جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 60

Stephanie Steward walks toward him, undressing as she moves. By the time she’s in front of him, she's naked."If you don't want this, I understand." She pauses. "But know that it's the boss's way of helping you out."Maxwell doesn't respond.She pulls him gently forward and pushes the door shut. Her hands slip around his neck, and she kisses him, slow at first.He doesn't react.Then his hands find her waist, and he kisses her back.*******Maxwell gets home around three in the morning. As he makes for the stairs, he sees Selene asleep on the couch, waiting for him. His presence stirs her awake."Where were you?"Maxwell walks past her. "Work.""Max…""Not now please Selene."He goes upstairs, closes the door, and sits on the edge of the bed.His phone buzzes.A message from Jonathan: 'Hope you enjoyed your late night?'Maxwell stares at the screen. "What the hell?"Jonathan knows. Of course he knows. He probably knew before Maxwell did.Maxwell doesn't reply. He flings the phone acro

Maxwell's jaw tightens. His hands press flat against the table. "What I want hasn't mattered in months." His voice comes out harder than he means it to. "So why would it start mattering now?"Selene flinches slightly but doesn't respond.Maxwell exhales sharply, and runs a hand through his hair. "Everyone's already decided. My mother. Your mother. The whole damn city probably knows by now."He looks at her, frustration bleeding through. "So no. I don't get to say no."Selene stands slowly. "I'll understand if you say no anyway."She walks toward the door.Maxwell sits there, staring at the empty table.Everything feels like it's closing in.Two days later, the announcement goes out. A simple statement from the Cox family.Maxwell Cox and Selene Moore are pleased to announce their engagement.By noon, it's everywhere. Social media explodes with comments and hashtags.‘Moving fast, isn't he?''From divorce to engagement in six months?''What about the baby they lost?''This feels rushed

Eleven years.He has seen her for eleven years when no one else did.Another contraction tears through her and she screams. When it passes, she’s left shaking."You're doing well," Durrell says quietly.She almost laughs. Her body is doing the work. Her body is bringing proof into the world that she once loved Maxwell with everything she had.But somewhere between the pain and exhaustion, something shifts.It shifts for Durrell.He was there when her father was shot. At the cemetery when her family abandoned her. At the lawyer's office when her mother erased her, and he never once asked her for anything.And without her noticing, her heart has started making space for him.Not because he is safe, but because he sees her. The real her.The next contraction comes, and she looks at him while crying through the pain, and he is watching her like she matters.The pain passes, and he kisses her forehead, letting it linger there a moment longer.She squeezes his hand, and something inside her

*SELENE*"Don't patronize me." I take a step toward him. "I have eyes. I came here with dinner. I'm trying to fix us. I thought…" I stop. "It doesn't matter what I thought."He looks at me with that face. The one he makes when he's searching for the version of the truth that costs him least. I know that face. I've spent years learning his faces."It's business." He says it flatly. Then, under his breath, almost to himself: "Why do you always have to make everything so difficult?"I go very still, then I take one step toward him. "I'm sorry?""Stephanie handles sensitive arrangements." He gestures vaguely, impatiently. "There are aspects of the company's current situation that require…""Stop." The word comes out flat as a wall. "Stop talking.""I need you to understand…" His voice tips into frustration. The fact that I won't let him finish is pushing him past composed.Both my hands go into my hair, and my mouth falls open. “What the fuck!”"You were on the couch, Maxwell." My voice b

*ARIANA*[Five months after leaving Lakebridge]The offer came in an expensive cream folder, the same color as the ones I used to find on Maxwell's desk.I opened it anyway.Lakebridge Wolves Hockey Club. Established 1994. Minority stake available for acquisition pending league approval. Asking price: negotiable.Durrell had slid it across the table at the coffee shop on 5th without any ceremony, the way he did everything, with no preamble, and no soft sell. He just sat back with his hands around his cup and waited."You said you wanted something that was yours," he said. "Something that isn't a charity project or a silent investment. Something with your name on it."I looked up at him. He was watching the street outside, giving me space to react without an audience, and that was the thing about Durrell, he never crowded me."A hockey team," I said."An ice hockey team," he corrected. "The Wolves are dying on the ice and hemorrhaging money in management. The owner is seventy-three and