FAZER LOGINThe knocking came again—sharp, insistent, and impossible to ignore.Vincent’s jaw tightened. He cast one last glance toward the bed where Rossi had burrowed deeper under the sheets, then crossed the suite and opened the door just enough to step into the corridor. Vincent’s annoyance deflated somewhat.Julian stood there looking more harried than Vincent had ever seen him, even when he usually overworked him. Tablet in hand, expression professionally neutral, Julian’s gaze flicked once to Vincent’s bare chest—marked with faint scratches and the unmistakable signs of recent passion—before he quickly looked away thinking:'She didn’t look it, but Secretary Rossi was pretty fierce.'“We have a problem,” Julian said hesitantly.Vincent didn’t bother with Julian’s pressed expression. He kept his voice low. “Security cameras?”“Already checked. The hallway feeds were looped for twenty minutes last night. Professional work.” Julian paused, then added carefully, “But that’s not the main issu
The silence in the suite wasn’t empty. It pressed in, heavy with the sound of their breathing.Behind Vincent, the curtains stirred in the morning light, casting a faint golden edge over his shoulders. He looked composed, almost unfairly so.Isabella blinked slowly, his earlier words finally sinking in. “Wait. You’re firing me… because we slept together?”She gestured between them, her voice steadier than she felt.Vincent didn’t answer right away. He simply watched her from the edge of the bed, expression unreadable, like she was a problem he hadn’t yet decided how to file.Her pulse hammered, but she walked back toward him anyway. She was wearing his shirt now—it hung loose on her frame, the hem brushing her thighs. At least she was wearing his pants.“Say it clearly,” she said, stopping a few steps away. “Don’t make me guess.”Vincent swung his legs over the side of the bed in one smooth motion. The sheet slipped lower on his hips. “I don’t mix business with pleasure, Rossi.”The w
Warm sunlight spilled across her cheek. A low, hoarse groan escaped Isabella’s throat—more like a wounded baby deer than a person. She wanted to say something, but only a few monotone syllables fell out. Her head was pounding something fierce. Then she vaguely felt her head being lifted by a hand… followed by something touching her lips. Soft. Icy. Something thin and dry pressed snugly against her mouth, rubbing gently. Then a warm, moist pressure slid between her lips—a tongue, coaxing her teeth apart. Isabella’s mind was fogged to hell. She subconsciously followed the temperature, pressing her lips closer, sucking lightly at the tongue invading her mouth. The cedar-and-spice scent seeped into her senses, traveling along her tongue, her throat, her spine. And with every second, reality sharpened. Her eyes fluttered open and a vision came together. Her consciousness clicked in. And then— oh no. Vincent Sinclair’s face filled her entire field of view, close e
Julian's heart ricocheted in his chest for the hundredth time since Darling Sinclair arrived. She wasn’t someone he could refuse. Her words held actual weight and she was as much of a pain as the Old President Sinclair. He had to tread lightly with her. So, who could blame him for what he did next? Julian plastered on his most dazzling customer-service-approved smile, bowed with flair, and said, "Please, this way, Miss Sinclair." Clarisse Dubois, Vincent’s mother: "..." She sputtered for a few seconds, drawing enraged breaths. Julian avoided her eyes like a man with high-grade self-preservation lotion. But it couldn’t be helped. Who let Darling Sinclair be more important than Clarisse in Chairman Sinclair’s heart? In the grand, messed-up hierarchy of Vincent Sinclair’s world, the mega-star aunt with a direct line to the Sinclair family fortune outranked the perpetually disapproving mother. It was just facts. He was leading Darling upstairs when the rapid steps of the others s
“Enough!”Clarisse barreled between the two women and shoved Zoe back as if she carried a contagious disease.Her tone dripped venom.“Leave. Her. Alone. You dare lay your filthy hands on my daughter?”Zoe stumbled back, chest heaving, a clump of blonde hair clutched victoriously in her fist.Chloe scrambled away, her own scalp stinging, her designer dress twisted and torn at the shoulder. The illusion of the perfect heiress was utterly shattered.Clarisse's glare on Zoe could melt skin from bone if allowed. Zoe, however, was entirely unbothered.Clarisse then turned her wrath on the true targets of her fury. Her eyes, cold and sharp, landed on Helena and Harrison Grant.“And you,” she sneered, her voice dripping with a lifetime of condescension. “Look at the son you raised. My daughter fell for your son and lowered her prestige by going public with this engagement in great fanfare, yet here he is dragging his trashy ex-girlfriends around at his own engagement? Is this what your famil
Chloe Dubois pressed the phone to her ear so hard the plastic creaked, her body turned away from the dying remnants of her engagement party.The ballroom was a ghost of its former self—a few stunned waiters, scattered rose petals, and the glaring evidence of a scandal.Her voice was a venomous hiss. “Is she SPIDERMAN? What do you mean you ‘lost her through the window’?”The voice on the other end sputtered, a mess of excuses about “unexpected resistance” and “the drug not working fast enough.”“Useless,” Chloe cut in, her voice dropping to a deadly calm. “All three of you. You couldn’t handle a drugged, defenseless girl. And you call yourselves professionals. She jumped through a window on the 22nd floor? Is that possible?Fools.” She hung up without another word.Forgetting her usually put-together self, she kicked and stomped in the air, imagining she was doing it to Isabella’s face as she did so.When she stopped, her breaths came in short, frayed gasps. Chloe’s mind spiraled, her
The singer hit a pure high note just as the lights caught her microphone, scattering silver across the stage.Her hair was tied up, her makeup simple and sweet — the picture of charm under the golden light.When the note dwindled, Isabella joined the polite applause that followed.Beside her, Zoe w
“Miss Rossi,” Anna said softly, cutting through the noise.“Don’t look so stricken. Accidents happen.”The chill that passed through Isabella felt colder than the champagne dripping down her legs.Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Around her, the murmurs were swelling, an invisible tide of ju
Zoe was already singing when Isabella spotted her across the street.Off-key. Loud. Unapologetic.“🎵 City of looove~ 🎵”Heads turned. Zoe didn’t care. She twirled once under the café’s striped awning, arms out like she was auditioning for a musical.Isabella couldn’t help smiling as she approache
Anna de Vries had always known that the Dubois family never did subtle.Even now, the ballroom glittered like it had been built to outshine the stars themselves. Crystal chandeliers, champagne towers, soft jazz weaving through the hum of gossip and money. Every bouquet of white roses seemed to whi







