Chapter 4

On the northern edge of Napa Valley sat a members-only hot spring resort, its private villas separated by high walls. What guests valued most was discretion.

I booked the villa next to Grayson's through our joint account and asked hotel security in advance to turn on the cameras covering the shared walkway. That evening, Nolan and I soaked in the open-air hot spring. The valley air was cool, but the rising steam was warm enough to make you drowsy.

Nolan wrapped his arms around me from behind and pressed a kiss to the back of my neck. "Is the water okay?"

I held down his wandering hand beneath the surface. "Quiet. They've already arrived next door."

Leah's laughter soon drifted over the wall.

"Grayson, you're splashing water all over my face."

Then came Grayson's attempt at youthful flirtation. "You look great in that swimsuit. Selena is permanently in boardroom mode. Even her hugs feel like contract reviews. Nothing like you. You're adorable."

Nolan's body went rigid, his expression turning frighteningly dark.

"Don't do anything rash," I warned.

But he lifted me out of the water and pressed me against the floor-to-ceiling glass, his voice low. "It's not that you don't feel anything. He just never deserved to see the real you."

Before I could answer, footsteps sounded outside. Grayson was walking through the shared passageway to the wine cellar.

The floor-to-ceiling window was set to one-way privacy mode. Nolan reached up and hit the control on the wall. Within seconds, the glass turned transparent.

Sunset poured into the room. I was in a red swimsuit, cradled in Nolan's arms. The intimacy of the image needed no explanation.

Grayson's footsteps stopped dead.

His face went white first, then twisted with jealousy and rage. He didn't burst in. Instead, he whipped out his phone and aimed it at the glass, recording.

"Selena, I have to hand it to you." He sneered through the gate. "Cheating on your husband, spending our money on some student. Tomorrow this video is going to every board member and investor. Your reputation, your shares, all of it goes up in smoke."

He held up the phone, his voice growing more vicious. "Get ready to walk away from the divorce with nothing."

Nolan released me, pulled on a robe, and walked outside.

Grayson stepped back but kept the phone raised. "You touch me, and I'll call the—"

Before he could finish, Nolan knocked the phone from his hand. The device dropped into the shallow pool, its screen going dark. Grayson swung in fury. Nolan sidestepped, seized his arm, and slammed him down beside the pool's edge.

Grayson struggled to get up. Nolan pinned his shoulder with a knee, forcing his face into the shallow water. Not to drown him, just to keep him from attacking again before security arrived.

"You can blame me all you want," Nolan said quietly. "But if you insult her one more time, I'll make sure the police report makes clear that you trespassed on a private villa, filmed us without consent, and threw the first punch."

Hotel security arrived quickly, their body cameras capturing the scene. Grayson scrambled out of the water, dripping and humiliated. Leah rushed over in a robe, shrieking accusations of assault.

I put on my jacket and walked slowly to Grayson. "Unauthorized recording. Threatening to distribute intimate footage. Trespassing into someone else's booked villa. You should be grateful Nolan only held you down in the water instead of calling the police first."

Grayson's face was dripping, his eyes red with rage. "You're spending my money on him, and you have the nerve to point fingers at me?"

I smiled. "Your money?

"When the company nearly went under, I was the one who used my mother's trust fund to save you. The house you live in, the car you drive, the membership at this resort, all of it comes from assets under my name. You're using the company I built to pamper your young lover, and you think I need you."

He forced a sneer. "So what? The equity agreement is already signed. Once the quarterly numbers come in, you lose your shares and get saddled with the debt. Even if you file for divorce right now, it won't change anything."

I pulled a divorce petition and a notice from my attorney out of my bag and held them against his chest. "Tomorrow morning, my lawyer files with the state court. You can negotiate through counsel, or you can keep tearing up papers and refusing to sign. Marriage isn't prison. I don't need your permission to leave."

Grayson ripped the documents from his chest and tore them apart. "I'll drag this out until you have nothing. I'll make sure you're left with nothing at the company or in court."

"Then I'll see you in court."

I took Nolan's arm. As we passed Leah, I paused. "You'd better save every transfer Grayson ever sent you. Soon enough, those gifts are going to become evidence in a financial investigation."