All Chapters of RUTHLESS: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The elevator doors glided open with a soft chime to reveal a penthouse draped in suffocating silence and thick dread. Maren stepped onto the plush carpet holding the sleeping baby tight against her chest while Gwen and the security detail trailed behind her in quiet apprehension. Her eyes locked onto Gideon standing in the center of the living room with his arms crossed and his back turned toward them.He was staring at a massive wall monitor that played the viral street brawl on an endless repeating cycle. The shrill sound of Sybella screaming insults filled the tense air and made Maren flinch with fresh waves of guilt. She prepared her mind for the vicious verbal assault she assumed he would unleash upon her for destroying their careful public facade."I can explain what happened on the street before you say anything," Maren started with a shaking voice as she took a tentative step forward. "Sybella cornered us the moment we stepped onto the pavement and she started throwing horribl

"Never ask a man for the truth unless you are prepared to carry the crushing weight of his answer," Gideon advised while his thumbs brushed over her cheekbones. His possessive words hung suspended in the quiet room and left Maren completely paralyzed. The intense fire burning in his slate gray eyes promised a level of violence she could barely comprehend. "You cannot just claim me like a piece of territory and expect me to bow down to your authority," Maren whispered. She placed her hands over his wrists and tried to push him away from her face. The friction of his skin against hers sent another dangerous jolt of heat straight to her core. "I do not expect you to bow down because I need you standing tall beside me when the real war begins," Gideon countered. He let go of her face and took a half step backward to grant her a sliver of breathing room. The sudden loss of his physical warmth left Maren shivering in the center of the living room. "We are supposed to be partners forging

Never wear silk into a warzone unless you are prepared to use your vulnerability as a weapon. Maren stared at her reflection in the master bathroom mirror while her pulse hammered against her ribs. She smoothed her hands down the dark emerald gown and braced for the incoming battle. "You look like a queen walking to her coronation, not a woman facing a hostile gala," Gwen said, securing a diamond clasp at the nape of Maren's neck. "Desmond will choke on his own spite the minute you step onto that red carpet. He expects a broken victim. You are giving him a conqueror." "I do not care about his reaction. My only goal is surviving the media gauntlet without losing custody of my nephew," Maren replied, turning from the glass. "Gideon promised to be my shield, but I still feel like I am walking into a cage of predators. Stay in the penthouse and keep the baby behind locked doors until we return." "The security team has the perimeter locked down, and I will not let anyone near the nurser

Public humiliation is the weapon of a desperate coward who knows he has already lost the war. Desmond leaned closer to the blinding camera flashes while letting a cruel smirk twist his handsome features into something truly monstrous. He stared down at Maren with venomous satisfaction shining in his eyes and prepared to deliver his rehearsed insult to the waiting press. "I have to wonder how many billions of dollars a man like Gideon must spend to buy a woman who looks like she belongs on a street corner," Desmond announced loudly so every reporter and microphone could capture the toxic sentiment. "You think you won the lottery by trapping an empire in a courthouse today, but you are just another piece of trash he will throw away when the contract expires." Maren felt her face flush with a mixture of burning shame and uncontrollable fury as the cameras surged forward to record her reaction. She opened her mouth to strike back with a blistering insult that would wipe the arrogant sne

Never pretend to love your enemy in front of a court of vultures unless you are willing to let the lie consume your body and soul. Maren held her head high as Gideon guided her through the grand archway into the ballroom while the watchful eyes of the estate executors tracked their every movement from the VIP balcony above. "Keep your smile fixed on my face and lean into my body as if you cannot bear a single inch of distance between us," Gideon instructed in a low murmur against her cheek. His hand pressed against the small of her back with an intense warmth that seeped straight through the emerald silk of her gown. "I can perform this farce for as long as those old men need to be convinced," Maren replied while wrapping her fingers around his muscular arm. "Just make sure you do not forget where the performance ends and our real contract begins." They moved through the sea of socialites and corporate titans like a pair of solitary survivors navigating a dangerous minefield. Every