Todos os capítulos de Sold to Jade Neil: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

JADEThe pale grey light of dawn was just beginning to bleed through the sheer curtains, washing the master bedroom in soft, muted shadows. Outside, the rain had tapered off into a quiet, steady drizzle, the rhythmic tapping against the glass the only sound in the high-rise penthouse.I woke up slow, my mind groggy, my body heavier and warmer than it had ever felt in my entire life.Usually, I woke up with my heart pounding, ready for a fight, my instincts telling me to jump out of bed, grab my keys, and escape before whatever girl was sleeping on the other side of the mattress started asking questions.This morning, I didn't want to move a single inch.My left arm was numb, pinned beneath a soft, heavy weight. I shifted slightly, my breath hitching in my throat as my eyes adjusted to the dim light.Madison was fast asleep against my chest.Her face was turned toward me, her cheek resting over the steady beat of my heart, one of her slender arms draped comfortably over my waist. Her d

JADEThe iron gates of the Neil Manor swept open like the jaws of a trap, admitting the sleek black sedan onto the winding cobblestone drive.Outside the tinted glass, rows of perfectly manicured topiary stretched across the rolling estate grounds, framed by manicured hedges and silver fountains shooting water thirty feet into the cool autumn air. To anyone driving past the gilded gates on the outer highway, it looked like a sanctuary of timeless elegance and legacy.To me, it was a gilded tomb.I sat in the leather back seat, my fingers idly adjusting the cuffs of my tailored charcoal suit jacket. Beside me, Madison sat perfectly upright, her shoulders square, her hands resting quietly in her lap over the fabric of a deep midnight-blue silk dress. The cut was conservative enough for high-society standards—high neck, long sleeves, fitted precisely to her waist—but striking enough that every eye in the room would be forced to pay attention.Resting right at the hollow of her throat was

MADISONThe room went completely still after the line went dead.I sat in Jade's lap, my heart hammering against my ribs, staring at him in awe. I had spent my entire life watching powerful men like my father and Julian Neil dictate the lives of everyone around them through fear, money, and intimidation. I had grown up believing that their authority was absolute—that no one could ever stand up to them without being crushed.And yet, Jade had just dismantled my father-in-law's entire leverage with a few quiet, lethal sentences.He hadn't yelled. He hadn't lost his temper. He had simply cut the leash."You really don't care about the company, do you?" I whispered, my fingers gently tracing the hard line of his cheekbone.Jade looked up at me, his stormy grey eyes dark, clear, and intensely focused on my face. The tension that had held his shoulders rigid slowly melted away as he looked at me."I used to think the company was the only thing that gave me value," Jade confessed, his voice

JADEThe news swept through the city’s business channels before the rain on the South Terminal asphalt had even dried.By six o'clock that evening, every major financial outlet was broadcasting the footage from the docks. The image was striking: Madison and I standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the pouring rain, staring down Vance Logistics’ private security force without giving them a single inch. The headlines were no longer talking about a reckless, out-of-control playboy or a quiet, obedient heiress trapped in an arranged arrangement.They were talking about a coup.Inside the penthouse, the atmosphere was quiet, charged with the calm that always follows the first major victory in a war.I sat at the dark island counter, a glass of bourbon resting near my elbow, watching Madison. She had changed into a soft, cream-colored oversized sweater and leggings, her damp dark hair pulled back into a loose clip. She was sitting on one of the high barstools, scrolling through the evening editio

MADISONThree weeks after the stand on the coastal cliffs, the autumn air turned sharp and biting. The golden leaves that had lined the city avenues gave way to bare, dark branches stretching against a sky the color of slate.In the high-society columns, the scandal of the Neil-Vance merger had gradually dissolved from a burning inferno into a smoldering pile of ash. Jonathan Vance had quietly pulled his press representatives from the city center, retreating to his estate in Connecticut to manage the fallout of Vanguard’s aggressive market expansion. Julian Neil had gone silent, his corporate public relations team issuing a brief, cold statement that Jade Neil had "stepped away from internal operations to pursue independent logistical ventures."They called it a quiet departure. Jade and I called it victory.I stood in the center of a spacious, high-ceilinged loft in the historic warehouse district, three miles south of the financial core. Heavy brick walls framed massive arched windo