Defamed: Book Three (bxb) ✔️

Prologue

Asher Adair
Eight years ago

Life was unpredictable.

Sometimes there were good things, other times, evil things. Love was a source of good and evil. It had the ability to make you feel indestructible against all odds, or it destroyed your very will to survive.

I allowed love to consume me, and I would never regret it. We kept our relationship a secret from everyone—society would never understand, and he didn't care whether we were public or not. We only wanted to love each other in peace.

A knock sounded on the door to my dorm, and a smile curved onto my lips. He always knocked in a special way—there were meticulously planned pauses between the four different knocks, and I knew who it was. Every. Single. Time.

I stood up from my desk chair, sliding over to the door. When I opened it—those breathless green eyes greeted me. They had an instant calming effect on me—one I'd never be able to describe.

Cameron Windsor took off his backpack and shoved it into my arms before sliding past me. "Shaking off my brothers was a little more difficult today. Carter had a pretty bad night last night, so I stayed with him."

Kicking the door shut, I deposited his school bag on my desk chair. "How's he doing now?"

When I faced Cameron, he sat on my bed with a smile. "He ate three bites of his hash browns this morning. I was so fucking proud of him." His eyes sparkled to match the pride he felt for his triplet brother. "And...he even ate two pieces of toast, and half of his egg. He's doing so well, Asher. Sometimes he backtracks, but it happens. It will never take away from the accomplishments he has."

I crossed the room to stand in front of him, tipping his chin back with my pointer finger. "You love so fiercely, it's unbelievable. I'm glad your brother is doing better this morning. And I'm happy to see you haven't lost a single beat in your step."

His arms curled around my waist, making me drop my hand when he rested the side of his face against my stomach. "I missed you, though. I told them I had to study. I do plan on studying with you, but I'd like to spend a little time with you first."

Chuckling, I reached to his hair, and combed my hand through the strands. He loved having his hair played with. It was a source of comfort. It calmed him, and it also made him nuzzle further into me—something I wanted to happen.

"Someone's being extra affectionate today." He didn't move. "Are you alright?"

"I'm better now."

"The word now implies things weren't fine before." I detached him enough to see those eyes. "What's going on in your head?"

"I hate my parents, Asher. I hate them. They constantly try to make my brothers and me compete. I mean, we're attending college right now to compete against each other in their company. Why does it need to be like that? I love my brothers. They keep me grounded."

I smiled. "Oh, so I'll need to thank them one day for making sure you didn't turn into a spoiled brat?"

He grinned. "I'm a spoiled brat."

"You're with me. I have a negative bank balance right now. I hardly think you're a spoiled brat. You could be with anyone and you choose to sit here in this disgusting dorm room."

Cameron frowned and set his chin on my stomach without looking away from me. "Love doesn't come with restrictions, Asher. Not to me. You don't need to have a large bank account for me to love you." His eyes told me just how much he loved me. "Plus, you will get your dream one day, and then it will be you taking me to Italy and having nice dinners. But I'm happy sitting in your dorm, eating Raman while we sit on the floor because it's you I'm doing it with, and you are a brat who won't let me spoil him."

I leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Because you've spoiled me enough. One day, I'm going to steal you away from the world, and I will spoil you."

"You will because I believe in you. You're going to take this world and make it yours. You're going to succeed. Then once you are raking in all those profits, I will get to show you off. I know you don't want our relationship to come out because you want to do this for yourself, but when you do, I can't wait to be standing beside you when those cameras are flashing at you."

"I want the world to know so bad, but I know once it hits the media, I will get a leg up. I can't have that. It won't feel like an accomplishment."

"I know, but you'd still deserve it."

I brushed his hair away from his face, and he held onto me. Looking up at me with a smile that slammed into my world. "And you, my Sunflower, don't deserve the treatment you get from your parents. One day, I'm going to steal you away from them. Your brothers, too. You never deserve to feel the way they make you feel."

He closed his eyes and then nudged his head against my chest—letting out a sigh of content. "Have I ever told you how much I love you? Because I don't think I have. I can't put it into words. I want you by my side, always."

"So long as you want me there, I will be there, Sunflower." I leaned down and pressed another, lingering kiss to his forehead. "I love you, too. Now, can we get to our Wednesday night ramen?"

"Do I get the other meaning of coming over and having ramen?"

"Mm, that can be arranged, I suppose."

That night, Cameron did sit on my dorm room floor, and eat ramen with me while he animatedly told me about Carter and Cade. He spoke about them the most. When it came to his parents, he was more restricting of the details.

But I didn't know how one phone call from Cameron's parents was going to eventually change the course of my entire life. I didn't know that when Cameron hopped out of my door with a lingering goodbye kiss, it would be the last one I'd get.

Cameron was summoned to an event that his brothers couldn't attend.

And that night changed everything.

Because the next morning, my boyfriend showed up at my door in tears.

I remember trying to hug him—he wouldn't let me.

The next words out of his mouth were words I never expected to hear.

Cameron cheated on me during that party.

And if I had listened to him, I would have gotten more details. But I shut down. I shut the world out. My life was changing, and I had to focus on it.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

But I would have never expected what came eight years later.

I never knew my world could fall even further into despair than it already had been.

Cameron Windsor is the love of my life—he never stopped being so. But the truth didn't set us free.

We had to fucking work for it.