All Chapters of Lust & Love: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

"You didn't make a mistake, Liam," Hazel said coldly, entirely unfazed by his tears. "You made a choice. You chose to sleep with someone else while I was sitting in our apartment trying to figure out how to pay for our wedding. You destroyed it. Now turn around, get back on the subway, and leave me alone.""You can't just throw away five years!" Liam begged, the absolute pathetic nature of his tone grating violently on her nerves. His eyes were wide and wild with terror at the realization that she truly did not care anymore. He lunged forward, completely abandoning any remaining pretense of boundary, and grabbed her left wrist with a tight, desperate grip."Let go of me!" Hazel shouted, ripping her arm violently, but his grip was locked like a vice, his fingers digging bruisingly into her delicate skin."Look at me!" Liam yelled, completely losing his composure, trying to yank her closer to his chest. "We were going to buy a house! We were going to have a family! You are my fiancée, Ha

The tension in the executive suite of Penthouse 42 had been suffocating for three straight days.Ever since the violent incident in the rain-slicked plaza—where Xavier had nearly crushed Liam’s windpipe against a concrete pillar—a dark, unyielding shift had occurred in the billionaire's demeanor. The calculated, corporate distance he usually maintained during business hours had completely evaporated.Hazel sat in her glass-walled office on the marketing floor, staring blindly at a glowing spreadsheet. It was Thursday afternoon. Her chest felt incredibly tight, a persistent knot of anxiety wrapping around her ribs that she simply couldn't shake.Xavier hadn't summoned her for physical intimacy since the night he had choked Liam. He hadn't touched her. But his absolute, terrifying control over her environment had skyrocketed. He had subtly, methodically tightened his grip on every single aspect of her daily life.When she had arrived at the lobby on Tuesday morning, the regular building

"Living together implies a relationship," Hazel whispered fiercely, tears of overwhelming frustration burning the back of her eyes. She was terrified. She was terrified of the physical proximity, of waking up in his space every single day. "You said it yourself. No emotional attachment. No sharing a bed. If I move into the penthouse, it changes everything.""It changes nothing," Xavier stated coldly, his thumbs pressing firmly into her arms. He stared down at her, his icy eyes completely unreadable. "You will not be sleeping in my bed. You will be sleeping in the East wing. It is a completely separate guest suite with its own bathroom and a lock on the door. You will have your own space. We will not be sharing a morning routine. This is a purely logistical, security-driven mandate."Hazel stared at him, a single tear spilling hotly over her lashes. "You're suffocating me.""I am protecting you," Xavier corrected ruthlessly. He released her arms, taking a deliberate step backward to re-

Heat crept up the back of her neck. She walked toward the dark marble island and pulled out one of the heavy leather barstools. She sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on her arms."I'm perfectly fine," Hazel said. Her voice was raspy from screaming his name hours earlier.A low hum vibrated in Xavier's chest. He scraped the chopped peppers and onions into the hot cast-iron skillet. "You are trembling, sweetheart. I didn't let you sleep until four in the morning. Do not lie to me."Hazel bit her lower lip. She couldn't argue with him.He wiped his hands on a dark kitchen towel, reached over to the espresso machine, and poured a fresh cup of coffee. He grabbed the oat milk from the fridge, added a splash, and stirred in exactly half a teaspoon of sugar. He walked around the edge of the island and set the steaming ceramic mug directly in front of her."Thank you," Hazel murmured, wrapping her cold hands around the warm mug.Xavier didn't walk back to the stov

The ride to Vanguard Holdings on Monday morning was suffocatingly quiet.Hazel sat in the back of the sleek black Maybach, keeping her knees pressed tightly together. She stared out the tinted window at the blurring city traffic, her hands locked firmly in her lap. Xavier sat exactly two feet away from her on the opposite side of the leather bench. He was dressed in a pristine, charcoal-grey three-piece suit, his attention completely absorbed by the glowing screen of his tablet.She could smell the faint, sharp scent of his cedarwood cologne. She could feel the heavy, intimidating heat radiating off his large frame.Every single time he shifted his weight or turned a page on his tablet, Hazel’s heart gave a hard, painful kick against her ribs. She was exhausted. She had spent the entire weekend locked inside the East wing guest suite, trying to force her shattered emotions back into a neat, professional box. She had spent hours staring at the ceiling, violently reminding herself of the