The Betrayal Backfire: Claiming What's Mine

Someone slipped into my bedroom the night I crashed at my best friend's place.

I thrashed wildly, but heavy hands slammed my wrists to the mattress, pinning them above my head. "It's been a month.

Didn't you miss me?" His deep, clear voice was incredibly enticing.

Before I could even drag in a breath, his mouth crashed over mine, dominant and demanding. "Sloane, I'm back." Then, Vanessa's voice drifted from the hallway.

The man crushing me against the mattress froze. His chest heaved against mine. "Who the hell are you?" he rasped.

My whole body trembled. "I'm Sloane." "Fuck." He cursed, quickly tearing his body away from mine. Chapter 1 The footsteps in the hallway abruptly died.

A second later, Vanessa's retreating footsteps echoed, followed by the heavy click of a door shutting. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Once I was sure she was gone, my shaking fingers fumbled for the bedside lamp. Light flooded the room. Hayes's sharp, handsome face appeared in the sudden glare.

Vanessa's boyfriend. She told me he was out of state on a business trip. That he wouldn't be back anytime soon. Yet here he was. My pulse hammered in my throat.

My clothes were a tangled mess, my skin flushed hot and pink. I yanked the comforter up to my chin, backing myself into the headboard. Hayes caught my sheer panic.

A hint of frustration flashed across his face. "I'm sorry. You were in Vanessa's bed. Wearing her shirt. I thought… I thought you were her." My brain shortcircuited.

My vocal cords felt paralyzed.

I forced myself to swallow the dry lump in my throat. "I—I know," I managed to whisper. "It's just a mistake." Hayes and Vanessa had been together for almost a year.

He was notoriously closed off. Unapproachable. Whenever the three of us grabbed dinner, Hayes barely strung three words together in my direction.

If I hadn't crashed at Vanessa's apartment tonight, this whole misunderstanding would never have happened. "Thank you." The rigid tension bleeding out of Hayes's shoulders was palpable.

He spun on his heel, his hand wrapping around the doorknob. "I'm heading downstairs. I'll text her that Wayne, the security guard, gave me a hard time at the gate.

If I don't show up downstairs in two minutes, she's going to get suspicious." Moments later, the bedroom door cracked open again.

It was just Vanessa. "Sloane, were you already asleep?" "Yeah," I lied, my voice slightly unsteady. "I was exhausted so I crashed early. Did you call my name earlier?" "I did.

But Hayes showed up out of nowhere, so I ran downstairs to see him." Hearing his name sent a weird, electric jolt straight down my spine.

I shifted uncomfortably against the pillows. "Why didn't he come up?" "He knew you were crashing here.

He figured a guy walking in this late would just make things weird for you, so he took off." I let out a slow exhale, the lingering panic in my chest finally settling.

But hours later, with Vanessa fast asleep in the next room, I stared at the dark ceiling. I tossed and turned, completely wired.

My mind kept shortcircuiting, involuntarily flashing back to Hayes. The scorching heat of his breath skating down my neck. His rough, calloused palms branding my waist.

The solid, heavy weight of his chest crushing against mine. The harder I tried to block it out, the more the memory spread like a virus. It hijacked every nerve ending in my body.

Vanessa always complained about Hayes. She claimed he was detached. That he was totally vanilla and cold in bed. But the man in the dark tonight wasn't cold.

He was a starving wolf, ready to devour me whole. The next evening, Vanessa insisted on a double date to make up for my abrupt departure. We ended up at a highend restaurant.

The waiter took our menus, and Vanessa immediately stood up to find the restroom. That left just the two of us in the private dining booth.

Hayes and I barely interacted on a good day. He was closed off, and I was naturally quiet. But after the incident last night, the silence in the booth felt incredibly awkward.

I desperately needed something to do with my hands. I reached across the table for the glass water pitcher. At the exact same second, Hayes reached for it, too.

His cool fingertips brushed directly over my knuckles. A raw, electric shock snapped through my veins. I yanked my hand back like I'd been burned. Hayes froze.

A faint red flushed the tips of his ears. He didn't pull away.

After a moment, he simply picked up the pitcher and filled my glass. "Are you still freaked out about last night?" He pushed the condensationcovered glass across the table toward me.

Chapter 2 My gaze locked onto his long, striking fingers. The pronounced knuckles resting against the icy condensation of the pitcher.

Heat rushed to my face. "I—I don't mind." I forced the words past the tight knot in my throat, dropping my eyes to the table. "It was just a colossal mixup.

We both know that." I wrapped my hands around the glass, trying to mask the chaos inside my chest. But my mind instantly snapped back to the suffocating darkness of last night.

To those exact, dominant hands. His scorching palms dragging down the curve of my waist. Every inch leaving a burning, tingling sensation beneath my skin.

My dating history was practically nonexistent. A pathetic threemonth stint back in college that barely graduated past awkward making out.

I had absolutely zero experience with this kind of raw, overwhelming proximity.

What Hayes did to me in that bed… it was a first. "Don't worry about it," I choked out, gripping the chilled glass tighter. "I'm wiping the slate clean. It was an accident.

I'd never breathe a word of this to Vanessa." Vanessa was my rideordie. The mere thought of crossing that line with her boyfriend made me sick. Hayes hadn't actually hurt me.

Letting this go was the best thing for everyone. "Thank you." The rough gravel of his voice scraped against my shattered nerves.

Vanessa slid back into the booth a split second later. Our conversation abruptly ended. Right as the waiter cleared our plates, Vanessa's phone buzzed.

A massive fire over at her marketing agency. She grabbed her purse, frantically asking Hayes to drop me off before she rushed out the door. He gave a sharp, definitive nod.

With Hayes back in town, crashing at Vanessa's place was officially off the table. I didn't want to overstay my welcome and be an awkward burden in their apartment.

My crappy rental sat deep inside a sketchy, aging complex. Cars couldn't navigate the narrow alleys, and the streetlights had blown out months ago.

Hayes insisted on walking me straight to my building out of politeness.

As we hit the main gate, Wayne, the nightshift security guard, stepped out of his booth. "Look at this!" Wayne beamed, his eyes darting between us. "Boyfriend dropping you off tonight?

Hell of a catch, Sloane. Good for you!" A deep flush burned across my face. I waved my hands frantically, desperate to shut this down. "Wayne, no! You've got it completely twisted.

He's not my boyfriend!" "Oh, come on, don't play coy with me." Wayne chuckled, leaning against the turnstile. "A guy looking like that?

You should be showing him off." I risked a panicked glance at Hayes. He stood rigid, his jaw locked hard enough to crack a tooth. "He dates my best friend, Wayne.

He's just making sure I didn't get mugged." The teasing grin instantly melted off the security guard's face. He cleared his throat, suddenly shifting his weight.

He mumbled a quick apology and ducked back inside his booth. "So… thanks for the escort. I'll head inside now. You should head back." A sharp nod. A single grunt of acknowledgement.

The heavy deadbolt slammed shut behind me. All the adrenaline ripped right out of my spine.

I collapsed sideways onto the wornout cushions of my couch, staring blindly at the ceiling. Wayne was giving me way too much credit.

A plain, invisible wallflower landing a guy like Hayes? That was absolute fiction. He stood sixfoottwo. Built like a brick wall of pure muscle.

Broad, intimidating shoulders tapering down to a ridiculous Vline. A face sculpted with sharp, ruthless angles that would make Hollywood Alisters pack up and quit.

Guys with looks that aggressive naturally intimidated me. They were a walking obsession waiting to happen.

Way too intense, way too dominant for someone perfectly comfortable blending into the wallpaper. But Vanessa was built for a guy exactly like that.

She was gorgeous, unapologetic, the center of attention in any room. They looked like they'd just stepped out of a highend magazine shoot.

An absolute power couple in every possible way. At 8:00 AM sharp the next morning, I dropped my bag onto my cubicle chair.

A perfectly chilled iced oat milk latte and a warm breakfast sandwich sat dead center on my desk.

A small yellow sticky note was slapped onto the lid. "Don't skip breakfast today." This wasn't the first time. I didn't even have to guess who was playing secret admirer.

Chapter 3 It was Logan. A senior account manager from the department next door. We'd swapped numbers after collaborating on a project last month. He'd been pursuing me for a while.

From morning lattes to afternoon pastries, he never missed a beat. "Breakfast delivery.

Must be nice." Vanessa materialized behind my chair, lightly tapping my shoulder. "Logan again?" I gave a small nod. "He's dedicated, I'll give him that.

Hayes would never pull a stunt this romantic." Vanessa casually tossed her hair over her shoulder and drifted toward her own desk.

I unlocked my phone and shot Logan a quick text. "Thanks for the breakfast.

I'll make sure to eat it all." Three dots immediately popped up on his end. "Then I'll just have to bring you one every day." During our lunch break, I leaned over the breakroom table. "What's your honest read on Logan?" Vanessa and I had only been at the agency for a year.

Logan was a couple of years older than us, a seasoned regular in the office. "He's a catch.

You should absolutely test the waters." "You really think he's a solid guy?" "I mean, he's no Hayes. But he's objectively hot in a cleancut kind of way.

Plus, he pulls his weight around the office." "He is sweet," I admitted, peeling the label off my water bottle. "And he definitely makes his intentions clear." "Then go for it.

If you guys lock it down, we can totally do the whole doubledate thing." Our department hosted a happy hour at a downtown karaoke lounge that night. Logan actually showed up.

My heart did a tiny, stupid flip. He was definitely here for me. He grabbed the mic for a slow, acoustic track. His eyes stayed locked onto mine the entire time.

Vanessa nudged my ribs, leaning in to whisper about how incredibly sweet it was. I felt a bit embarrassed. I just kept my eyes glued to my glass, taking nervous sips of water.

The group launched into a drinking game, the energy electric and loud. I needed a quick breather from the heavy atmosphere, so I slipped out to find the restroom.

As I walked back down the dim hallway, I caught two familiar silhouettes slipping out of the VIP room. Vanessa and Logan. They headed straight for the dead end of the corridor.

It struck me as odd. They had barely exchanged two words all night, yet they walked out together looking incredibly familiar with each other. I trailed them.

The heavy fire exit door was propped open. I froze just behind the sharp corner of the stairwell. They were completely blind to my presence.

But I had a clear view of exactly what they were doing.

Vanessa traced a manicured finger down Logan's chest, a wicked smirk playing on her lips. "Sloane plays the innocent, goodgirl act flawlessly.

She's total girlfriend material." Logan stared down at her, a dark, hungry obsession burning in his eyes. "Please." Vanessa scoffed, her tone dripping with mock and disdain. "She's painfully vanilla.

Absolutely no personality. Wouldn't dating her bore you to tears?" My spine stiffened. All the air vanished from my lungs. "She's an easy target, I'll give you that.

Zero dating history. You throw her a few breadcrumbs of attention, and she practically falls at your feet." I stood paralyzed on the ugly carpet.

A sickening, icy dread washed over me. My ears started to ring. "You know I only want you," Logan rasped, caging her against the wall. "But you're taken.

I had to settle for the runnerup." "A boyfriend is supposed to stop you?" "I do love my boyfriend.

I really do," Vanessa whispered, tilting her chin up. "But carving out a little time and energy for you?

That's definitely on the table." "Because…" "Because you bring something to the table that Hayes completely lacks." Logan stepped closer, his chest grazing hers. "And what's that?" Vanessa hooked her fingers into his collar. "You actually know how to use your mouth." She dragged her thumb over his lower lip. "Hayes is gorgeous.

But behind closed doors? He's pure ice. Totally detached." That was all the green light he needed. Logan crashed his mouth over hers.

They devoured each other, making out like they couldn't get close enough. Chapter 4 I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this the Vanessa I knew?

She had practically shoved me toward Logan earlier that night. Yet here she was, devouring him in a dirty stairwell while treating me like the punchline of a sick joke.

When did this even start? I refused to believe that my best friend of over a decade could be this kind of person.

I was just about to storm over and confront them when someone suddenly grabbed my wrist. I whipped around. Hayes. His jaw was locked tight, his face clouded with a dark scowl.

All the air instantly left my lungs. How long had he been standing there? Did he hear everything? "Hayes, you—" He didn't let me finish.

He dragged me backward into an empty supply closet. The door shut, leaving us in the dim room. He backed me hard against the wall, his massive frame caging me in.

Heat radiated off his solid chest. "Vanessa says I'm pure ice." His voice was a harsh, scraped whisper in the dark. "Says my mouth is useless. Do you agree?" My eyes stretched wide.

My heart violently hammered against my ribs. "Why… why would you ask me that?" He stepped entirely into my space.

The sharp, ruthless angle of his jaw hovered mere inches from mine. "Because you felt me the other night, didn't you?" My vocal cords paralyzed.

A second later, his expression shifted to one of profound sadness. Up this close, I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

Vanessa mentioned his marketing role required entertaining clients.

He was probably stuck at this same lounge on a corporate tab, only to walk blindly into his girlfriend's betrayal. "I honestly never thought she'd cross that line." The gravel in his voice cracked.

It sounded completely hollowed out. I swallowed hard, unable to offer a single word of comfort. Vanessa didn't just stab him in the back. She gutted me, too. My rideordie.

Hooking up with the guy actively chasing me, and tearing my worth to pieces behind my back. "My parents divorced when I was a kid." He leaned his weight onto his forearm beside my head. "Martin barely bothered to drop me off at school.

The one time he did, he ended up sleeping with Susan, my classmate's mom." He let out a dark, broken scoff. "Was that my fault, too?" The untouchable, arrogant armor he always wore shattered.

A raw, damp sheen gleamed in his pitchblack eyes. My heart twinged. A faint, undeniable ache. "Did I push her into his arms?

Is it because I'm too cold?" His stare locked directly onto mine. The raw, questioning heat in his stare felt like it could set me on fire.

The dark memory of his heavy weight crushing me into that mattress tore through my mind. My throat went bonedry. Every nerve ending misfired.

My erratic breathing, the frantic pounding in my ears—none of it belonged to me anymore. Hayes let his heavy head drop. His hot breath brushed against my shoulder.

Panic hijacked my brain. I shoved both hands against his solid chest, breaking his hold. "You're drunk. You need to snap out of it!" I didn't wait for a response.

I ripped the door open and bolted down the hall. This entire night was spiraling completely out of control.

By the time I forced myself back into the private karaoke room, Vanessa and Logan were already in their seats.

Vanessa instantly latched onto my arm, her touch making my skin crawl. "Where did you disappear to?

Logan's been looking everywhere for you." "Just the restroom," I lied, my voice painfully stiff. My nerves were completely fried.

Staring at the flawless, sickeningly sweet mask glued to Vanessa's face, I yanked my arm out of her grip. "Come on, you two need to do a duet!

He's been waiting." She aggressively pointed at Logan. Logan clutched the microphone, playing the perfect, bashful suitor. He gave me this manufactured, expectant look.

I was honestly shocked by how well they were both acting.

I didn't have it in me to play along. "I feel sick," I stated flatly, grabbing my purse. "I'm heading out." The next day at the office, Vanessa pulled me into an empty meeting room, sobbing hysterically.

She told me she and Hayes were taking a break because he was too emotionally unavailable. Chapter 5 I pressed her for a reason.

She stumbled over her words, feeding me some cheap lie about petty arguments and clashing personalities. I knew exactly why she broke down crying.

But watching her completely fall apart, the harsh truth died in my throat. Logan acted like just another guy chasing me.

Sure, I'd entertained a tiny spark of interest, but that meant nothing now. Now that I knew he wasn't genuinely interested, ignoring him was easy. But Vanessa.

She stood as my only real friend. My rideordie since middle school. Over a decade of history locked between us.

Growing up quiet and dead broke, I was an easy target for the mean girls. Vanessa always stepped in front of me. She went to bat for me when no one else bothered.

Back when everyone cared about labels, I lived in faded tshirts and wornout denim.

Vanessa would just shove brandnew, tagsstillon dresses into my locker without a second thought.

She threw a lifeline to me when we were kids, and she kept doing it all the way into our twenties. I remembered every single time.

I would never forgive Logan, but I selectively forgave Vanessa. Vanessa choked back a sob, wrapping her arms around my neck in a suffocating grip. "Sloane, thank God I have you.

You're the best." After that night, Logan's obsession completely skyrocketed.

On top of the daily iced lattes, he constantly found excuses to send me flowers and gifts, and offered to drive me home under the guise of it being on his way.

But I only felt disgusted. I rejected his movie invites three times in a row. He finally showed his true colors.

I walked to my car after a late shift when heavy footsteps closed the distance behind me.

A hand viciously clamped down on my wrist, yanking me backward. "What the hell is your problem, Sloane?" Logan spat, his grip bruising my skin. "You ate my food. You took my gifts.

You flirted with me in my texts for weeks. And now you suddenly freeze me out?

Are you just messing with me?" "Let go of me." I twisted my arm, pure adrenaline spiking through my veins. "I'll Venmo you for every single coffee," I shot back, my voice shaking. "Just leave me alone." "You don't get to just snap your fingers and end this!" He yanked me closer. "You think I'm just some pathetic simp you can toss in the trash?" "Back off.

I never forced you to buy me anything." I ripped my arm free and spun around to escape. Logan lunged. His fist caught the heavy strap of my tote bag.

The sudden jerk threw me off balance. I fell hard onto the ground. Logan reached down to grab my shoulders. A solid fist flew out of nowhere, colliding directly with his jaw.

The sickening crack echoed across the empty lot. Logan crashed onto the pavement. "Stay the fuck away from her." Logan scrambled backward, completely disoriented.

He didn't even look back as he practically sprinted toward the street. "Sloane. Are you hurt?" Hayes crouched beside me.

His large, calloused hands gripped my forearms, hauling me up from the concrete. "I'm fine.

I just lost my footing." I waved him off, my pulse still hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Then the freezing night air hit my bare skin.

During the struggle, Logan had torn the collar of my silk blouse. The fabric hung completely open, exposing my chest and shoulders. Hayes's jaw clenched.

He instantly shucked off his heavy leather jacket and shoved it into my hands. "Put it on." I looked down and realized my wardrobe malfunction.

I scrambled to pull the oversized leather tightly around my shoulders. "Thanks." But Hayes didn't step back. His dark gaze dragged down my throat, locking onto my exposed skin.

The atmosphere between us instantly thickened to a suffocating heat. My breath hitched. My heart violently slammed against my sternum. He didn't just stare at my chest.

His eyes locked completely onto my collarbone. Right where a faded, pink birthmark shaped like a butterfly rested against my skin. I'd had it since the day I was born.

I heard the sudden, sharp intake of his breath. Surprise flashed in his dark eyes, quickly followed by hesitation. Why the hell did he stare at it like that?

Did it remind him of the jagged scar marring Vanessa's skin in that exact same spot? Chapter 6 I quickly pulled the heavy leather collar together, hiding my exposed skin.

Hayes snapped out of his trance. A deep, dark flush crawled straight up his neck. "I'm sorry," he rasped, his voice rough.

He cleared his throat, the lethal tension rolling off his shoulders. "I'll drive you home." I gave a numb nod and slid into his passenger seat.

The chaos of that night left me completely drained, but the relentless pressure of my job forced me to bury my trauma as the days blurred together.

For the next few weeks, Vanessa was borderline obsessive about winning Hayes back.

She blew up his phone, constantly ambushed him at his apartment, and even showed up at my door in the middle of the night, dead drunk and sobbing uncontrollably.

I honestly believed she was still deeply in love with him. That her hookup with Logan was just a moment of madness to gain a sense of superiority.

At our endofmonth review, Erica handed Vanessa the biggest corporate account of the quarter. But Vanessa immediately claimed she didn't have the bandwidth.

She practically dragged me onto the pitch team. "This account is a goldmine," Vanessa told me, looping her arm through mine. "We nail this, and we're both locking in promotions by Q4.

We're best friends, Sloane. I'm taking you to the top with me." A naive wave of gratitude washed over me. I let myself believe the facade.

They booked a spacious private dining room. The pitch went smoothly, but the executives across the table relentlessly pushed drinks on us. Vanessa knew I couldn't handle liquor.

She flawlessly played the shield, intercepting every shot aimed in my direction.

After she downed her fifth tequila, my guilt spiked. "I'll take this one." I reached across the table, snatching the heavy glass right out of her hand.

I threw it back, the cheap burn scorching my throat. "Sloane doesn't hold back. I like that." Warren leaned back in his leather chair.

He was a fortysomething VP who gave me a satisfied smile. He specifically poured another round, sliding the glass directly in front of me. I forced it down.

Within seconds, the entire room tilted sharply. The floor dropped out from under me. My vision dissolved into total blackness.

I tried to claw my way up, but my muscles were paralyzed. Lead weighed down my bones. Hushed voices drifted from the leather sofa across the suite.

Vanessa and Warren. "I thought you two were inseparable," Warren chuckled, ice clinking in his glass. "Pretty coldblooded, serving your rideordie up to me on a silver platter." I froze, a chill running down my spine. "Rideordie?

Please." Vanessa scoffed, her voice dripping with absolute venom. "She plays the sweet, innocent victim flawlessly.

But she's actively trying to steal my boyfriend behind my back." "She's way out of her league playing these games with me.

She's only good for getting used and tossed aside." Every single word gutted me. "If someone hadn't sent me a photo of her wearing his jacket, getting into his car… I'd still be completely blind." My blood ran freezing cold.

The night Logan attacked me. The jacket. "She looks pure.

You really can't tell." Warren let out a dark, sickening laugh. "Just make sure you sign the contract by Monday, Warren," Vanessa replied, entirely unfazed. "Consider it done." Heavy footsteps approached the bed.

Vanessa stared down at me. "You were born to be my shadow, Sloane. Don't ever delude yourself into thinking you can touch my man." The heavy suite door clicked shut.

Vanessa was gone. The bathroom door clicked shut, and the shower hissed on. Warren was getting ready. Chapter 7