LOGINChapter 41
Kent’s Pov
"Name the condition right now," I snap, stepping forward so my body shields Daniella from my grandfather's cold, calculating stare.
My voice is sharp and angry. I expect him to demand money, to force us to sign away our rights, or to demand that Daniella disappear the second the baby is born. Every muscle in my body is tense, ready for a fight.
Instead, the old man lets out a dry, quiet cough. He leans forward on his heavy wooden cane, his sharp eyes fixed steadily on Daniella.
"If she is going to carry a direct blood heir to this family," my grandfather says slowly, his voice echoing in the quiet study, "and if you are truly foolish enough to throw away your engagement to Freya for her, then she cannot hide in the shadows. The condition is simple: she must step into the public eye as your acknowledged partner. No secrets. No hiding at the university. She must attend the upcoming corporate charity gala next week right by your side, facing the press and our circle, to prove she has the backbone to survive in our world."
The words hang in the air like a sudden gust of cold wind.
I stare at my grandfather, completely shocked. I expected a vicious trap, a cruel punishment, or an impossible demand. Instead, he is testing her ability to stand beside me in the bright, burning spotlight of high society.
"No," I say instantly, shaking my head. "Absolutely not. You are setting her up to be torn apart by the reporters and our social circle. I will not let you use her as a public spectacle."
Before I can argue any further, a soft hand gently presses against my arm.
I look down. Daniella is looking up at me, her dark eyes calm, steady, and completely unafraid. The panic she felt just minutes ago is gone, replaced by a quiet, fierce courage that takes my breath away.
"Kent, wait," Daniella says softly, turning her gaze back to my grandfather and father. She stands tall, her shoulders squared. "I will do it."
"Daniella, you don't have to—" I start to protest, but she cuts me off with a gentle shake of her head.
"I do," she tells me, her voice clear and strong. "I want a future with you, Kent. Not just a secret rebellion where we hide from everyone in dusty supply closets and quiet diners. If I am going to be with you, and if our child is going to bear your name, I want to earn it on my own terms. I am not afraid of them, and I am not afraid of your world."
My grandfather’s eyebrows lift in genuine surprise. A tiny flicker of respect crosses his old, weathered face, though he quickly hides it behind a cold mask.
"Brave words," my grandfather mutters, turning away slowly. "We shall see if you have the stomach for it when the cameras start flashing next week. Leave us now. Both of you."
My father and grandfather turn their backs, walking over to the window to dismiss us.
Before we can reach the heavy study doors, Kent’s mother steps out from the shadows near the fireplace. Her soft eyes are swimming with unshed tears. She reaches out, gently taking Daniella’s cold hand in hers for a brief moment before turning her gaze to me.
"Kent," his mother whispers, her voice thick with emotion. "In all the years you have lived in this house, following every rule your father and grandfather set for you... I have never, ever seen you fight this hard for anyone. Take care of her."
Her words hit me deep in my chest. For the first time in my life, looking at my mother's supportive smile, I realize the truth: choosing Daniella means completely breaking away from the toxic mold of my family's expectations. It means rejecting their cold plans and building a totally different, honest future from the ground up.
Minutes later, we walk out of the grand study and head down the long hallway toward the front entrance. The air outside the mansion feels fresher, cleaner, and full of a new kind of hope.
I stop near the massive front doors, turning to face Daniella. I gently cup her face in my hands, looking deep into her brave, beautiful eyes.
"Are you sure about this?" I ask softly, my thumb tracing her cheekbone. "Stepping into that gala with me... it's going to be a battlefield."
"I'm sure," Daniella whispers, a small, confident smile touching her lips. "As long as you are holding my hand."
My heart swells with a love so massive it hurts. I lean down, pressing a tender, lingering kiss to her lips.
"Listen to me," I whisper against her mouth, making a promise I intend to keep with every drop of blood in my body. "No matter what happens next week, and no matter what my family tries to pull... the wedding to Freya is not going to happen. I swear it to you."
Before Daniella can answer, the heavy front doors behind us suddenly fly wide open with a loud, violent crash.
We both jump, spinning around instantly.
Freya stands in the doorway.
Her expensive designer coat is thrown wide open, her blonde hair is slightly messy from the wind, and her face is twisted into an ugly, furious mask of pure rage. She looks like a storm about to strike.
"You think you can sneak around behind my back?" Freya shrieks, her voice echoing loudly off the stone walls of the grand foyer. She points a trembling finger straight at Daniella’s stomach, her eyes blazing with absolute venom. "You think you two can play me for a fool? I know all about it! I know about the little student, I know about the penthouse, and I damn well know that she is pregnant with your child, Kent!"
.Chapter SIXTY FiveDaniella’s PovMarcus’s words ring in my head all night: As soon as she’ll let me put a ring on her finger.My hand drifts to the silver jade bracelet on my wrist. I am ready. I don't want a stage, I don't want cameras flashing red dots, and I don't want high-society wives whispering over champagne flutes. I want quiet, private, and real.Next morning, Kent acts weird. He checks his phone twice while making coffee. He taps his screen with a tight, focused thumb, then slips it into his pocket fast when I walk into the kitchen.Old instincts twitch. Is Robert pulling another supply line? Did Dean Holloway reopen the review?I catch myself. I am not living in paranoia mode anymore. I lean against the fridge, sipping black coffee, and watch him zip a small leather folio bag."You're acting like a spy trading secrets in a alley, Vance," I tease, raising an eyebrow.Kent pauses, turning around with a slow, faint smirk touching his mouth. "Just organizing workflow. Put y
Chapter Sixty FourKent’s PovWalking through the brick archways of campus feels like walking through a minefield where half the mines already blew up.Daniella’s phone notification cleared her name, restoring her scholarship and good standing like a clean slate. My name at the bottom of the dean's footer? Still locked in limbo. Formal department review. Corporate compliance shadow trailing my syllabus like a ghost.I pull open the heavy double doors of the economics department hall. Daniella walks beside me, carrying a fresh leather notebook, looking sharp and clear-eyed.Dean Holloway intercepts us by the faculty mailboxes. Her expression is granite-tight—not hostile, just heavy with institutional gravity."Dr. Vance," Holloway says, looking between us. "Miss Vance is cleared of the extortion conspiracy trace. Her roster stands." She turns her sharp gaze to me. "The board review regarding your faculty standing remains active. We cannot have a direct instructor-student dynamic in upp
Chapter Sixty ThreeDaniella’s PovTears blur my vision, warm and clean, as Kent pulls me up from the porch boards and into a tight, hard embrace that feels like safety carved out of stone."I believe you," I whisper against his shoulder, my voice cracking with honesty. "I don't doubt your heart, Kent. Not anymore."We sit back down on the weathered porch bench, the ocean roaring low in the dark. My fingers touch the silver chain and white jade resting on my wrist. I look up at him, moonlight cutting silver across his sharp jaw."How we started still messes with my head sometimes," I admit quietly, staring at the grain of the wood. "A setup office, a blackmailer in the dark, a cold professor who didn't want messy feelings, and a baby making choices for us before we even knew how to talk."Kent covers my hand with his big, heavy palm. His eyes are dark, deep, and steady. "The start was a wreck, Daniella. I won't lie about that. My grandfather built a cage, Gareth set a trap, and I walk
Chapter Sixty TwoDaniella’s PovMorning light hits the cheap kitchen blinds, and I lay the cold truth out on the table like open blueprints."Zero trusts," I tell Daniella, tracing a finger across a pad of yellow legal paper. "Gone. The family real estate portfolio in the valley—revoked access codes. The sovereign equity line through grandfather’s syndicate—locked out. Dividend distribution rights from the baseline parent trust—terminated."I look up, waiting for her shoulders to drop. Waiting for the realization that she chained herself to a sinking ship.Daniella sits cross-legged on the chair, sipping black coffee, her dark eyes steady and unblinking. "What’s left in your name alone?""My independent stock portfolio from pre-venture advisory advisory fees, two hundred thousand in liquid cash sitting in a clean credit union account, and Vance Advisory Group intellectual property rights," I say, laying out the exact math. "It’s enough to cover payroll, office rent for six months, an
Chapter Sixty OneKent’s PovMy thumb hovers over the cracked screen where Freya’s email sits like a bomb waiting to go off, breathing frozen in my throat.Clack. Kent drops his keys on the counter.I don't look at the phone draft yet. I look straight into his tired eyes."Freya called," I say, my voice flat and sharp as a blade.Kent’s shoulders lock. The tiredness on his face turns into hard stone. "What did she say?""She said you sat with Robert. She said there's a paper copy sitting in your briefing folder right now tying my enrollment audit clearance to your wire release." I cross my arms, forcing my legs steady. "Tell me straight, Kent. Did Robert put an exit clause with my name on it?"Kent stares at me for two long seconds. Then he lets out a heavy, ragged breath, running a hand down his face. He walks past the kitchen island, dropping his heavy leather portfolio onto the table with a dull thud. He flips the brass latches, pulls out a single thick sheaf of cream legal paper,
Chapter SixtyDaniella’s PovMy stomach twists into a hard knot when Kent says the name of the man waiting at the Sterling Club.Robert Vance. Freya’s father.The air in the kitchen turns cold. I look at Kent standing tall in his dark jacket, ready to walk into a shadow trap for four million dollars of bridge liquidity. My throat tightens. Every instinct tells me this isn't an investment meeting—it's an ambush wrapped in a wire transfer. Robert wants Kent crawling back to the family tree, humiliated and broke.I open my mouth to warn him, to beg him to skip it, then catch myself.No. I am not playing the frantic, controlling high-society wife who tells him how to breathe.I step across the floor, reaching out to rest my palms flat against his chest, right over his steady, heavy heartbeat. I look straight into his dark eyes."Remember what you promised me, Kent," I say quietly, keeping my voice clear and firm. "You said our relationship would never turn into another corporate deal. Wha
Daniella's POVMy head was pounding when my eyes finally opened. Rays of sunlight danced on my face for a while until I turned away, letting out a soft groan.Where was I?I didn't recognize anything in this room at all so I immediately sat up, my eyes widening in horror as I realized that I was na
Kent's POV“Oh god, yes…”“Fuck, bounce on me faster, that's it.”“K-Kent… I'm c-close… ahh…”“I'm gonna fucking cum too… you're squeezing so fucking tight— fuck!”I should have stopped on the couch and sent her back home but I couldn't get enough of her. I couldn't help but make her ride my cock o
Daniella's POV“Professor Kent?” I called out softly but he remained put.Was he the donor I was supposed to attend the private event with? Why did he look so terrifying yet so… beautiful?The heat inside me was starting to grow even worse and I could feel my nipples hardening through my gown just
Daniella’s POVMy legs were sore from having stood all day in the lecture hall, so when I relaxed against the wall, it felt like my body was numb. But I endured it because my boyfriend was in the teacher's lounge and I had to wait for him.While waiting, I heard voices coming from in there and I co







