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Chapter 201

The message came just before five. I was staring at my screen, pretending to read an email I’d already memorized, when my computer chimed softly.Adrian: Stay back tonight. We need to finish the quarterly projections.No greeting. No apology. No explanation. My fingers hovered over the keyboard. I should have said no.After the flowers. After the way he’d lost his temper. After being sent home like a child who’d misbehaved. I should have protected myself better.But something in me stupid, hopeful, tired typed back before I could talk myself out of it.Me: Okay.I spent the rest of the afternoon in a strange state of suspension, half-expecting him to retract the request, half-expecting another explosion. Neither came.By the time the office began to empty, the floor growing quieter as coats were grabbed and goodbyes exchanged, I was still at my desk, nerves buzzing under my skin.At exactly six-thirty, Adrian stepped out of his office.“Conference room,” he said, already turning away.

最終更新日 : 2025-12-22

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Chapter 202

I realized I’d gone too far the second my fingers touched her. The heat of her skin, the way she stilled instead of pulling away, the soft intake of her breath, it all hit me at once, sharp and unforgiving. For one suspended moment, I forgot everything I was supposed to remember. The rules. The risks. The reasons I kept my distance. I forgot who I was. And that was dangerous.I forced myself to pull back, my hand dropping to my side like it had no right to be there in the first place. I straightened, clearing my throat, putting space between us like it was a physical necessity.“You should go home,” I said.The words came out colder than I intended. Too abrupt. Too final. Her eyes widened slightly, confusion flashing across her face before something else took its place. Real, unguarded hurt. It was there and gone in a heartbeat, but I saw it. God help me, I saw all of it.“Oh,” she said quietly. “Okay.”She gathered her things without another word, movements careful, restrained. Pro

最終更新日 : 2025-12-22

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Chapter 203

I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, letting out a long, shaky breath. The apartment was dark and quiet, the faint hum of the city outside barely reaching me through the windows. My heels clicked softly as I kicked them off and slipped into something more comfortable. I felt like a shell of myself, physically fine, but emotionally raw. Adrian’s face, his words, the sharp edge of his anger lingered in my chest like an ache I couldn’t shake.I changed into pajamas and crawled into bed, pulling the blankets close. My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I hesitated before picking it up, half-expecting it to be a work email or some message from someone I didn’t want to deal with. Instead, it was Ethan.Ethan: On my way. Shouldn’t be long.My chest tightened, but not in the same way it had with Adrian. Relief washed over me, warm and grounding, and I found myself smiling despite the heaviness still lingering in my chest. I typed back quickly.Me: Okay. I’ll be here.I set the phone

最終更新日 : 2025-12-22

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Chapter 204

Ethan’s POVThe engine hummed beneath me, steady and reliable, as the city blurred past my windshield. The night was cool, the kind of crisp air that could clear a head if you let it. I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, my thoughts far from the road ahead. Camilla’s apartment receding behind me, the memory of the soft weight of her body against mine still lingered, warming my chest in a way that felt dangerous and entirely too human.I exhaled slowly, shaking my head. Tonight had been… good. Simple. Comfortable. And that was rare. In my life, in hers, moments like that weren’t supposed to happen. At least, not in the messy, tangled, way that they had tonight.I knew she wasn’t really into me, not like that. Not the way my gut told me she wanted Adrian. I’d seen it before, the way her mind wandered, the way her eyes seemed to follow someone else, even when she was sitting right in front of me. I’d tried to ignore it, tell myself that maybe it was nothing, maybe she could b

最終更新日 : 2025-12-22

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Chapter 205

Aiden’s PovI didn’t plan to hire her. That’s the lie I told myself all morning as I stood by the window of my office, watching the city breathe beneath forty floors of glass and steel. Cars crawled like insects. People hurried with purpose they believed in. The world moved on schedules and spreadsheets and certainty.My parents, however, had other plans.“She’s coming by today,” my mother said over breakfast, voice light, deceptive. “Just to talk.”In my family, just to talk has always meant corner him when he can’t escape.I knew who she meant before she said her name.Isabella Romano.My ex.The woman I was supposed to marry before Camilla ever existed in my life. Before things got complicated. Before I made the mistake of choosing desire over duty and pretending I could live with the consequences.“You should give her a position,” my father added calmly, sipping his espresso. “She’s qualified. MBA. International exposure. And she understands our way of doing things.”Our way meani

最終更新日 : 2025-12-23

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Chapter 206

I don’t hate Isabella. That’s the first lie I tell myself on Monday morning as I step out of the elevator and see her already there, standing near the reception desk like she’s been poured into the space. Hate would be simpler. What I feel instead is friction, impossible to ignore.“Good morning,” she says when she notices me, her gaze sliding over me with polite assessment. “You must be Camilla.”I force my mouth into something that resembles a smile. “I am.”She steps forward and extends her hand. Her grip is firm, deliberate. Not a power move exactly but a test.“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she adds.So have I, I think.“Only good things, I hope,” I reply.Her lips curve. “Interesting things.”We release hands at the same time. Neither of us looks away first.The office feels different with her in it. Quieter in some corners. Louder in others. People watch more closely, speak more carefully. Isabella has that effect, she rearranges atmospheres without touching anything.By ten a.

最終更新日 : 2025-12-23

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Chapter 207

CamillaI find him in his office after hours, because of course I do. The building has thinned out, the lights dimmed to that soft, end-of-day glow that makes everything feel more honest and more dangerous at the same time. Most people have gone home to partners, to dinners, to lives that don’t require this much composure. Aiden is still here.He’s standing by the window with his jacket off, sleeves rolled up, phone pressed to his ear. He doesn’t see me at first. His reflection does, though our eyes meet in the glass, his sharpening instantly when he realizes I’m there.He ends the call quickly. Too quickly.“Camilla,” he says. “You’re still here.”“So are you.”He turns fully then, and the air between us tightens. It always does lately like we’re standing too close to something volatile and pretending we don’t smell the gas.“Do you have a minute?” I ask.“For you?” he replies. “Always.”That almost makes me laugh. Almost.I close the door behind me. The click sounds final.“I’m tir

最終更新日 : 2025-12-23

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Chapter 208

Camilla’s POVThe kiss wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t slow or exploratory or anything romantic enough to justify the way my knees almost buckled. Adrian kissed me like he was trying to silence something dangerous.His hand came up to the back of my neck, firm, possessive, thumb pressing just beneath my ear as his mouth claimed mine. For a split second, I let myself disappear into it. Then reality slammed back in.I pulled away sharply, breath uneven, heart hammering so loud I was sure he could hear it. My palms pressed flat against his chest, not to push him away completely but to create space before I lost my grip on myself.“What the hell was that?” I whispered.His eyes were dark. Too dark. The kind of look that always meant trouble. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his forehead rested briefly against mine, like he was gathering restraint he was dangerously low on.“You were spiraling,” he said finally, voice low. Controlled. “I stopped it.”I let out a bitter laugh. “By kissing me

最終更新日 : 2025-12-23

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Chapter 209

Adrian’s POVThey don’t invite me for dinner when they plan to let me breathe. The house smells like rosemary and old money, the kind that never asks permission. Every step I take across the marble floor echoes too loudly, as if the walls themselves are listening. My mother is already seated at the long dining table, posture perfect, pearls at her throat like punctuation. My father stands behind her chair, hands clasped, gaze distant.I’m not even offered a drink. That’s how I know this isn’t a discussion. It’s a verdict.“You’ve caused unnecessary confusion,” my mother begins.I loosen my tie slowly. “Good evening to you too.”“This is not a joke, Adrian.”“Neither is my life,” I reply, sitting anyway, uninvited but unbothered. “What’s this about? Because if it’s another lecture on appearances…”“It’s about marriage,” my father cuts in, finally speaking. His voice is calm, which makes it more dangerous.There it is. I lean back, crossing my arms. “I assumed as much.”My mother’s eye

最終更新日 : 2025-12-23

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Chapter 210

Camilla’s POVThe office feels different the morning after Adrian leaves early. I can’t explain it without sounding dramatic, but the air is sharper, thinner like something vital slipped out through the cracks overnight. His glass-walled office is dark when I arrive, blinds half-drawn, desk immaculate in the way it only ever is when he’s angry or bracing for impact. Isabella is already here. Of course she is.She stands near the coffee machine in a tailored cream dress, scrolling through her phone like she owns the floor. When she looks up and sees me, her smile curves slowly, deliberately.“Good morning, Camilla.”Her voice is sweet. Polite. Weaponized.“Morning,” I reply, keeping my tone neutral as I move past her.She follows.“I spoke with Adrian late last night,” she says casually, matching my pace. “He mentioned you’ve been under a lot of… stress.”I stop at my desk and turn to face her. “Did he.”“Yes.” She tilts her head. “He’s very concerned about the emotional wellbeing of

最終更新日 : 2025-12-23

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