LOGINDAMIENI didn't answer with words. I shoved my hand into the hair at the back of her head, fisting the thick strands, and crushed my mouth against hers. My tongue thrust past her lips, sliding against hers, tasting the champagne still lingering on her breath. She moaned into my mouth, her fingers tearing at the buttons of my shirt, ripping them open with desperate, frantic tugs."Take it off," she panted against my lips. "Stop talking and take it off."I didn't stop kissing her. I shrugged the shirt off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her hands immediately found my bare chest, her nails raking down my skin, leaving burning trails in their wake. I groaned into her mouth, my hands sliding down to grip her thighs, lifting her off her feet. Her legs wrapped around my waist instantly, her heels digging into my lower back.I carried her across the wide hardwood floor, not letting her feet touch the ground. The cold air of the suite hit my bare skin, raising goosebumps, but her h
DAMIENThe private jet was thousandS feet over the sky when I finally took the heavy suit jacket off.Nilah was asleep in the leather recliner across from me, wrapped in a black cashmere blanket, her wedding ring catching the faint cabin lights every time her hand moved. I sat there in silence for four hours, drinking scotch, staring at her face, and listening to the steady hum of the engines carrying us to France.By two in the morning local time, the dark matte-black SUV pulled up to the private residence on The security team cleared the marble foyer before we even stepped inside the building. I didn't wait for the butler to show us the elevator. I grabbed Nilah by the wrist, pulled her inside the private glass car, and punched the button for the top-floor penthouse.The elevator doors opened directly into a dark, two-story suite. Through the massive wall of glass at the far end of the room, the Eiffel Tower cut through the low fog of the Paris night, glowing in yellow light.I didn
DARIENThe private estate on the north shore of Long Island was wrapped in absolute, impenetrable security.Outside the high iron gates, two dozen armed guards stood at thirty-foot intervals along the stone perimeter wall. Blackened SUVs blocked the main driveway, checking every vehicle before letting them pass through. I didn't care that three hundred of the most influential people in North America were currently sitting under a massive glass pavilion on the back lawn, waiting for the ceremony to start.I was wearing a black double-breasted tuxedo, my cuffs pinned with solid platinum links. My jaw was tight. I hadn't slept more than two hours, but the adrenaline running through my chest kept me completely wired."The perimeter is totally clear, boss," Vance said, stopping three feet behind me. "Julian Vance’s cars were spotted near the highway two hours ago, but our detail turned them around at the county line. He didn't push it. He knows if he steps onto this property, he leaves in
DARIENThe penthouse was completely dead silent.I stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass in our master bedroom, staring out at the rain slicking the Manhattan skyline. The city below was dark, but my mind was completely focused on the girl sitting on the edge of the mattress behind me.Tomorrow was the wedding. The real one. No legal threats, no forced clauses, and no corporate strategy. Just us.I turned around slowly. Nilah was sitting on the edge of the dark sheets, wearing a simple white silk robe. Her hair was loose around her shoulders. She wasn't looking at her phone, and she wasn't looking at the city. She was just staring at her bare hands, tracing the spot on her finger where her engagement ring usually sat.I didn't say anything. I unbuttoned my black dress shirt, pulled it off my shoulders, and let it drop straight to the hardwood floor.I walked across the room until I was standing directly in front of her. I stepped right between her knees, crowding her space, blocking out
NILAH The heavy white silk of the wedding dress felt cold against my skin. We were locked inside the VIP showroom of Manhattan’s most exclusive bridal boutique on Fifth Avenue. Outside the frosted glass doors, the city was still reeling from the press release that had gone live forty-eight hours ago. The public announcement of our real engagement had shattered high society. Darien sat on the low leather sofa directly across from me. He hadn't stayed in the waiting lounge. He had refused to let me out of his sight from the moment we left the penthouse. "The lace detail along the train is custom-imported, Miss Mariel," the head stylist whispered, her hands shaking slightly as she adjusted the heavy fabric around my waist. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, terrified to look toward the sofa where Darien sat in dark silence. Before I could answer, the heavy glass doors of the private salon clicked open. Victoria Sterling walked in. She was flanked by two other daughters of the ba
NILAHThe penthouse was quiet when the private elevator doors opened.The city lights below flickered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, peaceful shadows across the dark hardwood floors. After the suffocating tension of the office building, the air up here felt entirely different. It felt clean. It felt safe.Darien dropped his keys onto the marble console table and immediately unbuttoned his cuffs, rolling his sleeves up his forearms. He walked over to the grand stone fireplace in the center of the living room, bending down to spark the logs. Within seconds, a warm orange glow filled the room, the wood crackling quietly against the glass.I walked over to the window, looking out at the skyline. For the first time in years, the crushing weight in my chest was completely gone."Vance just called from the hospital," Darien said, his boots clicking softly against the floor as he walked up behind me. He wrapped his thick arms around my waist, pulling my back flush against
Nilah’s povWhat the hell had I done?I sat in my car, staring at the mansion I had once called home, the perfectly trimmed garden stretched towards a fountain. Everything was just as I had remembered.Beautiful, warm, and inviting.My phone buzzed with a text from a number I didn't recognize. “The
Darien’s povThe Bentley’s engine purred as I drove through the rain-slicked street, and my phone buzzed for the umpteenth time in less than five minutes. I knew it was my mother no doubt, definitely calling to remind me about her ‘wonderful opportunity’ dinner she had arranged next week.“Don’t th
Nilah’s povThe penthouse was quiet, I stood in the kitchen with my hands gripping the sink as I stared at the divorce papers, I tried remembering how to breathe.In… out…The same way my therapist had taught me before I had stopped going because Marcus said I didn’t need one."You're being dramati
NILAHThe silence in the grand ballroom was loud, it felt heavier than the rain that had ruined my car hours ago, making my head spin as I tried to process what my father had just blurted out from the podium.Hundreds of eyes shifted from my father, following his proud gaze, until they locked direc







