MuniWilliams  made the beautiful cover!! Thank you so much, hun! 🤍

My baby, Maggie, up top!

"In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes." — John Ruskin

————————————————————

Chapter 1
<—————————————>

Maggie

Karma was one of my favorite forms of fuck you.

It was random, so tangled and messy, yet so deserved. I absolutely loved it. Of course, except, when it happened to me.

This time, though, it wasn't.

It was happening to the asshole standing in front of me.

A grin tugged at my lips as I put my car into park. I could have driven away, I should have driven away. But, this was far too hilarious to miss.

What other person was blessed enough to witness Luke Vaudest, the mayor's bastard, curse his head off under his shiny, new Maserati.

We both just got back from Pennsylvania after visiting our friends for Christmas, Kade and Kimberly. Not at the same time, of course, because if I would have been a fraction too late, I would have missed this show.

My feet crunched along the dead leaves as I approached him. He hadn't even noticed my presence, yet. Even better.

A smirk crept upon my lips as I leaned against the car. It rattled from behind me; he was trying, but majorly failing to turn it on. I could hear the problem from here; it was an easy fix.

But, I had to fuck with the little prick first. It was only fair.

"You know," I started, eyes falling to the stiff body underneath the car. I fumbled with the rings on my finger, a smile curling my lips. "For someone who always brags about being so smart, you're looking pretty stupid right now."

I heard him curse from under the car, then the leaves snapping and digging into his body as he slid from underneath. I fixed my stance, backing away from the car.

Stormy blue eyes were fixated on me in a frustrated glare. I met it detail for detail, my own contradicting his. We stayed like that before he finally rolled his eyes at me.

Luke swept his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes, digging. "What the hell do you want, Maggie?" A chuckle spilled from my lips at the dirt stained strands.

Feisty. I shrugged, turning to face the car. "Trust me, I don't want anything from you. Just thought I'd come and watch you attempt to play Handy Manny with your car." My eyes fall from the sleek exterior as I began to circle it.

His voice always made my stomach twirl with disgust, but this time, it was just annoyance. "Are you sure you don't want anything? Because if I remember right, you were begging for—"

I rolled my eyes. Here we go. "Don't bring that night up. We were both wasted, so don't let your head get any bigger because of it. Trust me, you were two stars, at best." My fingers trailed over the sleek hood before I lifted it. "Start the car when I tell you to."

"Hold the hell on," I heard him argue. "You're not even going to think about touching my shit."

I rolled my eyes, peeking past the hood to look at him. It was like the man only grows more illiterate every time I see him.

His typically perfect dirty blonde strands were spotted by the oil. His eyes were narrowed at me, cautiously glancing between my stance and the car.

Since he was dressed in a pair of dark sweatpants, and a matching tee, he was comfortable, and never expected this of his perfect little life. The thought made me grin.

I craned my head at him. "Do you want your car fixed, or do you want to stand out here and wait for a ride, in one of the coldest months of the year?" I didn't give him time to answer. I slammed the hood back down, then shrugged, my lips curling into a smile. "Fine. Be my guest. Not like you have a pair of balls to freeze off, anyhow." With an extra pep in my step, I turned to my working car.

I used each step to count.

One.

I heard him grumbling behind me.

Two.

Another mumble, "What the fuck am I doing?"

Three.

"Wait."

My grin widened as I paused above the dead leaves. Slowly, I turned on my heel to meet the very annoyed man behind me.

I let my face fall neutral to him. "Change your mind, pretty boy?"

Luke was a proud man. Ignorant, arrogant, and any other 'ant' word there was, hence one of the many reasons I'd enjoy this. He was a part of the most powerful family in town, so he thought himself untouchable.

Until he met me.

I had no idea what the women here loved about the bastard, minus the sex. As someone who tried the theory out, I could admit that I saw the appeal, but his personality ruined it for me. And, I did the same for him. I could admire the fact that he stood up for what he believed in, but if it wasn't so stupid, perhaps I'd have some type of respect for the idiot.

A fair hand swept through his locks as he sighed. Pink lips pulled into a scowl before he stomped toward the car, mumbling out a stubborn, "Tell me when to start it."

Slamming the car door a little too hard, he didn't add anything else. I lifted the hood again, chuckling.

It was an easy fix, at least I thought. It took a minute to resolve, especially because of the cold, but once I had it, I motioned toward Luke. I caught sight of him rolling his eyes, and I think I may have heard a curse me two slip out, too. My smirk grew the longer I watched his brows furrow. He didn't think it would work.

I wiped my hands along my jeans, then placed them on my hips as I waited. Once the car roared to life, I felt my blood drum with it. It was a beauty, that was for sure. If only it didn't belong to such an ugly excuse of a person.

I heard his door slam, again, then his footsteps. After shutting the hood, I waited. Once we were facing the other again, I swam in my arrogance.

"I'll take my thank you..." I squinted my eyes to my nonexistent watch before meeting his cold eyes. "About right now should be good."

Luke leaned against the car, his head craned up to the sky. Shutting his eyes, he sighed out, "God, help me."

I rolled my eyes, and waited a moment later. As silent as a mouse, he crossed his arms back at me, lips tipping into a smirk.

His company was annoying enough. Even if he wouldn't give me a thank you, I could still relish in this victory, nonetheless.

I turned toward my car, again. Fuck him.

"Wait," he called to me.  "What do I owe you?"

Pausing, I turned to face him, again. His wallet was on the hood, and he was already counting out way too many bills.

I shrugged, a smirk pulling at my lips. "Nothing this time. The satisfaction of doing something that you were far too much of an airhead to accomplish is enough."

Luke sighed, sweeping a hand down his clenched jaw. Finally, it fell to grasp the money. Once he crossed the space, he shoved into my grasp, causing me to step back.

He rolled his eyes, his face falling around a frustrated frown. "Just take it."

I chuckled, crossing my arms. The cold was starting to get to me. "Absolutely not. There's probably some type of variant disease on those bills, and I'm not risking anything from you." It was a reach, but with him and the way he got around? Nah.

Narrowing his eyes with agitation, he glanced me over with disgust. "Well, I'm sure detecting diseases come real easy to you, doesn't it, Norris?"

That damn nickname was the one to fuel the fire more than the insult. Annoying little prick.

Before I could respond, he motioned toward the money, again. "I always pay my debts, though. Take it."

We glared at one another. His expression was tight with both determination and frustration, but there was no point. I wasn't taking anything from Luke Vaudest.

My head cocked at him. "The only thing I'll accept from you is a thank you." A false smile claimed my face. "If I won't be receiving that, and only that, then you can take your money and shove it right up you and your fathers' loose asses." Tilting my head, I chuckled. "Well...if you can even find any room in there with those big ass heads of yours already being in the way."

Before I could catch his reaction, I was walking back to my car. I kept my footsteps steady, and slow, just so that he knew that if he wanted to continue the argument, then I would be more than happy to.

I was more than glad that I left the car running. The warmth wrapped me right in a hug, and the past couple of minutes only increased said feeling.

Luke Vaudest was a condescending, spoiled, rude, little asshole, but it was pleasurable every single time to fuck with him. Every single time.