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I stood looking out onto the lawn considerably longer than her car was gone. The same gravel. The same trees. Same echo of her laughter somewhere deep within the walls of this house.I'd vowed to feel nothing. That the past was in a box, buried and sealed, and hidden beneath a thick layer of time. But the moment Belle Moreno stepped into this house — all stiff attitude and chilly professionalism — I felt it disintegrate.And damn me, it still burned.She didn't look like I recalled. She was… sharper. Calmer. Like the world had tried to swallow her whole and she'd bitten back.But her voice? Her eyes?They were the same.And worse — she addressed me as if I was just another client. As if we hadn't etched our names on the magnolia tree behind the stables. As if she hadn't torn out my fucking heart and spat on it with that lie.I never loved you. I just used you.The memory sliced through my head like broken glass. I clenched my teeth until the muscle in my temple flinched.She performe

BELLEThe minute I stepped out of the SUV, my lungs seemed to stop working.The Thornwell Estate appeared exactly as I remembered it—grand, sprawling, old-money majestic—but slightly colder. The kind of place that never seemed to have known the warmth of laughter or of tears. Only refined antiques, fresh linens, and perfectly orchestrated stillness.I hadn’t seen it in four years.And still, I could feel the soil beneath the magnolia tree where Cassian first kissed me. The cobwebbed ends of the east hall where we'd steal snacks from the kitchen. The rear stairs where I'd spoken leavetaking into his neck before scrambling back into the maid's rooms.I knew every inch of this house.It no longer belonged to me in any way.Selenna whistled quietly alongside me, her stilettos clicking against the cobblestone pavement. "So this is where rich people come together and fuck.""Don't even begin," I muttered, adjusting my blouse for the fifth time. "Just act normal.""I am being normal. You're

The silence in the boardroom was the sort only power could buy. There were twelve individuals seated at the table, collectively valued higher than a couple of small countries' combined GDP, but not one of them came close to taking a loud breath. Not when I was in the room.I liked it like that way.I enjoyed the silence. The tight control. The knowledge that at any moment, I could raze what we'd built and replace it with something greater. Thornwell Tech had started in a Harvard dorm room, but now it stood on the cutting edge of biosecurity, data protection, and innovation. Investors told us we were invulnerable.Because I made sure we were."Merge with Kaizen?" I said bluntly, tapping the file on my desk. "Absolutely not."The silence thickened.Devon Vale, seated to my right, cracked a knuckle under the table—his one tell. "They're losing leverage. Give us three more weeks, and they'll crawl back."I gave a slow, faint nod. "Exactly. Let them bleed. Then we jump in and buy the plac

CHAPTER 1BELLEThe scent of fresh cinnamon and spilled juice filled the apartment. It wasn’t glamorous, not even close—mismatched furniture, an annoyingly loud radiator, and windows that creaked with each change in the wind—but it was home.My home.Leo's laughter echoed from the kitchen as he chased after a foam dinosaur, the kind that puffed up with water and smelled vaguely toxic. I should probably get that disposed, I thoiught with concern.He still had his Spider-Man pajamas on, his hair a wild mess of golden curls, face sticky with jelly from the toast he'd partially eaten before skipping breakfast altogether."Leo!" I called out from the doorway of the bathroom, toothbrush clutched in my hand. "Your breakfast is still on the table."“I’m fighting the lava monster, Mommy!”“Eat fast, or the lava monster’s going to get hungry.”“No mommy!” he screamed, running around the room like something was actually chasing him.This boy. I grinned, spitting out the mouthful of toothpaste i

PROLOGUETwo days before hell broke loose, I thought I could still imagine forever with the love of my life. We were lying on the roof of the pool house, our bodies tangled together, skin still damp from a the swim we took behind Cass’ mother’s back. The stars above Savannah had never felt so close, and Cassian Thornwell was grinning like he didn't own half the state — like he didn't have a worry in the world besides me.Don't laugh," he said, eyes flicking toward me. "But I think I want six kids."I gaped. "Six?""Okay, five. Four at a bare minimum. Three if they're all boys and they wrestle like tiny demons.""You're literally describing feral raccoons," I said with a loud laugh. "Own it. You'd be a hot raccoon mom.”I shoved his shoulder, and he caught my wrist mid-air, intertwining our fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world. And to us, it was."I'm serious, Belle."His voice dipped low, just enough to make my belly flutter."I want this. You. Us. I know we're y