“You know she has a point,” Melissa Winters, our other friend, stated.
“Tony is a bit of a stalker,” my little sister, Mahin, agreed.
“Damn, will y’all let up off my man? If y’all had one, you wouldn’t be worried about mine. Ain’t that right, G?” Aaliyah asked.
Biting my lip, I said, “Can you ladies, please get your act together for this picture?”
Aaliyah was quick to remind the others that they didn’t have a man, and we did. All of them didn’t necessarily want a relationship, some of them like my sister Mahin and Melissa were okay with being single. It was ironic because Melissa started and ran an online matchmaking service, but she insisted she was happily single and loved her freedom.
We were celebrating our friend, Seda Kasparian’s 28th birthday, at the Ayara Hookah Lounge.
There was a bit more bickering before everyone got it together for the picture.
“That’s my jam!” Mahin exclaimed, jumping up when Amara’s What A Bam Bam started playing.
I laughed as my sister moved her hips in time to the music, pulling Aaliyah and Seda’s hands to come onto the dance floor with her. Melissa jumped up and joined them.
“Aren’t you guys coming, too?” Seda asked, laughing.
“Just a sec, guys. I have a couple of posts to finish, and I’ll be right there,” Dior said, sipping from her wineglass.
“Hurry up. You can’t leave me on this floor with these three,” Seda cried out.
Seda wasn’t the clubbing type, although she would go with the rest of us. Since it was her birthday, we planned the night for her. Dining at a Mediterranean restaurant, and then Ayara’s for drinking, smoking, and chilling.
Grabbing the hose, I placed the tip of the mouthpiece to my mouth and inhaled lightly, drawing the smoke in slowly. My eyes narrowed as I watched Dior’s pug nose crinkle and her thick, furry eyebrows furrow.
Kids teased her about her eyebrows in her childhood when other kids would say they looked like two furry caterpillars. The looks she found repugnant as a child made her millions later in life, which was quickly turning into billions.
During our sophomore year in college, Dior’s love of chemistry and the degree she was pursuing turned down another road. Her proclivities for concealing what she deemed her worst features turned into a fascination when she discovered by accident how to use makeup to enhance her natural features.
Unruly, thick, curly red hair was no longer frizzy and untamed but glossy and springy in perfect coils, which shone to perfection. Thick, pink lips that Dior previously chewed on were highlighted to accent their pouty form, always looking as if she were puckered for a kiss.
And her pale, peach-colored skin paired with the right products highlighted the rose undertones in the tawny color. Dior’s long, lean body was the perfect runway body, although she didn’t model but hired people to showcase her cosmetics and skincare.
Twirling a curl around her finger, the crease in her forehead grew deeper as she continued to click through something on her phone. Inhaling again and puffing slowly, my gaze wandered back to the floor, taking in my friends and sister.
As soon as I finished this smoke, I would join them. A soft gasp from Dior turned my attention back to her briefly. Pulling the mouthpiece away, I turned in my seat on the couch.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when her eyes met mine, but she quickly turned her gaze away.
Shaking her head, she mumbled, “Nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
Nodding her head, she continued focusing on her phone just as mine began vibrating in my purse. That wasn’t unusual for me. My phone was always going off with notifications about social media whenever someone tagged me on a post, or someone responded to one of my posts.
Or...if my boyfriend, Foster Woods, and I were tagged in something together. The way my phone was blowing up now, I figured it had to be the latter.
Reaching for my purse, I was startled when Dior grabbed my hand.
“Come on, let’s go dancing,” she said.
“Wait a sec. Let me check my social media first,” I said, pulling my phone out.
“Come on; you can check that later. Right now, we need to have fun. It’s Seda’s party,” Dior declared.
“Really? That’s your claim to fame now when I’ve watched you on your phone for the last five minutes?” I asked, giggling as I unlocked my phone.
“I know it was important.”
“And mine isn’t?” I asked, training my gaze on the phone in the semi-dark lounge.
“Come on,” she said, tugging at my arm again.
Just as I was preparing to give up and put my phone away, something caught my eye on Instagram.
Foster was curled around some girl in a picture. They sat in some dark club on a couch with his arm around her. Foster’s head was bent, and the angle of the camera gave a clear shot of his lips pressed against the girl’s.
There were two more pictures of them, one of him on the dance floor with his hands on her behind, and the final he was pressed against her on a wall. The picture looked like he was grinding against her.
Surely, I had to be mistaken. My eyes scanned the pictures again, and I realized the clothes Foster wore were the same ones he wore tonight when he stopped by my place. Comments were still rolling through as I stared at the picture, and my name was in most of them.
Fury. Embarrassment. Frustration. Humiliation.
All those emotions rolled through me, yet, not a single tear did I shed. Shedding tears meant I was hurt and disappointed and hopeless. None of those emotions touched my soul.
Foster’s lying and cheating weren’t new; it started more than a year ago. I hadn’t shared anything with anyone except, Aaliyah. My best friend warned me it was only a matter of time before it started seeping to the public, especially when we lived our lives in the public eye.
Foster, also known as Street Cred, was an up and coming rapper. Since signing to Cipher Beatz, a hip-hop label last year, his behavior changed. Everything was about him, and he seldom had time for me. Every decision he made was about his image and rarely included consideration of me.
Panties in the glove compartment of his car, lipstick tubes on the passenger floorboard, and bras in the armrest compartment resulted in shouting matches between us. All of which escalated when I found text messages of titty pics and va-jay-jay shots sent to him.
His boys gave his number out to some girl, or he let his brother borrow his car, or his boy sent him that trying to start trouble. Foster claimed he knew nothing about the girls or the stuff left behind in his car.
Time after time, I forgave him, looked the other way, and accepted his excuses. But this was too hard to ignore. When it was right in my face and the public eye, there was nothing he could say to justify this.
Did I even want him to, anymore? Foster’s lack of responsibility was tarnishing my image with my followers. As an IG model and YouTuber, people cared what I thought and followed every aspect of my life that was visible to the public.
Not that he cared about that. He referred to it as my “little gig.” It didn’t matter to him that I had just over four million YouTube subscribers and one million IG followers. The fact that I earned one hundred to one-fifty grand per post was immaterial.
Foster emphasized that it was just a fad, and when people grew bored with what I did, they would be on to the next great thing. And what did I have then?
The fact that a fitness chain approached me to do a commercial with them didn’t matter to him. Even that was just a fad, and when the trend faded, I would have nothing, according to him. Foster’s attitude changed even more when I received that offer.
Not once had he congratulated or celebrated me on it. And I was scheduled to start shooting Monday morning. My fans celebrated my win more than my boyfriend did.
My brand GloHealthy on YouTube was hair and cosmetics based, but that didn’t mean my followers and subscribers didn’t care about my personal life. O
n the contrary, they wanted to know every facet and were vested in Foster and me being the ideal couple.
None of them had a clue as to his true persona. Until tonight.
Finally, the monster hidden inside of Foster “Street Cred” Woods was unleashed. He had something to prove, and he wouldn’t cease until he accomplished his mission. Since signing with Cipher Beatz, Foster started on a journey to live up to his name, “Street Cred.”
“Are you okay?” That was Dior’s voice in my ear.
From the moment I saw the pictures, I’d forgotten where I was and who I was with.
“Uh...yeah, I’m okay.”
“This picture isn’t real, okay? Someone probably captured it at the perfect angle to make it look the way it does,” Dior reasoned.
I looked up at her. “It’s real.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s been real for more than a year now.”
“What?” she shrieked. “I mean, what?” she said in a lower voice.
Shaking my head, I said, “He’s been cheating for over a year, Dior. I was too embarrassed to say anything, and he never let it go public before. I turned my head, hoping he would calm down, thinking maybe the fame and money were going to his head.”
“I’m sorry, G. You don’t deserve this. You’ve been the best girlfriend a guy could want. Do you think it’s the fame that’s going to his head?”
“I don’t know, and I no longer care. Come on, let’s dance,” I said, tossing the last of my wine down and tugging at Dior’s hand.
“Are you sure you’re good?” she asked.
“Never been better in all my life!” I declared.
Moving to join the rest of our friends, I decided a chapter of my life was closed, and a new one was about to begin.
Other Books by Cassie Verano
SIMPLY SEDUCTIVE SERIES:
Elevated Seduction
Synful Seduction
Privileged Seduction
Enchanted Seduction
SAVANNAH PASSION SERIES:
Greyson: A BWWM Romance
Anton: A BWWM Romance
Rhys: A BWWM Romance
THE SONS OF VICTOR BLACK SERIES:
Explicit: The Sons of Victor Black: A BWWM Romance
Allure: The Sons of Victor Black: An Interracial Romance
Smooth: The Sons of Victor Black: A BWWM Romance
LOVE DESIRED SERIES:
Desire
Hidden
Harmony
Undeniable
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Synful Seduction
Greyson
ABOUT CASSIE
Cassie Verano pens romance for readers of all cultures and backgrounds. Her love of romance is borne from the beauty and joy she sees in the relationships around her. She enjoys creating works of fiction about women discovering true love and women who aren’t afraid to explore their sexuality.
As a professional administrator, she dreamt of the day she could toss her paperwork aside and craft stories that inspired love and romance in the hearts of women around the world. As a wife and mother, she enjoys playing quirky games and singing with her family.
This southern belle is a native Georgia Peach, who enjoys reading, writing, and trying different cuisines from around the world. On rainy days she can be found cuddling under a blanket with a good mystery book in her hands or watching a romance movie on Hallmark or LMN.
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Acknowledgments
To my readers,
I hope that you’ve enjoyed getting to know Kole and Silver as much as you did Zymir and Karina. Hidden is the second book in The Love Desired series and is based in the small town of Summer Cove, North Carolina.
Please continue to share your encouraging emails, honest reviews, and thoughtful feedback with me. They help me formulate what I will give you next. And by the way, I’m almost finished with the next book in this series, Harmony.
To my husband and my best friend, you’re simply the best. I’m thankful to have you by my side on this journey, Prof!
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