Chapter 1
Chapter One
CHARLOTTE
Being me isn’t as easy as it seems. Everyone always thinks they know me. The perfect daughter of the Masterson family. The kind of girl you see on social media in designer dresses, with flawless skin, a bright white smile, and always comes out on top no matter who she’s up against. The perfect sister in the Xi Phi Delta sorority at St Valentines.
But no one sees the real me—not the me that spends her nights in the shadows, not the me who drips with blood instead of perfume. I keep up my facade so nobody looks too deeply and sees past my identity that I’ve worked so hard to build.
You’d never guess it by looking at me, though. Perfectly maintained hair, perfectly manicured nails, and the designer bags I carry like accessories rather than tools of wealth. I know the game I’m playing and I’m winning.
The rich play by their own rules. I don’t just have money. I have power. Power to control people, to manipulate them. And when I find someone I think needs... taking care of, I don't hesitate. I don't regret it. But that's the thing—they all think they know me. They think I'm some sweet, harmless, spoiled little college girl. And that’s exactly how I want it. I want them to see me as perfect, pure—because if they did know what I really am, they'd run screaming.
But I guess that's the price of power, beauty, and perfection. The price of being the one and only Charlotte Masterson. I get it, the people that don’t understand just assume that I am a massive cunt and that I take advantage of daddy‘s money. Which is not entirely wrong, but I do have a brain and I prefer to use it. Not many people understand me or like me and all they see is perfection due to money and power. Except him…
There’s one person who doesn’t see me as perfect. One person who sees right through the silk and satin adorned with diamonds and luxury. The only man that could truly ever bring me to my knees.
Rafe Thornson.
My brother’s best friend. The quiet, but perceptive one. The one that always knows what’s going on. The one I can’t stop thinking about, even though I’d never, ever admit it. The one I’ve wanted since I was twelve.
Rafe’s tall, with brown curly hair that’s always a little messy in the way that makes him look more like a bad boy than he actually is. He has this quiet intensity that drives me crazy. He’s not the type of guy I usually go for. He doesn’t smile much. He doesn’t talk much. But there’s something about him that makes my heart beat a little faster every time I’m around him.
Which is why I pretend to hate him.
Because that’s what I do. I pretend. I don’t let anyone see me for who I really am. And I definitely don’t let Rafe know the truth. Not the truth about me—and certainly not the truth about how I feel about him.