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26

Author: VEE JAY
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-09-04 14:48:04

I inhaled slowly, letting Manny’s words settle in my mind. I had never met Twila or Jareth Lockhart, but I’d certainly heard of them. Theron’s father had a reputation that preceded him ruthless in business, sharp as a blade. He was known to devour smaller companies to expand his empire, often with no hint of remorse. A true titan, feared and revered.

His mother, on the other hand, had always been a mystery. I hadn’t even known her name until I signed the contract with Theron and did a bit of digging into the Lockhart family. Eventually, I stumbled across a few old magazine spreads elegant galas, velvet gowns, diamond smiles. Twila Lockhart, standing poised beside her husband, looked like she belonged in a timeless painting. She was the kind of woman who wore secrets like perfume ageless, refined, and always hiding a hint of something behind that delicate, unreadable smile.

“Is Jareth Lockhart as terrifying as people say?” I asked.

Manny gave a low chuckle. “Yes… and no. He doesn’t suf
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  • Belonging to Lockhart   36

    A soft caress brushed against my cheek, gently stirring me from sleep. As my eyes blinked open, they adjusted slowly to the muted light filling Theron’s bedroom. He stood beside the bed, fastening the buttons of his shirt, a gentle smile gracing his lips. “What time is it?” My voice came out hoarse, barely louder than a whisper. “Almost six,” he replied, a flicker of hesitation in his voice. “I need to head to the office. I would’ve let you sleep, but... I didn’t want you waking up to an empty room.” He paused, uncertain. “Of course, you can go back to sleep and” “No.” I sat up, brushing my hair back. “I planned to go in today anyway. I might as well go with you.” His brows drew together. “Are you sure? You don’t have to rush back.” I inhaled deeply. “I do. My team’s counting on me, and I want that presentation ready by the end of next week.” He nodded slowly, taking in my words. “All right. I’ll make us breakfast. Think you can be ready in thirty minutes?” A grin tu

  • Belonging to Lockhart   35

    Such a small word "Us" yet it echoed in my head like something foreign, almost surreal. Ansel had been my ex, my burden to bear, and yet… somehow, I knew Theron wasn’t going to let me face this alone. He wouldn’t step aside and let me clean up the wreckage Ansel left behind, not when Eldon Alcott was involved. Theron despised that man. Any chance to tear him down, he’d gladly take. But it wasn’t just that. This fight? He was in it for me. Theron had told me to focus on recovering while he and Mr. Gallows mapped out our defense against Ansel and Alcott. I wanted to protest I tried but I wasn’t blind. I knew I couldn’t do much from a hospital bed. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. Ansel’s case, Alcott’s involvement, Twila’s looming shadow... I still hadn’t told Theron the truth about my past, and time was slipping through my fingers. “Maybe you should just call him,” Romilly suggested gently. “Tell him you need to talk.” With Theron deep in strategy meetings with h

  • Belonging to Lockhart   34

    AMARIS POV I woke on a bed that didn’t belong to me, bathed in sterile light that made my head throb. A sharp breath caught in my lungs, and the sharp tang of antiseptic confirmed what the white walls already whispered hospital. My eyelids blinked against the brightness until shapes sharpened, until I realized I wasn’t alone. A warm hand wrapped gently around mine, and my body flinched in reflex. “It’s okay, Ami,” Theron’s voice murmured, low and soothing like dark velvet. My head turned toward the sound, and there he was disheveled, but there. His white shirt sleeves were rolled to his forearms, his suit jacket nowhere in sight, his tie missing, and the faint scruff along his jaw said he hadn’t left this room for hours. Maybe longer. He reached for my hand again, this time slower. His fingertips brushed the lines in my palm with reverence. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt you anymore.” He. Ansel. The name dragged a fresh scream through my memory. His laughter, his grip aro

  • Belonging to Lockhart   33

    THERON POV Manny’s voice lingered in my head long after the call ended. The truth he'd uncovered or rather, failed to uncover only deepened the pit in my gut. A handful of rumors had been enough to shatter Ami’s life… and kill her father. Manny had tried everything, used every backdoor trick he knew, but still came up empty. No trace of where the lies had begun. That alone told me someone had worked hard deliberately to bury the trail. Which only confirmed what I’d already suspected: the rumors had started back in high school. But not just any school Bloom Rise Private High School, the prestige-laced cage my grandfather, Tobin Lockhart, had built. The place wasn’t a school it was an empire incubator. A hub for the wealthy, the brilliant, and the entitled. Most of the students were spoiled, arrogant heirs with more money than morals. And the rest? A handful of scholarship kids genuinely gifted, like Ami. She had earned her place. I had inherited mine. I was the golden boy

  • Belonging to Lockhart   32

    Amaris’ POV I knew this moment would come eventually. I’d always known I couldn’t outrun my nightmares forever. I just hoped that when they finally caught up to me, they’d come gently like stepping into an icy lake, inch by inch, lungs filled with calm, steady breaths until the cold became bearable. Instead, it felt like I’d been shoved headfirst into a frozen sea, limbs flailing, lungs burning as I struggled to keep myself from drowning. Twila had left me no choice. Her ultimatum made it clear I had to tell Theron everything. The full truth. But the very thought chilled me to the bone. He hadn’t believed me before. Why would he believe me now, when the rumors were louder than anything I could say? For three nights, sleep had been replaced by relentless, vivid nightmares. Each one started with the same image: my father’s terrified face as he dropped to his knees in front of the police officers, pleading, insisting the allegations weren’t true. And then always he collapsed, lif

  • Belonging to Lockhart   31

    THERON POV “She doesn’t believe us.” That was all Amaris said when she stepped out of my mother’s study. Her face was drained of color, her hands visibly trembling. Whatever my mother had said or done, it had shaken her. I asked more than once. Each time, she shook her head or turned away. The silence clung to her all the way back to the penthouse, heavy and unrelenting. “I never should’ve left you alone with her,” I muttered, dragging my hand down my face in frustration. “She would’ve found another way to corner me,” Amaris replied softly, her gaze locked on the blur of the city outside the car window. I reached across the seat and clasped her hand, trying to tether her to me somehow. “Tell me what she said, Ami. I need to know.” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Please… not now.” Her eyes flicked toward the driver before slipping back to the window, distant again. I hated this. Hated not knowing. Hated feeling helpless. I could’ve raised the privacy glass, t

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