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.

The silence in the private dining room was suffocating. Essie's hands shook as she reached into the pocket of her faded sweater and pulled out her phone.

The screen lit up with a text from an unsaved number: Restroom. Now.

Essie felt a fresh wave of cold sweat soak through her sweater, sticking the cheap fabric to her spine. She knew exactly what Kieran would do if she dared to ignore him.

She stood up so fast her chair wobbled. "My stomach is killing me. I need to use the restroom," she lied to her coworkers, not meeting their eyes.

Ignoring their weird looks, Essie pushed open the heavy oak door and practically sprinted into the dimly lit hallway.

The thick carpet absorbed the sound of her footsteps. The wall sconces cast long, creepy shadows across the corridor.

Essie pushed open the heavy wooden door to the women's restroom. It was completely empty. Soft jazz music played from hidden speakers in the ceiling.

She walked over to the marble sink, reaching out to turn on the cold water to splash her face.

The door to the last stall-the oversized handicap stall-suddenly swung open. A massive, muscular arm shot out.

Before Essie could even scream, a large hand clamped hard over her mouth. She was violently yanked backward into the stall.

Bang. The stall door slammed shut. The sharp click of the deadbolt locking echoed loudly over the jazz music.

Kieran slammed Essie against the freezing tile wall. His massive frame pressed flush against her, completely immobilizing her.

His eyes were blazing with a psychotic fury. "Why wouldn't you look at me at the table?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

Essie shook her head frantically. She brought her hands up, pushing desperately against his solid chest, letting out muffled whimpers against his palm.

Kieran grabbed both of her wrists with one hand. He wrenched her arms above her head and pinned them flat against the cold tiles.

He lowered his head and crushed his mouth against hers. It wasn't a kiss; it was a brutal punishment. His teeth tore at her lips, forcing her mouth open.

Tears spilled out of Essie's eyes. The pain was sharp. She bent her knee, trying to knee him, but he easily trapped her legs with his own heavy thigh.

Kieran's free hand grabbed the collar of her cheap sweater and yanked it down roughly. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, sucking and biting down hard on her sensitive skin.

Essie squeezed her eyes shut in pure agony. A sharp, stinging pain radiated from her neck. She knew he was deliberately leaving a massive, dark bruise.

Suddenly, the sharp clack-clack of high heels hitting the restroom tiles echoed from outside the stall.

"Kieran?" Adelle's voice rang out as she pushed the main restroom door open.

Essie's entire body went rigid. Her lungs stopped working. Her eyes flew open, staring at Kieran in absolute, paralyzing terror.

Kieran didn't pull away. Instead, a cruel, twisted smirk formed on his lips. He pressed his body even tighter against Essie's, purposefully rubbing the tip of his nose against her cheek.

Adelle's heels stopped right in front of the sinks. The sound of a purse unzipping followed, then the rush of water from the faucet. She was touching up her makeup.

Essie shook like a leaf in a hurricane. Silent tears streamed down her face. She was terrified that even the sound of her heartbeat would give them away.

Adelle's phone suddenly rang. "Yes? I'm coming," she said, her tone annoyed. The water shut off, and her heels clicked away.

The main restroom door swung shut.

Kieran finally removed his hand from Essie's mouth. He raised his thumb and casually wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

He stared down at her ruined, sobbing state. "My penthouse. Tomorrow at eight PM," he ordered, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. "Or Charles's medical trial is gone."

Kieran unlocked the stall door with a loud click. He adjusted his suit jacket, stepped out of the stall, and walked away without a backward glance.

Essie's legs gave out. She slid down the tile wall, hitting the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees, desperately covering the throbbing hickey on her neck as she broke down.