The Devils

Chapter Two

Present

I feel out of my element. I miss my sneakers and sweatpants. The black dress that was given to me by my mother-in-law was nice, long and accentuated my curves, but it seemed to suffocate me. The high heels, which seem to cost more than my salary, hurt my feet with every step. As always in my life, I don't belong here. Benjamin Knight, my boyfriend, on the other hand, fits perfectly into this world. He holds my waist with one hand, while holding a glass of champagne in his other hand and talking to some man I have never seen in my life.

"I'll be right back" I deposit a kiss on his cheek. He doesn't even notice what I said or the kiss, so I walk away from him without further ado.

I walk through the huge hall, trying to continue with confident steps. I look for my best friend. It is not hard to recognize her. She has red hair, a red dress, and a glass of some strong drink in her hand. I sit down next to her, near the bar, steal her glass and take a big sip. Naomi Marsen doesn't say, she just keeps staring at a point.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, waking her up to reality. She finally notices my presence and sighs loudly.

"Yes, I just thought I seen a person I didn't want to" she drinks the rest of her vodka and puts the glass back on the counter and asks the bartender to pour more. "These parties get more boring every year."

I nod my head. The first time I came to this party was exactly when I started dating Ben, it turns out that the one who plans this party is his mother, who has the sole purpose of showing off her wealth. Naomi was born into a wealthy family, so she is used to it.

"Ben doesn't even pay attention to me" I comment, looking at him across the room. He is talking to a group of men. He doesn't even miss me next to him.

"Men like Ben, all they care about is money. You should know that by now" she follows my gaze. "It shouldn't be long before he puts a ring on your finger."

"What?" I turn to her, confused that she said that.

She gives a sideways smile, happy to have some information that I don't have.

"I overheard his mother talking. When you spend too much time at the bar, you can hear half the conversations that goes on" she pauses, analyzing me. My breathing becomes more irregular and I feel my heart beating faster. Naomi loves to make me suffer. "He already bought a ring. Since he wants to take over the family business, he needs someone by his side. And you are the perfect trophy wife. "

I feel some arms encircling my waist. Ben puts his head on my shoulder and looks at Naomi. The two of them hate each other. Naomi has hated him forever, and Ben hates her as soon as she advised me to stay away from him.

"What are you two talking about?" he asks, looking at Naomi.

"Just girl stuff. How you are a despicable human being and how your family only knows how to steal other people's ideas. Just normal things." she gives a fake smile. "I'm going home. It's getting hard to breathe now, Ben's ego is stealing all the oxygen."

"Don't be dramatic, Marsen." he squeezes my waist tighter. "Can't you act civilized for one night?"

"With you? Never" she picks up her bag and gets up. "Call me when you get home." I sign and watch her walk away.

Ben comes out from behind me and gets in front of me. I hadn't even noticed how handsome he looks today. His hair is perfectly combed back, his beard is done, and the black suit he has chosen makes him look even more elegant. I think I could really love him.

"We could also go home" I place my hands on his neck. "I'm tired of being in this uncomfortable dress."

"As much as that is, very appealing, I have to say no, baby. I still have a few more people to say hello to" he lays a kiss on my forehead. "But as soon as I'm done, we're going straight home. I can't wait to get you out of that dress."

"I'm so bored" I grumble. He gives a low laugh and massages my cheek with his thumb.

"It won't take long" he holds my hand. "Come, I want to introduce you to some people."

"I think you mean show me to some people."

"That too."

It might be silly, letting Ben show me off like a show dog, but I kind of liked it. People don't expect much from me except to look pretty and be quiet. They don't expect much from me. So it is much more interesting when they realized that I also have my opinion and a big influence on Ben. The Knight company could be whatever I wanted to be.

"Aubree, this is Ivan Larson."

I just want to have heard that wrong. That's all I ask. I look at the man in front of me and find the boy who made my life hell. I take a deep breath, trying to control myself and not let any of my emotions out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" I hold out my hand. "I'm Ben's girlfriend" he shakes my hand, looking into my eyes.

He is still beautiful. His brown hair is a little longer, his blue eyes that haunt my dreams still look like the Caribbean sea. He has on a suit that looks much more expensive than Ben's. And I'm sure that underneath I would find an athletic body. Ivan has always cared too much about his physique.

"Benjamin, I didn't know you already had a girlfriend. On top of that, such a beautiful one" he lets go of my hand and watches me from top to bottom. I feel my cheeks turning red. There's no way he doesn't remember me.

"We've been dating for a year." he looks proudly at me. "We are thinking of partnering with Larson Industries." he comments to me.

"That would be good for the company" I reply, trying to sound excited about it. "I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Ivan looks at me with an evil smile. I leave as soon as possible. I take quick steps to the bathroom. Before I get there, I am stopped by a human wall. I look up to find Damien Tempest.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I turn away from him and notice that behind him is Nolan Bolton.

"Surprise, love" Damien speaks, his voice almost a whisper. "Did you miss us?"

"Not a bit" I answer and try to pass him to go to the bathroom, he won't let me. "Damien, we're not kids anymore. All this fooling around is not funny."

Nolan comes out of the shadows and walks over to me, standing side by side with Damien.

"Who says it's a joke?" Nolan speaks up.

He looks different. Nolan has always stood by me, tried to defend me. But something tells me, it's different now. I expected no less, after what I did to them, they must hate me even more than before.

"Leave me alone" I say, trying to sound not frightening nor scared. "I thought you had already learned not to play with me."

"Get in" Damien speaks, pointing to the bathroom.

"You're not the boss of me" I challenge him. They probably just want to talk to me in private, yet I don't trust any of them. "I will never willingly go into a private place with you."

"You don't want to make a scandal here, do you?" Nolan speaks up, approaching me and tucking one of the locks of my hair behind my ear. "It wouldn't look good for your little boyfriend."

"I don't care" I retort.

Damien holds my wrist and drags me into the ladies' room. The bathroom is empty. Damien and Nolan enter after me. After a few seconds in silence, Ivan also enters. The bastards already had that all arranged. Ivan locks the door and the three of them stare at me and block the door.

"What do you want?" I speak, trying to be calm. I am no longer the same girl who was scared to death of them. "Wasn't it enough that you made my high school a living hell?"

"You seem to be forgetting one thing, Aubree. You destroyed our lives too" Ivan speaks up, taking a step towards me.

"Your lives don't seem destroyed" I comment. They seem to be even more powerful and richer. I was just a small stone in their path. "And I don't know why you decide to make my life hell again."

"Sweetheart, it's your turn to suffer" Ivan declares.

Nolan also takes another step in my direction. I look at Damien, because he seems too quiet.

"What's wrong, love?" Damien asks. "Do you think I'm going to save you from this?"

"Just because you f****d him doesn't mean he's going to help you" Nolan says.

It's horrible to hear those words, I wish that mistake would stay in the past. Every day I remember how I let Damien come into my room and lie next to me.

"That was a mistake."

"Don't say that, love. I know you had fun too."

"You make me sick."

"Can we get back to what matters?" Nolan asks, getting our attention.

"I doubt there is a credible reason for you to be here right now."

"But there is" Ivan says, cracking a smile. "You're going to help us be a bussiness partner with your boyfriend. You will say that it is a good idea for our companies to merge. We all know you can control him."

"And why would I do that?"

They share a look and I already know they have something bad against me. I never thought they would come back into my life. And I know that their only goal is to completely destroy everything I have. It took me years to be able to build a life that I am proud of and it will only take a second for them to destroy it.

"Do you really want all the people in this world to know your secrets?" Ivan interjects, pulling a cell phone from his pocket. "This cell phone doesn't only have our secrets, Aubree, it also has yours."

"Are you willing to give up this life?" Nolan asks. I always knew he could be worse than Damien and Ivan, but I never thought he could that way with me.

"I can do you a favor" I say. "That's all. And that's it. Then you get out of my life. "

"We make the rules here, love. But we will think about it."

"Can I go now?"

"Yes" Ivan speaks, turning away from the door. "Don't try to turn against us, Aubree. We won't be so merciful this time."

"Good to know - I speak and don't think twice about leaving the bathroom. Before I leave, Damien holds my arm."

"If you want to repeat-"

"No, thank you. I'd rather stick a fork in my eye."

I give everyone a sarcastic smile.

"I wish I could say it was good to see you all again, but really, it wasn't."

"Likewise, Aubree" Ivan speaks up.

I roll my eyes and walk away.