Love’s Ashes, Archer’s Regret

er father brought the skinny, silent boy home from the streets. He bec

onversation with Amelia Ball: their engagement was merely th

at her, all while she endured, knowing she was just a pawn in his cruel game. He even gave her mu

loved, the one who had vowed to protect her. Why did he bel

e: she would erase her identity, disappear completely, and l

pte

lent boy home from the streets, his eyes full of a darkness that she, a New York heiress, had never seen befor

followed her around, the one she protected and

s teen, was actually Archer Sterling, the lost heir to a massive tech empir

ere no longer a teenag

idn't come back as the quiet boy she knew. He came back as a man o

aid he w

y home, the city lights twinkling below them like a carpet of dia

his voice low and

amed of. For ten years, she had loved him, and now, he was asking her to be h

r voice trembling. "Yes,

iss. For a moment, the world was perfect. She was going to mar

kitchen for a glass of water. She was about to turn on the light when

face, ready to go in and surprise hi

. The engagement is

of the warmth he had shown her just hours bef

sca felt the air leave her lungs. "Every time she loo

alking a

reeman the laughingstock of New York, and then I'll destroy everything the Freeman

pty. Her engagement ring, once a symbol of her wildest dreams, now felt like a sh

lently, her body numb. She went

ntity," she said, her vo

complex process. It co

ek to erase a lifetime. A week to endure his fake affec

une as he made her a cup of chamomile tea, just like he used to when they were

iant kid who had been through the foster system and trusted no one. France

had announced, grabbing his arm. "

ake her off. "I'm

a stubborn set to her jaw. "Wrong

tyrant. She'd pinch his arm hard if

uch me," he would hiss

ll touch you all I wa

her. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms

p?" he murmure

touch. The embrace that would have thrilled her yest

id, her voice tigh

her coldness. "I made you

it, then at his face. The face of the man wh

heiress and the orphan, non-biological siblings turned lovers.

city, the rooftop covered in thousands of white roses, the way he had knelt

his voice thick with emotion,

ss so passionate it left her

en complet

of her bed and stood by the study door once more. His voice drifted

ve everything, I'll discard her like tra

and picked up her phone. The confirmation email from her lawy

for him, was now just a pile of cold ash. It was

Amelia Ball, the daughter o

ruin her. To get revenge for somet

legacy. He wanted to destroy it all. She wouldn't let him. If the price o

his game for

taring out the window. "What's w

filled with

smile. "I was just thinking. When d

t I saw you again after all those years. It hit me lik

oth, so effortless

d slowly.

ly. "She's so excited about the wedding. I thoug

but inside, she felt a piece of h