All Chapters of Bound By A Forbidden Night : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Chapter 12Celine smoothed down the skirt of her silk wrap dress. If Darius Smith wanted her as a partner in his high-stakes corporate game, he needed to understand that she was the one who set the standards of her own safety.She turned her head, her sharp eyes fixing on his stoic profile. "If we are doing this, Darius, we are doing it on my terms."Darius arched a dark eyebrow, a small, intrigued smirk touching his lips. "I didn't realize a dinner guest got to dictate the terms of the evening, Doctor.""You brought me out under the pretense of a professional date because I missed last night," Celine said smoothly, crossing her legs with grace. "Walking into a powerful man's private apartment while he is wearing a dark, intimidating corporate suit feels entirely too transactional. If you want me to sit across from you at a dining table and actually eat the food you provided, you are going to have to ditch the dark tycoon look. I want you in something casual. Something human."Darius

Chapter 14The rich, savory aroma of pan-seared wagyu beef, infused with garlic and charred rosemary, hung beautifully in the air as Darius turned off the heavy burners. He carefully began plating the steaks onto exquisite, matte-black ceramic dishes, arranging the artisanal sides with the exact precision he had studied from the chef’s manual.Seeing him finish, Celine did not just sit idly in her gallery seat. She stood up, smoothing down the skirt of her dress, and naturally stepped into the kitchen area to help transport the plates.From the shadows of the grand dining hall, two uniformed estate staff members froze in absolute horror. Seeing a high-society guest, especially one wearing silk and diamond, carrying her own dinnerware was a breach of rules in a Smith household. They immediately stepped forward, their hands extended to take the plates from her.Before they could utter a single word, Darius snapped his head up. His dark eyes narrowed, flashing a cold, and silent warning

Chapter 16For two days, Darius kept his word. He did not text her. He did not call. He forced himself to stay locked inside his work mode, burying his frustration in stacks of corporate acquisitions and offshore banking mergers. He had commanded himself to stay away from the security operations room, vowing not to look at the monitor feed for her floor. He told himself he was playing the part of the man she wanted him to be.But by the evening of the second day, the silence from the upper floors became unbearable.Celine had received the legal hardcopy of the contract marriage first thing yesterday morning. A courier had confirmed she signed it. Yet, forty-eight hours had passed, and she had not sent a single confirmation text, called to finalize logistics, or checked to see if he was alive. The indifference from her side was a constant, irritating itch beneath his skin. It drove him insane that while his mind was entirely consumed by her, she was treating him like a mere nonexis

Chapter 18The heavy silence of the penthouse pressed against Celine’s temples as she sat on the edge of the velvet sofa, staring at the dried, dark red stain on the hardwood floor. Her tears had stopped, replaced by a cold, calculating focus.She replayed the sequence of events over and over. Darius had been locked in his corporate tower for two full days. He had not called, he had not texted, and he had not stepped foot on her floor. Yet, within twenty minutes of Christian arriving at her apartment, within minutes of a single, brief celebratory hug, Darius had stormed through her doors like a man possessed, already knowing exactly who was inside.How?The question echoed sharply in her mind. Christian had not checked in with the lobby concierge; he had used the emergency medical bypass card Celine had left for him. There was no physical way Darius could have known. Unless he was watching.A sudden, freezing dread crawled up her spine. Celine grabbed her phone, her fingers flying acr

Chapter 20The heavy silence that followed the click of the disconnected line was suffocating. Darius stood frozen in the center of his expansive executive suite, the sleek smartphone gripped so tightly in his palm that the aluminum casing groaned under the pressure. The words of Celine’s friend echoed brutally in his mind, tearing through his corporate armor.She has been burning with a massive fever all night... because of you.And beneath that crushing weight of guilt lay the sharp, jagged puzzle piece that had completely derailed Celine’s trust: the woman who had answered his phone at the office gates. Darius’s highly analytical mind rapidly reversed through the chaotic fog of the previous night. He had driven recklessly to The Velvet Lounge, a high-end, shadowy underground establishment in the commercial district. He remembered slamming his private phone onto the polished marble counter, demanding a bottle of high-proof scotch, and then storming toward the restroom to wash the b