Chained To Me: A Billionaire Enemies To Lovers Romance

Chapter 15 -Aston

The next day at work, there's one person I'd rather not see, and that's fucking Everly.

Not only is she trying to fuck up my life by revealing to the world my deepest, darkest secret, but I made the mistake of fucking her in my fantasies last night, and I don't feel good about it.

I need to stay away from her today.

Unfortunately for me, Lina comes in looking pissed. "That apology did not come off well, Aston," she says. "The entire world is talking about how insincere you seemed."

Fuck.

The last thing I need is more problems.

"Everly said it was a little flat and needed more, but it wasn't a total disaster." I remember my conversation with her last night.

"Yeah, well, flat is not going to fix this situation," Lina retorts. "People want a heartfelt answer as to why you did what you did."

I cross my arms in front of my broad chest. "I'm never going to give them that. You can get that out of your mind right now."

"Well, then. You can plan on losing everything," she says.

I scoff. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"What work?" she asks. "You're losing clients left and right. If you don't handle this thing, nothing will be left of Thomas Real Estate Group."

The reality of that comes falling on my shoulders as I realize, perhaps for the first time, just how difficult this is.

I can't lose my business.

Just then, Everly walks in. I have to stop for a moment and stare at her. She's fucking beautiful.

Her soft hair is pinned up in a messy yet professional-looking bun. Tendrils of curls frame her gorgeous face, and it's hard not to want to memorize everything about her.

Her small, curvy body sets my cock on fire as I burn with lust to be with her.

Today, she's wearing a pencil skirt and a white blouse with ruffles along the chest that does everything to accentuate her full breasts.

Fuck me.

When her emerald green eyes rest on mine, I feel the stirring of something inside.

Magnetic energy.

Connection.

Sinful desire.

But I ignore it and focus on hating her.

"It's her fault," I tell Lina. "That apology was all Everly's doing. You should've never hired her. Our stance could have been to say nothing."

Everly blushes at my harsh words.

"You mean to say that you'd rather turn your back on the thing than have hired a proficient crisis manager to deal with it?" Lina says, flabbergasted.

I nod.

Lina turns to Everly. "What happened yesterday? Why did the apology not work?"

Everly steps into the office, head held high. She appears confident, but I can tell by how hard she's gripping the edge of her briefcase that she's nervous. "Well, Mr. Thomas wouldn't do what I asked. He won't tell me why he ended up at Amethyst the other night. As I told him and keep telling him, the nation wants the truth. They deserve to know why those awful pictures were taken if they're expected to have any compassion for Aston."

Lina looks from me to Everly and back again. "As your publicist, I must tell you, Aston, that this is a mistake. If you don't follow everything Everly says, there will be no fixing this. You'll be ruined."

I glare at Everly, feeling somehow that this is her fault. I don't need her here writing fake apologies, trying to fix my fucking life, and prying into shit she doesn't know about. What I need is some peace. Things will return to normal after some time.

"This is bullshit. I don't need her here. I don't need anyone trying to handle this. What I need is to be left alone!" I stalk out of the room, into my private elevator, and to the place where I always go to think—the roof.

It's all becoming too much. Being fodder for the nation to laugh at, to cancel, is starting to weigh on me. And the threat of losing my business is too much. Meanwhile, in the back of my brain is the image of Sienna and Will fucking. The betrayal is fresh, making me feel like an asshole who got played.

It's only up on the roof, where no one goes, and I can look down on the city, that I can truly think.

Once the elevator doors open, I instantly feel a rush of cool air. It's springtime in NYC, but vestiges of winter hang on, as evidenced by the frost that clings to the trees every morning. It's like the damn snow and sleet don't want to let go, to admit defeat, just like me.

I won't be beaten. Not by this.

I've been through too much to let one bad night ruin me. I won't let it happen.

Seeing my mother live through and then die from breast cancer almost broke me. She was so fucking frail at the end that it made me rethink life and death and everything in between. I vowed never to be weak, to always be strong for her, even after she passed. Because she raised me to be the best man I could be. I promised her I would never give up on myself or my dreams. I would always fight.

Now, here I am, having to do precisely that.

Climbing my way to the top of the real estate scene in New York was no easy feat. I had to come up from having nothing, working long nights and longer days, to eventually be where I'm at—the top.

I've seen a lot of shit in my life. Stuff that made me strong. I won't lose it all now because I let myself go one night.

Besides, I needed it.

I needed Cristal, Chardonnay, and Lexus the way I needed air to breathe, to make me forget for one fucking night about the treacherous betrayal between Will and Sienna.

As I walk to the roof's edge and peer down at the expanse of buildings and streets beneath me, I'm reminded of why I'm on top.

I own this fucking building and so much more because I scraped, tore, and climbed my way to the top. Countless sleepless nights and hard days working meant I would make it here one day to the number one position in real estate.

Now I'm a fucking billionaire.

I won't let Sienna and the pain she caused me be the catalyst that takes me down.

I will never be defeated.

I don't know how or what the fuck might fix this situation, but I do know that I'm not backing down. I won't be canceled or walked over. Ever.

I'm always in control of everything. I'll be in control of this, too.

It's a situation that got a little out of hand. I allowed myself to go there, to revisit my past, to be the man I used to be—the one who used to get fucked up and fuck strippers.

That's not who I am anymore. I had a slip. But that doesn't mean I'll lose everything for it.

No.

Looking down at the most incredible city in the world, I wonder how many millions of dollars of real estate I've sold here. I own this city. And I know without a doubt that I won't let this break me.

Nothing will.

Nothing ever could.

I'm too fucking strong for that.