Chapter 8 - The Fire in the Dark
That night, the victory at the Plaza was celebrated across every financial news outlet in the state.
The board of Mercer Holdings issued a formal statement endorsing Julian's leadership, officially neutralizing Victor's coup attempt. Damian Cross had officially surrendered his licenses, fleeing New York for a minor office job in the Midwest, while Victoria Langford's family issued a public apology for the "champagne incident."
At midnight, I sat in the grand library of the Fifth Avenue penthouse, wearing a soft silk robe, sipping a glass of warm red wine near the fireplace.
The door pushed open, and Julian walked into the room.
He had removed his suit jacket and tie, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his white dress shirt, rolling his sleeves up to his forearms. He looked rugged, relaxed, and impossibly handsome.
He walked over to the fireplace, leaning his elbow against the marble mantelpiece, watching me with an intensity that made my heart hammer in my chest.
"You handled Victor like a seasoned general today, Ava," Julian said softly, his deep voice wrapping around me like velvet.
"I had a good teacher," I replied, offering a small smile.
Julian walked over to my armchair, dropping down onto one knee before me, just as he had done in the Maybach twenty-four hours earlier. But this time, there was no businesslike distance in his eyes. There was only raw, unfiltered desire.
He reached out, his broad hands resting on the armrests of my chair, trapping me in his intoxicating presence.
"Our agreement was for two years, Ava," Julian whispered, his gaze dropping to my lips. "A fake engagement. A legal transaction."
My breath hitched in my throat. "Yes."
"I lied to you," Julian revealed softly, his thumb reaching out to trace the lower curve of my lip, sending a violent wave of heat straight to my core.
I blinked, my mind racing. "You... lied?"
"I didn't choose you because of my grandfather's trust, Ava," Julian confessed, his dark eyes burning with fierce sincerity. "The trust deadline isn't for another eighteen months. I had plenty of time."
May you like
I stared at him, stunned. "Then why?"
"Because I watched you for three months, and I fell utterly, completely in love with you," Julian whispered, his face descending closer to mine. "I watched a brilliant, beautiful woman give everything she had to people who didn't deserve her. And I promised myself that the moment you were free... I would give you the world."
