All Chapters of THE CEO'S FORBIDDEN FLAME : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The city looked like a fallen galaxy beneath the glass walls of the tallest skyscraper. Night lights shimmered below as if the stars had chosen to live on earth and obey her. Valerie Kings did not just rule from this height. She commanded gravity itself. Every choice she made pulled the world in a direction she alone decided.The silence in her private office was not peaceful. It was a warning. A kingdom without mercy. A sanctuary that doubled as a cage. The door was soundproof. The walls could hide a thousand secrets. The floor had never known dirt. The air conditioner hummed like a servant whispering prayers to a queen.Her taste in everything was sharp. The women around her admired. The men feared. She called it balance.Valerie sat in her chair of black Italian leather. The throne of K and K Global Holdings. Her mother had once dreamed this empire into existence. Her mother had built it with love and perseverance. Valerie built it with ice.She wore a tailored suit white as pearl.

Ethan’s footsteps faded down the marble hallway. The sound echoed in Valerie’s office, yet she could no longer hear anything. The silence pressed against her chest like a hand she could not push away. She had expected fear. She had expected hesitation. But not this. Not the way his presence lingered in her mind like a scent she could not scrub away.She sank into her chair, eyes fixed on the city below. Lights flickered like fireflies, but they felt muted. The entire building had fallen into stillness. Only her heartbeat filled the room, loud, unrelenting, accusing.Her hand trembled as she reached for her phone. Not to call him. Not to apologize. She did not know what she would say if he answered. She only stared at the screen, blank, breathing uneven.A folder lay untouched beside her. Ethan’s proposal, unsigned, daring, reckless. It mocked her. A part of her wanted to destroy it. Tear the papers into shreds and throw them from the window. Yet her fingers hovered over the folder as

Valerie stood in the center of her penthouse with the city spread out beneath her like a glowing ocean. Yet none of the glittering lights calmed the cyclone inside her mind. Her fingers tightened around the photograph until the edges nearly cut her skin. The anonymous messages echoed again and again.Be careful with Ethan ColeHe is not who he says he isAnd neither are youThe last line clung to her chest like a hand made of ice. She forced her breathing to steady, but the past she had spent years burying clawed its way forward with ruthless clarity. Memory after memory flashed behind her eyes. Her father. The other woman. Her childhood. Vivian’s fear. Her own silence.The small girl who once stood frozen in the hallway watching unspeakable violence seemed to be standing beside her again. Fragile. Trembling. Unable to speak the truth that poisoned her life.Valerie pushed the thought away. She was not that child anymore. She was not weak. She did not tremble. And she refused to be af

The city did not sleep that night. Neither did Valerie.She stood at the floor to ceiling window of her penthouse long after security had finished their sweep and reinforced every entry point. The skyline glittered back at her, indifferent, vast, pretending nothing had changed. But everything had.The recording existed in enemy hands.Not a rumor. Not a threat. Proof.Behind her, Vivian sat curled on the sofa, knees drawn to her chest, fingers locked together so tightly they trembled. The television murmured quietly, but she was not watching it. She was somewhere else. Somewhere darker.Ethan stood near the doorway, arms crossed, posture alert, eyes scanning the space as if danger might materialize out of thin air. He had not left her side since the call ended.Valerie broke the silence.They want me afraid.Ethan’s voice was low. They want you obedient.She turned from the window. They will get neither.Vivian looked up sharply. Valerie.Valerie crossed the room and crouched in front

The rain started without warning.It struck the glass walls of Ethan’s apartment in sharp, restless bursts, as if the sky itself had lost patience. Ethan stood at the window, shirt sleeves rolled up, hands braced against the sill, watching the city distort beneath the downpour. Lights blurred. Shapes melted. Everything familiar became uncertain.It fit his thoughts too well.He had left Valerie’s office with purpose. With resolve. With the promise still echoing in his chest.I will not let them take you.But promises were dangerous things. Especially when built on half truths.His phone vibrated on the counter behind him.He did not turn immediately.He already knew who it would be.When he finally reached for it, the name confirmed what he expected.Marcus Hale.He answered.You are late, Marcus said without greeting.I am where I need to be.A short pause. You are too close to her.Ethan closed his eyes briefly. That was always the problem. And always the temptation.You warned me a