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Chapter 80. Kiss and consequences
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2025-05-31 09:50:57
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Love Lies and Deceit Chapter 82. Corporate Tension and Loyalty
* Alex Hamilton *When I stood at that window, looking out over the city, I wasn't really seeing it.I was watching the reflection in the glass, her, the moment the elevator opened.Penny Dankworth walked in like she owned every square inch of the marble floor, but I knew better. I knew the truth under that polished armor, the weight she carried, the fire she cloaked in professionalism.God, she was breathtaking.Not just beautiful. Unshakeable. Even when she was shaking.I didn't turn when she entered. Not right away. My hands were clasped behind my back, more to keep them from reaching for her than anything else. She didn't know how much I ached to just, touch her. To feel her hand in mine, even for a second. But this wasn't the moment. Not yet.Lance was all sharp edges and control, just like always. When he gestured for her to sit, I watched the exchange in silence. I had to. My role here was delicate. Strategic. But as soon as Penny sat, I felt something shift in the room.She di
Love Lies and Deceit Chapter 81. Private Engagement
* Penny *My heels echoed through the marble hallways of Dankworth & Co., sharp and certain. But every step felt heavier than the last.He knew.Of course he knew. Lance didn't miss anything. The meeting request had come just a few hours after I left Alex's office. Brief. Formal. No explanation. But I didn't need one. When your brother is Lance Dankworth, you learn early on that silence always has a motive.I adjusted the cuff of my blazer as I stepped into the elevator, its mirrored interior offering a perfect reflection of the woman I had taught myself to become.But inside, I wasn't any of those things. I was burning.With fear. With hope. With the memory of a kiss that still lingered on my lips, even if it never touched them. And with the quiet, dangerous realization that I had meant every word I said to Alex.This marriage... If it was going to happen, it would be mine to shape.The elevator doors slid open, and there he was. Lance, already waiting in the glass conference room, p
Love Lies and Deceit Chapter 80. Kiss and consequences
* Alex Hamilton *She kissed me.Not on the lips. Not with urgency. But still, it was a kiss, light, deliberate, lingering.And it lit something in me like a fuse waiting for permission.The door closed behind her, but the imprint of her touch didn't leave. I stood there for a while, unmoving, caught in the aftershock of something deceptively small that had stirred everything in me. It hadn't been a promise. It hadn't been a confession. It was something subtler, quieter, and somehow more dangerous.God, she didn't even realize what she does to me. Or maybe she did. And that was the part that terrified me. Because that kiss hadn't asked for more. It hadn't taken. It had simply offered—I see you. I trust you. Just a little more, now.And that, that was what undid me.I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled slowly, trying to anchor myself to something familiar. Something safe.But there was no safety in this anymore.She was walking a tightrope, and I knew it. Teetering between obligati
Love Lies and Deceit Chapter 79. Silent confessions
* Penny *I didn't plan what I was going to say. I never do. Plans crumble when feelings are too loud, and tonight my heart was a storm refusing to settle.The night air had settled into a hush, heavy with the scent of roses that hadn't yet surrendered to the creeping chill. Alex stood with his back to me, tall and still, the kind of stillness that didn't feel empty but full of thought. His suit jacket was tossed over a chair somewhere, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, tie loosened like he was halfway between two versions of himself, one that belonged to the world, and one that maybe belonged just to this moment.He looked like someone who had unbuttoned his armor for the night. Unpolished. Thoughtful. Unarmed."Alex," I said, voice barely above the hush.He turned, no surprise on his face. Like he'd felt me coming before I arrived."Hey," he said, stepping forward just enough to close a fraction of the space. "Couldn't sleep?"I shook my head. "Not really."A pause stretched between
Love Lies and Deceit Chapter 78. Emotional Depth
* Penny *I didn't run. I never do.Even when my skin screamed. Even when every nerve begged for motion, when something primal and ancient inside me clawed its way up my throat and begged for flight, I stayed. Frozen. Not because I was brave, but because I was trained. Conditioned. Shaped by a world that teaches women to endure in silence.That's the trick, isn't it? Stay still. Don't escalate. Don't make a scene. Because scenes make people uncomfortable, and comfort, we are taught, is not ours to disturb.Jason's hand had barely grazed my arm, but it stayed there. Not in flesh, that would have been easier, but like smoke. Lingering. Seeping into my pores. Invisible, but suffocating.And I hated myself for freezing.I hated how familiar it all felt. Like muscle memory. Like old ghosts coming home to roost.He used to make me laugh, once. Back when we were just kids in those too-perfect uniforms, arguing over cafeteria desserts and whispering secrets beneath bleachers. Back when he loo
Love Lies and Deceit Chapter 77. Saving Penny
* Alex Hamilton *I lost track of Jason sometime after the string quartet started playing Lana Del Rey covers. The bourbon was flowing freely, and the old money crowd had traded polite small talk for reckless nostalgia. The lawn buzzed with half-truths, long stares, and champagne flutes that never stayed empty.I should've known better than to let my guard down. But for a moment, I let myself believe that Jason Hamilton might actually behave.I was standing near the veranda, half-listening to someone drone on about vineyard investments when I heard it, Penny's voice. Sharp. Uncomfortable."Jason, stop."The words were quiet, but her tone was unmistakable. And in an instant, I was moving. Pushing past half-drunk alumni and overgrown egos.When I found them, Penny was standing near the edge of the garden, backed against the ivy-covered stone wall near the fountain. Jason was far too close, his body leaning in with a drunken sway, his expression blurred by liquor and something worse, old
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