whose wealth and influence were matched only by his handsome face. He bought her anything she wanted, a silent

ion, their bedroom was cold. In three yea

Chloe decided to take matters into her own hands. S

a catalog of failure and quiet reject

in. When Ethan entered, he looked at her, and for the first time, something in his cold

together, a wave of heat and release washing over her, he leaned in, his breath hot

was something I had to do. How could you let h

through the ha

y trembling against hers, "I' ll n

sickening lurch in her stomach. He wasn' t incapab

shley Thompson. His own

a shield. A too

e force of her push surprising them both. She scrambled out of

scalding hot. But it couldn't wash away the filt

hy and handsome, swooping in to save her. Falling for him was as easy as breathing. She chase

s. Dead in

water ran cold, then moved to the living room sofa, wrapping a bla

wn, she picked up her ph

e papers drafte

the front door opened. Ethan walke

pained expression she had never seen directed at h

" he said, his voice tight. "

time, no matter how important his own business, and he was gone.

h us? Then your uncle can look af

loe remembered the look in her eyes. It was pity. Pity for th

aid. Her voice

turning back to her. His gaze was col

night," he said, his tone a clear warn

ithout an

ing. She had been a fool ninety-n

. In the evening, her

the hospi

here, her heart pounding with a nameless dread. As soon as she arri

some blood," the

efore she could process what was happening, they were wheeling her on a gu

han' s face appeared above her. His voice was gentle, a soft coa

But only you can save Ashley. You' re her best friend

inued, his voice dropping lower

s, the room spinning slightly. Ethan'

I' ll give you an

e she could stop them, a desperate, last

iet hum of the machines and the beat of her own heart in

ke, each word d

kay

oved Ashley to his very core. To save her, he would do the unthinkable: t

hloe' s lips. A nurse called fro

mmed. He gripped Chloe' s

e, ple

if she asked for his life. That' s wh

ouldn't

er temples into her hair. Chloe pulled ou

, her voice hoarse. "I don' t even l

e screen. Ethan didn' t even ask what it was. He j

nd about the kidney. Afraid she would really dema

d have told him it was a

pull her under. As her consciousness faded, she

Miller,

iness was his to chase, and her li