تسجيل الدخولCHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN Vanessa sent a folder two days later, delivered by a courier to the office instead of the house, per Dom's insistence that nothing connected to this touch their home directly. "She's thorough," Dom admitted, flipping through the pages spread across his desk that evening, Cassie beside him with her own stack, Dom still in his work clothes hours after everyone else had gone home for the night, the office quiet except for the hum of the ventilation system. "I'll give her that much credit, at least.""She had a lot of time to pay attention," Cassie said, sliding another page toward the growing pile between them. "Sitting in rooms he thought she was too pretty to actually listen in on. His mistake, apparently, and now ours to benefit from.""Marcus always makes mistakes," Dom agreed, not looking up from the ledger in front of him.They worked in mostly comfortable silence for a while, cross-referencing dates against public records, Dom occasionally readi
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN The Ashford Foundation gala was held at the museum downtown. It's the kind of event where every surface gleamed under perfect lighting and every conversation carried the faint undertone of business being conducted beneath the small talk, fortunes and favors traded behind champagne flutes.Cassie had been holding her own for the better part of two hours, navigating introductions with Leo steady at her side, deflecting a handful of pointed questions about Marcus with the same practiced grace Dom had spent months teaching her, redirecting every barbed comment toward the company instead. She was finally taking a breath in the quiet of the ladies' room, splashing a little cool water on her wrists, when the door opened behind her."Cassie."She turned, and her whole body went rigid at the sight of Vanessa standing there, dressed elegantly in deep green silk, her eyes already red-rimmed like she'd been crying somewhere before finding her way in here, mascara
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN The Ashford Foundation gala was held at the museum downtown. It's the kind of event where every surface gleamed under perfect lighting and every conversation carried the faint undertone of business being conducted beneath the small talk, fortunes and favors traded behind champagne flutes.Cassie had been holding her own for the better part of two hours, navigating introductions with Leo steady at her side, deflecting a handful of pointed questions about Marcus with the same practiced grace Dom had spent months teaching her, redirecting every barbed comment toward the company instead. She was finally taking a breath in the quiet of the ladies' room, splashing a little cool water on her wrists, when the door opened behind her."Cassie."She turned, and her whole body went rigid at the sight of Vanessa standing there, dressed elegantly in deep green silk, her eyes already red-rimmed like she'd been crying somewhere before finding her way in here, mascara
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN "Absolutely not," Margaret said, setting down her wine glass with more force than the moment strictly required, the stem clinking sharply against the counter. "You are not putting garlic in a proper pot roast, Eleanor. That's not a pot roast anymore, that's an assault on the meat.""I've made this exact recipe for thirty years," Eleanor said, entirely unbothered, continuing to season the roast on the counter like Margaret hadn't spoken at all, her hands moving with the confidence of an old habit habit. "Nobody's complained yet.""Nobody has complained to your face."Cassie stood at the kitchen island, wine glass in hand, watching the two women who used to occupy opposite, careful corners of her life now bickering over a roast like old friends who'd known each other for decades, something she still hadn't fully adjusted to no matter how many times it happened these past weeks."I feel like I should be taking notes," Leo said from his stool at the counte
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN Her fingers moved to his belt. She tugged the leather free of the buckle with a soft clink. “Need help with this too?”Dom swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing. His voice came out rough. “Yes.”That single word unlocked everything.She pulled the belt open, unzipped him, and freed his cock. It sprang heavy and hot into her hand. Cassie leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the tip before swirling her tongue around the head. Dom groaned, one hand threading gently into her hair. She took him deeper, lips stretching around his thickness, sucking slowly while her hand stroked what her mouth couldn’t reach. Her eyes stayed on him the whole time, watching every flicker of pleasure cross his face.“Fuck, baby… your mouth,” he rasped.She hummed around him, the vibration making his hips twitch. She worked him with a steady rhythm—long, wet strokes, tongue pressing along the underside until his breathing grew ragged. But she didn’t let him finish. Cassie pulled o
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN Her fingers moved to his belt. She tugged the leather free of the buckle with a soft clink. “Need help with this too?”Dom swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing. His voice came out rough. “Yes.”That single word unlocked everything.She pulled the belt open, unzipped him, and freed his cock. It sprang heavy and hot into her hand. Cassie leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the tip before swirling her tongue around the head. Dom groaned, one hand threading gently into her hair. She took him deeper, lips stretching around his thickness, sucking slowly while her hand stroked what her mouth couldn’t reach. Her eyes stayed on him the whole time, watching every flicker of pleasure cross his face.“Fuck, baby… your mouth,” he rasped.She hummed around him, the vibration making his hips twitch. She worked him with a steady rhythm—long, wet strokes, tongue pressing along the underside until his breathing grew ragged. But she didn’t let him finish. Cassie pulled of
"To Marcus and Cassie," someone called out, and the sea of champagne flutes lifted in unison like a choreographed wave. The sound of glass clinking filled the air in celebration, each clink another nail in the coffin of Cassie's composure.The crystal chandeliers of the Grand Rosewood Ballroom cast
They pulled up to a high-rise building in Tribeca. It was made of glass and steel and had modern architecture. A valet appeared immediately, and Dom tossed him the keys without looking."Mr. Hale," the valet said with a nod."Jeremy." Dom came around to open Cassie's door, offering his hand again. S
The coat room suddenly felt smaller with both of them standing, Cassie still in her rumpled engagement dress and Dom in his perfectly tailored tux. She was still holding his hand, she realized. His grip was warm and firm and nothing like Marcus's carefully measured touches.She dropped it."So," Ca
Cassie woke up in the massive guest bed, momentarily forgetting the chaos until sunlight hit her face, clearing the sleep from her eyes. For one blissful second, everything was normal.She was just a girl waking up on a sunny morning, but as she took in the sight of the room through her sleepy eyes







