Chapter 5

The silent backseat of the Maybach felt vast and soundless.

The neon lights sliding past the windows and the towering buildings blazing with color were sights Elise had never seen before.

Beside her, Merrick sat expressionless.

He hadn’t spoken since getting into the car, and Margaret hadn’t come out to see him off.

It seemed the conversation had ended badly.

Elise gently hooked her fingers around his, testing his mood.

He laced their hands together, firm and familiar, just as he always had.

Starview Palace was the most exclusive luxury enclave in the heart of Crown City.

Its crown jewel was the thousand-square-meter penthouse villa that floated above the skyline, the place Merrick called home.

Elise stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the night city. It felt completely different from the view earlier.

“What are you looking at?” he asked, steam still clinging to him from the shower.

Elise slipped into his arms, playing the role of the poor girl raised on barren land, dazzled by her first glimpse of the wider world.

“The night view is beautiful from here.”

She rose on her toes and brushed a kiss against his lips. “Thank you, Merrick. If it weren’t for you, I might never have left Borderfall. I would’ve never seen anything like this.”

Her eyes softened with emotion as she looked at him, but beneath the lowered lashes hid a faint, quiet indifference, and secrets.

Such a view only strengthened her determination to climb higher.

Merrick wrapped an arm around her waist. “If you like it, I’ll give it to you.”

“What?” Elise’s gaze flickered, pretending she didn’t understand.

“Merrick, what do you mean?”

Was he already preparing to part ways with her?

Dressed in the pure white dress Charles had set out, Elise looked like an untouched blossom.

But Merrick knew better.

He said calmly, “I have a few more units in this complex. You can pick whichever one you like.”

“I don’t want it.” Elise rejected the offer without hesitation.

Elise buried her face against his chest again, holding him a little tighter.

Whether this was a test or not, she understood one thing clearly: the moment she accepted a house, every consequence of his loss of control would be wiped clean.

For a man who never lacked money, it was the easiest way to solve a problem.

The robe hung loosely over his shoulders, relaxed and unrestrained.

Beneath Merrick’s sharp nose, his lips pressed into a faint line, unconsciously drawing the eye.

“Look at me.” His voice carried a subtle authority.

Elise lifted her head obediently, her eyes fixed on him with a stubbornness she couldn’t hide.

He curved a faint smile. “Do you know how much a place here costs?”

She shook her head stubbornly. “No matter how much, I don’t want it.”

Her voice carried a note of unease. “I know your mother doesn’t like me. If accepting a house means losing you, then I’d rather have nothing.”

Her arms tightened around his waist, even more fiercely than the first day they met.

Merrick’s hand slid over hers at his waist, his tone laced with quiet warning. “Elise, if you pass on this chance, there won’t be another.”

Heat bled through the thin fabric and pressed against her heart, but Elise pretended not to notice the scrutiny in his gaze above her.

“Then there won’t be,” she said, steady and sure.

She was gambling that by refusing all of this, she could earn this man’s respect.

Her lashes cast a shadow over her eyes, hiding the all-in courage burning behind them.

Her fingertips grazed the skin beneath his loose robe, light as a whisper.

Merrick’s hand tightened around her waist, his furrowed brows gradually easing, a faint curve tugging at his lips.

After that night, Merrick never mentioned compensation again.

She knew she had won the bet.

Merrick was busy.

Aside from the suit he left in the bathroom each night—proof he returned to the penthouse to sleep—the two of them hadn’t crossed paths in a long time.

Elise was settled in the sky villa, where the building’s concierge delivered her three meals a day.

She lacked nothing.

But this wasn’t the life she wanted.

She wanted to attend university.

The villa had a spacious study filled with finance books, several of them marked with handwritten notes that looked like Merrick’s.

She dragged a comfortable armchair into the study.

When she looked up, she saw the glittering skyline of Crown City; when she looked down, she studied the development of global finance.

In one month, Elise had finished almost every book in that room.

It was time for the next step.

Before the town elder tricked her into returning home—using her mother’s burial as an excuse—Elise had just received her admission letter from Crown City’s most prestigious university.

She should have been a promising, brilliant student, but instead, she was locked away in her hometown, forced to miss her enrollment, nearly losing both her future and her dignity.

It was her hardship.

But hardship alone wasn’t enough to soften Merrick.

A beautiful clinging vine was still just an accessory, but what about a climber who fought her way upward to reach him?

A glint flashed through Elise’s eyes.

A plan took shape.

That night, when Merrick didn’t find her in the master bedroom, he searched the penthouse until he discovered her asleep in the study.

A half-read book rested against her chest, the chair beside her stacked high with volumes—all written by top finance professors from her ideal university.

He stared at her for a long moment before finally lifting her into his arms and carrying her back to the master bedroom.

The following morning was a weekend.

Elise woke to find Merrick still there, and she knew she’d taken a solid step forward.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, her cheek brushing lightly against his neck. “Merrick, I haven’t seen you in so long.”

Beneath the thin robe, she carried the spark she’d lit on purpose.

The last time they’d been this close was the night the Grant family’s bodyguards came to pull him back to Crown City.

Acting as if she didn’t notice his desire to pull away, Elise brushed her lips against his and lifted her gaze to those dark, unreadable eyes.

She shut her own quickly, testing the edge of his restraint with careful boldness.

But no matter how she coaxed his breath, he stayed still as stone, lips firmly sealed, leaving her momentarily discouraged.

Just as she feigned irritation and began to pull away, a strong hand caught her, and his mouth covered hers again.

Elise’s suspended heart finally settled.

Two hours later, she rested against his chest when a low voice rumbled above her. “Elise, do you still want to go to university?”

Her breath caught: it was finally here.

She let out a soft, practiced sigh. “My school enrollment is in Borderfall, and the principal is the town’s elder’s nephew…”

Some things were best left implied because too much would spoil the effect.

“Forget it.”

She lifted her chin with a bright smile, meeting his eyes. “I’ve already proven what I can do. Things are good enough now.”

If she were truly content, she wouldn’t have used Merrick’s computer to look up information on repeating a year.

His account was still logged in—if he cared to check, he could easily see her search history.

Elise played the retreat to advance, though her heart was already lodged in her throat.

His gaze held endless darkness. “Do you want it?”

Her voice caught. “Yes.”

“Then you’ll study.”

He brushed a hand over her head, his tone carrying the commanding weight of someone born to power.

A few days later.

Merrick’s secretary, Desmond Brown, arrived with a document.

“Miss Jones, your registration has been processed.”

Desmond never expected that the person before him was the same straight-A prodigy from last year’s news.

She was the one whose perfect score had sent the Crown University admissions team all the way to Borderfall, only for them to come back empty-handed.

Her mother had been a resident of Crown City, which made the paperwork move even faster.

“Thank you.” Elise’s hands trembled as she accepted the file.

She could finally take the independent entrance exams in Crown City again.

When Merrick returned home from a business dinner, she caught him the moment he stepped inside.

Before the lights even turned on, she wrapped her arms around him.

Then, the sound of a zipper filled the hallway, and his throat tightened as he swallowed hard.

“Elise?”

“It’s me.”

The faint haze of alcohol in him deepened under her touch, turning slow and dangerous.

Just as his breath-stealing force closed in around her, the phone by the entryway vibrated, its distinct ringtone slicing through the moment.

Feeling Merrick’s sudden stillness, Elise forced herself to open her eyes despite the heat rippling through her body.

She caught a glimpse of the caller ID and saw Selena’s name glowing on the screen.

Selena was the woman the maids whispered about, the heiress engaged to Merrick’s older brother and the first love he had never been able to let go of.