LOGIN"Strip for me," he commanded, his ice-blue eyes devouring her. "Tonight, I take what's mine." I thought I knew betrayal when I caught my fiancé's balls-deep in another woman. I thought I'd hit rock bottom when that woman turned out to be my TWIN SISTER. But the real knife in my back? He was her boyfriend first. For eight months, she fed him every secret about me—my fears, my dreams, my insecurities—so he could seduce me, make me fall in love, and destroy me when it hurt the most. Why? Because she's always hated that I'm successful. That I'm respected. That people love me for who I am, not what I look like. So there I was—promoted, engaged, happy—walking into my fiancé's apartment to celebrate... only to find him f*cking my sister against the wall while she smirked at me over his shoulder. "Surprise, sister. He was always mine." I should've gone home. I should've cried. Should've been the victim they wanted me to be. Instead, I walked into the most exclusive bar in New York and caught the attention of the most dangerous man in the city. Dante Ashford. Billionaire. My ex-fiancé's boss. Sex personified. And currently getting pleasured by a beautiful blonde in the VIP lounge—while staring directly at ME. He said my name while another woman's mouth was on him. Then he dismissed her with one cold word: "Leave." When I demanded to know how he knew who I was, he smiled like the devil making a deal. "I know everything about you. Your cheating fiancé and backstabbing sister. I know exactly how to make them pay." His offer was simple: Marry me. Destroy them. I'll give you power, wealth, and revenge. My response shocked us both: "I'll marry you. But first... take my virginity. Tonight."
View MoreARIAHe's quiet for a few seconds before responding. "We will arrange a visit. With full security, strict conditions, and a time limit.""You'd hate every second of it.""Yes. But it wouldn't be about me."I love him for that. For the willingness to put his own protective fury aside if I need something that conflicts with it."Not yet," I say. "I need to think. And we need to verify the diagnosis." I sit up, something shifting in me. "And we need to deal with the whoever that got a access to my calendar and whoever helped Vivienne orchestrate last night.""It is already in progress." Dante stands, moving back toward where Hazel is stirring. "Viktor has a full team on the calendar breach. IT security is auditing system access going back six months.""And Isabelle Laurent?""She is being monitored. She left the gala after delivering the envelope, went directly to her apartment. There has been no further contact with anyone connected to Vivienne that we can identify." Viktor speaks from
ARIAThe morning comes in gray and quiet.Hazel wakes at 6 AM, announcing herself with the cheerful indiscriminate energy of someone who doesn't understand jet lag, emotional exhaustion, or the concept of sleeping in. Dante gets her before I can even move, returning fifteen minutes later with a fed, changed, fully operational baby who is delighted to see both her parents in the same room."Dada," Hazel announces, patting his face with her both hands."Yes. Dada's home." He catches her wandering fingers before they reach his eye. "Careful, love.""Mama." She turns to me with equal enthusiasm, reaching across the bed."Hi, sweetheart." I take her, settling her between us. She immediately begins a comprehensive inspection of my hair, my necklace, the buttons on my pajama top.This is what Vivienne will never have.Not because she couldn't have...she could have built a life, found love, created something real if she'd chosen differently. But she spent every resource she had trying to take
DANTEMy phone explodes the moment I turn it on at JFK.Viktor: There are significant developments. Call me before you speak to Mrs. Ashford.Seven messages from Viktor, all variants of the same instruction.I call him from the jet bridge, moving fast through the terminal."Talk," I say when he answers.He immediately starts talking. From the envelope, to Laurent, to the calendar access, and then the text messages.By the time he finishes, I'm in the car, burning through traffic towards home."Why didn't you call me mid-flight?""There is nothing you could have done. Mrs. Ashford is safe, the situation is contained, and I didn't want you to spend five hours in a metal tube fifty thousand feet up unable to act." His voice is steady. "Boss, she's safe. But you need to know...she and Vivienne exchanged texts tonight.""Vivienne has a phone?""Contraband. We're working on tracing it, but prison contraband phones are burners, gone before we can track them usually." Viktor pauses. "But what
ARIA'S POV"Yes. Fine. I just..." She pauses like she is trying to find words fill in...Sarah is perpetually efficient, never uncertain. "I ran into something at the office this evening. I was working late and I found something in your calendar system.""What kind of something?""An appointment. Scheduled two weeks from now, under your name. A meeting with Vivienne Sinclair's attorney at a private address." There is another pause. "Aria, you didn't schedule this. I manage your calendar. I would know."Cold settles over me despite the warm car."Someone accessed my calendar system.""Yes. And scheduled a meeting as if it were you." Her voice is tight. "Aria, whoever did this has your login credentials. Or access to the system that bypasses them.""Can you trace where the access came from?""I've already flagged it for IT security. They're looking at it now." There is a pause. "But Aria, if someone can access your calendar, they might be able to access other things. Email, contacts..."
ARIA“Good. You need to talk to him anyway. And Aria?” Paige hugs me tight. “Life’s too short to run from the people you love. Even when they’re scary and complicated, they sometimes make terrible decisions. Trust me on this.”Katya is waiting outside...she’s been there the whole time, I realize, s
DANTE“This isn’t over...”“Yes. It is.” I lean in close enough that only he can hear. “And if you ever, ever threaten Aria again—if you so much as think her n
ARIAI wake to sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows and the disorienting realization that I’m in a bed that costs more than most people’s cars.
ARIAThe phone in my hand feels like a live grenade.I’m sitting on the edge of Dante’s massive glass desk in his study, and he’s standing behind me, one hand resting possessively on my hip while he scrolls through something on his own phone with the other.My screen won’t stop lighting up.Paige:












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