LOGINChapter Ninety-ThreeAndrea's POVI swallow hard.There is nowhere to hide.The hallway between me and the next turn is too long, and judging by the sound of Ethan's footsteps, I won't make it before he reaches me.My heart pounds against my chest.“Did you hear something?” the organizer asks.“Yes,” Ethan replies immediately. “Someone was spying on us.”My blood runs cold.“Fuck.”“Go check the hallway.”I don't think before acting. I just turn around and start running. But I barely make it two steps before a hand suddenly grabs my arm and yanks me sideways.My back hits something solid.Before I can scream, another hand covers my mouth.My eyes widen.The door closes and everything goes dark.I struggle instinctively, trying to pull away, but the person holding me presses a finger against his lips.“Shh.”I recognize that voice.It's Marcus.My breathing stops for a second.He keeps his hand over my mouth and points toward the door.“Quiet.”I stare at him, still trying to understan
Chapter Ninety-TwoAndrea's POV“I think I forgot my purse at the lobby. It has my phone in it.”Tristan looks up from the paper document in his hands. “I'll ask the hotel service to bring it up.”“Let's not bother them.” I shake my head. “I can go get it myself.”He drops the document onto the table and stands. “Let me follow you, then.”“No, no need.” I wave my hand quickly. “You need to continue preparing for the presentation. Besides, I need to take a walk. I'll be back in, like, ten minutes. I promise.”He studies me for a few seconds, clearly not convinced.“Okay.” He picks up the document again. “Don't get lost.”I smile. “I won't.”He gives me one last look before returning his attention to the papers. I slip out of the suite before he can change his mind. The moment the door closes behind me, I let out a quiet breath.I know Tristan means well, but sometimes he takes the whole protective thing a little too seriously.Still, I can't complain.The past few days have been surpri
Chapter Ninety-OneTristan's POVMy fingers stop moving across the keyboard.For a moment, I wonder if I heard her correctly.I turn my head and look at Andrea.She's still holding the tablet, her eyes on the screen as she refreshes the inbox again. She doesn't look at me when she asks the question, which somehow makes it more confusing.“Like me?”She finally looks up.I study her face, trying to understand what she means.If she's asking how to become successful, the answer is obvious enough. But the way she said it makes me think she means something else.“You wouldn't like it.”Her eyebrows pull together. “What?”“Being like me.”I lean back slightly in my chair.“You think this is what success looks like because you only see what's on the outside. The company. The money. The influence. You don't see everything that comes with it.”Andrea watches me quietly.“If you became like me,” I continue, “you'd probably hate yourself.”A small smile appears on her lips. “No shit.”I stare a
Chapter NinetyAndrea's POVIt's midnight.While a normal person should probably be fast asleep at this hour, I'm standing in the hotel suite's kitchen, carefully pouring freshly brewed coffee into a cup.Because apparently, I'm incapable of sleeping when Tristan is still awake.How weird is that on a scale of one to ten? Actually, forget I asked. It's a solid ten. Maybe an eleven for extra stupidity. I carry the cup over to where he's sitting at the desk, his laptop open in front of him. The only light in the room comes from the lamp beside him and the glow of the screen reflecting faintly across his face.He's been working since we got back from the ball like three hours ago. I place the coffee beside his laptop and he looks up at me, his eyes slightly tired.“I thought I told you to go to sleep already.”His voice is deeper than usual, rough with exhaustion.Before I can answer, he reaches for my hand, pulls it toward him, and presses a kiss against my knuckles.“How can I go to
Chapter Eighty-nineAndrea's POVI remember the first time I got caught eavesdropping.I was younger, and things at home had already started changing. My father's company was struggling, the bills were piling up, and my mother was pregnant with Ethan. One night, I wandered into the hallway and stopped when I heard their voices coming from the living room.I didn't understand everything they were saying, but I knew enough to realize something was wrong.So I stayed there and listened.My mother eventually caught me.She didn't yell, but the look she gave me was enough to make me feel guilty. She told me it wasn't polite to listen to conversations that weren't meant for me and made me promise never to do it again.I kept that promise.Ever since then, I've hated eavesdropping.Which is why my first instinct when I hear two voices on my way out of the restroom is to keep walking.I almost do.Then I hear Tristan's name, and my feet stop before I can think better of it.“Your expectations
Chapter Eighty-eightAndrea's POV“May I have your first dance, Miss Andrea?”I look up to find Tristan standing in front of me, one hand extended toward me.A smile immediately pulls at my lips. “Not like you're going to let me dance with other men anyway.”His lips twitch.“You're right.” He takes my hand and gently pulls me to my feet. “I'm a bit possessive.”I raise an eyebrow as he leads me toward the dance floor. “A bit?”He looks down at me, completely unashamed. “Okay, maybe not a bit.”I laugh.“I just like protecting what's mine.”The way he says it makes something warm settle in my chest.The music changes to something slower, and Tristan places one hand around my waist while keeping the other wrapped around mine. I follow his lead easily, letting the music carry us across the floor.After a few steps, he looks at me with an amused expression.“You know how to dance.”I smile. “Is that surprising?”“A little.” He turns me smoothly, then pulls me back toward him. “The way yo
Chapter threeAndrea's POVI get home that night, and the first thing I hear is my mother crying.It’s not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last, but it never gets easier standing outside the kitchen door listening so I linger for a moment before walking in. She wipes her face quickly an
Chapter two Andrea's POVThe whole room turns at once.Security stops moving, the host straightens, and every whispered conversation around me dies when everyone heard that voice.I turn slowly, and the first thing I notice is that he isn’t looking at the broken pieces on the floor, or the host, or
Andrea's POV “My house in Santorini is becoming a headache,” the silver-head man in front of me says, swirling his drink like he owns the ocean itself. “Every summer there is some renovation issue. The staff says salt air destroys everything.”I tilt my head slightly and laugh, not too loud, not t
Chapter ElevenAndrea’s POVI wake up slowly, the kind of slow where my brain is still half-asleep but my body is already screaming at me.Everything aches.My body feels like it has been through a very polite war, sore in places I did not know could ache, heavy in the best and worst ways. The shee







