er, the sharp edges digging into her palm. The h

usting his cufflinks. His tone was casual, as if

asily. A slow, dazzling smile spread across her face

raightened his tie, which wasn't even crooked. "Darling," she purred, her voice a low, intimate

ative touch that trailed slowly toward his jaw. It was a brazen move, a l

Adam's apple bobbed once, a small, involunt

ike steel. His eyes were filled with pure scorn. "Put the claws

her stumble back a step. "I require an obedien

e sting of his reject

e. "Felix will handle the Beaumont debt. As

watching the exchange in stunned silence. "Oh, and the medical exam is still

so cruel, so utterly relentless. Even after she had

he shrieked. "

ur deception," he said without turning around. "Yo

monstrous!" Blake

d gestured for the bo

d them approach, a wave of utter hopelessness washing o

his phone

s face tightened with ir

phone. "The press is buzzing! They're asking about a Carli

was it. The fina

no calculation in it. Her face was a canvas of genuine terror, her body trembling, tears s

ng at Edward. Her voice was a raw, broken plea, her eyes wide w

t even Blake, who knew t

's tirade, his gaze fixed on Clare. And for

t resonated with a dark, bur

" he said curtly to

and crouched down, bringing himsel

strand of hair from her face. The gesture was so

ng, probing, as if trying to see

low and rough. "This time... is thi

on. It was a moment of piercing clarity. And in the depths of his cold blue eyes, she