The Secret Society

Chapter 1 ELLA'S POV Hello, my name is Ella Jones. I am twenty-three years old, and I have been engaged to Evan White for the past five years. I am an accountant, while Evan is a mechanic. We live in a quaint, modern two-bedroom house in Seattle. We have no children, no pets and, for the most part, keep ourselves to ourselves. Every couple of months, we return to our hometown of Edmonds to visit our family and friends. The rest of the time, we have fairly demanding work schedules, although we make a point of going out for dinner together at least once a week. We are ordinary people leading an ordinary life. Or at least, we were. That changed three months ago. Evan suggested that we take a break. I was absolutely devastated at the thought of Evan no longer being in my life. I immediately started suggesting anything I could think of to make him stay. Therapy. Trying new things. Anything that came to mind in that desperate moment. At the time, it did not feel as though I was begging or making a complete fool of myself. It felt like self-preservation. The thought of life without Evan White made me feel as though I would be lost, as though someone had taken away half of who I was. So, yes, I was willing to try almost anything to keep him. And that was exactly what he was counting on. The Start "You really are willing to try anything?" Evan asked. There was sudden excitement in his voice. "Yes," I replied quickly, realising there might actually be a chance he would not leave me. "I was talking to a colleague at work, and he was telling me about his brother, who is involved in... a secret society." "A secret society?" I questioned. Naivety had always been one of my biggest weaknesses, along with clumsiness and my unfortunate tendency to blush far more often than I would have liked. "Yes. Apparently, it is for couples who are willing to try... anything." He said the last word suggestively, accompanied by a wink that immediately made my heart race. "If you think it will help, then of course. Like I said, I will try anything." Anything to keep him. "Oh, it..." Evan began, slowly walking towards me. He stopped at the foot of the sofa where I was sitting. "Will help." He bent down until his lips were only inches from mine. "It will help us a lot," he murmured. Then he kissed me. The sudden change in his behaviour should have made me suspicious, but all I could think about was the fact that Evan seemed to want me again. And I wanted him more than I could put into words. He carried me to the bedroom, and for the first time in weeks, I allowed myself to believe that perhaps everything was going to be okay. The intimacy between us was intense and emotional, and for a while, I forgot everything else. But afterwards, as I lay beside him, a thought suddenly entered my mind. Had I been manipulated? Had Evan deliberately threatened to leave me because he knew exactly what I would be willing to do to make him stay? He knew how much I loved him. He knew I would agree to almost anything. And only half an hour earlier, I had been convinced that he felt exactly the same way about me. I couldn't bring myself to be angry with him. I loved him too much. But the way he had gone about this hurt more than I wanted to admit. Later, Evan pulled me into his arms. "I do love you, Ella. I always will." I rested my head against his neck and eventually drifted peacefully to sleep. Two Days Later "Tonight?" I practically screamed when Evan walked into the kitchen while I was preparing dinner. "Yes. Jimmy managed to get us an invitation for tonight. Ella, remember, you said you would try anything." Yes. I remembered that all too well. He had played me. And he had done it remarkably well. "What do I wear? And what exactly is this secret society?" "Wear a little black dress and..." He paused, a small smile appearing on his face. "You'll find out soon enough." He winked. My knees suddenly felt weak. I was a fool in love. Three hours later, we pulled up outside a house that looked as though it had been built for royalty. I tried my best not to stare, but judging by the slight smile on Evan's face, I had failed miserably. He knocked on the door. A young woman answered almost immediately. "Hello. You must be Evan and Ella?" "I'm Claire. It is lovely to meet you. Please, come in." I didn't need to be asked twice. It was freezing outside. Claire led us into a large dining room where several other couples were already gathered. I looked around the room, taking everything in, until my eyes landed on a man with bronze-coloured hair. His hair was slightly dishevelled, and he wore a crisp white shirt, a thin black tie and grey trousers. His face was striking. Almost impossibly so. Had Evan not cleared his throat behind me, I might have continued staring far longer than was appropriate. "You already know Jimmy and Vicky," Claire said to Evan. "And here we have Peter and Irina, Lucy and Henry..." Henry. The name immediately caught my attention. He was standing beside the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Of course he was. A man who looked like that would naturally be with a woman who looked like her. I mentally scolded myself. He was completely out of my league. Evan reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, bringing me back to reality. I looked up at him and smiled. My own personal Mr Perfect. Perhaps he wasn't Henry, but he was perfect to me. His toned body, dark hair and chiselled features were more than enough. I didn't need some mysterious, impossibly handsome stranger. I had Evan. "Now, Evan and Ella, if you could place your keys in the bowl in the centre of the table, we can make a start." I frowned. Keys? Why on earth would we put our keys in the middle of the table? Did this strange society have some bizarre tradition involving swapping cars? "And Ella, since you are new, you get to pick the first set of keys," Claire announced. I smiled nervously and walked towards the enormous mahogany table in the centre of the room. Something felt strange. Every man seemed to be holding his breath, while several of the women watched me with expressions I couldn't quite understand. I reached into the bowl and pulled out a set of BMW keys. I laughed quietly to myself. Perhaps I could take the car home. It was certainly an improvement on the old car Evan and I shared. A tall man with fair hair stepped forward. I hadn't caught his name earlier, so I extended my hand. "Ella Jones." "Caius." His voice was deep and commanding. "And you will both be in Room Three this evening," Claire called. "I'm sorry... what?" I stared at her. Why exactly was I going into a room with Caius? Caius took my hand and began leading me away. I turned to look at Evan. He smiled. Then he mouthed two words. "Have fun." Have fun? What exactly was I supposed to be having fun with? Caius opened a large wooden door that looked as though it had been there for generations. We entered the room. He gestured towards the bed. "Take a seat." I hesitated before sitting down. "Your first time?" he asked. I frowned. "Please don't think I'm being rude, Caius, but Evan told me this was a secret society. He didn't explain what it involved. Could you please tell me why I am alone in a room with you?" Call me naive, but I genuinely had no idea what was happening. Caius stared at me. "Are you serious?" "Yes." His expression changed. "I don't enjoy being teased, Ella. I came here expecting exactly what everyone else expects from this arrangement." My stomach dropped. "I'm sorry?" "Intimacy. No relationships. No commitments. That is the entire purpose of this arrangement." I stared at him in disbelief. "You may not do anything you want with me. I think I should leave." Caius gave a humourless laugh. "The contracts prevent that." "Contracts?" My voice trembled. "Did you not read the agreement before your partner signed it?" "I was never shown a contract." Caius's expression hardened. For the first time, I realised that he was angry. Not just with me. With Evan. "There are rules within this society," he said. "I don't have time to explain everything tonight, but I can assure you that leaving is not as simple as walking through the front door." My hands began to shake. I could barely breathe. "I need to go home." Caius stared at me for several seconds before stepping back. "Then you need to speak to Evan." I nodded quickly. I had never been more desperate to see him. I hurried out of Room Three and returned to the dining room. The bowl of keys was still sitting in the centre of the table. I grabbed the keys to our old car. Before I could reach the door, Claire stopped me. "Ella, is everything all right?" Her expression suddenly became genuinely concerned. "I didn't know..." I struggled to speak through my tears. "Evan never told me. I didn't understand what this was." Claire immediately pulled me into her arms. "Ella, I'm so sorry." I looked at her through my tears. "What is going on?" She hesitated. That hesitation terrified me more than anything else. "You do realise the secret society isn't something you can simply leave, don't you?" I stared at her. "What do you mean?" Claire lowered her voice. "There are consequences for breaking the rules." "What kind of consequences?" She looked away. "Some people have suffered very serious consequences." Silence filled the room. My heart pounded. "Serious?" I whispered. Claire finally looked back at me. "Some have even been fatal." My entire body went cold. "Fatal?" The word escaped my lips as a scream. Claire said nothing. I turned towards the door, then stopped. "Maybe I should ask Evan to show me the contract the men sign." Claire nodded slowly. "I think that would be a very good idea." I tightened my grip around the car keys. "Yes," I whispered. I needed to see that contract. I needed to know exactly what Evan had signed us up for. Because whatever this secret society was... I had a terrible feeling that my ordinary life had just disappeared forever.