CHAPTER 7

Julian was the first to wake up the next morning, he propped up on his elbow, quietly watching Thalia sleep. When she finally opened her eyes, he didn't pull away. He continued to look at her with a quiet, intense curiosity.

"You look remarkably peaceful when you’re not talking.” he noted.

“What do you mean?” Thalia asked with a sleepy eye roll.

“Forget about it.” he said, sliding out of the bed.

Thalia stretched, the white T-shirt riding up her thighs. "If I’m right, the lock down ends today. Right?”

“Yes… the doors should be opened in a few hours from now.”

“Thank goodness.” Thalia said, her eyes lighting up with genuine relief.

They spent the next few hours in the quiet room, each waiting for the door to click open, lost in different thoughts. Soon, the silence turned back into an intimate heat. Julian slowly reached out, placing his hands on Thalia’s thighs. She shivered at the feel of his cold palms against her skin… a sharp contrast to the fever still burning in her blood.

“You’re good?” she whispered.

“Yeah… I just want to feel you one more time.”

“You’re too bad for a saint.”

“No…” he murmured, leaning in. “Maybe you’re just too addictive for me to handle.”

“Come here.” She said, pulling his hand higher, brushing it against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

“Feel it… it’s dripping right?”

“Mmm” he groaned, smashing his lips against hers as his fingers drove into her.

Minutes later, the bed turned into a battlefield as they both tried to dominate. The silence of the suite was now replaced by the rhythmic sound of their skin hitting against each other, and their ragged moans that filled the room until the air felt heavy.

They came together one last time, lost in each other’s eyes in a moment that felt more like a silent goodbye.

A sharp click from the door pulled them back to reality.

“ATTENTION EVERYONE, THE 48 HOURS LOCK DOWN HAS NOW ENDED. AND WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. PLEASE HAVE A GOOD DAY.”

The voice echoed through the suite and the

electronic bolts retracted with a heavy thud.

“The jammers were down,” Thalia breathed, her eyes brightening up. “The world is back.” She screamed out in pure excitement.

Suddenly, Thalia's phone, discarded on the floor, began to vibrate.

The screen lit up: GIGI

Thalia scrambled out of bed quickly, grabbing the phone and pressing it to her ear. "Gigi? I'm fine. I'm okay."

"Fine? Thalia where the hell are you?, the whole city is a war zone and I've been calling for two days!" Gigi's voice was so loud that Julian could even hear the vibration from the bed.

"I’ll explain later, Gee. I'll be back in an hour. Just... stay put, okay?" Thalia hung up, her face back to that cold, professional mask as she turned to Julian who was still in bed, staring at her.

"I believe our time is officially up," Thalia said, her voice steady. "I’ll need my payment. A hundred and fifty thousand, as agreed."

Julian didn’t say a word. Instead, he signaled for her to come sit on the bed.”

“I don’t have time for this, Julian. Pay me so i can go home. I’m sick of this place.”

"What does it cost?" he asked suddenly.

Thalia blinked. "What?"

"To be your exclusive client,” Julian said, rising from the bed to stand in front of her. His blue

eyes locked onto hers with a frightening intensity.

Thalia let out a dry, disbelieving laugh. "What do you mean?"

"Let's sign a contract. A real paperwork," Julian stepped closer, his shadow falling over her. “To make me your exclusive client. And I’ll triple whatever any other man is going to pay you,”

The offer was mouthwatering, the $150,000 was already within reach, and adding this new deal would mean more money than most people saw in a lifetime. But she couldn’t risk the complications that might come with it. She lifted her head, looking him dead in the eye.

"Nice offer, but I’m sorry… I’m not interested."

Julian's expression went blank. "I'm offering you a fortune, Tee. You could have everything. You’d never have to grind again.”

"I don't want everything. I want my life to be fully mine, without being watched or controlled,” she countered, breaking the eye contact. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "I'll meet Damian downstairs to wire me the money. Have a good day, Mr. Valentino."

She didn't look back after that, She pushed through the heavy suite doors and stepped into the hallway, a smile touching her lips as the cold breeze hit her face. She was out. She was free.

Just as she reached the elevator, her phone buzzed. She reached into her bag to silence it, thinking it was Gigi again, but stopped when she saw it wasn’t a call… it was a text message. So she pulled the phone out to check.

She swiped the screen, and her blood immediately turned ice.

[Unknown]: Did you get him to sign it?

Thalia stopped dead in her tracks, her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widened as she stared at the words boldly written on her phone and reality dawned on her.

"Bloody fuck!" she gasped, her phone nearly slipping from her trembling fingers.”how did I forget that?”

Panic flared in her chest. She couldn’t walk away now, Not yet,”

She spun around, sprinting back to the suite, and slammed her palm against the suite door. It didn't budge. She hammered again, her heart beating hard against her ribs. A moment later, the door swung open.

Julian stood there, his blazer over his arm, looking every bit like the untouchable man he was. He looked surprised, a flicker of hope crossing his sharp features. "Tee? Did you forget…"

"I'm in," she blurted out, cutting him off and stepping into his space before she could lose her nerve. "The contract. The exclusivity. I'm in."

A small, knowing smirk touched his lips. “I knew you would come back. You’re always about the money anyways.”

She paused, her heart hammering as she looked at him in the eyes. 

“...But on one condition.”