MasukQUINN'S POVThe divorce papers sat on the corner of my desk, untouched.I had been staring at them for the better part of an hour, and somehow they still looked worse every time I glanced at them.My lawyer had left them with me that morning, along with a warning that I needed to make a decision quickly.I already knew what I wanted.But it was too late.I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my hands over my face. The past few weeks had been a blur of police interviews, lawyers, paperwork and sleepless nights. Elena's arrest had opened a door to questions I had spent months avoiding, and now Hemsworth had apparently decided to kick another one wide open.My lawyer had called it a legal complication.I called it bullshit.Hemsworth had filed a formal complaint concerning Laura's marriage to me.According to him, Laura was still legally married to him when she entered into the arrangement with me.The words alone made my blood boil.I knew there was truth buried somewhere inside the lega
LAURA'S POVWhen I got to the set, I didn't want to remember anything from yesterday.I didn't want to think about Quinn. I didn't have to think about Hemsworth, Anto, Elena, what happened on set yesterday, or the endless list of mistakes I had somehow managed to collect in such a short period of time.I only had to remember my lines. And bury myself In so much work I wouldn't have time to remember anything that didn't concern my new role.That was manageable.The set was already buzzing when I arrived that morning. Crew members moved around with equipment balanced on their shoulders, assistants hurried between rooms with folders pressed against their chests, and someone was arguing with the lighting department about a spotlight that apparently refused to cooperate.I stood near the entrance for a moment, taking everything in.This was familiar.Safe, almost."You're early," Carly said from behind me.I turned and found her holding two cups of coffee. She offered one to me."I don't d
DEVON'S POVI had spent the better part of the morning trying to convince myself not to go.It would have been easier to stay away from the police station, pretend Elena no longer existed, and let the authorities handle everything from there. Her court hearing was only two days away, and soon enough, she would have to face the consequences of everything she had done to Laura.That was the entire point of my mission in the first place.I had gotten close to Elena because I needed to know whether she was responsible for what happened to Laura. I needed evidence. I needed the truth. I had expected the process to be difficult, but I had never expected myself to become emotionally involved.That was the part I hated most.I hated that somewhere along the way, Elena had stopped being a suspect and started becoming a person to me. I hated that I had begun looking forward to seeing her, listening to her, and spending time around her. Most of all, I hated that the mission had succeeded.She re
Laura’s POVFor several minutes after waking up, I simply sat there.“Quinn.”His name still lingered in the room, even though I knew I had been the one to say it.I rubbed my face and stared into the darkness.It had only been a dream.A stupid, meaningless dream.So why did it feel so real?I could still see his face changing.I could still hear his voice telling me that I had him, just before everything about him became distorted.I pulled my knees toward my chest and rested my chin on them.Maybe my mind was simply tired.Maybe I had spent too much time thinking about him.Or maybe there was something cruel about the fact that even after everything he had confessed, even after I had asked for a divorce, he still occupied a ridiculous amount of space inside my head.I tried lying back down.I closed my eyes.Nothing.I turned onto my side.Still nothing.I pulled the blanket over my head.My mind immediately returned to Quinn.I groaned and threw the blanket off.Sleep clearly wasn
Laura’s POVBy the time I got back to the hotel, I felt like I had lived through an entire month in a single afternoon.I closed the door behind me and stood there for several seconds, my hand still resting on the handle.I was exhausted.Not the kind of exhaustion that a good night's sleep could fix, either. It was the kind that settled somewhere deep inside your bones and made even the thought of moving feel like work.I dropped my bag beside the door and slipped off my shoes before walking toward the bed.Quinn.Just thinking about him made my chest tighten.Every single time I saw him, I convinced myself that I was prepared.I told myself I would remain calm. I would remember everything he had done. I would remember the lies, the manipulation, the accident, the marriage that had begun because of a plan I had known nothing about.I would remember all of it.And then I would see his face.And somehow, all those carefully arranged walls inside my head would collapse.Today hadn't bee
Quinn’s POVIt had been two treacherous weeks of staying away from Laura.Not because I wanted to.God knew I wanted nothing more than to walk into the hotel, sit across from her, and explain everything until she understood exactly how sorry I was.But I couldn't.After what happened, I knew she needed space.Anto had made that very clear.He had told me to leave her alone, and although every instinct in me wanted to ignore him, I couldn't bring myself to make Laura feel trapped again. Not after everything I had already done to her.So I stayed away.I didn't call.I didn't even ask anyone to check on her.I gave her what she had asked for without actually saying the words.Space.I convinced myself that eventually she would be ready to talk.Maybe after a few weeks, she would calm down enough for us to sit together and discuss everything properly. Maybe she would let me explain why I had done what I did, even though I knew no explanation could excuse it.I knew I had ruined something
LauraThe second I stepped onto the set of The Last Ember, every single person turned to look at me.My stomach immediately tightened.The massive soundstage buzzed with controlled chaos. Crew members rushed around carrying lighting equipment. Makeup artists stood near the trailers holding coffee c
Laura Seven months.Seven months of sweating out my old life in Quinn’s private gym. Seven months of speech therapy to find the voice Hemsworth had spent years trying to silence. Seven months of learning the dark, jagged secrets of the entertainment industry from the man who sat at the very top of
LauraThe first thing I felt was the scent. It didn't smell like the sterile, bleach-heavy air of a hospital. It smelled like expensive oud, aged whiskey, and something dangerously masculine.I blinked my eyes open. The ceiling was charcoal grey, accented with soft, recessed LED lighting."You're a
Hold still, Laura. You’re wrinkling the lapel."Hemsworth slapped my hand away from his chest. His touch, which used to send butterflies erupting in my stomach, now just left a stinging coldness."Sorry," I mumbled, stepping back.He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror of our penthouse, a







