y with the smell of boiled cabbage and the low, persistent drone of the television her mother kept on simply to chase away the silence. Piled

tal bills, mortgage statements, maxed‑out credit cards left by her fathe

gaze fixed on the flickering game show, but Adelynn knew she was not truly watching. She was ad

l, sweetie?" Helen asked,

e and tucked the most terrif

mail, Mom.

believe-a fragile truce against th

glowed with an unfinished design: a flowing, elegant dress that seemed to mock her from the digital canvas. It w

er, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

tian

d Midas touch. He had taken over Mercer Holdings at twenty‑five, following his father's sudden retirement, and tripled the company's value. H

Only five years

r comprehend-a world where a spilled coffee was an

harply on the nigh

ame that sent a sharp, tan

fer

hat revealed a flicker of something beyond his icy control. He stared slightly off-camera, and for a split second, his ex

annoyed at her own fooli

r. A king in his

f the scenery he ow

ut her

ingered in