LOGINRhea’s POV“What have they done to him?”I gave the police his description and everything I could remember about the area, and they began to search. They combed through the bushes and came out with nothing.They offered to drive me home more times than I could count. I kept shaking my head. Going home felt like giving up on him, and I wasn’t ready to do that. Not when this was my fault.If I hadn’t wanted more jewelry. If I hadn’t wanted ice cream at ten at night like a child. He’d wanted the security detail with us. I was the one who said it would draw attention, that we deserved one normal evening. I got my normal evening, and it cost me my husband.I sat in that police van until the sun came up, hollowed out, waiting for a radio call that never came. Eventually someone decided I’d been waiting long enough and took me home.The house had other plans. Cars lined the driveway like it was a funeral already, and when I walked in, the sitting room was packed wall to wall with people I d
Rhea's POVIn front of me stood a beautifully decorated room. Fresh flowers filled every corner, their sweet scent hanging in the air, and in the middle of it all stood Rowan with a single bloom in his hands.I blinked several times to be sure I wasn't hallucinating."Come on in, pretty," Rowan said in the calmest voice I had ever heard from him.What the hell was going on?The moment I stepped inside, Rowan handed me a bouquet of roses. Then he led me to a seat, my eyes widening the whole way. What was he up to?The door opened again. The chef walked in with a tray and set it carefully on the table."Thanks, Izzy," Rowan said, sitting down across from me."I made you dinner." He said.Rowan Langston made dinner?"You cooked?" I asked in disbelief. “I had some help, but yes. I hope you like it.”I nodded slowly before lifting the lid off the first plate.Written neatly across it were the words…I’m Sorry.I paused and slowly lifted my head to meet Rowan's gaze.Without saying a word,
Rhea’s POVI leaned against the wall, watching the drama I had planned all night finally come to life. While Rowan was busy getting laid, my brain was busy getting leads.Mia’s eyes widened as a small crowd began to form around us. “Erm… what do you mean, ma’am?” she asked, tension creeping into her voice.I smiled and tapped the button on my shirt. The voice started again, the whole recording of everything we had said in the bathroom, playing for the second time.Mia looked like she was about to pass out. All eyes were on her now, fingers pointing from every direction.Soon Lyra came strutting toward me, my partner in crime. I had filled her in that morning and she’d caught up immediately.“We did it.” She mouthed the words as our hands slapped together playfully.We stood there watching Mia. She looked like she could disappear at any moment.“Do you need a chair, bestie?” Lyra said in a mocking tone.Mia was already glaring at us, her fist clenched so hard I could see the muscle bul
Rhea’s POVI ran from there without looking back. By the time I got to my car, the shame had caught up with me, sitting heavy in my chest.Go with him to England?That was crazy. Absolutely crazy.I didn’t even wait for him to come out. I pulled off fast, only to stop right in front of a cafe. Rowan’s favorite cafe. I used to trail him here just to watch him order his coffee, then walk in myself and buy the exact same thing.My hand flew to my head as I sat there, engine still running.My phone buzzed again. Lyra, calling back-to-back, her messages piling up on the screen. Not one from Rowan. Not a single one.I sat with that feeling for a while before finally heading home. I only realized how late it was when I saw Rowan’s car already in the driveway.“10:59, shoot!” I said, scrambling out of the car, my ankles aching as I hurried to the front door.“Where the hell are you coming from?” a voice asked from the dark.Rowan.“Went for a drive.” I didn’t even stop walking.“Went for a d
Rhea’s POV The door had barely clicked shut behind us when his voice thundered through the office.“What the hell was that, Rhea?”I turned to face him slowly, my mouth falling open. “What was what?”Rowan’s fists clenched at his sides, his jaw ticking. “Don’t answer me like that, young lady. You know exactly what the hell I’m talking about.”I let out a scoff. “Why are you only confronting me? Mia was there too. She was the one who yanked the file out of my hands and then put on a whole performance for everyone to watch. Yet somehow, I’m the one standing in your office.”“I’ve been hearing complaints, Rhea.” He said it quietly, which was worse than if he’d shouted. “For weeks.”“Complaints.”He turned his laptop toward me without another word. A row of emails filled the screen, subject lines I didn’t need to read twice to understand what they were.“I ignored them,” he said. “I didn’t believe a single one. But then I watched you push her to the ground in front of half the building,
Rhea’s POV“Little mouse, are you okay?” Rowan asked behind me, his breath brushing my ear. Every ugly detail of my day was right there, crawling up my throat, begging to spill out. I swallowed it back down.“Nothing. Just tired from work.” I kept my tone light and headed for the closet.He followed anyway. Of course he did.“You know I could move you to my office,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “You wouldn’t have to deal with any of this.”I turned giving him my best unimpressed look. “I want to actually learn something, Mr. Rowan. And we both know I’d get nothing done if I worked with you.”“Yeah, right.” His hands landed on my waist, pulling me back against him. “I’d be the one getting nothing done.”I laughed and pushed him off, retreating toward the bathroom before he could see how easily he still got to me.By the time I climbed into bed that night, curled against his chest with his fingers combing slowly through my hair, I still hadn’t told him anything.“You know yo
AUTHOR’S POV After the disastrous dinner, Rowan apologized several times to Rhea.Rhea kept assuring him it was fine, even though her night had been completely ruined. Still… the image of Rowan standing up for her replayed in her mind again and again, vivid as if it had just happened.But days pas
A Few Days Back!!AUTHOR’S POV Rowan Langston was halfway out of his office when his phone rang.He had just shrugged into his jacket, his mind already shifting to numbers, timelines, and a client who hated being kept waiting. Meetings didn’t bother him. People did. Still, he moved with purpose, l
Rhea’s POV I woke up feeling like someone had used my head for drumming practice all night.My eyes opened slowly, and the first thing I felt was pain sitting right behind them. I groaned and rolled to the other side of my bed, pressing my face into the pillow like that would magically fix my life
Rhea’s POVWatching Mr. Rowan from my bedroom window never got old. He moved like he owned the world, his broad shoulders perfectly fitted in that red shirt, the faint curl of cigar smoke marking his presence. My father walked beside him, talking quietly, but I wasn’t listening. My gaze was locked,







