Chapter 1 Sweet Home Alabama

~ Audrey ~ A kiss was always Audrey’s kryptonite. Like any other girl in the world, Audrey Huntington loved kissing her boyfriend’s soft lips in the warm New York 4 o’clock light. They were sitting on a bench at Washington Square Park, which was only a stone’s throw away from their college campus. It was a bright warm day in late May, and it would have been a romantic afternoon except Audrey’s phone alarm kept ringing incessantly in her hand. She peered at it lazily tapped the snooze button again. “Ash, you know I have to go," she sighed. “Just one more kiss,” Ashton was more persistent than her alarm clock. He closed the distance again and murmured to her lips. “You said that three kisses ago,” Audrey laughed and tried to pull away. “Mm-hmm,” Ashton held her tight, refusing to let her go. He kissed her again, savoring her plump pink lips, and running his hand on her long brown hair. Audrey summoned her strength and broke the kiss. Her bright hazel eyes gazed up at her boyfriend longingly and said, “Ashton, I wish I could stay, but I really have to go,” “You promised an entire day with me. We’re supposed to go to Jackson’s party together,” Ashton was pulling out all the stops, giving her his best smoldering look. Audrey took note of her boyfriend’s gorgeous features. His dark curly hair was trimmed on the sides, his eyes were sharp light brown, his jawline could cut like a knife, and his perfect tan skin glimmered under the sun. Audrey couldn’t help herself and ran her fingers across his chest, noting his rock-hard muscles and abs over his clothes. Ashton was sporting a purple NYU sweatshirt and basketball shorts. He was one of NYU’s top basketball players, he led the school’s team to the finals last year. Today was the last day of school for the semester and Ashton’s teammate, Jackson, was throwing a huge blowout at his frat house. Audrey wasn’t much of the party type, but since she started dating Ashton a couple of months ago, she felt the need to compromise. Ashton was an absolute social butterfly. Everyone on campus knew him or knew of him, and they all adored him. She was shocked when a guy of his caliber ever noticed her. As the sole heir of the real estate tycoon, Maxwell Huntington, Audrey grew up privileged and sheltered. She was always surrounded by bodyguards and rules. Her dad was the strictest man she knew. He taught her that feelings are unnecessary in life, and he programmed her to be headstrong and cunning, the way a billionaire tycoon would run a company. She grew up in a private all girls catholic school and she attended more private tutoring afterward. She was never allowed to date, let alone kiss a boy. Audrey had always been obedient to her father. That was the only way she knew how to live. But everything changed once college came around. Her very first rebellious act was in the form of choosing to go to NYU to study creative writing. Her father had wanted her to go to Columbia for business. She struggled with the idea during her whole senior year of high school, before choosing to take this route at the last minute. She had been attending NYU for the past three years now and she regretted nothing. Her second and probably last rebellious act was in the form of dating Ashton Whitaker. Sure, he was a basketball star on campus, but he wasn’t up to snuff according to Maxwell’s standards. Maxwell had very specific plans for his one and only heir, he wanted her to marry well. To Maxwell, Ashton was just some punk who came from a small town in Georgia and attended NYU on an athletic scholarship. “Do you really have to go?” Ashton whined again as Audrey broke the kiss for the twentieth time that afternoon. “I’m sorry, but it's my dad. You know what he’s like. Suddenly he wants to have dinner with me, saying that he wants to discuss something super important,” she rolled her eyes dramatically. Ashton had never met Maxwell Huntington in person, Audrey was too afraid to introduce him to her dad. She said it was for his own good. “Can you swing by after dinner?” he asked as he cupped her little face in his hand. When he looked at her like that, it was impossible to say no to him. Audrey smiled and said, “Hmm, I can try,” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Audrey stepped out of the big black car as her bodyguard pulled the door open for her. A doorman greeted her with a tip of his hat and he pushed the small gate open for her. Audrey stood for a moment in front of her dad’s palatial townhouse in the heart of the Upper East Side. She was thinking of her last visit there, and it was during Christmas, six months ago. After choosing to attend NYU, Audrey moved out of her dad’s townhouse and lived in a one-bedroom apartment near campus. Her dad was always busy and out of town anyway, it didn’t make sense to keep living alone in that huge place. It only made her feel lonelier than ever. Stepping into the marble foyer, she was greeted by several housemaids and she was led to her dad’s office. “He’s been expecting you,” one of the girls said. Whenever her dad was ‘expecting’ her, usually he had big news to tell or he was about to scold her on something. Audrey was afraid of the latter. The maids opened the double doors to her dad’s office and Audrey saw her father leaning back against a chair and a man in a doctor’s uniform attending to him. Her dad looked pale and sickly. He was only in his late fifties, but now he looked way older. “Dad? Oh my god, what happened?” * * * To be continued