LOGINI was halfway through reviewing the last document on my desk when I decided I had done enough for the day.It wasn’t that I had run out of work. There was always something demanding my attention at Dhark Holdings. Emails to answer, contracts to review, decisions that couldn’t wait until morning. But for once, none of it seemed particularly urgent.I wanted to go home.More specifically, I wanted to see Claire.The thought brought a smile to my face as I closed the folder in front of me. It had been less than twenty-four hours since I proposed, yet I still found myself glancing at my hand as though I expected to find a ring there too.Claire had said yes.After everything we’d been through, after all the mistakes I’d made and the years we’d spent apart, she had agreed to marry me again.I wasn’t sure I’d ever get tired of thinking about it.A knock sounded at the door.“Come in.”Tessa stepped i
Margot arrived shortly before noon. I was going through a file when she appeared at my doorway, leaning lightly on her cane. “What’s going on here?” I looked up. “Good morning, Margot.” “Good morning.” She glanced between me and the others, who were still wearing suspiciously cheerful expressions. “I feel as though I’ve walked into the middle of something.” Laurel didn’t waste a second. “Claire is engaged!” Margot’s eyebrows rose. She turned towards me. “Engaged?” I smiled and held out my left hand. “Lucian proposed last night.” For a moment, she simply looked at the ring. Then a genuine smile spread across her face. “Well, congratulations, sweetheart.” “Thank you.” She approached my desk and took my hand, examining the diamond. “Beautiful.” “It’s the Dhark diamond,” I explained. “He had it redesigned.” Margot looked up at me. “The original one?” I nodded. “He kept it.” Her smile softened. “That’s lovely.” “How did he propose?” she asked
I couldn’t stop looking at my hand. God, it was becoming ridiculous. Every few minutes, I’d find myself glancing down at the diamond on my finger, or turning my hand slightly to watch it catch the light. I was going to marry Lucian. Again. A smile spread across my face before I could stop it. Last night kept replaying in my mind. The garden, the carnations, the photographs, the letter, and Lucian kneeling before me with the Dhark diamond in his hand. I’d barely slept. Not because I was worried or troubled, but because I was too happy to actually settle down. Even after we’d returned home, I’d spent an unreasonable amount of time admiring the ring while Lucian teased me about it. He’d eventually taken my hand, kissed the diamond, and reminded me that I could look at it whenever I wanted. Unfortunately, I’d taken him quite literally. I was still smiling at my hand when someone knocked on my open office door. “Claire?” I looked up. Laurel stood there with a f
He opened it. Inside was a diamond ring. For a moment, I could only stare at it. It was magnificent. The centre stone caught the warm light, reflecting it brilliantly. Smaller diamonds were set delicately along the band, creating an elegant design that looked nothing like the ring I’d worn during our first marriage. I looked from the ring to Lucian. “Is that…” “The Dhark diamond.” My eyes widened. He smiled faintly. “I had it redesigned.” I looked down again. The diamond was unmistakable once I knew what I was looking at. It was the same precious stone from our first engagement ring, but everything about its setting had changed. It was more delicate, more elegant, and completely different from the ring I remembered. “You kept it?” I whispered. “I couldn’t bring myself to let it go.” My eyes filled again. “I didn’t want to give you the same ring you wore before,” he continued. “I wanted something new. Something that represents the life we’re building n
The old fountain came into view a few minutes after I turned onto Ashford Avenue. It stood in the middle of a small, beautifully maintained courtyard, surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and a few benches. The place was quite quiet at this time of the evening, with only a handful of people walking along the pavement. I spotted Lucian almost immediately. He was standing beside his car, dressed in a dark suit with the top button of his shirt undone like he’d just come from work. His hands were tucked into his pockets, and his gaze was fixed on the road as though he’d been counting down the seconds until I arrived. The moment he noticed my car, his expression softened. I parked a short distance away and stepped out. “You’re here,” he said, approaching me at once. “Well, your note was rather mysterious—of course I was curious.” He smiled and leaned down to kiss me. I returned the kiss before pulling back slightly to look at him. “So, what is this important thing you want
I had read the same paragraph four or five times within ten minutes, without understanding a single word. Heaving a frustrated sigh, I lowered the document onto my desk and leaned back in the chair, pressing my fingers against my temples. It was supposed to be an ordinary workday. The court wasn’t in session, so I had spent the morning catching up on pending files and reviewing some documents that had been left on my desk. There was more than enough work to keep me occupied, but unfortunately, my mind had other plans. Every time I tried to concentrate, I found myself thinking about Hope. Her confession kept replaying in my head— The things she’d admitted to doing, the years she’d spent feeding Eva information about Lucian and me, and, most painfully, the substance she’d secretly put in my meals for years. Five years. For five years, I’d lived in that house, shared meals with those people, and trusted the staff completely without ever imagining that someone was delib







