LOGIN"I don't want to go back to what we were," she said. "I'd burn it down before I let that happen." Her chin lifted slightly. "So whatever this is," she said, "it has to be something we've never been." "From the ground up." The air between us had changed. Nothing had moved to change it. My finge
Edward's POV A flight of stairs. Elena's door was ajar when I reached the landing. I pushed it open and stepped inside. She was at the window. Coat still on. I shrugged mine off and set it on the chair by the door. The click of the latch made her shoulders tighten once before they released. "Y
Thursday. The registry doors opened before I fully reached them, air still adjusting around the gap, carrying paper dust and ink heat and the low sound of decisions being processed without ceremony, none of it pausing for me. My name came almost immediately. Not because I was expected—because the
Alicia's POV Apartment light warmed the room before I crossed the threshold. Elena stood at the counter, spoon tracing slow circles through a pot resting on low heat. Steam rose in thin strands, breaking apart under the ceiling light before it could gather into anything defined. My shoes paused b
Edward's POV I didn’t remember walking into the estate. I remembered the gate. Then nothing clean after that—just fragments of motion stitched together without pause. Headlights fading into the drive. The slow roll of tires over stone. The way the house lights adjusted as if it had already antic
The car didn’t stop at the main entrance. It passed the glass frontage of the building, continued past the visible entry point, and turned into the service approach that only functioned as an entrance once the guard stepped aside. No signage. No announcement. Just controlled access. I didn’t que
Edward's POV The boardroom emptied at four‑thirty. Cold coffee sat in a chipped mug. My phone lay facedown on the table. In my mind, the guest list played on repeat: the Carters. Jennifer Caldwell. Senator Whitmore. Three board members have been circling since my father's death. Waiting. They didn
Anaya's POV I woke to an empty bed. The sheets on Edward's side were cold. Undisturbed. He hadn't come to bed at all. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to decide if I cared. My chest felt tight, but I couldn't tell if it was hurt or just tiredness. Maybe both. Maybe neither
Edward's POV I pushed through the front door at half-past eight, loosening my tie as the cool air of the foyer washed over me. The house was too quiet. No music from upstairs, no housekeeper bustling about. Just the low sound of the chandelier and the faint clink of silverware from the dining roo
She arched against me, back bowing, breasts pressing against my chest. Her nails found my forearms now, digging in. "Edward—" I didn’t answer. Just kept moving, taking what was mine, what she’d already decided to give. What we both needed. Her body trembled beneath my hands. Her breath came in r







