?!"

Seeing them try to touch Chloe snapped something inside me. Like a wounded predator, I lunged forward, throwing punches like a madman. The strikes landed with bone-crushing force, beating the man who had reached for Chloe until he was screaming for mercy on the ground.

Chloe froze. The other thugs were stunned too.

A second later, the remaining guys rushed Chloe in retaliation.

"Whoever touches her dies!"

Nobody could stop a man who had completely lost his mind. After knocking two more down, I grabbed Chloe's hand and bolted down the street.

Amid the rushing city traffic, Chloe stared at my battered, bleeding face in a daze before coming to a sudden halt.

I caught a flash of raw worry in her eyes, but she immediately masked it, looking away coldly.

I wiped the blood from my lip. "Feeling bad for me?"

She scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Julian. I paid off your debt, which makes me your loan shark. From now on, you do whatever I tell you to do. If you want money, you keep me happy."

I let out a low chuckle. "What are you saying? You want to keep me as your boy toy? I don't come cheap."

Chloe mocked, "Is that so? Guess I'll have to see if you're worth the price."

After two years apart, her proud, stubborn defense broke my last thread of sanity.

In the next second, I pulled her hard against my chest. My hot breath closed in, and I crashed my mouth down onto hers in a desperate, bruising kiss.

Chloe tried to pull away at first, but her resistance quickly melted into the kiss. It wasn't until a car honked behind us that she bit down hard on my lip and shoved me away with all her strength.

A sharp slap cracked across my face.

Chloe wiped her mouth in disgust and threw a black credit card at me.

"Know your place. You are my toy, my servant. If you ever disrespect me like that again, you're fired!"

With blood dripping from the corner of my mouth, I let out a wicked, reckless smile in the night breeze.

I picked up the card from the pavement, licked the blood off my lip, and drawled, "Understood, boss. Whatever makes you happy."

She turned to leave.

Behind her, I whispered softly, "Does this make you hate me a little less, Chloe?"