ANMELDENThe driver smoothly opened the door, and I stepped out onto the breezy tarmac, the sharp roar of the jet's idling engines vibrating beneath the soles of my sneakers. As expected, Ethan didn't waste a single heartbeat standing around outside to appreciate the evening air. With an aura of absolute authority, he strode straight past me and marched up the motorized airstairs of the aircraft. I hurried right behind him, keeping my head down as his driver quickly began unloading our heavy luggage from the trunk to transfer it to the jet's cargo hold.The moment we crossed the threshold into the main cabin, the pilot and a pair of impeccably groomed flight attendants bowed their heads in synchronization, greeting him with practiced, reverent smiles."Welcome aboard, sir," the chief hostess murmured softly.Ethan gave a curt, barely visible nod as he walked past them. "My driver is joining us for the flight. Give him a minute to park the vehicle and board before we taxi," he commanded the pil
We stepped out onto the gravel driveway, where Ethan’s sleek, black luxury SUV was waiting, its engine idling with a low, powerful hum. The driver held the heavy door open for us, and I guided Leo into the very back row, the second passenger seat of the spacious cabin. A second later, Ethan climbed in, his massive presence immediately dominating the vehicle as he settled into the first back seat directly in front of us. The door clicked shut with an airtight seal, isolating us completely from the rest of the world, and the driver smoothly pulled out of the estate gates.The initial portion of the ride was wrapped in a suffocating, dense quiet. Ethan didn't waste a single second, he immediately pulled out his tablet, his thumb scrolling ruthlessly through corporate documents, his jaw set in a hard, unyielding line. Trying to ignore the sharp scent of his cologne filling the enclosed space, I turned my attention to Leo. I held his small, soft hand in mine, slowly caressing the back of h
I stood in the center of my bedroom, clutching the fabric of my pajamas as my gaze locked onto the deep burgundy gown now hanging in my closet. It portrays beautiful, yet dangerous armor. But, staring at it only made the knot of anxiety in my stomach tighten. How on earth was I supposed to act around Ethan Vale tonight? How could I sit across from him at a high-stakes corporate dinner, pretending to be his perfect, focused assistant, when my body was still vibrating from the ruthless way he had possessed me in the shower?Glancing at the bedside clock, I saw it was exactly 3:00 PM. The uncertainty was eating me alive and I still hadn’t received a single detail about the dinner, what time we were leaving, or what was expected of me.Suddenly, the sharp, aggressive honk of a car horn echoed from the driveway below, followed a few minutes later by the heavy, unmistakable thud of footsteps echoing through the grand hallway downstairs. Ethan was home.Instead of going down, I stayed anchor
I unlocked the deadbolt and turned the knob, pulling the door inward. The moment the latch clicked open, a heavy, towering weight stumbled forward, almost flattening me. He lurched over my frame, his equilibrium completely shot. The intoxicating scent of his smoky oud perfume was entirely overpowered by the sharp, burning aroma of expensive whiskey radiating from his skin.Reacting on pure instinct, I threw my arms around his broad shoulders, planting my feet firmly to catch him and hold him steady against my body. He let out a low, heavy groan, sinking his face directly into the crook of my neck. He inhaled sharply against my bare skin, his hot breath sending a violent, electric tremor straight down to my thighs.Once his heavy frame seemed stable enough, I reached up, my palms cupping his stubble-roughened jaw to gently lift his head. "Uhmm… are you okay?" I whispered, my eyes searching his features in the dim light.He didn't answer, he simply raised his eyelids, his dark, usually
The hot water gushed over my shoulders, but it couldn't wash away the stinging clarity that settled over me. I stood frozen under the stream, watching the remnants of his release swirl down the drain, rinsing off my skin until every physical trace of him was gone. I bathed properly this time, scrubbing my body with a mechanical numbness before turning off the valve and stepping out of the glass enclosure.Wrapping a plush white towel tightly around my chest, I walked out into the bedroom, feeling a heavy, suffocating wave of defeat wash over me.But as the initial shock faded, my mind began to click into place. Ethan didn’t just turn feral out of nowhere. He had crossed every boundary, dropping his untouchable CEO mask to become something primal and vicious, because he felt threatened. The ring, could it be a secret I had almost uncovered? Or what is it that had shaken him to his core? Something definitely has to be his weakness, I thought, staring blankly at the dark corners of the r
The silence in the mansion felt so heavy, pressing against my eardrums the moment I stepped out of my room. With Beatrice gone, the house had lost its only layer of warmth. The grand hallways felt longer, the shadows deeper, and the air carried a sharp, sterile chill that made me pull my sweater tighter around my body. There was no distant sound of her laughter, no gentle scent of roses lingering in the air. It was just a massive, hollow fortress of marble and dark wood, and I was trapped inside it with a tyrant.Leo was still sound asleep upstairs, completely wiped out from the morning, so I used the quiet to slip down to the kitchen. My body was still incredibly sore, every step a dull reminder of how ruthlessly Ethan had possessed me the night before. I needed something to properly wake me up, to clear the fog of frustration and lingering heat out of my head.I stood by the marble island, the low hum of the espresso machine the only sound breaking the stillness as a dark stream of
The transition from the golden, sun-drenched fields back into the cold marble of the Vale estate felt like a physical blow. The moment we stepped through the heavy oak doors, the laughter that had lingered between Beatrice, Leo, and me was swallowed by the oppressive silence of the foyer."I'll tak
The sun was just beginning to bleed over the horizon, painting the manicured lawns of the estate in shades of a dull honeyed gold. I slipped through the hallway, my legs feeling like lead and my skin still humming from the friction of Ethan’s sheets. I was a ghost in my own body, moving with the si
I wanted her to feel the weight of what I knew and to know that the trash she looked down on now held the keys to her destruction. Only when I see the first tear of pure terror well in her eyes will I stop and stick to my track. I made my way back up to the study, my skin still reeling from the en
“Claire will be out soon," Ethan called toward the door, his voice surprisingly steady despite the storm raging between us. "She just needs to finish this one section.""Very well, don't keep her too long," Beatrice’s voice faded as her footsteps retreated down the hall.The moment the sound died a







