All Chapters of HIS FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION : Chapter 221 - Chapter 230

I walked back toward my office like a man wading through water.Every step felt slow, heavy, unreal—my body moving on instinct while my mind stayed somewhere behind, still standing in the doorway with Emily’s face burned into my vision. The look in her eyes when she turned away from me… God, I’d seen her angry before. I’d seen her hurt. But this was different. This was the kind of look you only get when something inside you has shifted—when the ground you were standing on cracks right down the middle.I pushed the thought away before it could root itself deeper. If I thought about Emily now, I wouldn’t make it through this.Amanda was sitting in the chair across from my desk. Her back was straight, her legs crossed, her hands folded neatly in her lap like she belonged there. Like she hadn’t been gone for seven years. Like she hadn’t been buried in my mind and memory and grief.I closed the door behind me, the click echoing far too loudly in the thick air between us.I didn’t sit right

Flashback The night air was warm enough that I didn’t bother with a jacket. Amanda stepped out of the mansion ahead of me, and for a moment, I just stood there, watching her. That red dress clung to her like it had been sewn on, flowing just enough to give the illusion of softness before it curved perfectly along her hips. Her blonde hair shimmered under the outdoor lights, catching every flicker like spun gold. And those green eyes—God, those eyes—were on me in a way that always made me feel like she could see everything, down to the parts of me I didn’t even know existed. “You look… breathtaking,” I told her, moving to open the passenger door. “That dress should be illegal.” She laughed softly, slipping into the seat. “Flatterer.” I was about to close the door when she gasped. “Oh no—honey, I forgot the bracelet you gave me yesterday. The diamond one? Can you please get it? I really want to wear it tonight.” I didn’t even hesitate. I never could say no to her. “Of course.” I

If anyone had asked me what kind of day it was, I’d have lied.Said it was fine. Said it was productive. Said I was “just tired.”In reality, it was the kind of day where the minutes didn’t move normally—they dragged, each one pulling a little more out of me than I could afford to give.I stood at the construction site, clipboard in hand, trying to remember the exact sentence the foreman had just spoken. My brain refused to process it. His mouth moved, his finger pointed toward the half-completed concrete wall, but the words blurred into static.“You okay, Miss Ross?” one of the workers asked, breaking through the haze.I blinked up at him, forcing a smile I didn’t feel anywhere in my body. “I’m fine.”It was automatic now—that smile. The one that didn’t reach my eyes. The one I’d used so much today that my cheeks ached from holding it in place. I heard myself give it again and again, each time someone asked if I was alright, like a reflex I couldn’t stop.Because if I stopped smiling

The smell of coffee and toasted bread lingered in the air, but the moment I stepped into the dining room, the atmosphere tasted like poison. Amanda was sitting in my chair. Not just a chair—my chair. The one at Lorenzo’s right hand, the seat I’d claimed from the first morning I moved into this house, the place where his presence wrapped around me like a shield without him even having to touch me. She was in it, legs crossed, head tilted, like she belonged there. Jane was already at the table, cup in hand, glaring at Amanda so openly it was a miracle the porcelain didn’t crack from the tension. Her stare screamed exactly what I was thinking: Get up, imposter. But Amanda didn’t move. She just smoothed her blouse and glanced lazily toward the doorway when Lorenzo entered behind me. He didn’t even hesitate. His eyes flicked once to the empty seat where I was supposed to be, then to Amanda lounging in it like a queen on a throne. His jaw hardened, sharp enough to cut glass. “Take an

Silence stretched after my words, thick and suffocating, and for a moment I thought—hoped—she might finally turn around and walk away. But Amanda didn’t move. Instead, she drew in a trembling breath and lifted her chin, her eyes glassy and raw.“You’re going to throw me out of the house we built together?” she whispered, her voice catching on the last word. “The house we lived in as husband and wife?”I said nothing. My jaw locked, my fingers curling so tightly into my palms that my nails cut into my skin. I knew what she was doing—she wanted to drag me back into the past, back into a memory I had buried in grief, in ashes, in silence. But I wasn’t that man anymore.She took a shaky step forward, clutching the bag like it was her lifeline. Her tears slipped down her face, unchecked now, breaking through that practiced composure. “Lorenzo, we’ve been in love since we were in high school. You can’t just erase that. You can’t just throw me aside like none of it mattered.”Her voice crack