LOGINOrion's POVMy driver pressed harder on the accelerator. The car surged forward, the engine roaring as we wove aggressively through traffic. Other cars honked at us, swerving out of the way as we blew past them. I didn't care. I didn't care about traffic laws or safety or anything except getting to Anya.I tried calling her back. The phone rang once, twice, three times before going to voicemail. Her voice—calm and professional, from when she'd recorded the message—asked me to leave a message after the beep.I hung up and tried again.Straight to voicemail this time. Either her phone had died, or it was broken, or—I couldn't let myself finish that thought.I tried a third time. Same result."Fuck!" I slammed my fist against the car door, the impact doing nothing to relieve the helpless rage and fear coursing through me.I should have known. I should have seen the signs. The way she'd been so afraid when she'd had that nightmare. The way she'd locked up when I'd asked her to talk about
Orion's POVAfter dropping Anya off at her apartment building, I settled back into the leather seat and told my driver to take me to one of my nightclubs downtown.I needed alcohol. I needed noise and music and crowds of people to drown out the thoughts racing through my head. I needed to wash away all thoughts of Anya, to scrub her out of my mind and forget what had happened between us on this trip.I needed to get her out of my head.Kissing her had been a mistake. I knew that. I knew it. She was married. I was engaged to Kaia. We both had lives and commitments and responsibilities that didn't include each other. That kiss should never have happened, and I should regret it. I should feel guilty, ashamed, angry at myself for crossing that line.But I couldn't regret it.God help me, I couldn't.Her lips had tasted like heaven. Soft and sweet and perfect, just like I remembered from five years ago. Just like when we were younger, when things were so much simpler, when it was just the
Aria's POVI lay there on the floor, curled up and trembling, barely conscious. Every breath I tried to take sent stabbing pains through my chest. Blood was dripping from my nose, from my mouth, pooling on the carpet beneath my face. My whole body felt like it was on fire, like every nerve ending was exposed and screaming.Through my swollen, half-closed eyes, I saw Kennedy standing over me, breathing hard, his fists still clenched. He looked down at me with disgust, like I was something dirty he'd found on the bottom of his shoe."I need a drink," he muttered, his voice cold and detached.And then he just walked out of the bedroom, leaving me there bleeding and broken on the floor.For a moment, I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I could only lie there, shaking and crying and trying to remember how to breathe around the pain in my ribs. But then some tiny, desperate part of my brain that was still functioning realized something.This was my only chance to get help.He was gone. He'd
Anya’s POV My whole body went rigid with fear. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to run, to turn around and get out of there as fast as I could. But my feet felt frozen to the floor, like they'd been nailed down. My suitcase slipped from my numb fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud. I cautiously walked into the room, my steps small and hesitant, trying not to step on the broken glass that was scattered everywhere. My eyes darted around, taking in all the destruction again, my mind trying to process what could have made him this angry. The air in the room felt thick and dangerous, like the moment right before lightning strikes. Kennedy's jaw was tight, his eyes following my every movement like a predator tracking prey. When I was a few feet away from him, still standing near the doorway because some part of me needed to stay close to an exit, he spoke again. "Why did you go on a lover's trip with your boss?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm, each word carefu
Anya’s POV I couldn't talk to him. Not right now. Not when the guilt was still sitting heavy in my chest, not when I could still feel Orion's kiss on my lips. Kennedy would hear it in my voice somehow—he always seemed to know when something was wrong, when I was hiding something. And I couldn't risk that. I couldn't risk him suspecting anything. So I silenced my phone and shoved it deeper into my purse and tried not to think about what would be waiting for me when I finally did have to face him. Soon it was time to go back to New York. The business trip was over. All the meetings were done, all the presentations given, all the contracts signed or discussed or tabled for later. There was nothing left keeping us in this city, nothing left to do but pack up and head home. Orion's private jet took us back, the flight smooth and quiet. We sat on opposite ends of the cabin, him working on his laptop while I stared out the window at the clouds passing below. Neither of us spoke
Anya’s POV After Orion left my room, panic set in—real, genuine panic that made my hands shake and my stomach twist into knots so tight I thought I might be sick. I had just kissed a man that wasn't my husband. The thought kept repeating in my head like a broken record, over and over until it was all I could think about. I kissed him. I kissed Orion. I'm married and I kissed another man. It didn't matter that Kennedy and I had problems, that our marriage was falling apart at the seams, that he'd hurt me in ways I was still trying to process. None of that mattered. What mattered was that I'd crossed a line, and there was no taking it back. Kennedy would kill me if he found out. And I meant that almost literally. The thought of what he might do if he ever discovered what had happened tonight made my blood run cold. I'd seen his anger before, felt the sting of his hands, heard the venom in his voice when he was truly furious. This would be so much worse. This would be unfor







