POV: IsabellaThe air in the Hamptons was salt-heavy and smelled of expensive perfume, sea spray, and the faint, metallic scent of a brewing storm. The Vane estate sat atop the bluffs like a sprawling, white-marble fortress, illuminated by a thousand fairy lights that twinkled with a false, festive cheer. From the air, it must have looked like a dream; from the tarmac of the private landing strip, it felt like a funeral.Liam stood at the foot of the aircraft stairs, his tuxedo perfect, his face a mask of cold, unyielding granite. He didn't look like the man who had stood in the rain outside the bunker. He didn't look like the man who had whispered about saving me. He looked like the CEO of a company that had finally regained control of a runaway asset."Liam?" I asked, my voice trembling as I stepped off the plane. The wind whipped my hair across my face, stinging my eyes."Don't speak," he said. The words were flat, devoid of the warmth I had spent a lifetime memorizing. He did
Last Updated : 2026-02-03 Read more