All Chapters of Craving his control : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Helena Declan stood still before the glass wall of her office, the skyline of Manhattan laid out like a promise she was expected to keep. At twenty-four, she’d become the youngest acting chairwoman in Declan Corp history. The media dubbed her The Heiress of Power. Investors called her a calculated phoenix. But inside? Inside, she often felt like a storm trapped in a glass box. The morning sun poured into her penthouse office, glinting off the black marble desk engraved with her initials—HD. Her father’s initials had once graced the same spot. She reached for her coffee, fingers trembling slightly before she steadied them. The gold ring on her index finger a gift from her mother, Mia was a gentle reminder: “Power isn't inherited. It’s wielded.” “Helena?” her assistant’s voice buzzed through the intercom. “Your 8 a.m. with Mr. Vale is here.” Her spine straightened like a drawn bow. Lucien Vale. Of all the men she wished she never had to see again. “Send him in,” she said, v

The next morning The boardroom had cleared out, but Helena remained seated at the head of the table, her fingers lightly tracing the grain of the oak. It had once belonged to her father—custom-built, sleek, unyielding. Just like Harry Declan himself. Now it was hers. But no matter how firm her voice or confident her decisions, she could feel Lucien Vale’s presence like a burn on her skin. He hadn’t said much during the meeting, but when he did, every word was like a puzzle piece shoved into a board she hadn’t asked for. Why did his approval matter? She hated that it did. “Still here, princess?” Helena didn’t have to turn to know it was him. That voice was sharp silk—dangerous, smooth, and impossible to ignore. She didn’t rise. Didn’t flinch. “I’m not in a rush to run from my own company,” she said coolly. Lucien walked in, hands in his pockets like he owned the damn floor beneath him. “I didn’t say you were. But most heirs don’t bother getting their hands dirty.” S

The city skyline blurred through the tinted windows of Lucien’s black car as he replayed the dinner in his head for the fifth time.Helena Declan.He had underestimated her. Again.He came to that gala thinking he would observe, analyze, maybe even toy with her a little.But she had played him like a seasoned manipulator each word dipped in sweetness, laced with venom. And worst of all? He liked it.She stirred something in him—something dark, insatiable, and dangerously irresistible.His phone buzzed. A text from his assistant, Arlo. “We’ve confirmed. She’s taking over Xander Biotech next week. Fast-tracked. It’s personal.”Lucien leaned back, his fingers tightening around the phone.Personal. Just like everything between them.Helena was making her move—and faster than expected. Taking over Xander Biotech was a direct strike at Vale Industries’ expansion plans. And she knew it.She wanted war.He let out a slow, low laugh. “Fine, Helena,” he murmured. “Let’s burn the board.”POV: H

She kissed him like a curse soft, slow, and searing through everything he thought he controlled.And then she walked away.Just like that.Red silk trailing behind her like fire across marble.Lucien didn’t move. Not at first. He stood alone on the balcony, fists clenched at his sides, eyes locked on the space where Helena Declan had just stood. The night air cut sharp against his skin, but it was the cold inside his chest that caught him off guard.He’d expected seduction.He hadn’t expected weakness.Not his own.Inside the PenthouseThe party carried on without him music, laughter, masks hiding rot but Lucien moved through it like a ghost. His mind was still back on that balcony, playing every second of that kiss on a brutal, endless loop.He should’ve stopped it.Should’ve pushed her away.Should’ve reminded himself who she was: the daughter of Harry and Mia Declan, the very empire that tried to kill his father’s legacy.Instead, he’d memorized the shape of her lips.The way she t

Lucien’s POVThe city skyline blurred beneath the tinted glass of the Declan Tower penthouse, lights flickering like dying stars. Lucien stood with his hands in his pockets, expression carved from stone, watching the night crawl. His reflection stared back at him, but it was her voice echoing in his head."I don’t want half of you, Lucien. I never did."Helena's words hadn’t left him. It was infuriating. Enchanting. Dangerous.He'd always assumed she’d break first. That she'd get bored, or tired of trying to peel back layers he refused to acknowledge even existed. But she hadn’t flinched. If anything, she'd clawed deeper.Lucien walked to the bar, poured two fingers of scotch into crystal, and tried not to remember how Helena looked in his arms last night. The chaos in her touch. The purity in her defiance.He hadn’t meant to see her again this soon. After the event at the Savoy, he told himself he needed space. Clarity. But clarity didn’t come when she haunted him in every silence.A