ログインBETTYI pull my car onto the coastal road approaching the beach house.But before I slow down for the gates, my eyes dart to the rearview mirror, confirming the black SUV with Nathaniel's Marines is parked exactly where he promised, blending into the distant tree line.At first, when he suggested this, I thought he was being overly dramatic. But now that I am actually here, staring at the imposing perimeter of the property, the presence of those Marines is the only thing keeping my hands from shaking off the steering wheel.I pull up to the gate, and the security guard who steps out of the booth isn't the friendly, older gentleman I had grown fond of.This man is built like a tank. He is wearing a dark, tailored suit, and a coiled earpiece disappears into his collar.He doesn't smile. He doesn't say hello. He just holds up a hand, checks a digital tablet, and stares at my license plate before his dead eyes flick to my face.He presses a button, and the heavy iron gates slowly swing op
NATHANIELI can’t believe she is being this infuriatingly stubborn. Honestly, at this point, I would prefer her curled up under the blankets crying her ass off, because at least a weeping woman isn't actively risking her own life to gain a sliver of control.She turns her back on me and marches into her walk-in closet. I follow her right in, desperate to talk some sense into her, but she simply grabs her purse, brushes past me again, and tosses it onto the bed."Betty, you need to listen to me," I command. "I know you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you for that. But you need to do exactly as I say. Do not go back into that house, because…""Actually, I do trust you when you say he is a dangerous man," she interrupts, spinning around to face me. "But hear me out, Nathaniel. Just for a second. Right now, I am under a legal contract. He can sue me if I breach it. And abandoning that project is a breach.""I don’t give a shit about the contract!" my voice booms, the raw, unpolished pani
NATHANIEL.I stare at the man in the mirror. Clean-shaven jaw. Meticulously trimmed beard. A charcoal suit tailored to absolute perfection.On the outside, I look exactly like the untouchable man I have always been. Nathaniel Blackwell. The machine. The apex predator.But beneath the suit, my chest feels entirely hollow. I look like my old self, but I do not feel like him.I grip the edges of the marble vanity, forcing my hands to remain steady, but my mind ruthlessly drags me back to yesterday.The exact moment I stepped into Rhys’s room and dropped Fausto’s name into the suffocating silence.I can still see the exact, terrifying shade of pale Betty’s face turned. I can still feel the absolute, paralyzing tension that filled the space between the three of us before she finally shook her head."I cannot deal with this right now," she muttered under her breath, before she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.Rhys immediately tried to throw his battered body out of bed to cha
BETTY"Okay," Rhys whispers, gesturing weakly toward the single-seater armchair near his bedside. "You should sit down, then.""I am fine right here.""Please, Betty. Just take a seat. Please," he begs.I look at his bruised face, and I don't know if it’s the desperation in his dark eyes or the terrifying reality that, despite all of this, I still care about him, but my resolve cracks just enough, and I walk over to the armchair and sit down on the edge of the cushion.But the moment I sit near him, the suffocating memory of Nathaniel’s mouth crushing against mine in the elevator flashes violently through my mind, and a wave of guilt washes over me so intensely I actually feel nauseous.I swallow it down, forcing my face into a completely blank mask, because if Rhys ever finds out about that kiss... fuck. I am not ready to go down that road. Not today."Okay," I say, crossing my right ankle over my left knee. "I am seated. Now tell me. Everything."He swallows hard, licking his dry li
BETTYI find my way upstairs to my room and lock the door behind me with a resounding thud.My heart is violently pounding against my chest. My hands are trembling so badly I can barely feel my fingertips, and the edges of my vision are blurring into a dizzying smear of colors.I drop the duffel bag, my knees giving out at the exact same second.I slide down the solid wood of the door, my back scraping against the door until I hit the floor. I pull my knees tightly to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs, and bury my face against my kneecaps.Breathe, Betty. Just breathe.But there is too much noise in my head.I am trying to process Nathaniel’s voice in the back of that car, raw, entirely stripped of his untouchable arrogance, asking for my forgiveness. I try to comprehend a reality where Nathaniel Blackwell vows to spend the rest of his life making things right. And right alongside it, the bruising, terrifying heat of his mouth in the elevator crashes over me.The second my bra
NATHANIELTen minutes later, we pull up to the gleaming gold-and-glass entrance of The Pendulum.Lucy bids Betty a fierce goodbye and forces her to promise to call her the absolute second she finishes talking to Rhys. As for me, she completely ignores my existence, slipping out of the car without a single backward glance.The moment the door shuts and the car pulls away, the air inside the cabin turns to lead.Betty turns her face entirely toward the tinted window, and from the corner of my eye, I can see the unshed tears glistening on her lower lashes, but I know her pride will never let a single drop fall while I am sitting next to her.The silence is suffocating. I stare at the side of her face, desperate to clear the heavy air between us."Betty," I start, my voice low. "About the elevator... I shouldn't have forced that kiss."She lets out a dry, incredulous scoff, not even bothering to turn her head away from the glass."Do you seriously want to talk to me about that right now,
NATHANIEL.By the time I step into the café Amanda asked me to meet at, I already know I am not fully here.Her text had sounded urgent, clipped in that way she only uses when something has gone wrong, and I came without thinking twice, even though I haven’t had the time to collect myself after the
NATHANIELI storm into my chambers and slam the door so hard the sound echoes through the room like a gunshot.I stand there, chest heaving, the air thick in my throat like I’ve swallowed smoke.My fingers tighten around the brown envelope until the paper creases, before I rip it open with a vicious
BETTYI’m in front of the mirror because I couldn’t sleep, already dressed in a cute cropped hoodie, high-waisted jeans, and sneakers that make me feel light on my feet even when my heart isn’t.My hair is pulled back, my face bare, and for a long moment, I just stare at my reflection like I’m wait
NATHANIELI’m leaning against my desk, legs spread apart, the edge biting into the back of my thighs through my trousers, while Amanda stands between them like she belongs there. Which she does.Her perfume clings to the air, the kind that lingers long after she’s gone, and her chest brushes mine e







