Chapter One: Collision of Worlds

The rain had a way of turning the city into something almost cinematic. Neon signs blurred into streaks of red and gold, streetlights painted everything in a washed glow, and the sound of tires hissing against the wet asphalt carried through the night.Grace Monroe pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders and balanced the tray of coffee cups with practiced skill. Her sneakers splashed in the shallow puddles along Fifth Avenue as she hurried through the storm. This wasn’t the glamorous life she had once imagined for herself, but it was hers and for now, it kept the bills paid and her younger brother in school.She ducked under the awning of a towering glass skyscraper, the kind that screamed money, arrogance, and untouchable power. Blackwood International, the name spelled out in sleek silver letters above the revolving doors, loomed over her like a titan.Inside this fortress of glass and steel sat a man she had never met but already disliked. Damien Blackwood. Billionaire CEO. Th

Last Updated : 2025-09-05

Chapter Two: The Chase Begins

The coffee shop smelled like roasted beans, vanilla, and the faint sweetness of pastries that had just come out of the oven. It was the only place Grace felt she could breathe after the chaos of yesterday.Her best friend, Lila Bennett, sat across from her in their usual booth, nursing a cappuccino with extra foam. Lila’s sharp green eyes narrowed as Grace recounted the entire ordeal with Damien Blackwood from the coffee spill to the boardroom ambush.By the time Grace finished, Lila was staring at her like she’d grown two heads.“You mean to tell me,” Lila said slowly, “that Damien Blackwood the Damien Blackwood dragged you into a meeting with his top executives and introduced you like you belonged there?”Grace groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Don’t remind me. It was humiliating. I probably looked like an idiot. Everyone in that room was dressed in Armani, and I was in a clearance rack blouse from Target.”“Target is chic if you style it right,” Lila said with a dismissiv

Last Updated : 2025-09-05

Chapter Three: A Dangerous Encounter

The hum of conversation in O’Malley’s dimly lit pub faded into the background as Grace’s heartbeat thundered in her ears.Damien Blackwood moved toward her booth with the same unshakable confidence he carried everywhere each step deliberate, unhurried, a predator certain his prey wasn’t going anywhere.Grace’s pulse skittered wildly, but she forced herself to sit up straighter, shoulders squared. This was her place, not his.Lila leaned across the table, whispering with a grin she barely tried to hide. “Girl, he looks like trouble dressed in Armani. If you don’t want him, can I have him?”“Lila!” Grace hissed. “What? He’s hot. Like… unfairly hot.”Grace shot her friend a glare just as Damien reached the table. He stopped beside them, his storm-grey eyes never leaving Grace’s.“Miss Monroe,” he said smoothly, his voice low enough to make her stomach clench. “Fancy seeing you here.”Grace crossed her arms. “This is my spot. What are you doing here?”“Enjoying a drink.” His lips cur

Last Updated : 2025-09-12

Chapter Four: Shadows of the Past

Grace didn’t sleep that night.She tossed and turned beneath her sheets, the warmth of the pub’s confrontation replaying in her mind like a cursed film reel. Ethan’s sneer. Damien’s dangerous calm. The way Damien had leaned in close and declared, she’ll choose me.Her pulse jumped just thinking about it.It wasn’t just the arrogance of the words it was the certainty in his voice, as though Damien had already seen a future she was too terrified to imagine.By the time dawn crept through the blinds, Grace gave up on sleep altogether. She pulled on her worn sneakers and went for a jog through the quiet streets of her neighborhood. The air was sharp, cool, grounding. She needed that needed to feel like her life was hers again, not some tug-of-war between two men who had no right to claim her.But no matter how far she ran, Damien’s voice stayed with her.Later that morning, Grace sat at her favorite café, laptop open, trying to focus on work. But her eyes kept drifting to the door, every

Last Updated : 2025-09-15

Chapter Five: The Push and Pull

Grace buried herself in work the next morning like it was armor.Emails. Reports. Coffee refills. Anything to drown out the echo of Damien’s words from the night before. I will.She told herself it was just obsession. A game. Men like Damien Blackwood didn’t love, they conquered. And she refused to be conquered again.Her boss, Mr. Richards, stopped by her desk midmorning, arching a brow. “You look like you haven’t slept.”Grace forced a smile. “Just a lot on my plate.”He eyed her with that fatherly concern he sometimes wore. “Don’t burn out. You’re too good at what you do to run yourself into the ground.”“Thanks,” she murmured, heart not in it.She tried to focus, she really did. But the glass windows of her office reflected her distracted gaze, and every sound from the street below made her think of him.By lunchtime, Lila had texted her no less than seven messages:How’s your day, Mrs. Future Blackwood?Do I need to bring garlic to ward off the billionaire vampire?Answer me or I