ANMELDENChapter Seventy Seven Jade’s POVKillian’s lips stayed on my neck long after the front door shut behind Caleb.Slow.Deliberate.Like he was trying to replace every ugly thought in his head with the taste of me and it was working.I hated how much it was working.My fingers curled into his shirt as his mouth moved lower, the warm drag of his lips making my skin tingle.“Killian…” I whispered, half warning, half surrender.His hand tightened around my waist.“I’m not in the mood to be reasonable,” he murmured against my skin.My breath hitched.“I noticed.”He chuckled softly,low and humourless.Then he kissed the pulse point in my neck, right where my heartbeat was betraying me.“You calm me down,” he murmured.I blinked, caught off guard.“That’s not fair,” I whispered.Killian pulled back slightly, his gaze meeting mine.His eyes were still dark, but the rage in them had softened into something else.Something deeper.Something more dangerous.“Nothing about you is fair,” he said q
Chapter Seventy six Jade’s POV The papers in Caleb’s hands looked ordinary. Just white sheets. Black ink. Legal language. But the weight of them… It felt like someone had dropped a bomb right in the middle of our home. Killian didn’t move. He stood in the hallway like a statue carved out of ice, his eyes fixed on nothing, jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitch. Caleb flipped through the pages again, as if reading it twice would magically make it less insane. “It’s aggressive,” Caleb muttered, mostly to himself. “Very aggressive.” Killian’s voice was calm. Too calm. “What exactly does it mean?” Caleb inhaled slowly. “She’s requesting immediate suspension of custody pending psychological evaluation,” he said. “She’s claiming you’re unstable and emotionally unfit.” Killian’s eyes flickered. “And the judge can grant it?” Caleb hesitated. “Not permanently,” he said. “But temporary emergency orders can happen faster than you think, especially if the judge be
Chapter Seventy Five Jade’s POVThe peace didn’t last.It never did.The morning after we got home, the house felt warm again,alive in the way it always did when Aurelia was running around with too much energy and not enough supervision.She had already demanded pancakes, argued with Margaret about syrup, and tried to convince Killian that cartoons were “important education.”Killian, of course, pretended to be irritated.But I saw it.The way his eyes softened when she laughed.The way his hand automatically reached out to steady her when she climbed the sofa like it was a mountain.It was the kind of normal I didn’t know I needed until I had it.And it almost made me forget…Next week is coming.I was in the living room, still in one of Killian’s shirts, hair tied back, laptop open on the coffee table as I reviewed the notes from my pitch.Aurelia sat beside me with her iPad, legs swinging happily, humming to herself.Killian stood by the window, phone pressed to his ear, speaking
Chapter Seventy FourJade's povKillian’s mouth was still on mine when I heard it again.A knock.Sharp. Polite. Annoyingly timed.Killian didn’t stop kissing me immediately.If anything, he deepened it,like he wanted the world to know it could wait.Then he finally pulled away, his lips brushing mine one last time before his gaze lifted toward the door, eyes dark with irritation.“Ignore it,” I whispered, breathless.His jaw flexed.“They’ve knocked twice,” he muttered. “If I ignore it again, I’ll end up killing someone in a resort owned by people I might need.”I let out a soft laugh.Killian stepped away reluctantly, his shirt half-unbuttoned, his hair slightly disheveled, his presence still filling the room like a storm that hadn’t decided whether to rain or burn.He walked to the door.I stayed on the bed, pulling the blanket higher over my chest even though it was pointless. The way he had been looking at me… the way he had touched me…It already felt like my body was exposed.K
Chapter Seventy ThreeJade’s POVKillian didn’t speak much after that.Not because he was angry.Not because he was bothered.But because he had this quiet, dangerous calm about him,like he had already decided Sheila didn’t deserve another second of his attention and somehow, that was worse.Because it made me feel…protected.Like no matter what anyone said, he would always place himself between me and the world.We walked into the restaurant like nothing had happened.Like I hadn’t just been insulted.Like he hadn’t just called my stepsister garbage with the straightest face imaginable.The hostess greeted him with a smile so wide it almost looked painful.“Mr. Montclair,” she said, practically glowing. “We’ve prepared your table.”Killian nodded once, barely acknowledging her excitement.His hand stayed on my lower back as he guided me forward, like I was the only thing in the room worth touching.I should’ve felt awkward.But I didn’t.I felt like a wife.Not the contract kind.Th
Chapter Seventy twoJade’s POVThe building felt different when I walked into it this time.Two weeks ago, I walked into that boardroom with fear hidden under lipstick and confidence forced into my spine.Today, I walked in with a folder in my hand and my head held high.Not because I wasn’t nervous.I was.But because nervousness didn’t mean weakness.It meant I cared.Killian’s driver dropped me off at the entrance, and as soon as I stepped into the lobby, people looked.Not the same way they used to.Not curious glances that asked who is she?But looks said that’s her.The woman who had stood in front of the board.The CEO’s wife.The woman who dared to pitch.I hated that part of it.The part where my name wasn’t mine alone.But I refused to let it shrink me.I walked into the elevator and rode straight up, my heartbeat steady but loud in my chest.The directors’ meeting wasn’t in the main boardroom.It was in a smaller conference room on the top floor.More private.More serious.
Chapter Forty eight Jade POVI didn’t run to my room after I left Killian’s office.I wanted to.My legs felt weak enough to betray me if I tried.But running would make it obvious.Running would make it look like I had something to hide.So instead, I walked out with my head held high.Like nothi
Chapter forty five Jade POVI still remember Killian’s mouth was still on my neck when the knock came.Sharp and impatient.The kind that didn’t belong to a delivery man or a neighbor.Both of us froze instantly.Killian had lifted his head slowly, his breathing uneven against my skin. His eyes me
Chapter forty four Jade POVA whole weekend alone with Killian. The words replayed in my head like a warning bell I refused to acknowledge.I stood in the living room long after Aurelia and Camille had left, staring at the closed door like it might open again and prove this was all some joke.But
Chapter Forty Jade’s POVThe courthouse didn’t feel like a building.It felt like a battlefield.Cold marble floors. High ceilings. Echoes of footsteps that sounded too loud no matter how carefully you walked. Everything about it carried weight. Authority, judgment and today, it felt like all of







