جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 5

Calista's POVThe air inside the cabin of Dominic Lancaster’s custom sports car smelled faintly of expensive leather, rain-proof cedar, and absolute, suffocating annoyance.Ten minutes ago, I had been trapped in a glass-walled restaurant on the forty-fifth floor of the Lancaster Towers, forced to sit across from Victoria Vance—a woman whose face looked like it had been sculpted entirely out of collagen and severe judgment. My grandfather’s explicit mandate had echoed in my mind the entire evening: “Marry within our social circle by the end of the month, Dominic, or the board votes to hand the hotel chain over to your cousin Marcus.”Victoria had spent the dinner listing off her family’s real estate holdings and talking down to the waitstaff as if they were pieces of furniture. When she reached across the table to casually stroke my wrist and talk about merging our bank accounts, I had nearly thrown up in my water glass. I made a blunt excuse about an emergency board audit, threw down

Calista's POVThe heavy oak and wrought-iron doors of the Lancaster family estate swung open, revealing a dining room that looked less like a home and more like a museum exhibit designed to intimidate anyone who didn't come from old money.Crystal chandeliers cast a cold, blinding light over a mahogany table long enough to host a small army. Surrounding it were the people whose approval Dominic supposedly needed to secure his empire, though judging by the expressions waiting for us, they looked more like a firing squad.I smoothed down the fabric of the emerald-green silk dress Dominic’s assistant had miraculously rushed to my temporary hotel suite just two hours ago. It was sleek, modest, and expensive—a far cry from the mud-soaked wedding dress I had been wearing when Dominic nearly flattened me with his sedan. But underneath the expensive cloth, my palms were slick with sweat.Dominic stood beside me, his tall frame radiating a silent, unyielding authority. As if sensing the sudden