He always liked teasing me that way. I rolled my eyes in mock anger and turned my face aside, only to notice a tiny red light glowing nearby. What the hell was that? My stomach dropped when I realized it looked just like a hidden camera lens.
"Paul, stop." I pushed against him.
He ignored me and reached for me again. Panic tightened around my throat.
"I said stop! Paul!" I shoved him with everything I had, and the force sent him falling away from me.
I hurried to straighten my clothes before stumbling toward a stack of party decorations. After throwing them aside, I found exactly what I'd feared. A camera was hidden behind them, pointed straight at the bed.
Then voices from the other side of the door reached me.
"I told you. Roselyn's that kind of slut. Paul only has to call, and she'll do whatever he wants."
"Can you imagine her face when she realizes Paul only brought her here to fuck around so we could get it all on video? Think she'll cry, lose her mind, and try to kill herself?"
"Why would she? He's the Bradley family's heir. Roselyn's been desperate to marry him forever."
Every word made my expression colder. What the hell were they talking about?
I turned toward Paul and stared at him. "Why did you bring me here?"
He had already pushed himself upright on the bed and ran a hand through his hair like none of this mattered. "It was supposed to be fun, Roselyn. Don't act like you weren't enjoying yourself too."
My brows pulled together. Fun? Was that really how little Paul thought of me? I'd been his girlfriend for three years. I loved him. I'd put up with all his shit and even stayed after learning he'd been sleeping with other women. Now he'd dragged me into this and turned something private into entertainment for his friends?
"Come on, Roselyn." Paul got off the bed and walked toward me without a hint of concern. "Isn't this what you've always wanted? You wanted everyone to know you were with me. We both got something out of this game."
My palm struck his face before I had time to stop myself.
Anger swallowed everything else, but underneath it was the bitter realization that I'd wasted too much time on him. I should've walked away the first time he cheated. I should've ended this years ago.
"We're done!" I shouted. "Paul Bradley, whatever there was between us ends right now. There's nothing left. Nothing!"
I didn't care how angry the slap made him. I turned around and yanked the door open. The same foul-mouthed assholes I'd heard earlier stood outside, staring at me with their mouths hanging open.
A bitter laugh escaped me. Pathetic. What kind of decent man surrounded himself with people like this?
I walked away and could only laugh at how stupid I'd been for so long. I'd already been forced to drink too much before any of this happened, and the alcohol finally caught up with me all at once.
Somehow, I still had enough sense left to reach the elevator and make it upstairs to the room I'd booked in the same hotel.
As soon as I opened the door, the unmistakable scent of a man's cologne hit me.
My thoughts slowly sharpened through the alcohol clouding my head. Why did Paul get to fool around while I stayed loyal and waited for him like some obedient girlfriend? I was done playing by those rules. Maybe it was finally my turn to do something reckless.
The alcohol made the decision for me. I lunged toward the man, caught his tie in my fist, and pulled him into a kiss.
His lips were warm, and his scent only made my head spin more.
Whatever sense I had left slipped away. My kisses turned bolder as I moved down his neck and over his Adam's apple. Then I reached for his shirt and struggled with the buttons.
The second my fingertips brushed his stomach, his hand closed around my throat and forced me away.
Suddenly, the room flooded with light.
I narrowed my eyes against the brightness. Then I caught sight of the man's face, especially those eyes that looked strangely similar to Paul's, and every trace of drunken confusion vanished.
"Dylan Bradley?" I managed to say.
One look at his handsome face brought back something Paul had complained about only days earlier.
Henry Bradley, Paul's father and the current Godfather of the Bradley family, had assigned someone to tutor him. That person was Dylan Bradley, Paul's half-brother on his father's side, who had returned to Crabert Island only six months ago.
Paul hated having Dylan control him, but even he couldn't deny how effective his ruthless methods were.
"Roselyn, I'm telling you, if Dad hadn't already named me his heir, Dylan would have more people backing him than me in no time." I still remembered how jealous Paul had looked when he said it.
"You're Paul's girlfriend," Dylan remarked, finally breaking the silence.
His cold stare moved over me like a predator judging its prey, and the chill it sent through me brought me fully back to my senses.
"N-no," I stammered, quickly shaking my head. "We broke up."
Dylan narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it.
"I'm serious! It happened just now!" My voice came out weak and hurried. "Paul wanted to put on some kind of show for his friends, so he tricked me into..."
The rest stuck in my throat. Saying it aloud would only make me sound even more pathetic.
My phone rang before I could continue.
Dylan didn't bother asking permission. He reached into my clutch, took out the phone, and saw Paul's name lighting up the screen.
My heart jolted. Dylan's expression immediately darkened.
I barely had time to react before he shoved me hard against the wall. A sharp pain tore through my back, and a cry escaped me.
"You're lying." Dylan seized my chin and made me look at him. "Did that woman send you here? Is this some setup so her precious son can take Crabert Island for himself?"
His stare was so cold and vicious that a venomous snake would've seemed harmless beside him.
"No! Nobody sent me! This really was an accident!" My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
The phone kept ringing. Then Paul's furious voice carried in from the hallway. "Roselyn, you'd better hope I don't find you, because I swear I'll kill you!"
Nothing changed on Dylan's face. "Then go out there and prove it."