The Life She Found Without Him

Holly Rosen had barely finished speaking when several voices called out from the entrance.

"Mr. Murdoch!"

To the staff, Vincent Murdoch was practically a walking ATM. Every month, he came in and bought half the store just to boost Holly's sales.

This time, though, he'd brought Tiffany Neale along. She wore plain, almost shabby clothes, but she was pretty enough to pull them off. Her large, bright eyes held a hint of defiance.

She'd been giving Vincent attitude ever since they'd walked in.

"I'm your intern, not your servant! What gives you the right to tell me what I can and can't do?"

Anyone else who spoke to Vincent like that might've ended up at the bottom of the Veylen River. But Vincent didn't seem bothered. He even answered her gently.

"I just want to buy you something nice to wear. There's a party tonight, and you can't go dressed like that."

Tiffany stomped her foot and scowled. "What's wrong with my clothes? I bought them with my own money! If your friends are going to look down on me, then I'm not going!"

"You're my assistant. Attending events with me is part of your job. You don't get to say no."

He raised an eyebrow and flashed her a charming smile.

Tiffany blushed bright red and stumbled over her words, unable to bring herself to refuse.

The whole exchange felt like something out of a romance drama. Watching them, Holly couldn't help remembering how things had started between her and Vincent two years ago.

He'd walked into the store one day and fallen for her at first sight. From then on, he'd done everything he could to win her over.

He'd started showing up at the store every day, practically becoming a regular fixture. He'd even moved into the apartment next to hers just so he could see her every day.

Holly had tried so hard not to fall for him.

But whenever a customer gave her trouble, Vincent stood up for her. When a coworker falsely accused her of something, he defended her without hesitation.

And when a creep followed her home late one night, he'd taken a blow to the head from a brick meant for her. He'd needed three stitches near his temple.

Maybe this was just how Vincent acted whenever he fell for someone.

Holly had feelings for him, too.

But she was a detective working undercover at the luxury boutique. She'd taken the job to get close to Lachlan Bauman, a wealthy young man, as part of an investigation into a string of murders.

Then Vincent had come along and complicated everything.

She'd turned him down again and again, ignored him, and said whatever she could think of to drive him away. She'd been even harder to win over than Tiffany was now, but Vincent had refused to give up.

Just when she'd finally started making progress with Lachlan, Vincent had shown up and ruined everything.

She'd been ready to pull out of the operation, but her superiors had another idea. She could use Vincent to get close to Lachlan and his circle.

So she'd started dating Vincent. She'd been happy with him, but she could never quite shake her unease.

Two years had gone by.

Vincent had come to hate Lachlan because of Holly's earlier connection to him. The two men barely spoke anymore, and Lachlan was so afraid of Vincent that he wouldn't dare go near Holly.

With Lachlan avoiding her, Holly had no way to get close to him, and the investigation had stalled.

And now Vincent had found someone else.

"You."

Vincent's voice snapped Holly out of her thoughts. He pointed at her, addressing her as though she were just another sales associate he'd never met.

"Come here. Find Ms. Neale an evening gown."