The Hated Daughter The Billionaire

The way I met Theodore Sterling? Yeah... I accidentally ended up in his bed.

That night, someone drugged me at a hotel. I barely made it out of the restroom and, half-lucid, stumbled into a random room-right into something hard and warm.

Looking up, I saw the guy... damn, he looked like he walked straight out of a film.

Theodore leaned down and gave me a once-over, his face clearly unimpressed. Then he let out a cold, sarcastic laugh. "So Clifford Sterling's stooped to using tricks like this now?"

His voice had this deep, magnetic pull that somehow made my heart skip. My vision blurred a bit, I could feel heat crawling up my neck.

I instinctively licked the corner of my lips, not realizing that to someone like him, that probably looked like... an invitation.

The hint of a smirk played on his lips as he reached out, lifted my chin with his fingers, brushing them over my mouth. His breath grazed my ear and made everything feel even hotter.

I felt like I was burning from the inside out, my cheeks on fire. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Somehow, I just really, really wanted him to hold me...

Damn that Vivian Brooks. What the hell did she put in that drink?!

He finally lost patience, suddenly pinning me to the door. His hand curled around the back of my head, and then he kissed me hard.

His lips were cool, soft, with a strange sweetness-but the aggressiveness of it made me tremble all over. I tried to push him off, palms pressed against his rock-hard chest, but he didn't budge.

He moved to whisper at my ear, eyes gleaming dangerously as he pinched my chin. "You started this. And now you wanna act coy? Babe, playtime's over."

The next moment, he pulled me onto the bed. The pain that followed was sharp and savage, jolting me to the core. He paused briefly, but once I adjusted, he didn't hold back.

The night dragged on, long and consuming...

*****

The next morning, the drug's effect had worn off. I heard the sound of running water in the bathroom and quickly blushed like mad. Forget trying to piece together last night-I tiptoed out of bed and forced myself through getting dressed, legs shaking all the way.

Before leaving, I dug into my bag, found just three bills left-ugh, life really had me good. I tossed them on the nightstand and wrote Vivian' number on the back of one with a pen.

She and Julian Chandler set me up just for money. Sold me out to a stranger. I couldn't take it lying down.

If they were willing to sell me for cash, fine. I'd make it so someone else burned their world down for money too.

The second I stepped out of Lumen Grand's hotel lobby, a crowd of reporters bombarded me with cameras.

"Natalie Reynolds! Who was the man you spent the night with? Your boyfriend?"

"Sources say you're not Mr. Reynolds' biological daughter. Is your 'wild' behavior proof those rumors were true?"

"There are talks that Theodore, heir to the Sterling family, was set to be engaged to someone from your family. Aren't you worried your scandal will mess that up?"

"Natalie-"

Among the reporters, one guy in glasses got especially aggressive. I marched up to him, clutching my shoulder bag, and swung it right at his face.

"Y'all are out here getting off on people's lives like it's nothing! Ever heard of privacy? Say one more word and I'll see you in court, got it?!"