Lavish Betrayal
Charlotte Byrd
Contents
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Part 1
Chapter 1 - Easton
Chapter 2 - Easton
Chapter 3 - Easton
Chapter 4 - Everly
Part 2
Chapter 5 - Everly
Chapter 6 - Everly
Chapter 7 - Everly
Chapter 8 - Everly
Chapter 9 - Everly
Chapter 10 - Everly
Chapter 11 - Everly
Chapter 12 - Everly
Chapter 13 - Easton
Part 3
Chapter 14 - Easton
Chapter 15 - Easton
Chapter 16 - Everly
Chapter 17 - Everly
Chapter 18 - Everly
Chapter 19 - Easton
Chapter 20 - Easton
Chapter 21 - Easton
Chapter 22 - Everly
Chapter 23 - Everly
Chapter 24 - Everly
Chapter 25 - Everly
Chapter 26 - Everly
Chapter 27 - Everly
Chapter 28 - Everly
Chapter 29 - Everly
Chapter 30 - Everly
Part 4
Chapter 31 - Easton
Chapter 32 - Easton
Chapter 33 - Everly
Chapter 34 - Everly
Chapter 35 - Everly
Chapter 36 - Everly
Chapter 37 - Easton
Chapter 38 - Easton
Chapter 39 - Everly
Chapter 40 - Everly
Chapter 41 - Everly
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Copyright © 2018 by Charlotte Byrd, LLC.
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This book is a word of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Visit my website at www.charlotte-byrd.com
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About Lavish Betrayal
He used to be my only hope. Easton Bay: a man who’s as ruthless as he’s gorgeous and as tender as he is cruel. His every touch sends shivers down my spine.
I crave him.
He saved me once, but will he do it again? He’s a mystery. An enigma. A suspense.
There’s a darkness inside of him. It scares me to my very core.
Yet, I pull closer with each breath. I am an addict and he is my drug.
What happens when it’s not enough?
*Previously published as Crown of York
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Also by Charlotte Byrd
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* * *
Tell me Series
Tell me to Stop
Tell me to Go
Tell me to Stay
Tell me to Run
Tell me to Fight
* * *
Tangled Series
Tangled up in Ice
Tangled up in Pain
Tangled up in Lace
Tangled up in Hate
Tangled up in Love
* * *
Black Series
Black Edge
Black Rules
Black Bounds
Black Contract
Black Limit
Lavish Trilogy
Lavish Lies
Lavish Betrayal
Lavish Obsession
Standalone Novels
Debt
Offer
Unknown
Dressing Mr. Dalton
Part 1
Chapter 1 - Easton
When I try to wash it all away…
My life is a graveyard of things that I’ve done on my father’s orders.
Now, deceiving Everly is just another tombstone.
I can’t face her for what I’ve done. Mirabelle is here to take her to see my father. He will meet with all of the contestants, but he really wants to meet Everly.
He’s aching to tell her. I kn
ow it.
I could be there to see the disappointment on her face. He had called me in as well, but this time, I won’t come.
I can’t bear to see her tear-misted eyes.
Why did I do it?
Why did I sleep with Everly? It would be a lie to say that I only did it because of his orders. Deep down, I know that I had another motivation.
Everly.
When I first saw her at that charity ball, I was drawn to her immediately. There was something in her eyes. A glimmer. A twinkle.
And her demeanor? Uneasy and yet confident.
Then I spoke to her. Her voice was soft and distant, but familiar.
It was all of these things and so many more.
Everly smiled at me.
She challenged me.
She fought with me.
And suddenly, this connection we shared, became something more. We exchanged only a few pleasantries, but that was enough to strengthen our bond.
I tried to protect her.
I tried to warn her about this place. I did the best I could without coming out and telling her everything. But she ended up here anyway; this dark, horrible piece of sand that is my home.
She shouldn’t be here. None of them should. But she really shouldn’t.
I was never much of a believer in destiny, and now I’m not so sure. Perhaps she is doomed to York just like I am.
Still, I cannot help myself. I know that there isn’t much I can do for her, but I can’t stop myself from trying.
She’s pulling me toward her.
I crave her.
I want her.
I have to have her.
I haven’t felt this way in years. Not since… It’s still hard to talk about it.
There was once a woman in my life whom I loved very much. She knew what York was about. She and I tried to make a break from this place. We were going to spend the rest of our lives together, but then, she drowned.
I used to think that I had a curse on my head. I used to think that nothing good would ever happen to me or anyone else I know.
And now?
Now I know that I’m cursed for sure.
I descend under the water and push off the side of the pool. I kick my legs as fast as I can to propel myself forward. I haven’t swam in this pool in a long time, and I’ve forgotten how good it feels for water to run along your body.
Oh, if only I had the strength to submerge myself entirely and never come up for air again.
I tried to do that once. I should do it again before I cause any more suffering.
Unfortunately, I can’t. I’m the only friend that Everly has and I can’t leave her alone in this God-forsaken place.
As I split the turquoise water with my body, I imagine Everly walking toward my father on his throne. Even after all of these years, I cannot say that I know him well, but the one thing I do know is that he likes to play games.
My father takes a new wife every two years. He runs this competition to find her.
He is a rich, bored, old man who likes to pit people against each other in the illusion of a contest.
One will win, but what will she win exactly?
A lifetime of slavery?
Two years of being called a Queen, until the next one comes to replace her?
Everly is about to find out the truth about York.
She’s about to find out that the only reason I slept with her is because he ordered me to. But I’m not sure if she will find out why I followed his orders.
I don’t think he will tell her that it was in an effort to protect her. I don’t think he will tell her that if I didn’t, then she would be eliminated.
Everly March cannot be eliminated. Even if, at the end, she is to become my father’s wife, I will do everything in my power to stop her from being eliminated and sold off at auction.
If she were to become Queen, she would live here in chains.
Not literal, but metaphorical.
She would be cloistered away with the rest of the wives.
She would have to travel with him.
She would have to attend formal functions.
She would have to sleep with him and bear his children.
She would not have much freedom, but she would not be sold off.
The rest of the contestants, the ones who will be eliminated until the Queen is crowned, will be auctioned off.
I don’t know exactly what is to become of them, but I know that their lives will not be easy.
It will probably be akin to what’s going on in the dungeons below. Foreign lands. Foreign rulers. Passed around as play things.
People around here talk in hushed tones about what awaits them.
I will do everything in my power to protect Everly from that life.
I flip over onto my back and tread water to stay afloat.
What did I ever do in my past life to deserve such a father? What did I ever do to deserve the life that I’m leading?
A part of me wishes I was more like Abbott. My brother is someone without much of a conscience. He lives entirely by his desires.
What he wants, he gets.
What he thinks he deserves, he goes after.
He doesn’t care that none of the women here want him, or that they’re all afraid of him. He likes the power that he has over them. He’s the Prince of York, after all.
I’m a Prince of York as well, but what good does it do me? My heart goes out to the women who live behind York’s gates, but I can’t help them. I can’t even show sympathy for them for fear that they will be punished as a result.
This place is a game that I can’t win.
So, why do I keep trying?
What’s the fucking point?
Chapter 2 - Easton
When I run into an old friend…
Everly does not return to me that day. A part of me wants to go find her. To tell her the truth, but another part knows that I can’t.
I can’t because he said I can’t. He. The King of York. My fucking father.
Why did I ever come back here? Again, because of him. I don’t come here often, but when I do, it’s because I absolutely cannot miss the event. A lot of important people will be here. They will all be very impressed with my father and very happy to get some of his cast-offs. His hand-me-downs. The women he isn’t interested in keeping for himself. Will Everly be one of them?
I know what I need to do. I need to stop thinking about her. There’s a good chance she will be eliminated and I will never hear from her again. And, if she does become the Queen, well, then she will be my stepmother. Either way, it’s dangerous to be her friend. But still, I can’t keep her out of my mind.
After getting out of the water and toweling off, I decide to go for a run around the grounds. I don’t go for any particular reason except that I need to do something with my body to get myself out of my head.
As blood starts to pump through my body faster and faster, I turn up the music on my phone and try to lose myself in my heavy breaths.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Repeat.
Again.
Again.
Yet, my mind keeps going back to Everly.
Will my father really marry a woman who I just slept with?
Would he stoop that low?
And what about Abbott?
He was the one who attacked Everly, twice.
His first attack landed her in the dungeons. His second attack landed him in Hamilton, a hard labor camp, for a week.
When he returns, he will be looking to exact his revenge. And he’s not one who is easily satisfied.
As I make my way around the gardens with towering hedges and intricate flower arrangements, I turn down a small alleyway toward the back of the main mansion. This is my quiet place, somewhere I can be alone with my thoughts. I slow down to a jog and enjoy the sight of a few hummingbirds gathering around a little bush. A little bit to the side of them, a finch pounces arou
nd, looking for crumbs, near the rose bushes.
Just then, a large double door swings open and a woman with hair in a shawl comes out.
Stunned to see her, I trip over my feet and collide straight into her before either of us can move out of the way.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mumble, a little dazed.
I look around and see that I have knocked her all the way to the ground. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she whispers, averting her eyes.
I give her my hand to help her up, but she rejects it. Instead, she gets up on her own. Wait a second. I know who she is. At least, I think I do.
“Isla?” I ask, kneeling down to get a better look at her face.
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