LOGIN"You just got here—you know nothing. Arthur might not be drooling over me, but he does care about me," Elena thought her high-stakes deal with Arthur Sterling, an aging, billionaire in need of a trophy wife, was the ultimate sacrifice for her financially. Her transactional new reality is manageable, right up until the night of her welcome-home gala. Arthur’s long-absent favorite son, a brooding artist returning from a decade in Europe. The moment their eyes met, horror settles in. Stefan is the nameless stranger Elena shared a wild, passionate night with in Paris a night before he was forced he was announced the new CEO of sterling global, Elena and Stefan try to bury their past. But mutual restraint crumbles under the weight of an undeniable, obsessive emotional connection. As Arthur’s health declines and Stefan is positioned to inherit the Sterling empire, their secret affair escalates from a reckless indulgence to a dangerous obsession. The stakes turn deadly when Elena discovers she is pregnant with Stefan's child. Desperate to escape, the lovers plan to abandon the family fortune and disappear together. But they aren't the only ones watching. Marcus, Arthur’s bitter, passed-over eldest son, uncovers the forbidden truth. Armed with absolute proof, Marcus doesn't just want to stop them—he plans to publicly tear them apart at Arthur's 70th birthday celebration, calculating that ruining his brother will finally earn him his father's love and the corporate throne, was he successful or did he lose everything?
View MoreElena's POV
For the first time in months, I felt alive. Tonight was supposed to be a rare escape, a single evening where I was allowed to step outside the cage of my wifely duties. Arthur had business calls that couldn't be postponed—or so he said. After asking him three times to join me at the gala, mostly out of a desperate, pathetic need to feel like a real couple for once, he turned me down with his usual cold efficiency.
"Take the card, have fun with the girls. If you need anything, call me," he had said, his eyes never once leaving the screen of his phone. He tapped a quick kiss onto my cheek and walked out of the foyer, his mind already back on his stocks.
So I did. I took the driver, held onto his black card, and went out ready to burn the night down, with or without my husband.
When the gala wound down, the crowd shifted to an underground club in the city for the after-party. I walked in wearing the hyper-expensive gown Arthur had bought me for my last birthday—a purchase made by his assistant, no doubt. Looking over the top of my glasses, I caught sight of my friends waving wildly from a booth across the room.
By midnight, I was three whiskies deep. My friends had migrated toward the VIP tables to mingle with the city's elite, but I stayed behind on the dance floor. I threw my head back, hands tangled in my hair, and let every rigid expectation of what a perfect wife should be drop away into the night. I was completely drenched in the music, moving without caring who was watching.
The club was dark, but as I turned, squinting through the lights, I caught sight of him. He was standing near the edge of the bar, a glass of whisky resting in his hand. He wasn't watching the room. He was looking directly at me.
My eyes dragged over him before I could stop myself. He was tall, dressed in a sharp suit that practically screamed danger, his dark jawline locked in confidence. He didn't wait for an invitation. He moved through the crowd with effortless precision, stepping directly into my personal space. When his hand landed on my waist, a sudden warmth flushed through me. The rest of the room seemed to fade around us.
Before I could draw a fresh breath, he pulled me flush against his chest, his breath brushing hot against my cheek.
"You're dancing like you own the night," he murmured, his voice low against my ear.
"Maybe I do," I whispered back, tilting my head up to meet his gaze.
He didn't ask for my name, and he didn't offer his. He simply leaned down and captured my mouth. The kiss was firm, slow, and completely intoxicating, burning away every lingering thought of my real life. I surrendered to it instantly, my hands reaching up to grip the back of his neck, my fingers tangling in his thick hair as I pulled him closer.
He turned me around and led me past a narrow side door into one of the private rooms.
The door shut behind us, locking out the noise of the club. The room was dark. He pushed me back onto the sofa. Without a word, he dropped to his knees in front of me, sliding his hands up the slit of my dress. I could feel the heat of his body pressed against mine.
When he buried his face between my thighs, taking in every bit of my arousal, my breath hitched and my fingers dug into the edge of the small table beside the sofa. I gave up trying to control anything at all. My eyes rolled back, taking in every object in my sight line as I moaned louder. He didn't stop feeding on my clit. His hands locked around my throat as my toes curled into the air, and heat surged through every nerve. I couldn't help but scream as my release spilled over his face.
My nipples pointed hard through my dress, rising and falling with my frantic breaths. His pupils dilated, his gaze dragging up and down my trembling body. Before stripping me completely naked, he paused, watching intently as my own hands slowly rotated over my nipples. I was starving for his touch, my breath shuddering in the room.
Reaching out with a shaking hand, I gripped his jeans, feeling the outline of his dick.
"Just fuck me," I pleaded desperately, my voice raw.
He dropped his mouth back to my chest, swirling his tongue around my sensitive nipple while his fingers slid down, tracing the core of my heat until I was completely undone.
The rest of the night was a blur.
I woke up sick to my stomach, pulling the sheets on the bed close to my chest. My head was pounding, and my stomach turned over the second I sat up. I held my forehead with both hands, waiting for the room to stop spinning. I looked around the room for him, but he was gone.
My dress was wrinkled around my hips, and my hair was a complete mess. My diamond necklace sat on the side table where he’d left it hours before.
I forced myself up, rubbed my eyes, and gathered my things. I checked my phone—dozens of missed notifications, but nothing from my friends. They’d clearly assumed I took an Uber home when I vanished.
I didn't look for him. I didn't ask the staff at the door who had booked the room. Reality crashed back over me: last night was a massive mistake.
I grabbed my clutch, strapped on my heels, and left through the back exit into the parking lot. It was something I couldn't afford to think about.
When I walked through the front door of the house, the smell of fresh coffee hit me from the kitchen. Arthur was sitting in his favorite chair in his robe, reading the news on his tablet.
He looked up as I stepped inside, taking in my disheveled look. "Did you have fun?"
Arthur walked in with a broad smile, stepping over to place a soft kiss on my forehead. Before he could utter a single word, his eyes shifted over my shoulder, catching sight of Ben hurrying down the stairs."That's my younger brother," I introduced quickly. "Ben, this is my husband."Ben stretched his hand out for a polite handshake, but Arthur walked directly past him as if he were made of thin air, his shoulders set, his eyes fixed ahead. The room plunged into an awkward, suffocating silence. I knew I was being set up for an execution. Hurriedly following Arthur up toward our bedroom, I turned back to throw Ben a desperate glance, whispering a plea for him to give me a few minutes to fix it."My house is not a charity home!" Arthur barked the second the bedroom door closed behind us. "No one walks through that door without my permission!""My family is not charity," I said, my voice shaking as I tried to hold my ground. "I haven't seen my brother in forever, Arthur. He's been stayi
The boardroom on the top floor felt like a pressure cooker. The table was surrounded by the board of directors, with Arthur sitting at the head, his expression as unreadable as granite. Stefan sat to his right, his posture stiff, while I sat further down, my hands clasped tightly in my lap to hide their tremor.Marcus stood at the front of the room, calmly adjusting his cuffs before proceeding to speak."We have been on hold and on ten toes because Stefan has refused to approve funds for the payment of supplies from our most trusted vendor," Marcus said, his tone smooth and persuasive. "They've been in the market for over three years as we all know, yet my brother took it upon himself to put a halt to the foundation's projects. Now our investors are asking questions."A slide flicked onto the screen, displaying crisp signatures, certified customs stamps, and detailed equipment manifests."Vanguard isn't just selling steel and concrete," Marcus explained, pacing slowly along the edge o
"Hey sister!" His voice was soothing, his smile broad as he opened his arms to yank me off my feet."Have you forgotten I am older than you?" My hands hit his shoulders, demanding he let me down while my laughter filled the room."I have missed you," Ben said, finally setting me down but keeping his hands locked on mine. "I came in yesterday, and you were the first person on my mind. I had to see how you've been holding up.""Very well," I replied with a half-smile. "Why do I suspect you didn't come to town just to see me?"His silent grin gave him away instantly. He had definitely come to the city for someone else; my family wasn't the visiting type when it came to the luxury world I was living in. They always insisted they didn't fit into my elite circle."I am definitely going to know who he is soon," I said, my gaze shifting between his amused face and the folder open on the desk in front of me.Ben laughed, a rich, familiar sound that felt entirely out of place in the grand, sile
"No," I murmured, swallowing the sour taste in my mouth. "Just water."He walked to the kitchenette, poured me a cold glass of water, and handed it over. As my fingers met his around the glass, his hands lingered a little too long, making my chest feel warm and nervous."I just want you to know I will always be here for you, if there's anything you want to share," Stefan said, his voice dropping into that low, quiet tone.I looked away, fixing my eyes on the desk. I couldn't afford to let him break my composure. Not today. I had too many fires to put out—figuring out why my body was acting so strangely, why the mere smell of coffee repelled me, and who Arthur had been secretly meeting."Leave the Vanguard files," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could manage. "I'll go through them myself."Stefan lingered for a long moment, clearly weighing whether to push further, but finally gave a single nod. "Fine. Just don't push your luck today. You look like a strong breeze could knock y
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