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~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE~ I zip the bag closed and pull it upright. “You should have thought about that before getting her pregnant.” My voice cracks around the words. “I warned you about her. I told you to make her leave. I told you she was a problem, but my opinion clearly meant nothing.” I wipe at my face again, shaking harder now, and look directly at him. “I saw the signs, Hardin. I saw all of them,” I say, the confession nearly ruining me as I continue, “But I trusted you not to break me like this… I fell in love with you.” The room falls silent. “Our beginning was wrong. It was complicated. It was painful in ways I never speak about.” My throat tightens as I look him in the eye and say, “But I swear to God, I loved you,” before a hollow laugh escapes my lips. “So this is the lesson, isn’t it?” I ask while gripping the suitcase handle until my knuckles ache, finally swallowing against my tears to add, “Never fall in love during a contract marriage..
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR~ My eyes flutter open to the ceiling above me, where soft golden lights glow against the carved panels overhead, and I know exactly where I am before I even move. For one brief second everything feels normal, but then memory crashes into me as I recall the driveway, the Ferrari, the flowers, the folded paper, and Ivy. My hand rises to my forehead as if I can physically hold back the pain rushing in. “You’re finally awake,” Hardin says quietly. I turn my head. Hardin is seated beside the bed on a round ottoman, leaning forward slightly, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that fills the room. His shirt is wrinkled, his face drawn, and there is something exhausted about him that would have once softened me. Now it only makes me angry, so I look away at once because I cannot bear the sight of him. I push myself upright, and the room tilts for a moment. Hardin stands quickly and reaches toward me, but I stop him with my left hand b
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE~ I see the look before a single sound is made. Ivy’s face is twisted into a mischievous grin that irritates me instantly. Valentina mirrors her perfectly with a look of cold delight wrapped in elegance. Whatever they are planning, I know I'm not going to like it. The joy still racing through me from seconds ago begins to drain, replaced by a slow unease curling in my stomach. I roll my eyes, trying to brush it off. Of course they couldn’t let one morning belong to me. Ivy carefully unfolds the paper in her hand, smoothing it out like she’s about to present an award, then extends it toward me. I don’t take it. Instead, I cross my arms over my chest and look at her with deliberate boredom. “Are you going to tell me what is written on that paper,” I ask, “or should we all keep standing here while you rehearse your dramatic entrance?” Cassie lets out a short laugh and steps forward. “I’ll read it,” she says. “Clearly she needs he
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO~ Cassie refuses to answer another question, practically dragging me out of bed and rushing me downstairs before I’m fully awake. We head to the main floor, and the moment I step through the doorway, I know something is happening. The front entrance is open. Voices drift in from outside. Snow runs toward me the moment she sees me. I scoop her up as she purrs in my arms, kissing her on the head before setting her down. She follows close behind as I reach for the door; she’s just like me, curious to see what surprise is waiting outside. Standing near the entrance is Ivy, holding a folded paper in one hand and wearing a smile too obvious to trust. Beside her is Valentina, stiff with anger, staring toward the driveway like she’s witnessing a personal insult. I follow their line of sight and stop breathing for a second. Hardin stands outside, smiling. Actually smiling, with a massive bouquet of red roses in his arms. Beside him sits a glea
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE~ .. AMELIA.. He spins me around roughly, pressing my chest against the cool metal pole. I grip it tight, ass pushed back toward him. The thick head of his cock nudges my soaked entrance, then he pulls my G-string aside and slides in slowly, stretching me open. A moan of raw relief tears from my throat, but he pulls out almost immediately, leaving me empty and desperate. His fingers find my swollen clit, rubbing tight circles until I’m grinding back against him like a whore in heat. He smacks my ass hard. The sharp sting blooms across my skin. “You’re so damn impatient to take it, hmm?” I whimper. He slides back in, slower this time, inch by torturous inch, then pulls out again, teasing my dripping pussy until I’m shaking. “Please… please, Hardin. I want you so bad.” Instead of giving me what I crave, he rubs my clit faster, harder, until desperate, needy moans spill from my lips and tears prick the corners of my eyes. Fina
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY~ AMELIA’S POV "I could let you off this time, though, because of your injury," he says, voice thick with concern, eyes searching mine. I silence him with a single finger pressed to his lips. "Well, let’s drink first." Hardin speaks low into his earpiece. Moments later, Andrew enters silently with fresh glasses, followed by a woman who quickly clears the spilled mess and polishes the pole until it gleams under the low lights. The moment they leave and the door clicks shut, we’re alone again. He keeps pouring. Glass after glass. The alcohol burns sweetly down my throat, spreading liquid fire through my veins until my body feels loose, warm, and deliciously out of control, yet I’m still steady enough to hold myself together. The heat between us thickens with every sip. I rise to my feet. A soft song drifts through hidden speakers as the room seems to read my intention. The lights dim and bleed into a deep, seductive red, wrapping t
~CHAPTER SIXTY ONE~ She lifts her chin after speaking, but I can see it, the tremor beneath the performance. “Okay… the truth is, I’m willing to do anything for you to see me,” Ivy says, her voice lowering, almost intimate. “We’ve known each other for years, Hardin. Years. And yet you chose Ameli
~CHAPTER FIFTY NINE~ I end the call and drop the phone into the console. The car feels too quiet. Cassie doesn’t look away from me. Her stare is sharp now, searching, like she’s trying to read something I’m deliberately not saying. “What’s wrong?” she asks softly. I inhale, then force
~CHAPTER FIFTY SIX~ I wish this bathwater could magically carry me to the ocean, anywhere but here—because how the hell am I supposed to get out of this? “Answer the damn question,” he snaps. “Who touched you?” His voice is sharp now. Angry. I swallow, then lift my chin and look him straight in
~CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN~ I can’t take whatever he brings me. So I lie back down and close my eyes, slowing my breathing, letting my body go slack—playing asleep like my life depends on it.Because with him, it just might.A few minutes pass.Then the door opens.Soft footsteps.A gentle tap on my s