His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret

Lia's hands shook as she fumbled with her house keys. The charity gala had been hell. Three hours of fake smiles and Margaret's passive-aggressive comments about how she still hadn't produced a Whitemore heir after five years of marriage. Five years of trying to be perfect. Five years of pretending she didn't notice the lipstick stains and late nights. The headache that sent her home early was real. The exhaustion was real. The breaking point she was racing toward was very, very real. She pushed open the front door of the Ravencourt Estate. Their house. Except it had never felt like hers. Just another thing Julian's family owned, including her. The house was dark. Julian's car was in the driveway though, which was weird. He'd said he was going to the after-party at the Johnsons' place. Said he'd be out until two or three in the morning. It was barely eleven. Maybe he'd come home early. Maybe for once he'd actually wanted to be with his wife. Lia kicked off her heels and walked to

Lia spent the rest of Sunday at Isla's apartment, curled up on the couch with coffee that had gone cold hours ago. "You're really doing this," Isla said. It wasn't a question. "I'm really doing this." "Okay. Then we need a plan." Isla pulled out her phone. "I have a friend. She works with an exclusive service. Very high-end, very discreet. Celebrities, politicians, people who can't afford scandals." "How do you know someone like that?" "I know a lot of people you'd be surprised about." Isla was already texting. "The question is, are you absolutely sure? Because once I make this call, once you book this, it becomes real." Lia thought about Julian in their bed with Vanessa. I thought about his cruel words. About Margaret's cold dismissal of her pain. About five years of slowly disappearing. "I'm sure." Isla made the call. Twenty minutes later, she had a name and a number written on a napkin. "Her name is Elena. She runs the whole operation. Mention my name and she'll take care o

Lia's hands wouldn't stop shaking on the steering wheel. She'd just slept with a mafia boss. A fucking mafia boss. Not some professional escort who'd disappear from her life after one night. Not some safe, anonymous transaction. No. She'd walked into the wrong room and ended up in bed with Caspian Nero. A man who ran the criminal underworld of Silvercrest. What the hell had she done?The early morning streets were empty as she drove home. Saturday dawn, the city still sleeping off Friday night. Lia felt like she was moving through a dream. Or a nightmare. She couldn't tell which. Her body ached in places that reminded her exactly what had happened. The way he'd touched her. Kissed her. I looked at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered. Stop it. Stop thinking about it. But she couldn't. His gray eyes. His hands. His voice said her name.Lia pulled into the driveway of Ravencourt Estate and sat there for a full minute, trying to calm her racing heart. The house wa

Two weeks of living with the knowledge that someone was always watching. At first, it freaked Lia out. She'd be at the grocery store and catch a glimpse of a man in a black SUV parked three spaces down. She'd leave Isla's café and see someone across the street pretending to read a newspaper. They weren't even trying to hide anymore. Caspian's people. Always there. Always watching.The weird thing was, after a few days, she stopped being scared. Started feeling something else instead. Safe. Protected. Like nothing bad could happen to her as long as they were there. It was messed up. She knew it was messed up. But she couldn't help it.Julian noticed something was different. Not the men watching her. He was too self-absorbed for that. But he noticed her. The way she carried herself. How she didn't flinch anymore when he raised his voice. How she looked him in the eye instead of looking away."You're different," he said one morning over breakfast. He was actually home for once, eating to

Lia POV Friday took forever to arrive. Lia went through the motions of her life like she was underwater. Everything felt slow and muffled and far away. Breakfast with Julian, who spent the entire meal on his phone texting someone. Probably Vanessa. Probably making plans for another night away. Lunch alone because Margaret canceled at the last minute. Thank God. Lia couldn't handle another lecture about proper behavior and disappointing the Whitmore family.All she could think about was tonight. About Caspian. About the way he'd kissed her in the garden three days ago like he was drowning and she was air. About the text message she'd read a hundred times. Same hotel. Same time. Friday. Don't make me wait.She wasn't going to make him wait. Couldn't if she wanted to. Some invisible string pulled her toward him and fighting it felt impossible.At six PM, Lia started getting ready. She stood in front of her closet for twenty minutes, pulling out dresses and putting them back. Nothing fel