Under His Billionaire Roof
One childhood crush. One unbreakable rule. One mansion where every hallway feels like a trap.
For fifteen years, Leighton Hayes has loved Noah Knight from afar, the untouchable older brother of her best friend Chloe. Now twenty-three, broke, and freshly homeless, Leighton has nowhere to go but the sprawling estate of the man who once barely noticed her. Noah remembers her all too well. The billionaire who built an empire from nothing has spent the last six months trying to become a better man, and the shy girl in oversized hoodies who just moved into his guest wing is the most dangerous temptation he’s ever faced.
Chloe’s single rule was always clear: her friends are off-limits. Especially to Noah, the reformed Playboy who used to burn through supermodels and headlines. But late nights, shared secrets, and one stolen shirt ignite a fire neither of them can extinguish. What begins as whispered confessions and almost-kisses explodes into a secret affair neither wants to end, even as the lies stack higher.
When Chloe discovers the truth, the betrayal threatens to destroy the only family each of them has ever known. Leighton must decide if love is worth losing her best friend. Noah must prove he’s finally ready to risk everything for the one woman he swore he’d never touch.
Some rules are made to be broken.
Some hearts refuse to stay forbidden.
Leer
Chapter: Chapter 112: Five Years Later"Mommy, Tristan stole my dinosaur!" Liam's voice hit Leighton before she made it down the stairs. She was already late for a client call. Already juggling her phone and coffee and the presentation deck she'd printed last night. "Did not!" Tristan yelled back. "It's mine!" She walked into the kitchen. Found both boys on the floor. Wrestling over a plastic T-Rex. Breakfast forgotten. Milk spilled across the table. Cheerios scattered like confetti. "Both of you. Stop." Her voice came out sharper than she meant. They froze. Looked up at her with identical guilty expressions. Noah's dark eyes. Her nose. Five years old and already masters of manipulation. "He started it," they said in unison. She set her coffee down. Picked up the dinosaur. "This goes in timeout. You both go eat breakfast. Now." "But Mom..." "Now." They scrambled to the table. She cleaned up the milk. Checked her phone. The client call started in three minutes. She wasn't ready. Wasn't even close to ready. "Need he
Última actualización: 2026-03-16
Chapter: Chapter 111: The Birth"I need you to push." Dr. Silva's voice cut through the fog. Leighton couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. The pain was everywhere. Swallowing her whole. "I can't." Her voice came out broken. Weak. "Yes you can." Noah's hand gripped hers. Too tight. Hurting her. She didn't tell him to stop. "Look at me, Leigh. Look at me." She turned her head. Found his eyes. Terrified. But steady. "You can do this," he said. "You're the strongest person I know." Another contraction hit. Ripped through her body. She screamed. Couldn't help it. The sound tore out of her. "That's it," Dr. Silva said. "Channel that. Push through it. Baby A is right there." She pushed. Used every ounce of strength she had left. Her body felt like it was splitting apart. Breaking. Dying. "Good. Again. One more big push." She bore down. Pushed harder. Felt something give. Felt pressure release. Then she heard it. A cry. Small. Angry. Perfect. "Baby A is here," Dr. Silva announced. "It's a boy." She collapsed back a
Última actualización: 2026-03-16
Chapter: Chapter 110: Maya's Moment"Please tell me you didn't fire me."Maya's voice cracked through the phone. Leighton sat up in bed. Too fast. Her head spun. She steadied herself against the headboard."What? Why would I fire you?""Because I changed three slides. Added a transition you didn't approve. Used the alternate color palette on the packaging mockups."Leighton's heart pounded. The Meridian presentation had been two hours ago. She'd been lying in bed. Trying not to think about it. Failing completely."How did it go?" she asked quietly."I don't know. They didn't say much. Just asked questions. Took notes. Robert said they'd be in touch.""That's it?""That's it. I'm so sorry. I know you wanted to be there. I know I probably messed everything up.""Maya. Stop. Tell me exactly what happened."Maya took a shaky breath. Started talking. Described walking into the boardroom. Fifteen executives. All watching her. All waiting."I was terrified. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the remote. But then I r
Última actualización: 2026-03-16
Chapter: Chapter 109: The Breaking Point"I told you to stay in bed."Noah's voice shook. He lifted Leighton into his arms. She was too weak to argue. Blood soaked through her clothes. Through his shirt where he held her."I'm sorry," she whispered."Don't talk. Just hold on."He carried her to the car. Drove faster than he should. Ran red lights. She pressed her hand to her stomach. Felt nothing. No movement. Too early for movement. But the silence felt wrong anyway.The ER took her immediately this time. No waiting. Straight to a room. Monitors. IVs. Dr. Silva appeared within minutes."What happened?" Her voice was sharp. Controlled anger."She got out of bed," Noah said. "Went to her office. Worked for two hours."Dr. Silva's jaw tightened. She didn't look at Leighton. Just started the ultrasound.The screen lit up. Two shapes. Leighton held her breath."Baby A. Heartbeat present." Dr. Silva moved the wand. "Baby B. Also present."Leighton started crying. Relief so intense it hurt."You're lucky," Dr. Silva said. Not kind
Última actualización: 2026-03-09
Chapter: Chapter 108: Complications"There's blood."Leighton stared at the tissue. Pink. Faint. But definitely blood.Dr. Silva's face went serious. "How much?""Just spotting. Not a lot.""Any cramping?""Some. But I've had cramping since I found out I was pregnant.""This is different?"Leighton hesitated. "Maybe. Sharper. Lower."Dr. Silva moved fast. Called for an ultrasound machine. A nurse wheeled it in. The room suddenly felt crowded. Urgent.Noah burst through the door. Breathless. "What's happening?""Possible threatened miscarriage," Dr. Silva said. "We're checking now."The color drained from Noah's face. He grabbed Leighton's hand. Squeezed so hard it hurt.Cold gel on her stomach. The wand pressing. Dr. Silva's eyes on the screen. Seconds felt like hours."There." Dr. Silva pointed. "Baby A. Heartbeat strong."Leighton couldn't breathe."And Baby B. Also strong. Both measuring on track.""Then what's wrong?" Noah asked."Could be implantation spotting. Could be subchorionic hematoma. Small bleed between th
Última actualización: 2026-03-07
Chapter: Chapter 107: Telling Chloe"You're acting weird."Chloe stood in the doorway. Emma on her hip. Her eyes narrowed at Leighton and Noah sitting on the couch. Too close. Too tense."We're not weird," Leighton said."You texted me to come over immediately. On a Thursday afternoon. You're definitely weird."Noah stood. "Come in. Sit down.""Now I'm really worried." But Chloe came inside. Set Emma in her carrier. The baby gurgled. Happy. Oblivious.Chloe sat across from them. Arms crossed. "What's going on? Is someone dying? Are you dying?""Nobody's dying," Leighton said."Then what?"Leighton looked at Noah. He nodded. She took a breath."I'm pregnant."Chloe's mouth fell open. "What?""Pregnant. Eight weeks.""Oh my God." Chloe's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God. You're pregnant?""Yes."Chloe launched herself across the coffee table. Grabbed Leighton. Hugged her so tight it hurt. "I'm going to be an aunt. Emma's going to have a cousin. This is amazing. Why do you look terrified? You should be happy.""There's
Última actualización: 2026-03-07
MARRIED TO THE DEVIL BILLIONAIRE FOR REVENGE
She walked in on her fiancé buried deep inside her best friend the night before their wedding.
Nadia Reeves did not cry. She did not scream. She walked straight into a Vegas bar and ordered enough whiskey to burn the world down.
That was when the Devil found her.
Dominic Marcello was cold, ruthless, and impossibly beautiful. He offered her a deal wrapped in black ink and diamonds: marry him, become his in every way, and watch him destroy the two people who shattered her. In return, he would give her the revenge she craved and the power she never knew she needed.
She said yes.
What began as a drunken contract in a neon chapel quickly became something far more dangerous. Dominic's touch awakened sensations he had never felt in his life and something feral in her. He claimed her body with ice and dominance. She claimed his soul without trying. Their nights were raw, possessive, and intimate. Their days became an intoxicating game of power, public revenge, and deepening obsession.
But every perfect touch and whispered "little dove" was built on one buried secret.
Dominic had not simply taken advantage of her pain. He had orchestrated the entire betrayal.
When Nadia discovers the blood money he paid her best friend to seduce her fiancé, proof that her entire marriage was part of his cold calculation from the beginning, her world implodes.
Now the man who taught her how to burn is the one holding the match to their future.
Can a love forged in manipulation, obsession, and breathtaking passion survive the ultimate betrayal? Or will the devil who woke her up be the one who finally breaks her?
A dark, addictive billionaire romance packed with scorching dominance, heart-wrenching emotion, a jaw-dropping midpoint twist, and an earned, swoon-worthy HEA.
Leer
Chapter: Chapter 193: The Therapy ReunionThe phone call comes on a Tuesday afternoon.It's Dr. Voss. Her voice is warm but different somehow. There's something in her tone that suggests this isn't a clinical call. This is personal."I'm retiring," she says without preamble. "At the end of the year. And I'm having a retirement party. I want you and Dominic to come. I want you to speak about what therapy did for you."I set down what I'm doing."You're retiring?" I ask."I've been doing this for forty years," she says. "I think it's time. I think it's time to let the next generation of therapists do the work.""What do you want us to talk about?" I ask."The truth," she says. "What our work together actually meant. How it changed you. What you're doing now because of what we did in that office."We say yes immediately. Of course we say yes. Dr. Voss is the person who guided us through the hardest work of our lives. The person who taught us how to communicate. The person who held space for our transformation.Dominic is quiet w
Última actualización: 2026-06-29
Chapter: Chapter 192: Alexander at UniversityThe envelope arrives on a Thursday in March.It's from the University of Michigan. It's thick, which is the universal sign of acceptance. Alexander comes home from school and he sets it on the kitchen counter and he just stares at it for a long time before he opens it.I watch him from across the kitchen where I'm making tea.He's nervous. After years of knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his life, he's suddenly facing the reality that it might actually happen. He might actually get to study psychology. He might actually get to become the healer he set out to become years ago when he decided that understanding trauma and recovery was his calling.He opens the envelope slowly.He reads the letter silently. His expression doesn't change. His hands don't shake. He just reads the words that say he's been accepted to the program. That he's been accepted to study psychology with a focus on trauma and recovery. That the university wants him.When he finishes reading, he sets the lette
Última actualización: 2026-06-28
Chapter: Chapter 191: Twenty-Five Years PlannedTwenty-five years feels significant in a way that twenty didn't.Twenty years felt like a milestone. It felt like proof that we'd survived something and built something from the survival. But twenty-five years feels like a statement. It feels like we're no longer proving anything to anyone. We're just living a life that we've chosen so many times that the choosing has become invisible.I bring it up to Dominic on a Saturday morning in the garden.He's pruning the roses. He does this every weekend now. He tends them the way he tends everything that matters. With attention. With consistency. With the understanding that things grow when you show up for them."What do you want to do for our twenty-five year anniversary?" I ask.He sets down the pruning shears and he looks at me."I don't know yet," he says. "What do you want to do?""Something bigger than twenty," I tell him. "Something that marks the fact that we've arrived at a different place. We're not just surviving anymore. We're ac
Última actualización: 2026-06-28
Chapter: Chapter 190: The HouseThe penthouse has been our home for so long that I've stopped thinking of it as temporary.We've raised children here. We've done therapy here. We've built a life here. The city spreads out below us and we've come to think of it as ours in the way that you think of things that have held your most important moments.But something is shifting.I notice it first in the way Dominic looks at the windows sometimes. Like he's looking out at the world and understanding that there's something else out there. Something different. Something that might be exactly what we need at this stage of our lives.We don't talk about it directly at first. We just start looking at real estate listings on Sunday mornings. We look at houses in neighborhoods we've never been to. We look at properties with yards and gardens and space that isn't vertical."What are we doing?" I ask Dominic one Sunday."I don't know yet," he says honestly. "But I know something about this space doesn't feel right anymore."We star
Última actualización: 2026-06-27
Chapter: Chapter 189: Lisette's CrisisLisette calls on a Wednesday afternoon.Her voice is different. It's missing the specific confidence that characterizes everything she does. She sounds small. She sounds scared. She sounds like someone who's trying to hold it together but is starting to fall apart."Can we come over?" she asks. "You and Dominic. Tonight. We need to talk to you about something.""What's wrong?" I ask immediately."I can't explain it over the phone," she says. "Just can you be home tonight?"We say yes. Of course we say yes. Lisette has been part of our life for so long. She's been present for everything. She's the friend who threw us a surprise anniversary party. She's the godmother to our children. She's been the witness to our transformation.So when she asks us to be there, we're there.Lisette and Raffael arrive at seven o'clock.Raffael looks like someone who's been sleeping poorly. Lisette looks like someone who's been crying and trying to hide it. They sit on our couch and they don't sit close to
Última actualización: 2026-06-27
Chapter: Chapter 188: The Book TourThe book is published on a Tuesday in October.It arrives in boxes at the foundation. Real physical books with my name on the cover and the story of everything that came after inside. The second book. The one about healing and ice rituals and children growing up and the specific mundane work of choosing someone again and again.The publisher wants me to do a tour. Not a massive tour with sold out venues and press junkets. A small tour. Eight cities. Readings at independent bookstores and libraries and the foundation locations. Places where people who actually care about the work can come and hear me read my own words back to them.Dominic tells me immediately that he's coming with me."To all of them?" I ask."To all of them," he says. "I want to be there when you read. I want to be there when you share this story. I want to support you the way you've supported me."The first reading is in New York.We're at an independent bookstore in the West Village. The space is intimate. Maybe a
Última actualización: 2026-06-26
The Holidate Pact
SLOANE HOLBROOK is a thirty-five-year-old copywriter whose only commitment is to sarcasm, but every major holiday turns her into a single, pitiful spectacle for her judgmental family.
Her solution? JACKSON, a charming, commitment-phobic Australian golf coach who needs a distraction just as badly as she does. They forge the "Holidate Pact" a year-long contract to be each other’s flawless, platonic plus-ones for every major event, with one rigid rule: zero feelings.
But when a New Year's Eve kiss designed for public consumption feels startlingly real, Sloane and Jackson realize surviving the holiday calendar is easy; surviving the relentless, rule-breaking, undeniable attraction might be impossible.
They signed up for a cynical transaction, but what happens when their fake relationship becomes the most honest thing in their lives?
Leer
Chapter: CHAPTER 53: The Voicemail**SLOANE**The wine bottle was empty.I stared at it. Tried to remember when I'd opened it. After I got home from Murphy's maybe. After I'd driven away like a coward.My phone was in my hand. Had been for the last hour.2:13 AM.I should go to bed. Sleep. Stop thinking about Jackson sitting in that bar looking broken.Instead I hit call.It rang. Once. Twice. Three times.Voicemail.His voice. Recorded. Professional."You've reached Jackson. Leave a message."The beep came too fast. I wasn't ready."Hi. It's me. Sloane. Obviously you know that. Caller ID. I'm rambling. Sorry."I took a breath. Tried to focus. Failed."I'm calling because I saw you tonight. At Murphy's. I was outside. In my car. Peter told me to come and I came but I couldn't go in. I sat there for twenty minutes like an idiot and then I left. And now I'm home and I'm drunk and I'm calling you at two in the morning because apparently I make terrible decisions."My voice cracked. I kept going."I'm sorry. For everything
Última actualización: 2026-04-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 52: Three Days Until Australia**JACKSON**"To new beginnings!"Dean raised his glass. Everyone else followed. Beer sloshing. Voices too loud.I lifted mine. Forced a smile. Drank.The whiskey burned going down. Good. I wanted it to burn."Can't believe you're actually doing this," Mike said. He was on his third beer. Maybe fourth. I'd lost count."Doing what?""Going back. After everything."After everything. Yeah. That about summed it up.The bar was packed. Friday night in Chicago. Everyone celebrating the weekend. The holidays. Life.I was celebrating leaving.Dean ordered another round. I didn't argue. Just kept drinking."Australia's lucky to have you back," someone said. One of the other golfers. I couldn't remember his name."Thanks.""You're going to kill it on that tour.""That's the plan."My phone sat on the table. Screen dark. Silent.I checked it anyway.Nothing.No calls. No texts. No Sloane.Three days. I was leaving in three days and she hadn't said a word.Not that I expected her to. Three weeks o
Última actualización: 2026-04-19
Chapter: CHAPTER 51: Cowardgl**SLOANE**"Get to Murphy's. Now."Peter's voice came through the phone sharp. Angry. The kind of angry he saved for when I was being particularly stupid."I can't.""Yes you can. You're getting in your car and you're driving here."I was already in my pajamas. Already settled on the couch with a blanket and Netflix I wasn't watching."Peter, I don't think...""He's leaving in five days, Sloane. FIVE DAYS. You have five days to fix this or you regret it for the rest of your life."My chest tightened. Five days. That's what Mike's text had said. December twentieth."What am I supposed to say to him?""I don't know. Start with sorry. Start with anything. Just get here.""He doesn't want to see me.""He's sitting in a bar alone looking miserable because of you. Pretty sure he wants to see you.""Then why hasn't he called?""Why haven't you?"I didn't have an answer for that.Peter's sigh came through the phone."Murphy's. Twenty minutes. If you're not here, I'm coming to drag you out m
Última actualización: 2026-04-19
Chapter: CHAPTER 50: Five Days Until His Flight**JACKSON**"You're really doing this."Caroline stood in my bedroom doorway. Watching me fold shirts into my suitcase."Yeah.""You're leaving in five days.""I know what day it is."She walked in. Sat on the edge of my bed. The one I hadn't slept in for weeks."Are you sure about this?"I kept folding. Blue shirt. Gray shirt. Black shirt. Everything looked the same."No.""Then why are you going?""Because there's nothing keeping me here.""That's not true."I stopped folding. Looked at her."She hasn't called. Hasn't texted. Hasn't even looked at me in three weeks. What am I supposed to do? Keep waiting forever?""She's scared.""So am I. Difference is I'm not running.""Aren't you?"The words hit harder than they should have.I shoved another shirt in the suitcase. Didn't bother folding it.Caroline picked up a photo frame from my nightstand. The one from Easter. Me and Sloane at her parents' house. Her laughing at something. My arm around her.We looked happy. We were happy."She
Última actualización: 2026-03-16
Chapter: CHAPTER 49: December Blues**SLOANE**"That'll be forty-three fifty."The cashier smiled at me. I didn't smile back. Just handed her my card.The sweater for my dad sat in the bag. Blue. Cashmere. Expensive. He'd never wear it.I didn't care. Shopping was something to do. Better than sitting in my apartment staring at Jackson's golf clubs.The mall was packed. Families. Couples. People who looked happy.I hated all of them.A woman bumped into me. Didn't apologize. Just kept walking with her boyfriend's hand in hers.They were laughing about something. His arm around her shoulders. Her leaning into him.I wanted to scream.Instead I walked to the next store. Bath and Body Works. Maya loved their candles.The smell hit me immediately. Cinnamon. Pine. All the Christmas scents.Last year I'd been here with Jackson. He'd made fun of every single candle."Who wants their house to smell like a fake tree?""People who don't have real trees.""Then get a real tree.""I live in an apartment.""So do I. Doesn't stop me."
Última actualización: 2026-03-16
Chapter: CHAPTER 48: Thanksgiving Apart**JACKSON**"You're not eating."My mum, Caroline set another plate in front of me. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Stuffing. All of it looked like cardboard."I'm not hungry.""You're never hungry anymore."She sat across from me at her small dining table. Just the two of us. First Thanksgiving in years it'd been just us.First Thanksgiving without Sloane."Eat anyway," she said. "You're wasting away."I picked up my fork. Moved food around the plate. Put the fork down.My phone sat next to my napkin. Screen dark. Silent."Have you heard from her?" Caroline asked."No.""Have you tried calling?""She doesn't want to talk to me.""Did she say that?""She ran away from me at the diner. That's pretty clear."Caroline cut her turkey. Chewed slowly. The silence stretched."You know what today is?" she asked finally."Thanksgiving.""It's the first holiday you've missed. Since the pact."The pact. God. That felt like a lifetime ago.New Year's. Valentine's. Easter. Memorial Day. We'd done them al
Última actualización: 2026-03-16
Chapter: CHAPTER 17: Professional Distance**Nora**I stood in the authentication room the next morning. My tools lay spread across the table. Griffin walked in without knocking. He carried a large portfolio under his arm. He set it down between us."Warren wants these cataloged," he said. His voice stayed even. "Forgeries mixed in. You are the expert."I nodded once. No small talk. No mention of last night. We both knew the rules now. Professional distance. That was what I needed.He opened the portfolio. Paintings and documents spilled across the surface. I moved to his side. Our shoulders almost touched. I picked up the first piece. A small landscape. My fingers traced the edges. The paint felt wrong under my touch. Too smooth in places. Too heavy in others.Griffin watched me work. He did not speak at first. He just stood there. Close enough that I could feel the heat from his body.I pointed to a corner of the canvas. "See this? The brushwork here is too perfect. Real aging would show cracks. This one was painted to look
Última actualización: 2026-04-10
Chapter: CHAPTER 16: "The Art of Watching**Nora"**I stopped confronting Griffin after that night. I did not scream anymore. I did not demand more answers right away. Instead I watched him. I was an authenticator. My job was to look at something until it told me the truth. So I turned that skill on my husband. For one full week I studied every move he made. Every habit. Every small thing he did when he thought no one was looking. The first morning I sat at the breakfast table before he arrived. I kept my eyes on my coffee. Black. Too hot. I drank it standing up most days. When Griffin walked in he did the exact same thing. He poured his coffee black. Took the first sip while still standing. No cream. No sugar. Just like me. I felt a small jolt in my chest. Unwanted. I pushed it down. Later that day I followed him to his study from a distance. I stayed in the hallway where he could not see me. He read architectural plans the same way I examined paintings. He started at the corner. Worked his way inward. Slow. Meth
Última actualización: 2026-04-10
Chapter: Chapter 15: The First AccusationI waited in the sitting room until the house grew quiet. The evidence sat on the low table in front of me. The printed photo of Griffin accepting the award with the scar clearly visible on his raised hand. The folded note from three months ago. I had laid them out like pieces of a painting I was authenticating. Every detail pointed to the same truth. My hands stayed steady even though my pulse raced. I was not shouting. I was not crying. I was doing what I did best. Looking for what did not fit. And everything about Griffin Marlowe did not fit. The front door clicked open. Footsteps moved through the hall. I stayed seated. My back straight. When he stepped into the room his eyes found me immediately. He knew something was wrong. He always seemed to know. "Nora," he said. His voice stayed low. Careful. I looked up at him. "Sit down." He did not argue. He crossed the room and sat in the chair across from me. Close enough that I could see the tension in his jaw. Close enough to s
Última actualización: 2026-04-07
Chapter: CHAPTER 14: Research and Ruin**Nora"** I sat at the small desk in my authentication room. The laptop screen glowed in the dim light. My fingers hovered over the keyboard. I had to know. I could not let the questions sit inside me any longer. Griffin. The name still felt wrong in my mouth. Not Sterling. Griffin. I typed his name into the search bar. Griffin Marlowe. The results loaded fast. Architecture awards. Overseas projects. Photos of sleek modern buildings he had designed. He looked serious in every shot. Focused. Like the work mattered more than the spotlight. I clicked through the images. My authenticator eye scanned each one the way I examined a painting. Looking for what did not fit. Looking for the lie. An article from five years ago caught my attention. Griffin accepting an award. He stood on stage with his right hand raised. The scar on his knuckles showed clear in the photo. White against his skin. The same scar I had seen when he signed the contract. My stomach tightened. I zoomed in. The memo
Última actualización: 2026-04-07
Chapter: CHAPTER 13: The Crack in the Mask**Nora"** I slammed the bedroom door so hard the frame rattled. My heart pounded against my ribs like it wanted to break free. Griffin. The name burned in my mind. Not Sterling. Griffin. The second son. The man who had signed that contract while pretending to be someone else. I paced the room. My bare feet slapped against the cold hardwood. The massive bed loomed in the center like a reminder of the lie I had just stepped into. Three years. I had signed away three years of my life to a stranger who was not even the stranger I thought he was. How could he do this? How could he look me in the eye and let me believe he was Sterling Marlowe? The contract said a Marlowe son. Technicality. That was what he had called it. A fucking technicality. Anger surged through me hot and sharp. I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a soft thud and fell to the floor. Not enough. Nothing felt enough. I stopped in front of the full length mirror. My reflec
Última actualización: 2026-04-06
Chapter: CHAPTER 12: Dinner with the Devil**Nora"** The dining room felt like a battlefield. I sat at the long table in a simple black dress. My hands stayed folded tight in my lap. Sterling sat across from me. He stayed quiet as always. Candles flickered between us. The food smelled rich, but I barely tasted it. Every bite stuck in my throat. This formal dinner was supposed to feel normal. Husband and wife sharing a meal. Instead it felt like stepping into a trap I had walked into with open eyes. Warren Marlowe sat at the head of the table like a king. His silver hair caught the light. His eyes moved between us. They looked sharp and calculating. He raised his glass. "To the new Mrs. Marlowe. May this union bring strength to both families." I lifted my glass but didn’t drink. Strength. That word tasted like a lie. I had married to save my family. Not to build his empire. Suspicion from the fakes in my office still sat heavy in my chest. Now this dinner made it worse. The door opened. A man walked in. Tall. Broad shoul
Última actualización: 2026-04-05
INICIAR SESIÓN
