LOGINJulian's POVI was going out of my fucking mind.Seven days. Seven whole fucking days since I made the conscious choice to stop looking for her, to stop breathing the same air as her, to stop letting her existence pull at parts of my brain I couldn't control. I thought it would work. I was Julian Cross. I didn't get led around by my nose, especially not by some girl who claimed to be my wife's twin sister but looked at me like she was looking at my soul.But hiding from Lauren in my own damn house was the hardest thing I’d ever done.I sat at the massive mahogany desk in my study, the leather chair feeling more like a cage than a seat. The room was dark, lit only by the green lamp on the corner of the desk. It was past midnight. The rest of the penthouse was dead silent, but my chest felt like a bomb waiting to go off."Boss?"Marcus’s voice broke the quietness. He didn't knock. He never did when it was late and he knew I was in a foul mood. He stepped into the room, holding a folder,
Serena's POV My fingers shook slightly as I stared at the bright screen of the laptop. I hated this. I hated hiding in the corners of the penthouse like a fucking thief, waiting for Julian to leave just so I could do Vivian’s dirty work. This place used to be my kingdom. I was the queen here, surrounded by luxury, diamonds, and a husband every woman in the city wanted.But now? Now everything felt completely wrong.I looked up from the screen and caught my reflection in the glass of the window. Even in my expensive silk robe, with my hair perfectly done and my makeup flawless, I looked stressed. No, I looked pissed off. And I had every goddamn right to be.Julian hadn't touched me, much more fucked me, since I came back. Not once. Not like our sex life was existent before but now he barely even looked at me. When he did, his eyes were so cold they could cut a stone. It wasn't just his usual distant self, this was different. It was like he was looking at a total stranger. He was const
Lauren’s POV The air in the abandoned safe house tasted like dust and old, rotting wood. I leaned against the rusted metal table, my hand unconsciously dropping down to my stomach. It was a habit I was trying so hard to break, especially when I was around Silas, but tonight my nerves were completely shot up. Every single muscle in my body felt tight, like a rubber band stretched right to its breaking point.Julian’s face from the night of the party kept flashing in my mind vividly. I couldn't shake it. The sheer, unhinged rage in his dark eyes when that wealthy investor had dared to touch my arm–it just didn't make any sense. He didn't even remember who I really was. Thanks to the attack and his amnesia, he honestly thought I was just his wife's sister. To him, I was just a needy stranger staying in his house, a shadow in the background. Yet, he had nearly broken that man's jaw right in front of Serena and a room full of people.Why the hell did he care so much if he didn't remember
Julian’s POV Every single thing in this fucking house felt completely wrong.I stood by the large glass window in my private study, staring out at the Seattle rain. I had a glass of neat bourbon in my hand, and the alcohol burned my throat, but it didn't do anything to stop the heavy, irritated feeling in my chest. The city below was dark, and right now, it felt like a cage. My own life, my own empire, felt like it belonged to someone else. I couldn't shake the bitter, angry mood that had been clawing at my brain for days.The door clicked open behind me. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. The strong, expensive smell of French perfume drifted into the room. It was Serena’s scent. The scent of the woman I supposedly married."Julian," she murmured, her high heels clicking softly against the floor as she walked over to me. "You’re still up. It’s past two in the morning, babe.""I have work to do," I said, keeping my voice flat and cold. I didn't look at her.She stop
Lauren’s POV The charity gala in downtown Seattle was loud, crowded, and completely exhausting. Rich people in designer clothes walked around the massive ballroom, sipping champagne and pretending to care about whatever charity we were supposed to be supporting tonight. I stood near a large marble pillar near the edge of the room, holding a glass of wine I had no intention of drinking. My feet ached in the expensive heels Serena had left behind in her closet, and the tight silk dress made it hard to breathe deeply.My eyes kept moving across the room, tracking Julian. Even in a room filled with the city's most powerful billionaires, he stood out. He wore a perfectly tailored dark suit, and he moved with a cold, quiet confidence that made people step out of his way without him even saying a word. Right next to him was Serena. She was doing exactly what she had been trained to do her whole life–smiling perfectly, nodding at the boring real estate developers, and pretending to be the do
Serena's POVI adjusted the cuff of my blouse in the mirror of the bedroom, the one I'd claimed as a temporary powder room because the master suite still felt like enemy territory. Julian's cold shoulder was starting to get on my nerves more than I cared to admit. Three weeks back in this penthouse, playing the dutiful wife to a man who looked at me like I was a pain in his ass, and I was already itching to burn it all down.My phone buzzed on the marble counter. It was Vivian. Of course. The message was short, cryptic, and fucking typical of her.'Access the backup terminal in his study. The NEREID proxy codes are active. Start small. Shell accounts only. No traces.'I deleted it immediately, my heart suddenly beating rapidly. This wasn't some amateur smash-and-grab. Vivian had drilled it into me during those weeks in her "holding arrangement"–how to move money swiftly. Julian's empire was a fortress, but even fortresses had entrances if you knew where to knock.I slipped the phone i
Julian’s POV I was losing my fucking mind, and I didn't know why.Every time I walked into a room in this goddamn penthouse, my eyes did the same thing. They scanned the corners, the hallways, the kitchen counter–looking for her. Not Serena. It was never Serena. My wife was usually exactly where s
Julian’s POVThe study was lit up with the amber glow of the desk lamp, a sharp contrast to the icy coldness radiating from the man sitting behind it. I watched her–my wife. She stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, her silhouette looking perfect against the Seattle skyline."Serena," I said, my
Lauren’s POV The phone buzzed in the back pocket of my jeans while I was hiding out in the lower-level laundry room, pretending to sort through a stack of towels I had absolutely no business touching.I pulled it out, my fingers trembling slightly. It wasn't the burner phone Vivian had compromised
Marcus’s POVThe progress bar on my monitor flickered at twelve percent before I hit the kill switch.Julian’s order to run a full background check on Lauren Vance had been sitting in my queue for exactly twenty minutes, and every second it sat there felt like holding a live grenade with the pin pu







