Essie survived the endless subway commute. She dragged her feet up the rotting wooden stairs of the Queens apartment building. Every step made the old wood groan.

She took the keys out of the pocket of her expensive wool coat. Her fingers were stiff and blue from the biting cold.

She shoved the key into the rusty lock, turned it twice, and pushed the heavy metal door open. The hinges shrieked in protest.

Essie stepped into the cramped, dimly lit living room and pushed the door shut behind her.

She walked over to the wobbly dining table and set down the brown paper bag containing bagels and hot coffee she had bought from the corner deli.

The heavy, rhythmic sound of wheelchair tires rolling over rough wood planks echoed from the hallway.

Essie turned her head. Her younger brother, Charles, pushed his wheelchair into the doorway of his bedroom.

Charles's eyes were like daggers. They locked instantly onto the incredibly expensive cashmere coat Essie was wearing-a coat Kieran had forced on her months ago.

His gaze slowly moved up, taking in Essie's messy hair and the smudged makeup at the corners of her eyes.

Charles's hands gripped the armrests of his wheelchair. The veins on the backs of his hands bulged against his pale skin.

He gritted his teeth. "Where the hell were you all night?" he forced the words out of his throat.

Essie's eyes darted away. She stared at the scuffed floorboards. "The ER was short-staffed. I had to pull an overnight shift," she lied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Charles snatched an empty plastic pill bottle off the small cabinet next to him and hurled it at the wall.

The bottle smacked against the peeling wallpaper with a loud crack and bounced off. Essie flinched, taking a step back.

Charles's eyes were red. "Bullshit!" he yelled. "The ER doesn't let you show up to work dressed like a damn runway model!"

His voice dripped with pure venom. "You're just a gold digger selling yourself for cash."

Charles screamed at her, his chest heaving. "You have zero self-respect! You make me sick!"

Essie's chest heaved. Her heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible fist. The pain radiating through her ribs made it impossible to breathe.

She choked back the tears burning her eyes. She walked forward, picking up the hot paper cup of coffee, and held it out to him. "Charles, please, just calm down-"

Charles swung his arm violently. His hand smacked hard against the paper cup.

The lid popped off. Scalding hot coffee splashed directly onto the back of Essie's hand.

The skin turned a furious, angry red instantly.

The cup hit the floor, brown liquid rapidly spreading across the warped wood.

Essie sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. She grabbed her burned hand, cradling it against her chest. The tears finally pooled in her eyes.

Charles stared at the mess on the floor. His chest rose and fell rapidly. "I would rather die than use the dirty money you make spreading your legs!" he roared.

He grabbed the wheels of his chair and spun it around violently. The rubber tires rolled right through the puddle of spilled coffee.

Charles shoved his way back into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. The impact shook a layer of dust loose from the doorframe.

Essie stood completely alone in the middle of the wrecked living room. Her entire body shook uncontrollably.

She slowly crouched down. She grabbed a handful of cheap paper towels and began wiping the coffee off the floor. Her movements were robotic, completely numb.

When the floor was dry, she dragged herself to the tiny kitchen sink. She turned on the faucet and held her bright red, throbbing hand under the freezing water.

She lifted her head and stared at her pale, exhausted face in the cracked mirror above the sink.

Essie took a deep, shuddering breath. She turned off the water, walked to her room, and pulled out her blue scrubs to get ready for the hospital.

Essie walked quickly down the crowded corridor of the private Manhattan hospital. Her blue scrubs felt a size too big on her thin frame.

She had her stethoscope draped around her neck. A cheap beige band-aid was hastily slapped over the angry red burn on the back of her hand.

Essie reached the emergency department nursing station and swiped her badge. The machine let out a sharp beep.

She walked behind the counter and stood in front of her computer monitor. As soon as she logged in, she heard the hushed, excited whispers of her coworkers.

Maureen, another nurse, was excitedly tapping her phone screen. "Did you see the news? Dr. Adelle Watts is engaged!"

Essie's fingers froze over the keyboard. The letters on the patient chart blurred into a meaningless gray smear.

At that exact moment, the automatic glass doors of the ER slid open.

Adelle walked in. She wore a perfectly tailored white lab coat over a designer dress, her high heels clicking sharply against the linoleum. She looked like royalty holding court.

Adelle raised her left hand to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. The massive, flawless diamond on her ring finger caught the harsh fluorescent lights, throwing blinding sparks across the room.

The doctors and nurses immediately swarmed her, offering loud congratulations and showering her with compliments.

Essie was forced to stand up with the rest of them. She kept her head down, her fingers gripping the edge of a plastic clipboard so hard her knuckles turned white.

Adelle smiled and thanked everyone. Her smile was picture-perfect, without a single flaw.

Suddenly, the heavy, rhythmic sound of expensive leather shoes echoed from the far end of the hallway. The noisy nursing station instantly went dead silent.

Kieran walked into the ER. He was wearing a pitch-black bespoke suit. In his hand, he held a massive bouquet of incredibly expensive Ecuadorian white roses.

The nurses let out suppressed gasps, quickly parting to make a wide path for the billionaire.

Kieran's deep, predatory gaze bypassed everyone in the room. Like a heat-seeking missile, his eyes locked instantly onto Essie, who was hiding at the back of the crowd.

Essie felt his icy stare hit her. A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out across her spine.

Adelle's face lit up. She walked forward, naturally wrapping her arms around Kieran's neck, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Kieran didn't push her away, but his eyes never left Essie's pale face.

Essie's stomach violently churned. Acid rose in her throat. She bit down hard on her back teeth and forced herself to look away.

"I booked a table downstairs," Kieran said in a low voice to Adelle. "I came to take you to lunch."

Adelle playfully swatted his chest. She turned her head toward the nursing station and spotted Essie.

Still wearing her perfect smile, Adelle walked up to the counter. "Essie, could you hand me the physical file for the VIP patient in Room 3?"

Essie took a deep breath. She pulled the thick folder from the rack and stepped out from behind the counter.

She held the file out toward Adelle with both hands. Her fingers were trembling.

Kieran suddenly reached out his long arm. He snatched the file right before Adelle could touch it.

In the split second the file transferred hands, Kieran's rough thumb deliberately and forcefully scraped across the band-aid covering Essie's burn.

Essie gasped sharply in pain. She yanked her hand back. A clear fluid seeped out from under the bandage, where the blister had torn, sending a blinding sting up her arm.

A faint, cruel smirk touched the corner of Kieran's mouth. He handed the file to Adelle, wrapped his arm around his fiancée's waist, and turned away.

Essie stumbled backward into the nursing station. She hit the cold wall and slid down slightly, gasping for air as if she had just been pulled from underwater.

The evening shift ended. Essie stood in front of her metal locker in the cramped changing room, peeling off her scrubs that smelled faintly of bleach and rubbing alcohol.

The head nurse pushed the door open. Her tone left no room for argument. "Essie, tonight is the department dinner. The hospital's primary investor, Mr. Cortez, will be there to discuss next quarter's budget. Everyone must attend to make a good impression."

Essie gripped her locker door. "I really don't feel well," she started to say.

"If you skip team building, I'm docking your monthly bonus," the head nurse snapped, shutting the door.

Essie took the subway from the hospital and walked to a dimly lit, absurdly expensive French restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.

She pushed open the heavy oak door of the private dining room. The space was already packed with her laughing, drinking coworkers.

Essie was wearing a cheap, faded black sweater. She kept her head down and walked straight to the empty chair at the very end of the long dining table.

The second she pulled out her chair and sat down, she heard Maureen and Denise whispering loudly next to her.

"How do you think she affords her brother's medical bills?" Maureen whispered, her voice dripping with malice.

Denise covered her mouth and giggled. "Where does she get the money for his treatments? Look at her clothes, she's not from our world. It's definitely not from a clean source."

Essie's fingers clamped around her glass water goblet. She squeezed it so hard her joints ached, but she kept her eyes glued to the tablecloth, pretending she was deaf.

The oak door was respectfully pushed open by a waiter.

Adelle walked in, her arm looped through Kieran's. She was glowing.

The entire room went silent. Everyone stood up and started clapping.

Kieran handed his cashmere overcoat to the waiter. His dark eyes swept the room and landed with pinpoint accuracy on Essie, huddled in the corner.

He walked to the head of the long table and sat down. Adelle sat pressed against his side. They looked like a king and queen surveying their subjects.

The waiters began serving the food. Tiny, expensive escargot and bottles of vintage red wine were placed on the table.

Adelle raised her crystal wine glass. She elegantly thanked everyone for their wishes and started talking about the massive wedding they were planning in the Hamptons.

Essie kept her head bowed. She mechanically pushed the food around her porcelain plate with her fork. Her stomach was tied in knots; she couldn't swallow a single bite.

Maureen, desperate to kiss up to Adelle, leaned forward and loudly asked Kieran what he thought of the wedding venue.

Kieran leaned back in his chair. He crossed his long legs. He didn't look at Maureen. His eyes stared straight down the length of the table, burning holes into Essie.

Essie felt the crushing weight of his stare. She panicked and jerked her head up, crashing straight into his bottomless, pitch-black eyes.

Kieran's gaze was filled with a lethal warning and a sickening, possessive rage.

Essie's hand jerked violently. The heavy silver fork slipped from her fingers and slammed against the ceramic plate with a loud, piercing clatter.

Every single pair of eyes in the room snapped to Essie. Adelle's perfect eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

Essie frantically snatched the fork off the table. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, her face burning hot.

Kieran let out a sudden, cold laugh. He shoved his chair back and stood up abruptly.

The wooden chair legs scraped harshly against the marble floor. The entire room froze in dead silence.

"I have a cross-border video conference to take," Kieran said coldly. He didn't spare anyone a second glance as he turned and walked toward the door.

Adelle's face stiffened. She reached out to stop him, but Kieran didn't even turn his head. He pulled the door open and walked out.

The atmosphere in the room plummeted below freezing. Suddenly, Essie felt a short, sharp vibration against her thigh. Her phone.