เข้าสู่ระบบI want you...The words echoed in my head, loud and dangerous. My heart slammed hard against my ribs, skipping a beat before spiraling out of control.Calm down, Celene. Get a grip. It’s just pretend. He doesn't mean it like that. He’s just setting the terms so your dumb brain will understand it. I forced my face to stay completely blank, but the panic clawed its way up my throat anyway."People will talk," I blurted out, the words flying off my tongue before I could filter them. "They'll call me a slut. A gold digger. Some desperate skank jumping from one CEO's bed straight into another."Cole’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. "No one would dare speak about you like that.""Oh, really?" I let out a dry laugh, stepping back against his desk. "Easy for you to say. Your very own secretary literally said it to my face!"Cole didn't even blink. He took a single step, trapping me right back in his space, his voice dropping into a terrifyingly low growl."And that's exactly why she does
Say yes. Say yes...Fucking say yes, Celene. Please. This is not the time to be a knight in shining armor or a good priest. Kill him.The words were right on the tip of my tongue, begging to be let out.My mind flashed back to the cold tile, the air cutting off in my throat, his hands squeezing the life out of me until everything went black. The way he treated me evwn before before hhe murdered meMy kids... he killed my kidsOnlyy to get another womann pregnant... and take care of her, building his life and new family with the blood and money he took from my family...from me.I wanted it. God, I wanted him dead. I wanted him to feel his lungs burning on a cold floor just like I did.Do it. Let Cole end it.But then the cold reality hit me, stopping the breath in my throat.Was I really ready to have blood on my hands? Was I ready to sell my fucking conscience just because of Daniel? He had already taken my life once. He had taken my future, my trust, my peace. My soul was the only
"Okay...okay...maybe business is not what I'm here for...at least not in that way"In what way, Celene. In what way??!I stared at him across the heavy dark wood of his desk, the quiet in the office suddenly pressing in on my chest.Every defensive lie I had prepared on the drive over was completely disintegrated.When he didn't respond, choosing just to stare at me instead, I set my tablet down on the edge of his desk, my hands shaking just enough that I had to clench them into tight fists at my sides."I...I have been through things... you saw a bit of it at the party at my house... It hurts to admit it, but I am currently too weak to protect myself...I don't want a repeat of what I've suffered before, Cole," I said, my voice completely low.Cole still didn't move. He didn't interrupt, didn't even blink. The silence between us stretched heavily as he just watched me."You may not know all of it," I continued, fighting to keep the tremor out of my breath. "And I... I can't possibly
I parked in the Ryder Holdings garage, grabbed my tablet, and headed inside.Here goes nothing...I guess...I hope. The ride up the elevator gave me just enough time to adjust my clothes and pull my composure together. When the double doors slid open onto the executive floor, I stepped out onto the marble tile and made a straight line for the front desk.Something immediately caught my eye...the secretary from the other day was nowhere in sight. Sitting behind the wide polished desk instead was a completely different woman, much older, wearing wire-rimmed glasses.I walked up to the desk, keeping my spine straight."Good morning. I'm here to see Cole," I said, catching myself just in time before adding 'Ryder'. "Is he in?"The receptionist paused her typing and looked up at me over her glasses, her expression completely professional."Do you have an appointment booked with Mr. Ryder?"I froze.An appointment.God, I was an idiot. A complete, unmitigated idiot.I had jumped st
Immediately i woke up, I knew the day would not go in my favour...Morning light was pouring through the curtains, bright enough to make my eyes hurt,I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and immediately regretted it... the first thing I saw was Daniel’s face.Of course.Because apparently waking up peacefully was too much to fucking ask.I blinked at the screen.There he was, standing beside Victor Adams at some late-night press event obviouslytaken yesterdaybefore or after he saw me yesterday at the club.I involuntarily yawned as I read the headline.VICTOR ADAMS INVESTS MAJOR CAPITAL INTO DANIEL'S FIRM.I sat up, read it and then I read it again."Oh God...No."I scrolled through more feeds, but it was all the same headline...the same ugly picture...the same Daniel...My heart hammered on my chest over and over like it wanted to escape and leave me in the hell I created for myself...I stared at the screen for a few seconds, hoping reality would suddenly apologize and correct its
The cold night air hit my face the second we stepped through the club’s heavy double doors.I sucked in a breath, trying to calm the pulse still hammering in my neck. Chloe was beside me, still complaining about how the guards grabbed her, while Cole walked ahead of us as if nothing had happened.As if he hadn't just pulled me against him.... as if he wasn't the reason I was now...fuck!I glanced toward the curb and stopped in my tracks...What the actual fuck!?A full convoy of black SUVs stretched along the street, their tinted windows reflecting the club's bright lights. Security guards stood beside them, watching everything around us.Jesus Christ."Where's your car?" Cole turned to asked me while i struggled to pick my lower lip from the damn floor.I looked at him. "Why?""You're riding with me."I pointed toward my car parked farther down the street."I came with my own car, Cole... I'm good. Thank you though"Cole glanced toward my sleek car waiting beneath the streetlights be







