I couldn’t believe I’d just run away like that, but I wasn’t about to stick around for more of his arrogance. As I stepped out into the cool night air, I realized just how ridiculous the whole situation had been. But the last thing I wanted was to be alone in my apartment with my thoughts.
I glanced at my wristwatch with its peeling leather strap. Running out like that wasn't what I had intended. That was just the perfect revenge for annoying people like him. He might think that I had gone home, but I was hiding behind the restaurant waiting to seize this perfect opportunity. The last thing I wanted was to be alone in my room and the whole family asking ridiculous questions about why I didn't choose a color code for a wedding when they knew I was worse than being single. I waited for him to come out and get into his sleek black car that screamed wealth. I didn’t know what came over me. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or perhaps it was just the fact that I was now too embarrassed to go home and face my aunt and the whole family, or maybe my paparazzo mode got activated. Either way, I called a cab and followed his car as it weaved through the busy streets as I took a photo of him. It was payback time and a few pictures won't hurt. When we arrived at his place, I nearly fainted. His house was more than a mansion, it was a palace of glass and magnificence, towering over everything differently in the city. Of course, it had to be. He was a billionaire after all. In Manhattan. I spent the next few hours hiding behind someone's car, taking a shot of his car, his house and everything I could. At least selling these photos will help with the next pile of bills. When I got home, thankfully, everyone was asleep. I tiptoed into my room, feeling a blend of relief and stress. I sank into my bed, seized my phone, and logged into my account, mindlessly scrolling through the photos I’d taken. I wanted to sleep. But sleep didn’t come. It wasn’t just his arrogance that got under my skin—it was him. Everything about Joachim Knight screamed danger wrapped in a tailored suit, from the way he looked at people like he already knew their secrets to the way his voice could cut glass when he was irritated. I told myself I would follow him tonight because of the money. Because one viral shot of Manhattan’s most elusive billionaire would pay off half my bills and keep Aunt Anna from nagging me about rent for at least a month. That was it. Nothing more. But staring at those photos on my laptop, I realized there was something in his face that didn’t make sense. Joachim Knight didn’t look… normal. His expression was too controlled, his eyes too sharp, his skin almost too pale under the streetlights. And the way he moved—so fast, so precise—sent a ripple of unease crawling down my spine. I shook my head, laughing softly at myself. Maybe I was just tired. Maybe I’d watched too many N*****x thrillers and was imagining things because the man was rich, arrogant, and clearly allergic to smiling. Still… I hated his arrogance but as I darted through the images of Joachim, I saw myself gaping at one for longer than I should. He was leaning against his car, his jaw set, his cold eyes sharp. There was something about him that was interesting. I shook my head, mentally waking myself up. He wasn’t my type. He could never be. He was filthy rich and here I was in my small room setting up his photos for sale, but maybe except a miracle would happen — which I was sure couldn't happen in my dreams either — I might see that perfect devil again. But apart from that, I knew I had to do some rehearsal, should have even started practicing. Everyone would be dying to hear how my date went. I knew someone didn't actually sleep and if it had been possible to follow me to the restaurant, they would have done so. If only I could tell them, no one would want a girl like me. Fashion sense= 0/100 My glasses were just another case and I argued alot. I was about saving one of his photos that I liked into a new folder when I heard feet approaching. Gracious heavens, I should have known that Aunt Anna was a bat. With the speed test even lightning would envy, I shut my laptop and drew the duvet up to my chin and pretended to be fast asleep. Aunt Anna opened the door slowly, hoping to catch me up and make me go deaf with too questions. But I was ‘fast asleep’. She ducked her head in, switched on the lights, sighed and left. I waited for the sound of her steps to fade before my thoughts drifted back to Joachim Knight. The man I’d argued with, the man I couldn’t stop thinking about. I got up, pushed the blankets aside and was ready to finish up a sale when the door was pushed open. Damn. I should have known. "Gatcha," my aunt said, smiling and bringing the lights on. Heavens. Just then, my aunt opened the door too, poking her head inside. "So, how was your date?" I froze, my heart leaping into my throat. “Great,” I mumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket up to my chin. “It was... fine.” She eyed me suspiciously, but I pretended to be asleep, hoping she’d let it go. She sighed and closed the door. Better than I continued. But also, I forced myself to push it out of my mind. He was rich. He was cold. He was arrogant with a capital letter A, and I was surely not his type. Still I couldn’t help but wonder. What if a miracle happens?Yvette's pov The silence in this car was so thick. It even felt like a living thing. I hate this kind of silence, I prefer the noise that Manhattan brings and now it feels like I'm about to choke. But inside this silent, leather tomb, it was just the engine hum and him. He was just sitting there, being all maddeningly calm.He hasn't looked at me once since he told the driver to stop. He was completely focused on his tablet, his fingers swiping through whatever. He was the picture of perfect, unbothered control. This wasn't just him waiting me out. This is a demonstration. He's showing me, not telling me, that he has all the time in the world. Probably centuries of it. And me, I had just about two hundred bucks to my name and a supply of stubbornness.My brain was spinning, trying to find a way out. What are my options?Maybe I would scream at the top of my voice and bang the glass but anyone seeing a woman screaming in a Maybach might think I was begging my husband not to take
So the deal's done.My hand is still buzzing where he touched it. It was cold. Not just winter-cold, but wrong like touching a statue. It just sucked the heat right out of me. Joachim Knight didn't just shake my hand, no, that was a branding. A final stamp. As if he was a king signing a death warrant or a life warrant. I'm still not sure which is worse. His grip was just this silent, heavy promise of all the control he had now. Then Harris—Detective Harris—shuffled back in and his face looked like he had gone to the locker room to cry.He really wanted me to go to jail.One minute he's a shark circling me, all smug and predatory and the next, he can barely look Joachim in the eye. He's standing all stiff, trying to look professional. It was actually kind of stunning to see power, real power, just radiating off a guy sitting perfectly still.Harris slides some papers across the table. The scrape was so loud in that quiet room. "Sign here," he says, "and here and here." Basically, it
Yvette's povI was in trouble.And now it was starting to look like that was the only thing I was good at.The news had spread like a wildfire, every blog, every headline screamed my name as I watched the TV from the interrogation room through the window.I tried to pretend like it was fine but my stomach dropped.Tessa Miller didn't want to talk out of court, she'd been granting interviews and now my life is a mess. My career, my image — everything was in the balance, shaking on the edge of a precipice. I just needed a way out of all this. But after that I would continue. This was business and I guess being a paparazzo paid way better.I took a deep breath,“ Yvette Moreno ”I groaned inwardly and looked up and I froze.Joachim Knight.Manhattan’s renowned lawyer?Of all people?I sat there staring at him. He looked arrogant and effortlessly handsome, he'd had the kind of face that looked like it made for headlines, a handsome, white-as-a-sheet face— and a voice that made you listen,
Yvette's povThe look I gave Detective Harris was half board, half slightly irritated.“Are you going to sit there and stare at me or are you going to ask me something?” I asked. To be completely honest, I couldn't tell if I or he was having the worst day.He had been staring at me like I was supposed to confess that I had started the Salem witch trials.If I had known this could have happened, I could have played sick and, now with what had happened, I guess orange might be my favorite color soon.I sighed and a bit hard on the gum and Harris gave me a long look that made me want to swallow the gum.“You should be feeling remorseful, Moreno.”“Yeah,” I said dryly. “I should probably cry a swimming pool.”Harris's big, serious detective stare was obviously meant to look intimidating, and he raised an eyebrow, but I didn't flinch. It wasn't my fault though that I had to do what I had to do.Gosh!“It's hot in here.”He gave me another hard look.“You think this is a game Ms. Moreno?”I
Joachim's pov“Mr. Knight, the court has made a decision. The judge's voice cut through the icy and decisive. “We rule in the defendant's favor.”I swallowed hard and couldn't believe what I was just hearing. The blood immediately drained from my face, and I was blinded by anger.I hardly noticed them. The judge kept looking at me and said,“ Guilty on all charges.”Given the cracks that had just appeared in my flawless armor, he might as well have been peering through me.In a decisive manner, the gavel fell. This was the second time, and I didn't see this coming. I exhaled and shook my head and my heart almost skipped a beat.I, Joachim Knight. The greatest lawyer in town. And my defeat was blinding. As people started to leave, I could hardly hear the shuffle of feet or the rustle of papers. As he gathered his belongings, my opponent, a shady middle-tier lawyer who ought to have been a footnote in my career, grinned smugly.His arrogance was a kick in the face, but it made no differ
Joachim's pov.The phone call ended, and I sat in silence for a moment, letting Delilah’s words settle in my gut.“Do you know any other lawyer who could handle my case better? ” she had asked so politely it nearly sounded like a warning.I rubbed my temples, pushing down the frustration. The last thing I needed right now was to feel second-rate. I was supposed to be the best at what I did.My track record has made me a name in the legal world. But after the new judge, Maxwell Lark, took over for the former one, things changed.I’d become the lawyer who couldn't file a case, no matter how hard I tried. Always second, never first.And Delilah — she was starting to notice. She was looking at other attorneys now. And that hurt more than I wanted to admit.Frankly speaking, the question had pierced my heart like an arrow.And why wouldn’t she doubt me? Recently, I've come second in every major case. It wasn’t just the press that had it out for me, Maxwell Lark, too, just because of a ruin