LOGINVictor’s POVAt the bar, Amelia is practically draped over me....her fingers tracing lazy circles on my chest,....but I barely register her presence. All I can think about is Alice. The meeting we had plays over and over in my head like a stubborn echo. She has always been fierce. Stubborn. Unyielding. But how dare she keep insisting she won’t marry me?My jaw tightens as I take a slow sip of my drink, the burn of the alcohol doing nothing to calm the irritation rising in me. I mean… I am a fine catch. Any woman would consider herself lucky...no, privileged....to be my wife. But not Alice. My little Allie. A faint smirk tugs at my lips despite myself. She should be grateful that I want her. And yet… The thought shifts, softens against my will. I’m the lucky one. Because my little Allie is the most beautiful woman I have ever known. Infuriatingly beautiful. Even when she’s arguing, eyes blazing, voice sharp… My fingers tighten slightly around the glass. She can
Alice POVMy meeting with Victor did not go the way I wanted.Not even close.He kept throwing his weight around...his presence, his authority...like I had no choice but to bend. I stood my ground… barely. Every word I said felt like a battle I was struggling to win. And yet, despite everything… he still affects me. In ways I should have forgotten by now. Especially when he said it.... "I adore you. I always have." The words echo in my head, refusing to fade. I was moved… then surprised… then utterly confused. What does that even mean? I don’t want to be adored. I want to be loved. Or… do I? No. That’s not even the point. What I truly want is for this marriage to be cancelled. This isn’t about love… or adoration… Or is it? Ugh! I drag my fingers through my hair in frustration. Victor isn’t after me. He’s after my inheritance. That has to be it. My phone rings. I blink, pulled out of my thoughts. “Hello, Alice speaking.” Silence.
Victor’s POVAlice’s call caught me off guard.A slow smile spreads across my face as I lower the phone from my ear. I didn’t expect her to reach out first. Not my stubborn little Allie.She used to trail after me like a shadow, always soft, always hopeful.Now she speaks with authority… sharp, composed, distant.I lean back in my chair, exhaling slowly.“My little Allie,” I murmur under my breath, my fingers tightening around the phone. “All grown up… fierce… remarkable.”Just the way I like them.The last words I told her echo in my head, sending a shiver down my spine. Heat coils low in my chest....not just desire, but something deeper… darker. A need. A pull.I want to hold her. I want to own her.To feel her breathe against me.To remind her where she belongs.Mine.Body. Soul. Spirit.But the thought doesn’t bring the comfort it should. Instead, something twists painfully in my chest.She thinks this marriage will be a sham.If only she knew.I drag a hand dow
Alice’s POVI was halfway through reviewing a contract when my office door burst open, slamming against the wall.I flinched, my pen slipping from my fingers.“Alice Smith,” a sharp female voice rang out, dripping with mock amusement. “You really do have some guts.”A tall blonde woman strode into my office like she owned it. My secretary hurried in behind her, breathless.“Ma’am, I tried to stop her...."“It’s fine,” I said, even though my heart was already pounding. “You can go back to work.”The door clicked shut, leaving the stranger and me alone.I leaned back slowly, forcing calm into my posture.“Good day. And who are you?”She folded her arms, her gaze sweeping over me with open contempt.“You don’t need to know me. Just stay away from my man.”Confusion flickered through me. “What man? I’m not with anybody’s man.”She laughed....loud, mocking, certain.“You think you can fool me?”Something about the certainty in her voice made my chest tighten. Still, irrita
Victor’s POV“Her inheritance? What for?” he asked, his brows knitting together as he leaned back in his chair.I didn’t answer immediately. I let the silence stretch just long enough to make him curious. My fingers tapped once against the armrest before I spoke.“As her husband-to-be, I need to know everything about my bride,” I said calmly. “Her likes, dislikes, hobbies, friends, family… properties, inheritance.”I held his gaze.“Everything.”“Oh… well…” He cleared his throat and adjusted the files on his desk. “I can give you a list of everything she inherits at the age of twenty-five.”“Mr. Smith,” I said, my tone polite but firm, “I don’t want a list. I want the papers of ownership and the proceeds for all the properties she inherits.”He paused. His fingers stopped moving.“Papers of ownership?” he repeated slowly, studying me as though trying to read what lay beneath my words.“Hmmm.”For a moment, the only sound in the room was the low hum of the air conditioner.
Alice’s POVIt had been four days since Dad dropped the bombshell about my marriage to Victor.Four days… and the words still didn’t feel real.I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, twisting the edge of my bedsheet between my fingers. In just one month, I would be twenty-five. Normally, my birthday was the one day of the year I looked forward to the most. Dad and Uncle always made it magical.My chest tightened.Uncle.A dull ache settled in my throat as I turned onto my side and hugged my pillow. He had disappeared without a trace. No warning. No explanation. Just… gone. We searched everywhere. Asked everyone. Nothing.I swallowed hard.I hope you’re alive… wherever you are.“Uncle, where are you?” I whispered into the empty room.My phone buzzed loudly on the bedside table, making me jump. I wiped at my eyes before grabbing it.“Hello, Evans. How’re you doing?” I tried to sound normal.There was a pause.“Alice… who am I to you?”I frowned, sitting up. “What’s wron



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