All Chapters of He Wants An Open Marriage, But Demands My Loyalty : Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

Julien stood at the mouth of the corridor, blocking her path with smooth, deliberate grace. In his hands, two flutes of vintage champagne bubbled softly, catching the golden light from the distant ballroom. His eyes held that familiar, practiced warmth—the kind he wore like an expensive suit when he wanted something from the world.​Vivian didn't flinch. She felt the cold steel of her father’s legacy settling into her bones, locking her emotions behind a wall of pure ice.​"Hiding?" She let out a small, quiet laugh, allowing her posture to soften just enough to look delicate, fragile, and utterly harmless. "Not at all, darling. The air inside was getting heavy, and my head started throbbing. I was just heading to the powder room to fix my makeup before our anniversary toast."​Julien searched her face for a fraction of a second, his dark gaze lingering on the slight flush near her cheekbones. When he found no challenge in her eyes, his posture relaxed. The predator in him was satisfie

​Julien stood frozen in the doorway, his hand still gripping the brass handle of the mahogany door. The color slowly drained from his face, leaving his immaculate corporate mask pale and rigid.​For six months, he had sent emails, pulled political favors, and leveraged every connection in the state just to secure a single ten-minute introductory call with the Blackwood Consortium. They were the undisputed apex predators of global finance—a secretive, multi-billion-dollar juggernaut that swallowed smaller conglomerates whole.​And now, here they were. Sitting at his board table.​"Mr. Blackwood," Julien stuttered, recovering his voice with a nervous, rehearsed laugh as he stepped quickly into the room. He extended a hand, his posture instantly shifting into submissive deference. "I... I was told your legal team would be arriving first. If I had known the partners were attending in person, I would have met you in the lobby myself."​Ethan didn't take Julien’s outstretched hand. He didn'

​The digital display above the door chimed softly as the elevator settled onto the forty-fourth floor. Sunlight washed through the glass doors as they began to slide open, revealing the polished marble corridor of the executive legal wing.​Ethan’s hand remained on Vivian’s collarbone for one last second before he stepped back, smoothly sliding his gloved hand into his coat pocket. His face locked into an unreadable mask, cold and distant, as if the suffocating proposal in the dark had never taken place.​Lucian smoothed the lapels of his suit jacket, offering Vivian a sharp, wicked smile as he stepped out into the hall. Alexander closed his laptop, slipping past her with a subtle, warning brush of his shoulder.​Vivian stood frozen in the elevator threshold, her skin still burning where Ethan’s fingers had rested. Her heart hammered against her ribs, echoing the terrifying choice before her. Surrender herself to the three men who held her past, or stay in the gilded cage of a husband