e hummed to life, and Fielding simply waited,

Hayes estate, leaving the p

eyes. The adrenaline that had fueled her through the last hour b

. A cascade of calls and texts. Her father. Her stepmother. Friends,

dle their manufactured concern or their inevitabl

as well

silence. It was low, calm, and

faint glow of the dashboard lights carved his handsome

't quite reach his eyes. "I'm never surprised w

do you want, Fielding? None of this feels like a

matter," he said, his tone flat and direct. "What matters

at suppose

amily will use their power to either ruin your reputation or force you into a reconciliation to save face." He paused, his gaze intensify

a surgeon, laying bare the ugly reality she would have to face tomorrow. S

eone more powerful than the Hayes family. Someone who can ensure they ne

eces clicking into place.

ime, she saw a flicker of something hot and p

rd, so utterly insane, that she thought she mus

know each other. You're P

e no partners in our world, only temporary allies and permanen

eat beside him and handed it to her. T

ead: MARRIA

th hitched. T

s my wife, you will have the full protection of the Everett name and fortune. No one will dare to cross y

tempting. The

of it?" she asked, her vo

ignoring her question and stating her compensat

was so vast it seemed unreal. It was e

mall space, his cologne a subtle, expensive scent

on Preston's face. On his mother's face. On everyone's face, when you walk into the ne

. He was aiming directly at the bruis

But her heart, the one that had been shattered just hours ago, thrilled at the prospect

. "You planned this," she said, her voice

unreadable. "If I did," he asked softly, "would you really turn down

on. Clean, simple, and honest in its own brutal way. It was a th