Chapter 2
Aurelia’s POV
My stepmother towered over me. She was 5’9 while I was only 5 '5.
She had a smooth oval face like that of an egg. Her green eyes were always twinkling with mischief and adventure. Her pale smooth skin made her look like she was a painting. Her high cheekbones gave her a model quality.
I was surprised that she had not made it in Hollywood because she was beautiful in a desirable way. It was no surprise that she dated so many men and changed them faster than she changed her clothes.
“Ivy!” I tried to infuse a little excitement in my voice but I failed at it.
“You do not look well, someone bothering my mi amôr?” she asked, pouting her lips.
I scoffed but said nothing. There was no way I was going to tell her about Carl. She would never understand why I would be heartbroken over a man. She had not even been heartbroken when my father had died and that had been the longest relationship I had seen her keep. A week after my father had passed, she had announced that she would be getting married to another man.
That had sent me into a mad rage and she had called off the wedding.
“I'm fine, Mom,” I returned with a faint smile.
“You will be better when I tell you my good news,” she said with a bright smile.
I had a feeling I was not going to like this good news whatever it was.
“I'm getting married!” she squealed excitedly as she showed off the 5-carat diamond ring on her finger.
“How is that good news?” I asked, my tone cold and filled with my apparent disappointment.
“Can't you just be happy for me? I deserve a little happiness. It's been four years, mi amôr, four years!” she said as though four years made it alright.
The problem was not the four years. The problem was that she was always getting married but would leave the man the second she was able to attract a far richer man than the one before.
“Mi Amôr? Say something, you have to understand…”
“I can't deal with this right now,” I said, pulling myself away from her and walking out of the house before even taking two steps in.
I walked to my car and there I called my BFF, Audrey.
She answered her call on the first ring.
“Are you at home?” I asked her.
“Yes.”
“I'm coming over.”
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into her driveway.
She was waiting for me already. She entered my car and pulled me into a hug and I began crying all over again.
“Carl was cheating on me the whole time,” was the first thing I said when I caught a break from my sobs.
“The Bastard!” she exclaimed.
“I saw him… today was our anniversary and he he he was pounding her like… it was like watching porn!” I said as I began crying again as the image of Carl having sex with someone else clouded my vision.
“Oh my goodness! You saw him?”
“Yes, yes, it was disgusting,” I replied between sobs.
“I'm so sorry, it's okay… You dodged a bullet,” she said softly but it felt to me like a bullet had been lodged into my heart.
“My stepmother is getting married,” I said, tears still pouring from my eyes.
“Again?” she quipped and we both laughed.
“Do you think it'll last?” I asked her.
“Of course not, she'll find someone richer,” came my response and we laughed again.
“Come on, we're going out tonight!” Audrey said in a high-pitched tone.
“I just want to sleep and…”
“Not happening! With any luck you'll be waking up beside a sexy man in the morning,” she said with a smile.
When Audrey was this way, there was no stopping her.
“And guess what I have with me,” her tone bespoke mischief.
She brought out a small card that had the image of a stallion. My eyes widened.
“How did you get this?” I asked with amusement.
“I borrowed it from my father,” she said and we screamed.
It was a membership card to an exclusive high-end club in town. We had been trying to gain access to the club since we turned eighteen but now it was going to happen.
Thirty minutes later we were downing shot after shot of alcohol.
“That guy's been staring at you since we got in,” Audrey slurred.
I looked towards the direction she pointed at and locked eyes with a Greek god.
Even from a distance, I could tell that he was deliciously handsome.
He winked at me and I waved at him.
“You should go over there,” there was a hint of mischief in Audrey’s voice.
I wasn't sure if it was the whiskey I had been downing or just the fact that I was ready to do anything to forget about my stupid ass ex but I stood up from where I was seated and walked all the way to where he was.
“You feel me, huh?” I asked once I was within talking range of him. His friends cheered as I turned around so he could get a 360 view of my body. I wasn't even drunk, I was just a completely different person from the girl my ex had known.
“You're very pretty but I don't do teenagers,” he said with a teasing smile.
“Why not?” I teased back, enjoying myself thoroughly.
“It's against the law,” he said and I laughed.
“I'm no teenager, I'm a woman,” I bent down to his ear and whispered, “a woman with needs.”
The scent of his cologne filled my lungs with longing. I wanted this man, this stranger in my bed, in any bed and I was going to make him mine at least tonight.
“And I'm a man with needs. Perhaps, we should take our party upstairs?” he turned his face to look at me and the stubble of his chin brushed against my skin, sending waves of pleasure through my body.