I was the sole heir to the country’s largest fortune, the undisputed golden boy of Manhattan’s elite. When my childhood friend, Naomi, returned to the States, I threw a lavish welcome-home gala in her honor. But her boyfriend, Brody, didn’t see it as a friendly gesture. Without warning, he backhanded me across the face, then dumped an entire glass of scotch over my head. “I know your type,” he spat, pointing a finger at my dripping face. “The ‘best friend.’ You’re nothing but a pathetic dog in heat, waiting for her to slip up.” Naomi grabbed his arm, but instead of apologizing, she just waved me off. “He’s got a bit of a temper, Wyatt. Just let it go.” Out of respect for our shared childhood, I swallowed my pride. I let it go. But Brody didn’t stop. At a private villa party, he tore my clothes off, started a live stream, and branded me a home-wrecking parasite. Then he turned to Naomi, screaming, “He came the second you called! You still want to tell me you guys are just friends?” “If you want me to believe you, slap him ten times right now. Do it, and I’ll do whatever you want!” The other trust-fund kids in the room froze, terrified to intervene. But Naomi just laughed it off, draping an arm around my shoulder. “Wyatt, do me a favor and play along, okay? I’ll make him apologize to you later.” I let out a cold, bitter laugh. It was time to pull the plug on the Lennon family empire. … The sting of Brody’s hand against my cheek echoed through the VIP lounge. “A guy hanging around a crowd of women? You’re just waiting for a chance to slide into Naomi’s bed.” He sneered, pointing a finger directly at my face. “Take a look in the mirror, pretty boy. You think she’d ever actually want you?” Instantly, the private room fell dead silent. Several heirs of New York’s most prominent families stared in absolute horror, holding their breath. I almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of it. Since the day I was born, I’d been at the absolute top of the social food chain. I had never, not once, suffered an insult, let alone a physical blow. And now, some nobody had just slapped me—in my own venue. Suppressing the white-hot rage simmering under my skin, I stared him dead in the eye. “What makes you think I would ever be interested in Naomi?” “Brody!” Naomi hissed, tugging at his sleeve. “What are you talking about? He’s my best friend.” “Oh, please!” Brody turned on her, his eyes wild and bloodshot. “What kind of ‘best friend’ sends holiday texts every single year? Who spends millions throwing a welcome-home gala for you? I know guys like him. They act like brothers, but they’re just waiting to crawl into your bed. He’s a dog in heat.” “Apologize,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Apologize to my ass,” Brody sneered. He grabbed a glass of scotch off the table and dumped it directly over my head. Only then did Naomi snap. “Enough! You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends!” Then, she turned to me with a dismissive wave. “He’s just hot-headed, Wyatt. Do me a favor and let it slide.” Naomi and I had met when we were six. By seven, her family had moved her abroad. But her grandfather had been our family’s estate manager for twenty years. He was meticulous, loyal, and had raised me like his own. On his deathbed, his only request was for me to look out for his granddaughter. Naomi’s feelings meant nothing to me. But I owed her grandfather everything. I took a slow, deep breath. Then, I picked up a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and poured it slowly, deliberately, over Naomi’s head. I pointed at Brody. “Keep him out of my sight. Next time, you’ll be the one begging.” Naomi froze, her forced smile tightening, before she dragged a protesting Brody out the door. Before leaving, Brody looked back and rolled his eyes. “Fake.” Once they were gone, the other heirs crowded around me. “Don’t let it get to you, Wyatt. Naomi is just a social climber who doesn’t realize who you actually are in this town,” Logan offered, his voice laced with concern. “Seriously, women who want Wyatt could line up from Central Park to Wall Street. Naomi isn’t fit to tie your shoes.” “Her family’s entire logistics business only survives because of your charity. Talk about ungrateful.” “But her boyfriend is seriously unhinged. What was that freakout even about?” “Nobody loses their mind like that for no reason,” I muttered, turning my gaze to Logan, the most well-connected guy in our circle. “Look into it. Find out exactly what Naomi has been telling him.” Logan’s face shifted. He stepped outside to make a few calls. When he returned, his expression was a mix of disbelief and fury. “Wyatt, Naomi is completely delusional.” “All those holiday texts your grandfather had his assistant send? She told Brody you wrote them yourself. She said you bought her all those luxury gifts. And those investments you threw her family’s way? She’s been telling everyone in New York that you’re desperately in love with her.” “And tonight’s dinner? She told Brody you begged her to come so you could finally propose to her.” He angrily pulled up his phone and showed me a screen. Naomi had just posted a photo on Instagram wearing a provocative corset. The caption read: “Sometimes a man needs a little healthy competition to behave. Looks like someone is finally ready to play some kinky games tonight.” I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. So that was it. She was using me as a pawn to make her boyfriend jealous. My kindness was nothing but a prop in their toxic relationship dynamic. I tossed my phone onto the table and looked at Logan. “Kill every single contract we have with the Lennon family. Put the word out: anyone who does business with them is blacklisted from West Enterprises.” If Naomi didn’t know her place, I was happy to teach her. The next morning, every project Naomi was handling came to a grinding halt. Several companies who had already signed contracts with her preferred to pay massive termination fees rather than risk my wrath. Within a week, the Lennon family’s cash flow dried up entirely. Their stock plummeted, and they were on the brink of bankruptcy. Panic-stricken, Naomi called me dozens of times, begging for a meeting. When I blocked her, she resorted to staking out the West Headquarters day and night, sending luxury gifts worth millions to my office, pleading for mercy. I ignored all of it. Until a week later, when Logan called to invite me to his birthday party at a private rental villa. He insisted I had to show up. But the moment I pushed the villa’s heavy double doors open, I froze. There was no Logan. No party. No familiar faces from our circle. Instead, Brody sat in the center of the living room, arms crossed, surrounded by a dozen of his rough-looking friends. Before I could turn around, a heavy hand shoved me hard from behind. The heavy mahogany doors slammed shut, and the lock clicked into place. The guy who had pushed me walked over to Brody, a smirk on his face. “Brody, this is the ‘best friend’ you were talking about?” “Even if he stripped naked, Naomi wouldn’t look twice at this loser.” “Exactly. How could he compete with what you and Naomi had in Europe? She drove halfway across London just to get you those exclusive pastries you wanted!” Brody smirked, soaking in the praise. When his eyes landed on me, his face twisted into a snarl. He stepped forward and slapped me across the face. “You shameless piece of trash! You couldn’t stop throwing yourself at her, could you?” “Last time I called you a dog, you didn’t learn. What are you doing here today? Creeping around again?” This was the second time he had laid hands on me. My vision went white. I surged forward, delivering a brutal slap right back that knocked him off balance. “Are you insane? Logan invited me here!” “Bullshit!” Brody shrieked, shoving me hard. I lost my footing on the polished marble floor and went down. “Naomi rented this place for our anniversary!” Brody yelled, pointing a trembling finger at me. “She told me everything. She said after the gala, you ruined her family’s business out of spite! She said you’ve been stalking her day and night, and she only tolerated you because of some childhood pity! She even told me to be more understanding!” “Well, I’m not her!” Brody screamed. “Homewrecking trash like you deserves to burn!” I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. Naomi had been begging me on her knees for mercy, yet she told Brody I was the one stalking her? Logan’s birthday invitation was a setup. Fine. If Naomi wanted to play dirty, I was done being civil. I reached into my pocket and dialed Logan’s number. “Logan, get some security over to the lakefront villa right—” Before I could finish, Brody snatched the phone and slammed it onto the marble floor, shattering it to pieces. “Still trying to play the victim and call for help?!” His friends crowded around, sneering. “I know his type. Plays the innocent friend by day, behaves like a cheap whore by night.” “You’re too soft on him, Brody. That’s why he keeps lingering around Naomi.” “Teach him a lesson. Otherwise, guys like him will climb into any bed they can find.” The toxic encouragement fueled Brody’s rage. He lunged forward, striking me across the face again. The blow was so hard my vision blurred, and my head slammed against the floor. “You hear that? I’m doing the world a favor by cleaning up trash like you!” Suddenly, Brody stopped, his eyes locking onto the gold necklace around my neck. He lunged and yanked it off. “What’s this? There’s an ‘L’ engraved on the back. You still want to deny you’re obsessed with Naomi Lennon?!” “Give it back!” I screamed, lunging for his hand. “That belonged to my mother! It has nothing to do with Naomi!” My mother had passed away when I was seven. Before she died, she had spent forty-nine days kneeling at the family temple, coughing up blood in her final days, just to pray for this amulet to keep me safe. It was the only physical connection I had left to her. I would die before I let anyone ruin it. Brody let out a cruel chuckle. “Nice story.” He tossed the delicate gold chain onto the marble floor, looked me dead in the eye, and brought his heavy boot down hard on it— “No!” The scream tore from my throat, but two of his friends pinned my arms behind my back. I could only watch, paralyzed with horror, as my mother’s final legacy was crushed into unrecognizable pieces of bent gold. Brody grinned, leaning down to whisper, “That’s what happens when you try to touch what’s mine. I told you I’d break you.” Just then, the front doors burst open. Naomi stood there, holding a takeout bag. When she saw the state of the room, the bag slipped from her fingers, spilling food all over the floor. “What… what did you do?” Brody grabbed me by the hair, forcing my head up. “You said he wouldn’t leave you alone, right? I’m teaching him a lesson. He’ll never show his face in front of you again.” “Brody!” Naomi looked like she was about to throw up. She rushed over, trying to pull his hands off me. “This is Wyatt! Wyatt West! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? I brought him here so you two could make peace!” But Brody was entirely manic now. He threw me back to the floor and kicked me squarely in the chest. “So what if he’s Wyatt West? He’s still just a pathetic, desperate third wheel!” He turned to Naomi, his eyes bulging. “You’re defending him? You still claim you don’t have feelings for him?” “I’ll tell you what, Naomi. Slap him ten times right now. Prove your loyalty to me, or we’re over!” Before Naomi could move, I gathered every ounce of strength left in my body, stood up, and delivered a devastating blow across her face. My eyes were bloodshot with pure hatred. “I will ruin you both for this.” “You dare touch my girl?!” Brody went feral. He grabbed a handful of my hair, pulling with such force I felt my scalp tearing, and slammed my forehead straight into the sharp edge of the coffee table. My ears rang. Thick, warm blood began to trickle down my face, pooling in my eyes. I couldn’t move. “That’s more like it,” Brody whispered, turning to Naomi with a sick, twisted grin. “We’ve already crossed the line. Might as well go all the way.” “Are you going to hit him or not? If you don’t break him now, he’ll never learn.” Naomi hesitated. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Then, she stepped forward. There was a strange, dark excitement in her eyes. “Wyatt, Brody just has a temper. Just endure it for a bit.” I stared at her, unable to comprehend the betrayal. The force of her hand sent my head spinning. Brody laughed, a manic, high-pitched sound. He ripped at my suit jacket, tearing the fabric apart, before yanking my trousers down to my knees. His friends pulled out their phones, eagerly recording my humiliation. “Look at the great Wyatt West now. Let’s see how arrogant you are after this. Let’s see you try to seduce another man’s woman.” Naomi looked down at me, her voice cold and detached. “Don’t blame me, Wyatt. You shouldn’t have angered Brody. He’s a psycho, and I can’t control him.” “I will see you in hell, Naomi,” I spat, blood mixing with saliva. Brody’s eyes lit up with a wicked idea. He grabbed a phone from one of his friends and opened a live-streaming app. He typed out a humiliating, sensational title: “CATCHING A WEALTHY HOMEWRECKER IN THE ACT! LIVE REBENTING!” He instantly dropped fifteen thousand dollars to boost the stream. Within two minutes, over ten thousand viewers flooded the room. “Wait, is this real? Are they actually beating someone up?” “Hold on, he looks familiar… is that Wyatt West, the heir to West Enterprises?” “No way. The West family keeps him heavily guarded. Why would he be getting beaten up like a common dog?” “Beat him! Homewreckers deserve everything they get!” I screamed, trying to curl my body to cover myself, but Brody laughed, grabbing my legs and pulling them apart. Every vein in my forehead throbbed with agony. Naomi knelt behind me, pinning my shoulders down, holding me tightly against her chest. She leaned in, her breath hot against my ear. “Don’t worry, Wyatt. Even if you’re ruined after this, I can always take pity on you and marry you.” Brody stood between my legs, waving at the camera. “This guy has some real talent, folks. Pretends to be her best friend, but he’s been begging for her touch every single night. You guys want to see what a billionaire heir looks like underneath all those expensive suits?” “Don’t you dare!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “Watch me,” Brody sneered, reaching down to pull my legs wider. Right then, the heavy double doors of the villa were kicked open with a deafening crash. Logan stormed in, flanked by a dozen armed police officers. “Step away from him!”
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