LOGINXAVIER Laura turned to face me, and my heart plunged to the very depths of my stomach. Her expression was broken, clouded with hurt and it killed me knowing I was the one who made her feel this way.“Nothing to do with us?” She laughed, but I knew it was nothing close to a joyful one. “Xavier, everything about your business is entangled with us. Our marriage exists because of your business. You came for me when I was kidnapped because I’m connected to your world now, because Alexei saw me as leverage against you.”She took a step toward me, her eyes blazing.“You can’t keep some parts of your life separate and locked away and expect me to just be fine and accept it. Not after everything we’ve been through. Not after—”She stopped, her voice cracking slightly.“Not after what we did,” she finished quietly.“That’s different,” I said, but even I could hear how dumb and insensitive that sounded.Why was I like this? Why couldn’t I just put my pride aside and explain things like a
XAVIER The elevator ride to my office was suffocatingly silent.As though my day couldn’t have gotten any worse, Laura just had to show up to my office at the worst time possible.She stood on the opposite side of the car, her arms crossed tightly across her chest, her eyes fixed on the floor numbers as they climbed. She wouldn’t look at me, and she certainly wouldn’t acknowledge my presence. I could practically feel the hurt radiating off her in waves.I wanted to explain. I wanted to tell her that Vanessa being brought onto the legal team wasn’t my decision—it was the board’s idea, their way of adding “oversight” because they didn’t trust my judgment right now. Another move by Donnelly to undermine me. To surround me with people loyal to him instead of me which—I couldn’t really complain, could I?I did just prove him right by leaving an important board meeting because of Laura and I would do it over and over and over again.That’s how much I loved her now.That’s how much she
LAURA I didn’t plan on coming to Xavier’s meeting let alone anywhere close to Grace’s office. I was supposed to stay home, stay safe, stay out of the way like the good little wife I was expected to be, but that email from Vanessa Whitmore had been eating at me all weekend.I’d tried to ignore it. I really did—telling myself it was just some professional contact reaching out. It was probably nothing and I was simply overthinking the whole thing.Plus Xavier had said it was spam, he’d dismissed it completely if I was being entirely honest but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.Saturday morning, while Xavier was in the shower getting ready, I’d finally snapped and done something I wasn’t proud of. I’d googled Vanessa Whitmore.And found exactly what I was afraid of.A stunning woman in her early thirties—with perfect bone structure, blonde hair, and an Ivy League education from one of the top universities in five states—stared back at me across multiple search results.Corporate att
XAVIER Monday morning arrived too quick for comfort.I stood in front of the mirror in my bedroom, adjusting my tie for the third time. The suit I’d chosen was one of my most expensive—a Tom Ford, perfectly tailored to fit me like a glove, dark charcoal that made me look powerful and in control.It felt like armor when I wore it and maybe that’s what it was.I was preparing for battle after all.The board meeting was at the company’s headquarters downtown and I couldn’t tell if I was fully prepared for it.I’d been in a thousand high-stakes negotiations before. I’d faced down mob bosses and rival families without flinching, had stared death in the face more times than I could count.But something about facing these men who had known and respected my mother made me nervous in a way I wasn’t used to.They would be judging whether I was worthy of Grace’s legacy. And my recent disappearance—vanishing for nearly two weeks right when I was supposed to show up and pick up where they left
LAURA That evening, Juniper showed up at my bedroom door with several bags in her hand and a bright knowing smile. “Girls’ night,” she announced, pushing past me into my room. “Xavier’s going to be busy all evening long and there’s no one else here anyway, so I figured you could use some company.” She pulled out face masks, beauty supplies and sparkling wine from one of the bags—clearly this had been planned. “Did Xavier put you up to this?” I asked suspiciously. “Nope. This was all me.” Juniper grinned. “Though he did seem relieved when I told him I wasn’t going back to my place just yet. I think he feels guilty that he has to get back to it just as we arrived.” It all still felt weird—surreal was more of the word for it. Just a moment, I was being dragged out of this very place in a rush and didn’t even have a room and then suddenly, I was back with a clay mask on my face and grape wine in my glass. And for the first time in forever, I had a real friend. Someone who
LAURA I watched the city blur past, the calm soundtrack filling my ears, and I felt a surge of relief when Xavier said we’d go back. I wasn’t sure if he’d just noticed on the spot or if he’d been planning it from the moment he rescued me, but either way, I was grateful. I hadn’t felt safe in that place for a second—it all reminded me too much of Alexie and Jennifer, of the torment they’d put me through from the very moment I was taken. I knew the bad dreams wouldn’t just vanish, but never would I have thought that I’d become so paranoid. Every shift, every little sound, made my heart rate spike, sweat dribbling down the back of my neck. But the moment Xavier mentioned returning to the penthouse, back to the bustling city and away from that dark, isolated nightmare, it felt like sunlight bloomed inside my chest. The SUV finally rolled into the estate, and Laura and Lucas could barely contain themselves. They practically tumbled out of the vehicle. “Home sweet home! Wooo-hooo
XAVIER Thirty-six hours. I’d been awake for thirty-six hours straight and I could feel it in every atom of my being. My eyes burned like someone had poured acid under my lids, my head pounded with a relentless throb that matched my pulse, and my hands had developed a slight tremor I was trying t
LAURAI looked out of the window at the passing buildings as we drove at high speed. The car was relatively silent despite there being four people in it.The driver, Juniper at the front seat, and of course my lovely soon-to-be husband right next to me. The silence was suffocating.It wasn’t helpi
XAVIER“Where did Laura go?” I asked when I was done with my call. Juniper rolled her eyes and Lucas pointed towards the bathroom.“She didn’t seem okay, you might want to go check up on her.”I sighed, following his directions to the closest bathroom down the hallway. “Hey Laura, you in there? Lu
XavierThe conference room was on the thirty-second floor of the Blackwell Tower.I sat at the head of the table, fingers drumming against the polished table as my mother’s—no, my legal team shuffled through mountains of paperwork.“Mr. Blackwell, if you’ll just sign here,” Gerald Hutchins, the lea







