LOGINChapter Seventy Eight Jade’s POVVivienne’s presence lingered long after her car disappeared from the gates.It was like the air itself had been poisoned.Even when the house went quiet again, even when Margaret returned to the kitchen and Aurelia went back to her cartoons, I could still feel it, the threat.The audacity.The way she smiled like she already owned the ending of our story.Killian didn’t speak on our way back inside.His hand stayed at my waist, firm and possessive, guiding me through the hallway like he didn’t trust the world not to snatch me away.When we stepped into the living room, he finally let go.But the look on his face didn’t soften.Not even a little.He walked straight to the bar stand near the wall, poured himself a drink, and downed it like water.Then another.I stood in the middle of the room, watching him.I had never seen him drink before. The anger in him was quiet, but it was dangerous.It wasn’t the kind that shouted.It was the kind that planned
Chapter 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 twenty sevenJade’s POVI woke up warm.Too warm.For a moment, I didn’t open my eyes. I just lay there, half-asleep, trying to understand why my body felt different.Then I felt it. An arm around me.Firm, heavy and secure.My breath caught slightly.Slowly, my senses began to sharpen.My
Chapter twenty fiveJade’s POVThe night air on the terrace had turned cooler.The soft music from the reception has been shut off completely. I could only hear unclear voices of who I assumed were decorators and the people moving the castle like cake. For the first time all day, everything felt q
Chapter twenty twoJade’s POVI woke up before the sun.For a few seconds I didn’t move. I just stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, my mind strangely blank.Then reality rushed back all at once.Today.Today I was getting married.My stomach twisted immediately.I turned to my side and for some reaso
Chapter nineteen I woke up the next morning feeling lighter than I had in days. The memory of the spa made me smile. I rolled on my side relishing in it. Killian had practically kidnapped me from the chaos of wedding planning and forced me to rest.My lips curved slightly.If someone had told me







