The Maid Told Him to Ask His Fiancée Who Paid Her to Lie, but the Slap That Followed Exposed a Wedding Planned as His Funeral

Late that afternoon, a sleek black Maybach sedan pulled up the long, winding drive of the Lake Forest estate.

The estate was quiet now. The private security guards hired by Vivienne Sloan had been fired and escorted off the property by Vance’s team. The autumn leaves drifted slowly across the manicured lawns, caught in the cool November breeze.

Rowan and Amani walked together down the wide stone path toward the west conservatory.

The glass building was quiet, bathed in the soft golden light of the late afternoon sun. The white orchids were still blooming, their petals catching the warm rays.

They stopped beside the marble table where, thirty-four hours earlier, Vivienne Sloan had offered Amani eighty thousand dollars to sign a death warrant.

Amani looked at the clean marble surface. “It feels like a lifetime ago.”

“It was the beginning of a new life,” Rowan said softly, stepping behind her, resting his broad hands gently on her shoulders.

Amani felt the heat of his body behind her, felt the strength in his grip. She leaned back slightly against his chest, letting out a long, quiet breath.

“What happens to the estate now?” Amani asked.

“I’m selling it,” Rowan revealed quietly, his chin resting near her ear. “It carries too many old ghosts. I’m building a new home on the north shore. Something modern, clear, and open.”

He turned her slowly around in his arms until she was facing him. His dark eyes searched her face, taking in every detail of her soft features, her clear blue eyes, and the faint, almost faded mark on her left cheek.

Rowan reached up, his large, warm hand lightly tracing her cheekbone.

“Amani,” Rowan whispered, his voice lower and rougher than she had ever heard it. “When Vivienne struck you in that terminal, something died inside me. And when I held you steady, something new was born.”

Amani’s heart began to beat fast and warm against her ribs. “Rowan...”

“I have spent my entire life building steel tracks and iron engines,” Rowan said, his dark eyes shining with unfiltered, powerful emotion. “I thought I was complete. But in twenty-four hours, you showed me that I was living in a cold, empty cage. You are the smartest, bravest, most breathtaking woman I have ever met.”

He leaned down, his face inches from hers.

“I don't want you just as my Compliance Officer, Amani,” Rowan whispered against her lips. “I want you in my life. I want you by my side. Every day. Forever.”

Amani looked up into his dark, honest eyes. She saw no deceit, no manipulation, and no cold corporate calculation. She saw a powerful, noble man who loved her with every fiber of his soul.

Amani raised her hands, wrapping her arms around his thick neck, threading her fingers into his iron-gray hair.