INICIAR SESIÓNLORETTAFor three full seconds, I genuinely forgot how to breathe. Elion stood in the doorway like he had every right to walk into my carefully planned night of chaos.White shirt, same as he was wearing when he came back, except now there was no suit or tie. And he still looked breathtakingly good.His sleeves were rolled slightly up, exposing his forearms, and his dark hair looked like he'd run his fingers through it a few too many times.And oh, he was staring at me like this was the first time we were meeting each other. My heart did something stupid, something completely humiliating.It skipped first, then raced, and then apparently decided to forget every single thing I had told myself about not thinking of him. “Elion?” I called in a whisper A small breath escaped his lips, and his faint smile widened a smidge. “Hello, Rea.” Elion's deep voice felt like a velvet cloth being draped over my bodyI stared at him, then at Harlan, then at the two other men behind them. It took a mo
LORETTAI should have known something was wrong the moment Michelle told me to wear something I could “run in.”That was not a normal sentence to hear before your bachelorette party; neither was the black blindfold she tied over my eyes.“Michelle,” I said, gripping the door handle as the car moved. “If you kill me, Elion will find you”She laughed from the driver's seat, and I smiled almost reluctantly. Talking about Elion... heck, thinking about him hurt. I know he regrets what happened days ago; I know he's sorry. I could practically see it in his eyes tonight, but that doesn't mean he could magically erase the hurt and pain he left me with Michelle's warm laughter brought me back to the present. “That's exactly why I'm not killing you.”“Then where are we going?” I asked, tugging on the blindfold Her grin was audible. “You'll see.”“That's what kidnappers say.”From the back seat, Zara snorted. “She's got a point.”My shoulder shook with a chuckle. “Thank you,” I said.Holly le
ELIONI had spent the entire drive home thinking about what I was going to say to Rea. She had left work earlier than usual; apparently, it's been going on for a while, and I only noticed today because I decided to check in on herThe moment Zoe told me she'd gone, I felt a crack tear through my chest. But today, I wasn't going to let pride or distrust get in the way. I wasn't going to walk through that door with my usual cold expression and pretend everything was fine.I was going to apologize properly. I was going to tell her that I was sorry. That I had been an idiot, that I loved her, and none of the things I had seen on that damn flash drive changed the way I felt about her.I love Loretta, but I had allowed one misunderstanding to crawl inside my head and poison everything between us.I wanted to smack myself. Actually, I wanted to punch myself. What the hell had I been thinking?I had spent years learning how to survive betrayal, manipulation, enemies, and people who wanted to
ELIONThe meeting had been going on for forty-seven minutes. It felt like four hours.“Another investor just pulled out.” The words landed like a bullet. I looked up from the documents in front of me. “Who?”“Westbridge Capital.” Nicholas slid a folder across the table; I glanced at it: WITHDRAWAL OF $380 MILLION.My jaw clenched hard. “Reason?”“They cited regulatory uncertainty and reputational exposure.”I laughed once; there was nothing funny about it. Another phone started ringing immediately. At this point, the entire conference room felt like a fucking emergency room.Everywhere I looked, someone was talking. Lawyers, financial analysts, board members, communications, risk management.Everyone wanted answers, everyone wanted reassurance, and nobody had any.“What about the European investors?” I asked one of my best lawyers. The man frowned. “Three have requested emergency meetings.”Dennis opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Tell me.”He si
LORETTA“Did you leak these files?”For a few seconds, I couldn't understand the question. I stared at Elion, his hands still wrapped around mine, his thumbs moving slowly over my skin as if he was trying to convince himself to remain calm. “Did I… what?”“Leak them.” His voice was quiet, too quiet.I shook my head immediately, even though I was still in shock. “No, Jesus Christ, El. No, no, I didn't” He didn't look convinced, and that felt like a knife being shoved into my chest. “Look at me and tell me.”“I am looking at you.” My voice wobbled. “I didn't leak anything.”His eyes searched mine; I could see the war happening inside him, the part of him that wanted to believe me, and the part that was screaming at him not to. “I swear to you, Elion, I didn't.”He slowly released my hands. I felt the loss immediately. “Then how did these documents get into that drive? Because last I checked, I made sure I ruined Trevor's life after I found out Beatrice was cheating on me with him; he
LORETTAI stood in the middle of our bedroom, staring at the brown envelope in my hands as it could explode at any second.Maybe it could.At this point, nothing in my life surprised me anymore. I had weeks with this thing sitting in my closet. Weeks wondering what Trevor had wanted me to see, weeks telling myself to throw it away, weeks promising myself I would tell Elion about it.And every single time, I had chickened out. But tonight felt different. Maybe it was because Elion had left earlier looking more tense than I had ever seen him, maybe it was because the police had questioned him, or just maybe it was because the entire internet seemed determined to destroy the man I loveI looked down at the envelope again; my fingers tightened around it.“Enough,” I muttered in frustration. I couldn't keep doing this. Whatever was inside, I needed to know right now Slowly, I tore the envelope open, and my breath caught. It wasn't a letter or card as I expected; there was only a tiny blac
LORETTA “So when is the wedding?” The man whose name I don't remember askedElion pulls me closer to his body, “Rea and I are still fixing a date, but it should happen in the next three months”My stomach fell to the very floor, I tried to hide my shock before the silver-haired man could read it o
ELION This city is beneath me.Everything else will be soon. It's only a matter of time. My jaw ticked once as I watched the bustle in the streets of Seattle, several floors beneath my office windows. Busy people moving in every direction: hurrying, rushing, sprinting, scrambling, running towards
LORETTA “Please!”The scream wrenched out from my lungsMy hands flew to my heaving chest, as if I were trying to stop my heart from bursting through. My vision is distorted and blurry, it takes a few minutes of breath work to realize where I wasMy roomI blinked back the haziness in my eyes, goi
LORETTAI am a good girl. I mean….I was a good girl. Until today. My name is Loretta. Loretta Rea Sterling. The first child of George Sterling. Being born into the Sterlings family meant many things: power, generational wealth, fame, you name itBut being born as a girl meant only one thing, my







