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  “Wait!” she gasped. “I’m about to collapse. My lungs are burning!”

  Hayley laughed and kept on going for a minute before finally coming to a halt.

  “Come on, Cerie! It’s not that bad.”

  “I really don’t feel well,” Cerie replied as sweat dripped over brows.

  “Fine, we’ll walk the rest of the way. I don’t know why you insisted on coming with me when you knew we’d be running,” Hayley teased, playfully swatting her on the arm.

  They trudged through the forest, and soon came to a familiar clearing where the wrought iron gates to someone’s large property stood on one side. Cerie groaned and stopped, leaning against the gate as she tried to catch her breath. The gate restricted entrance to a long, hedge-lined driveway, and in the distance, a large white mansion was visible.

  “Let’s stop for a sec. God, I am so unfit. I don’t know how you do it, Hayley,” she gasped.

  “You aren’t that bad. We jogged for a full twenty minutes. I bet your average person couldn’t do that. Don’t feel bad, I was just teasing you before,” Hayley replied with a grin.

  The two sisters had the same parents, but were polar opposites in every way. While Cerie was petite, blonde and curvaceous, Hayley was tall, skinny and dark-haired. Cerie had always been slightly envious of Hayley’s metabolism; she could eat whatever she wanted and not gain a single pound, and she always seemed to be bursting with energy.

  Cerie, on the other hand, could probably starve herself for a week and still not lose anything from her size twelve figure. She didn’t mind all that much, though. She liked her soft, round curves and full cleavage, and especially liked the admiring glances that she got from men whenever she walked down the street.

  “Who do you think lives here, anyway?” she said, turning and looking through the gates that she had been leaning on. “They must be a pretty big weirdo, building such a big mansion out here in the middle of a forest. I’d be surprised if cars can even make it up this dirt road.”

  “You know, you’ve asked me that about three times now,” Hayley said, giggling. “You are so forgetful.”

  “Have I? Huh, I don’t remember.”

  “Sebastian Winters, remember?”

  “Nope.”

  “He’s that really weird billionaire guy. He did some stuff a few years ago with the stock market and now owns basically everything in the entire city. Ringing any bells?”

  “Not really. How do you know?”

  “Someone at work told me. Apparently he is notoriously reclusive, and hardly ever leaves the property,” Hayley replied.

  “So you think he’s home right now?” Cerie asked, squinting at the mansion. She couldn’t see anyone, but something deep inside her told her that they were being watched.

  “Probably. Speaking of work, how are you and Tom going lately?”

  “I’ll tell you as we walk. Let’s get out of here,” Cerie said, heading back onto the dirt track and glancing nervously back over her shoulder at the iron gates.

  Tom was her boyfriend of two years. They had met back in college, and he had hired her to work for his software development company as soon as she had graduated. One night, they had been out for drinks and he had kissed her. One thing led to another, and two years later they were still working together and together in general. To Cerie, it was the best feeling in the world – getting to wake up every day and go to work with her boyfriend.

  “So… you and Tom?” Hayley asked.

  “Oh. Well, guess what? He’s taking me to Sydney’s tonight.”

  “Oooh, Sydney’s? That’s the nicest restaurant in the whole city! Do you think he’s planning something?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like maybe… popping the question?”

  Cerie giggled. It had actually occurred to her that he might be proposing to her tonight. Why else would he be taking her to such a nice dinner? He had never been one for fancy restaurants and romantic gestures, so this was a pretty big deal.

  She had never been sure about getting married to him when she had considered it in the past. She had always had some notion in the back of her mind that she was meant to wait for someone else, someone incredible and exciting, and that marrying anyone else would be settling for less. As she had gotten older, however, she had realized that those thoughts were silly. Marrying Tom wouldn’t be ‘settling’. I should say yes if he does propose.

  “Yeah, I think he might be,” she replied.

  “Well, that’s pretty exciting, I guess,” Hayley said, her voice trailing off slightly.

  She had never warmed to Tom, and Cerie had no idea why. Whenever she asked, Hayley had claimed that she had no problem with him, and even said that she liked him. But there was always something in her eyes that told Cerie she was lying; after all, they were sisters. Cerie could tell these things. It wasn’t a big deal, though… not everyone had to get along. As long as they were polite to each other, it didn’t matter, and besides, if there was a real problem, Hayley would have told her.

  They finally reached the edge of the forest, and started jogging again.

  “Back to civilization!” Hayley joked when they reached the main road that led to their house.

  Once they were home, Cerie kicked off her shoes and relaxed on the sofa with her laptop. She had a few episodes of her favorite TV show to catch up on, but that could wait. Determined to stop being so forgetful, she Googled Sebastian Winters. This way, I will actually remember and stop asking Hayley the same question over and over.

  Hayley was right. He was reclusive. There was barely any information on him, other than a few articles from several years ago when he had first started to become wealthy from playing around with the stock market. She clicked on one of the links, and was surprised to see that a photo was included on the page. According to the caption on the image, it was apparently a photo of a rare public appearance that he had made a few years ago to celebrate his acquisition of yet another major company.

  Wow, he is sexy, she thought, before feeling guilty. I shouldn’t be thinking things like that about other men. What would Tom think if he knew? Sebastian Winters was definitely very attractive, though. In the photo, she could see that he was quite tall and well-built, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. The photo was too small for her to know what color eyes he had, but she could tell that he had thick, dark hair. She felt a twinge in her core, as if something was drawing her to this man even through a photo, and she quickly exited the page, feeling guilty again.

  After closing the web browser, she watched a few episodes of her favorite show, and then headed into the bathroom to get ready for tonight’s big date. She took a long hot shower, treating her hair with her favorite deep conditioner, and when she was done, she dried and slathered her entire body in a vanilla-scented body lotion. Before getting dressed, she blow-dried her hair and did her makeup, and then finally, she was ready to select her outfit for the night.

  Seeing as it was shaping up to be a special occasion, Cerie decided on an equally-special outfit – a brand-new and very expensive white torsolette with matching panties that she hadn’t gotten around to wearing yet, and a snug white dress over the top. Tom will go crazy when I show him what I’m wearing underneath. They had been so busy lately that they hadn’t had sex in ages, but Tom was bound to love it.

  A car horn beeped outside, and she knew that Tom had arrived to pick her up. She excitedly dashed downstairs, saying goodbye to Hayley on her way out.

  “Have fun!” Hayley called after her. “By the way, I’m going out drinking with Mitch and Amy soon, so I won’t be home until tomorrow.”

  “Okay. See you tomorrow!” she replied before dashing outside.

  Tom gave her a tight smile as she climbed into the passenger seat.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  He was silent the whole way to the restaurant, and she assumed it was because he was so nervous. Oh my god, I’m about to get engaged. This is pretty ex
citing!

  The food at the restaurant was amazing, and after quite some time had passed, Cerie wondered when he was going to get around to asking the question. They had just finished their main courses, and she was getting worried that she may have misinterpreted his reason for taking her there.

  “Are we getting desert? I think the crème brulee sounds nice,” she said.

  “Hmm. I don’t think you should get the crème brulee,” Tom replied.

  Because he’s put the ring in a soufflé or something else?

  “Why shouldn’t I get that particular dessert?” she asked, a little smile creeping across her face.

  Tom sighed.

  “I just don’t think you need any dessert at all. When are you going to start taking care of yourself?” he replied.

  Cerie was stunned. She felt as if she had just been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.

  “What? What are you saying?” she asked.

  “I’m saying that I’m tired of your laziness when it comes to your diet. I actually care about my health, Cerie. I go to the gym every day for two hours, as you know, and I almost always eat right. You, on the other hand, have gained at least fifteen pounds in the time that I’ve known you, and you seem to be happy to stuff your face with anything. Why do you think we haven’t had sex in so long? I don’t want to look at you.”

  Cerie couldn’t believe her ears. How could the man that she had been in love with for two years be speaking to her in such a cruel way?

  “Excuse me? I get regular check-ups, and my doctor says that I am very healthy. A size twelve is not fat!” she said angrily.

  “It is when you’re five foot three,” he argued.

  “No, it’s not. If you think I’m so disgusting and fat, then why did you bring me here tonight?” she asked, her eyes blazing. How dare he treat me this way? After two years together… this is what I get?

  “Because I knew you’d make a scene otherwise. It’s not like you’re going to start screaming and yelling in a five-star restaurant.”

  “Wow. Just… wow. I can’t believe that after this long, you would do this to me,” she said, tears finally springing to her eyes as sadness overtook her anger.

  Tom took her hand.

  “I’m sorry, Cerie. I just prefer a different… aesthetic nowadays. Like this girl at my gym; she is so fit and light that I can pick her up really easily, and…”

  His voice trailed off as he realized that he had just admitted to touching another woman.

  “You’ve been cheating on me with some girl from the gym?”

  “Shit… I didn’t mean to tell you that. Look, why don’t we get out of here before you go all crazy and throw a tantrum?” he said.

  His new attitude towards her was still sinking in, and Cerie sat back in her chair, numb, as he paid the bill. He didn’t just find her unattractive, he’d been cheating on her for god knows how long, and to top it all off, he was now accusing her of being irrationally emotional enough to throw a tantrum in a public place.

  Once they were out of the restaurant, she silently climbed into his car and ignored him as he began the long drive back to her house. After what felt like an eternity, something suddenly occurred to her.

  “What about my job?”

  Tom turned his head and glanced at her for a second before concentrating on the road again.

  “Well… I wasn’t going to tell you this until Monday, because I thought it might all be too much to take in in one night. But… I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to work together anymore, either. You understand, right? Because of our romantic history.”

  Tears started to flow down Cerie’s cheeks as he spoke.

  “I’ll give you a great reference, though,” he said, and that was the final straw for her.

  “Stop the car. Let me out. I can’t be around you anymore,” she said, trying to choke back more tears.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a cold, dark night out there. I’ll take you all the way home.”

  “No! Stop!” she cried, and he finally did.

  “Alright, fine. If that’s how you want to act, then have fun walking home in the dark,” he said, glaring at her as she grabbed her handbag and wrenched the passenger door open.

  He sped off, and for once Cerie was grateful that she had worn ballet flats. Normally she regretted not wearing heels whenever she went out, because everyone else towered over her so much, but she was glad that she hadn’t worn heels tonight of all nights.

  Looking around, she realized that she was on the other side of the forest that she and her sister went for walks in, and judging by where she was, the dirt track that they usually took was not far ahead.

  Before she went down the path, she decided to see if Hayley could come and pick her up. She answered her phone on the third ring.

  “Hey! Did he ask you?”

  “No. He said I was fat, dumped me, and then fired me,” Cerie tearfully replied.

  “What? Are you serious? Please tell me you’re kidding, Cerie!”

  “I’m not.”

  “I’m going to hunt him down and kill him. I never told you this, but I always got a weird sort of vibe off that guy,” Hayley said.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “What was I meant to say? I have a silly feeling about someone, so even though I have nothing to back it up, you should dump him? Anyway, are you at home?”

  “No. I was wondering if you could pick me up.”

  “Oh, crap. We’ve all been drinking a lot, so we can’t drive. How about I get a cab, and I’ll come pick you up from wherever you are in that? God, I can’t believe this happened.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m not that far from home. I think I need to be alone right now anyway. You have fun with Mitch and Amy, okay?” Cerie said.

  “Alright. I’m so sorry that this happened, Cerie. If you decide you don’t want to be alone anymore, just call me and I’ll come straight home.”

  “I will,” Cerie said before saying goodbye and ending the call.

  I guess the walk through the forest will do me good, seeing as I’m apparently so chubby and undesirable, she thought miserably. She still couldn’t understand how after so long, Tom could have been so nasty. It’s not like I was a stick figure when we met; I’ve always been pretty curvy. And I was happy with my body! Now he’s probably ruined that forever.

  As she trudged down the forest path, she shivered. It was cold out tonight, and she was beginning to regret leaving the warmth of Tom’s car, despite how much she hated him right now. The reality of her situation was sinking in, and she sobbed as she walked, tasting the salty tears as they streamed all the way down her cheeks and over her lips and chin.

  Lights were becoming visible between the thick trees in the distance, and she realized that she was getting close to the strange billionaire’s mansion. Oh good, that means I’m not that far from home, then. Only another fifteen minutes of walking.

  A sudden noise from behind startled her. She froze for a moment, and then turned her head over her shoulder. She had been so upset over the breakup that it hadn’t even occurred to her that wandering through a forest at night was probably a really dumb idea. As her teary eyes struggled to see anything in the darkness, she saw something emerging from the distance and getting closer. Oh crap. A wolf.

  Cerie had always thought that this part of the country didn’t have wolves, but there was no mistaking that that was what this creature was. It was large and grey, with amber eyes that seemed to glow, even in the darkness. As it slowly approached her, her fight-or-flight responses finally kicked in, and she turned and made a run for it, adrenalin coursing through her veins as her heart raced like crazy.

  Seconds later, she tripped over an exposed tree root and went flying to the ground, landing uncomfortably on her side. As she rolled onto her back, winded, she could hear the wolf’s breathing steadily getting closer and closer. Still trying to catch her breath, she sat up and saw that the wolf was now only yards away. It
began to sprint towards her, and she lay back down and closed her eyes. This is it. This is the night that I die. As if this night could possibly have gone any worse.

  She felt the wolf land on top of her with one paw on either side, and waited for the pain. She didn’t even bother to struggle; it was enormous, so what was the point? After a few seconds, she realized that it wasn’t attacking her at all. It was licking her cheeks, lapping up all her tears.

  Opening her eyes, she saw the wolf’s glowing yellow eyes as it continued to clean her face, and seconds later, it jumped off her and sat on its haunches nearby. Maybe it isn’t a wolf after all. Maybe it’s just someone’s dog that got loose, and just looks exactly like a wolf. Half-sitting up on her elbows, she addressed the animal.

  “You really scared me, boy. I thought you were going to attack me. Whose pet are you? Do you have a collar?”

  The wolf’s eyes seemed to flare with anger, and it dashed towards her again, pinning her to the ground. Cerie closed her eyes, and was surprised to hear a man’s voice hissing in her ear only seconds later.

  “I’m no one’s pet,” the voice spat.

  Her eyes flew open in shock, and the wolf was no longer in sight. She was being pinned down by a very strong and very familiar-looking man.

  “What… what happened?” she asked. “I thought… there was a wolf or a dog here.”

  “There was. It was me,” the man growled.

  He leaned back down and moved his mouth to her neck, his breath providing Cerie with some much-needed warmth.

  “And now… you’re coming with me.”

  What? His words sent a chill down her spine, and she wondered what on earth was happening. This is all a dream, it has to be. I’ll just close my eyes, and soon, I’ll wake up in my bed.

  As she closed her eyes again, she felt herself being scooped up in the man’s arms and then hoisted over his shoulder. Okay, I’m not waking up… maybe this isn’t a dream.