Page 7 of The Pursuit of Happiness (Satan’s Angels #2)

Aria

I open the onyx, wrought iron doors of my gothic style house and my stomach sinks in fear of what I’m about to walk into. I know Selene is pissed and I don’t want to face the music, but I know I have to. I practically stumbled up my driveway in a heaping mess of tears and regret.

I step inside after mustering the courage and immediately kick off my shoes.

My house is silent, too silent. I wait to hear the sounds of Kiko and Taz’s little meows coming from somewhere, but they don’t come, which tells me that they’re with Selene.

I tread carefully through the dark hallways of my house, my bare feet cool from the temperature of the black and gray tiles beneath me.

I walk all the way to the living room and brace myself for the worst just as I turn the corner.

As I expected, Kiko and Taz are curled up on someone’s lap, but that someone isn’t Selene.

Selene stands off to the side, her arms folded across her chest. She wears one of her signature multi-thousand dollar designer pantsuits and her hair is slicked back into a low bun at the nape of her neck.

Her pale skin reflects the yellow light from the ceiling and she scowls at me, disappointment clear on her face.

Usually, I find it pretty hard to take Selene serious considering she’s a whole foot shorter than I am, but right now I’m so mentally exhausted, defeated, betrayed, disgusted, humiliated, the list really just fucking goes on and on, that I can’t even make light of the situation.

Her angry glare is cutting me, but not nearly as deep as Slater’s betrayal did.

I focus back on the people -yes multiple people, not just one- who are seated on my victorian style couch and frown when I take in the worried looks on both Brody and Ivory’s faces.

Kiko, my tortoiseshell colored cat is curled up in Brody’s lap, purring as Brody scratches her head and Taz, my psychotic orange cat, is sprawled out in Ivory’s lap giving me a look of distaste as if he himself saw my sex tape and is internally muttering phrases in cat language like, she is such a slut, this dumb human, and I only stay here because she feeds me expensive ass food.

I’ll remember that the next time he meows at me for treats, I promise myself.

I’m not too surprised to find Brody and Ivory here along with Selene.

They’re my best friends and this situation affects them just as much as it affects me, but what really surprises me and catches me off guard is the unexpected presence of Harvey, Brody’s boyfriend.

I didn’t expect him to show up for something like this.

I don’t know Harvey well, but from what I do know, he’s very unapproachable and intimidating.

He doesn’t come across as friendly and I’ve never initiated conversation with him because of that fact.

The man looks at everyone like he hates them, but not Brody.

His face is always hard but manages to soften when she enters the room or when she’s near him.

As far as I was concerned, Harvey was never a fan of mine. That’s why I’m surprised to find him here in my home of all places.

Selene angrily taps her foot on the floor, “So?” She snaps, breaking the silence.

I give her a look of defeat, “Selene-”

“Do you have any idea what you did? You just jeopardized your chance at winning the Muse Award all because you wanted to be reckless and have sex on camera !” She raises her voice towards the end, her silent anger gone. She’s completely riled up.

I want to cry but I feel drained of all tears. It seriously feels like my eyes are deserts right now. “I’m sorry,” I apologize even though it holds no weight.

Selene rolls her eyes, “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Brody and Ivory because this affects them just as much as it affects you. That award was supposed to be for all of you and you may have just ruined it,” she blusters in a hard voice.

Brody interrupts, “Selene-”

Selene cuts her off, “No, Brody. Don’t defend her and don’t be so quick to forgive. She most certainly did not have any of you in mind last night when she made her debut in amateur porn.”

Brody sighs and gives me a sympathetic look, “Aria, what happened?”

Ivory adds, “I left the club at two in the morning, but you demanded that you were staying with Slater so I let you do your thing. You seemed to be having fun and I thought you were both really hitting it off. What happened after I left?”

I walk over to the couch and basically throw myself down beside Ivory, “I don’t know.”

Selene fumes impatiently, “What do you mean you don’t know?’

I shrug, “I mean I don’t remember anything after I started dancing with him.”

Selene looks at Ivory, “When did she start dancing with him?”

Ivory looks off as if lost in thought trying to remember, “I want to say it was around one thirty in the morning.”

Selene pinches the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb.

“So that would mean that she was dancing with him thirty minutes before you left. But she doesn’t remember you leaving.

” Selene looks up at me, annoyance clear in her brown eyes, “How much did you drink?” She asks suspiciously and I hear Brody shift uncomfortably in her seat.

Talking about alcohol makes her slightly uncomfortable considering it nearly ruined her life.

I watch as Harvey immediately notices her discomfort and places a large hand on her thigh to comfort her.

She relaxes against his touch and I feel a twinge of jealousy in my gut at what they have.

It makes me feel like shit to be envious of my best friend but I want what she has. She’s happy and I want that.

I focus back on Selene, “I didn’t drink that much,” I admit honestly.

Selene looks at Ivory for confirmation, “Is that true?”

Ivory nods, “We really didn’t drink much. Unless she drank three bottles of liquor on her own after I left, she’s telling the truth.”

Selene bites her bottom lip as she goes over possible explanations in her head.

Harvey clears his throat and we all look at him as this is the first noise he’s made the entire time we’ve been here.

Harvey gives me a hard look, which is usual for him, before his eyes soften in pity, “Have you considered the possibility that you could’ve been drugged? ” He asks me.

My eyes widen in fear and my stomach drops.

Ivory and Brody gasp. None of us considered this possibility before he just suggested it.

Selene’s face pales. Slater wouldn’t have drugged me, right?

Even that would’ve been too far for him.

But he himself didn’t seem to remember much, was that just an act so that I wouldn’t suspect he drugged me?

My mind starts spinning and Selene insists, “Aria, is that possible?”

I panic, “I don’t know! I-” I search for some kind of explanation. “I woke up and I didn’t remember anything at all after one thirty. I didn’t drink much at all so maybe it’s a possibility but I…he-” I trail off.

“Would he do something like that?” Ivory whispers.

Selene’s features harden, “To win the award maybe. But we don’t know him and making an allegation like that with no evidence is grounds for a defamation suit so let’s not go there until we get you a blood test,” she demands.

I nod, totally okay with not condemning him until there’s solid proof. I feel enough betrayal over the possibility that he could’ve set the whole thing up, I don’t want to wander into uncharted territory that he could’ve further betrayed me by drugging me.

“What happened when you woke up?” Selene asks.

I explain everything that happened after I woke up to when I got home and they all listen to me carefully. I watch as the wheels start turning in the terrifying minds of Selene Stone and Harvey Taylor. When I finish, Harvey asks, “What do you think?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused. I’m not sure what he’s asking.

Harvey presses, “Do you think that he did this intentionally? That he could’ve drugged you?”

“It makes the most sense,” I admit, my voice low.

He shakes his head, “No, I didn’t ask what makes sense. I asked if you think he could’ve done this to you.”

I think about it carefully for a moment before I exhale, “I don’t know. Last night I would’ve said no, but now I’m not so sure.”

Harvey promises, “If he did this intentionally, he’s not getting away with it.”

I nod appreciatively and I’m about to thank him when there’s a knock on my door.

Selene rises as if she were expecting someone and rushes to answer the door.

Brody and Ivory look confused and the three of us look at each other for some kind of explanation of who that could be, but it seems we’re all thoroughly oblivious.

Harvey however, looks as though he knows who’s about to walk into the room.

When the sound of Selene’s heeled feet get closer to the room, I hold my breath in anticipation of who could be with her.

I’m completely thrown off when a man I’ve never seen before enters.

He has the same dark aura around him that Harvey seems to have, but he has more intimidating features, something I never thought possible until seconds ago.

His eyes look haunted in a way that sends chills up my spine and there’s no denying that he’s devastatingly handsome.

The man looks like he’s never smiled in his entire life and his eyes are shadowed.

He reminds me of Harvey in the sense that his suit is perfectly tailored, but where Harvey wears white button downs and slacks, this man wears a full three piece suit that looks like it was made with his body in mind.

He’s tall, terrifyingly so, probably a couple of inches taller than Harvey if I had to guess and as he enters the room, his eyes immediately find Ivory.