fairy tales anymore. She beli

ice like cracking glass. "I have no money, no allies, and my name is mud in this city. But you, R

ark and unreadable crossed Rob's face. His brow furr

ith diamonds and devotion. How had that vibrant child become this ghost? What

ilence. "The contract is airtight. Twelve months. After one year, you announce the

focatin

the sharp lines of her face. She was a stranger to him now. This wasn't just a "fragile

nd he was her only life raft. A jarring realization hit him: if he turned her away

ve office became a physical weight, crushing the air from Ch

rely audible. "I shouldn't have come. I

gar; she still had her pride, even if it was the only thing she ha

d of Des

t a diff

g Chloe dead in her tracks. She froze, her h

gant finger toward the chair

watched, breathless, as Rob Stark picked up the ten-

rrr

, devouring the contract until it

ed five years in a madhouse; she could survive a 'no' from a billionaire. She clenched her fists, her eyes hardening into flin

final time, ready to

timate

get m

ow. She gasped, her hand catching the

get ma

her fake engagement only to demand something far more permane

ing, her eyes wide with shock. "A... a f

g the predatory glint in his eyes. He didn't

ngerous, possessive silk. "Not a contract