Ruined: A Dark Bully Reverse Harem Romance (Beautiful Tyrants Book 1)

by Vanessa Winters

  Michael jabbed his elbow behind him and knocked the wind out of Adam, which caused him to loosen his grip for a moment. He reached over and grabbed me and thrust me against Adam’s chest. The look in Adam’s eyes was one of outrage as he held me against his body and got ready to pummel Michael again.

  “Yes!” Michael shouted. “I did do it. I made every mark that you see on her body. Happy now? And guess what, the next time Lisette defies me—the next time she crosses my path or refuses to leave when she is told to—I’ll kill her.”

  I felt Adam’s muscles tense and knew that he was about to lunge at him again.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” I shot back at Michael. “I’m glad you want to kill me because I want to kill you, too.”

  Michael laughed and shook his head with a smile. “You can try,” he said as his lips curled around his words.

  Michael walked away, and even though Adam wanted to go after him, I begged him not to, and he listened to me for my sake. That night at the apartment, however, Michael did not return.

  “Do you think he got in trouble with Marta?” I asked as we sat up in the bed beside each other to talk.

  “I’m sure he at least got a stern talking to. But for the most part, Marta doesn’t care much about what her son does. She has other, bigger things to worry about.”

  “Like the drug-ring?” I asked.

  Adam’s eyes widened. “How do you know about that?”

  “Julian told me.”

  He drew in a deep breath through his nose. “Ah, so that’s what the urgent meeting you two had was about,” he murmured.

  I was surprised he wasn’t denying it or telling me that Julian was wrong about what he had heard. And even more shocked when he continued to explain. “Lineage has been the front for a drug operation since long before you or I ever knew about this school. From what I’ve been told, it’s been decades of drug trafficking that kept the pockets of all these fancy board members lined.”

  I nodded slowly. “So, the board members are all drug dealers?”

  He shook his head. “Not quite. The drug dealers are the low-hanging fruit. The board members are the executioners.”

  Something about the way he said that last word was a bit too real and scary.

  “What about Goldshire?” I asked. “Julian said there was some sort of planned merger between the colleges, but I thought they were rivals?”

  “I don’t really know about that,” Adam said with a shrug. “I know that there’s something shady between the two schools, more than just a vicious rivalry. But I also know that their boards hate each other, so I can’t imagine that Goldshire would be in league with Lineage. Things are definitely amping up though, that’s for sure.”

  “What about the threat that Lineage made?” I asked.

  He tilted his head. “What threat?”

  “Julian said they threatened to shut Goldshire down if the school didn’t agree to be used as part of a cover-up.”

  He blinked. “Oh, I didn’t know anything about that. I was talking about the gala.”

  It took a lot more convincing for me to get Adam to spill all the details he knew about the upcoming gala. But I think he felt awful about how badly I had gotten beaten up, so he had a difficult time refusing me.

  Apparently, the gala was to be held in the city’s aquarium, a place that I loved to visit with my mom when I was a kid. She and I had gone once during a nighttime visit, and I remembered thinking how much cooler it was than going during the day. The entire aquarium was lit up in teals and cerulean blues that seemed to make all the tanks look backlit. It was truly a magical experience. Less magical that Adam told me the event was being used in preparation for a charity event that would be used as a cover for a huge drug trafficking deal. The more I heard about the people there, the more disgusted I became.

  Everyone at Lineage was invited to the gala, even me. Adam thought it was best for us to sit the event out, but not only did I want to revisit the aquarium, I also wanted to get some insight as to the fake charity event that Lineage would be putting on. He agreed to take me as long as I stayed close this time and didn’t wander off. I think he was afraid he would find me at the bottom of one of the tanks if I did.

  Unlike the events I had attended at Goldshire, this event had a strict dress requirement, and I had absolutely nothing suitable to wear to it. I had mentioned to Adam about needing to go shopping before the gala, and he had nodded while half-listening and obviously thinking about something else.

  We walked back to the apartment from class together, and Michael was back when we arrived. He stood at the kitchen bar, pouring a cocktail, and completely ignored both of us as we walked inside. I had the burning desire to turn around and look at him as we went down the hall just to see if he was watching us, but I didn’t. When we got into the bedroom, there was a large box laying on the bed with my name on it.

  “Is it a bomb?” I asked.

  Adam laughed. “It’s in much too pretty of a box to be a bomb, I think. Open it.”

  I pulled the giant gold ribbon off the top of the box and removed the lid. Inside was the most beautiful, sparkling dress that I had ever seen. I pulled it out and held it up to my chest. It was the midnight blue color of the night sky and was covered in so many little rhinestones that it looked as though all the stars had suddenly fallen onto the dress at once.

  There were no sleeves and a deep, plunging neckline that reached all the way down the bodice of the dress. I turned the dress around to look at the back, which scooped almost down to the waist and held my hand under the gorgeous layers of cascading lace at the bottom.

  “Do you like it?” Adam grinned.

  “Did you get this?” I asked in astonishment.

  “Yep,” he said as he popped the ‘p’. “You said you didn’t have anything to wear.”

  “It’s perfect,” I beamed. “Thank you.”

  Adam smiled with satisfaction. “Oh, there’s one more thing inside the box.”

  He went over and lifted a teardrop pendant out from inside the tissue paper. The diamond in the center of it was huge and glittered as it reflected all the light in the room. He held it up against my breastbone and looked at me.

  “You’re going to look like a walking galaxy,” he said.

  And as I gazed into his eyes, I wondered how in the world this mysterious boy that had come into my life could peg a dress and jewelry for me that easily.

  Much less get everything—like my size—just right.

  13

  By the time the night of the gala had arrived, all of my cuts and bruises had healed. And so had Michael’s. Although he and Adam still had some hostility between them, they were back on talking terms in an attempt to keep things civil and at least uphold the appearance of peace between us all.

  I just hoped it held up.

  I knew that I shouldn’t have been looking forward to going to the gala at all, especially considering that it was just the cover for something bad, but I couldn’t help being at least a little bit excited about going to the aquarium. I couldn’t even remember the last time I got to dress up for anything, I mean really dress up, and I had the most beautiful dress to wear.

  All of that aside, I knew it would be the prime place to find out more about what Lineage was up to.

  I had continued to search around campus, but I hadn’t found anything of particular interest since that one letter I had found in the maintenance office. Michael must have discarded it somewhere because I had searched his room one day when he wasn’t home and couldn’t find anything in there either. Out of everything, I was hoping to finally find some usable leads to follow.

  While I was in the bathroom trying to get my long pieces of hair to stay up in some sort of pretty concoction on my head, I heard Michael and Adam talking to each other in the other room. I couldn’t make out everything that they were saying, but essentially, it had something to do with “keeping me out of the way” and “getting through the night without any drama.”
I walked back into the bedroom to change into my dress, Adam was standing in the middle of the room already ready to go.

  My mouth opened slightly as I saw him. He was dressed in black dress pants that fit him so perfectly it made me salivate, and a black button-down shirt with the cuffs at the sleeves turned up. He had left a few of the top buttons undone, and I could see the top few lines of his tattoo peeking out from above the opening of his shirt. He ran his hands through his ebony hair, which poked out in every direction. With the combination of his nose ring and his wild eyes, it made him look even more tantalizingly rebellious than usual.

  “You okay?” he asked when he saw me stop in my tracks in the doorway.

  “Yeah,” I said, his voice ripping me from my trance. “It’s just…”

  Adam raised an eyebrow at me as he waited for me to finish what I was saying.

  “You look so hot,” I blurted out.

  I actually can’t believe that I said that.

  He laughed and walked over to kiss me. And when he let go, there was a boyish grin that rested on his face.

  “I’ll let you get dressed,” he said. “I’ll be waiting in the living room—with Michael.” He rolled his eyes at that last part.

  He was so gorgeous. I started thinking about coming back to the apartment after the gala and taking each of those articles of clothing off him, one by one. I stood still for a minute and imagined what it would be like to make love to him, with the sprawling roots inked over his chest wrapping around me. Then I snapped myself out of it so that I wouldn’t make us late.

  After I finished getting dressed, I clasped the pendant behind my neck and took one last look in the mirror. The dress fit perfectly. It hugged every curve, and the bones inside the bodice showed just the right amount of plunging cleavage. I managed to not do too terrible of a job with my hair, and it looked like carefully selected pieces were falling down onto my bare shoulders. They happened to just have landed like that, but it worked all the same. For the first time in a long time, I thought I looked pretty. I added one more thing, a glossy lip shimmer that made my lips look as if they were wet with dewdrops and fairy dust, and then I walked out of the bedroom.

  Adam stood up when he saw me come down the hall, and he didn’t even need to say anything because his eyes said it all.

  “Wow,” he said quietly. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  “Thanks,” I smiled. “It’s the dress.”

  Then, he shook his head. “No, it’s not, it’s you.”

  And his words caught my breath in my lungs as his eyes met mine.

  The aquarium was only a short ride away, and when we got there, it was already bustling with people. Only Lineage people, of course, Goldshire was not invited.

  I asked Adam to take a picture of me and send it to Julian since he couldn’t come, and since he hadn’t seen me in a dress in years. I figured he’d be amused by my ability to clean up well. I hadn’t been prepared for all the eyes that would turn to look at me as we walked in.

  “Why is everyone staring at us?” I asked, feeling suspicious and uncomfortable.

  My eyes darted from one person to the next person around the room. I didn’t know most of them, and those that I did know, I didn’t trust.

  “Because you are breathtakingly beautiful,” Adam whispered in my ear as we continued to walk in arm-in-arm.

  “Or because they know I’m Pauline’s daughter,” I murmured.

  When I said my mom’s name, it felt so strange on my tongue that I almost wanted to cry. It made me realize that I hadn’t said her name in many months. It also made me remember my purpose for being here at all.

  As we walked through the crowds of people, eyes turned to look at me, and I felt the stare of nearly every man in the room, even Michael’s. He was standing to the side at the front of the room, and I couldn’t help but notice that he couldn’t take his eyes off me either. It infuriated me that he was looking at me, and by the expression on his face, it infuriated him too. Even so, he couldn’t seem to pull his gaze away. Adam and I sat and drank wine and talked casually with the people around us. We also talked between ourselves and made up entertaining and outrageous stories about the people that we watched in the room.

  People-watching was another thing that we seemed to have in common.

  “The funny thing is that I bet at least one of the stories that we make up tonight will end up being true,” he said.

  I laughed because he was probably right.

  On a surface level, it seemed like a perfectly innocent gathering. Food, drinks, and a setting inside a room walled by large tanks of sea creatures provided a unique and elaborate experience. Even the twinkling blue strands of lights that I remembered as a child were strung overhead to create ambient lighting that made it feel like we were inside the ocean itself. It was difficult not to get sidetracked, especially by Adam. The more I spent time with him, and the more I felt his touch and saw his smile, the more I started to develop feelings for him. They weren't the kind of feelings that come and go in a lustful moment, but the kind that had me thinking about how we could possibly find a way to be together after this was over.

  “I’m going to use the restroom,” I said to him as I pushed my chair back and stood up.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “You’re going with me to the lady’s room?” I teased.

  “At least let me walk you there,” he insisted.

  I giggled. “Adam, I’ll be fine. We’re in the middle of a highly crowded gala inside the aquarium. I’m just going to the bathroom; I’ll be right back.”

  He didn’t look pleased, but he sat back down. It might have been the wine that made me feel less wary that I probably ought to have been.

  After I left the lady’s room, I walked back through the clustered gatherings of socializing people toward the table where I left Adam. But one conversation among the others suddenly caught my attention. Someone had mentioned my name. I stopped and looked around, not too obviously but only as if I appeared to be trying to remember where my table was at. The more that I tried to listen, the more I realized there were multiple conversations going on at once that all had something to do with a new person in their leadership.

  Strange, I thought to myself.

  Michael’s mother was the Headmistress of Lineage. I wondered if she was getting replaced. Her family had been high-ranking board members of the college for several generations. I couldn’t imagine anyone who would have more of a claim on the school’s leadership that she did. I didn’t know anything about Michael’s father, but for as long as I could remember, he never existed.

  I mean, obviously biologically speaking, he existed, but he was never a part of the picture. It was always Marta who led the family, raised Michael, and headed-up the school ever since I could remember. I weaved in and out of the crowds and conversations, trying to pick up as many bits and pieces of information that I could, which I would assemble in my head later after the gala was over.

  “He will be revealed at the charity event,” someone said a few steps away from me. “I can’t even remember the last time Lineage had a new Headmaster.”

  Headmaster? Maybe Marta wasn’t being replaced, maybe she was joining up with someone, or even getting married maybe?

  As I continued to wander behind the groups of people, I was able to gather a few other small details. It seemed that no one knew who the newly appointed Headmaster would be, aside from Marta and possibly a few others who had worked closely with him. It also seemed that whoever he was, the announcement was anticipated to cause quite a stir because he was supposedly bringing a huge and highly illegal partnership into the Lineage. This was all very useful.

  A man bumped into me as I was distracted, listening to part of a conversation.

  “Are you looking for something?” he asked.

  I looked up toward the table where Adam had been sitting, but he was no longer there. He must have gotten worried and went to go look for me.

  �
��Yes, actually,” I said as I tried to make up something believable on the spot. “My wine glass has been empty for a while, and the waitress never came back around, so I was hoping I might be able to find the bar.”

  “Certainly,” the man said. “Let me show you where it is.”

  I followed him to the bar, not wanting to blow my excuse and seem like I had been up to something. When we got there, he bought my drink and asked if I would like to sit and talk with him for a while.

  “I think I’m going to get some fresh air. It’s a little stuffy in here,” I said as I tried to politely excuse myself. “Thank you for the drink.”

  The man nodded and watched me as I walked away. I turned casually over my shoulder to see if he was still watching me, and when I saw that he was, I decided that I actually could use some fresh air and a break from all these people for a minute. Adam was still not at the table, and I didn’t have my phone on me since there was no place to put it in this dress, so I was unable to reach him until he either came back to the table or until we crossed paths in the crowd.

  I remembered that the aquarium used to have a rooftop garden that they sometimes used for private parties. My mom and I had snuck up to it once to look at the stars. I found the stairwell and, with my wine glass in hand, climbed up the steps to see if it was still there.

  It probably wasn’t the best idea to go traipsing around in the stairwell alone at an event full of Lineage drug-conspirators, but when I reached the top and pushed the door open, I was delighted to see that the rooftop garden was still there. I needed some quiet and fresh air to gather my thoughts.

  I stepped out onto the roof and felt the chill air on my shoulders as I let the stairwell door slam closed behind me. I hadn’t thought to bring a jacket. I hadn’t thought to leave Adam a note. I mean, I hadn’t even thought to canvas the place once I got up there.

  Which is why I also hadn’t thought that someone else might already be up here.

  14

  Michael was standing near the railing at the edge of the rooftop with a cocktail in his hand. He had been leaning over the railing, looking out at the city and deep in thought, but had turned around when he heard the door slam.