sington estate in Long Island. Julian slammed on the brakes, the ti

Finch, the elderly butler, opened the heavy oak doors and bowed.

ring fireplace. She held a delicate porcelain teacup, her sha

seal," he demanded, his voice echoing off the wood-paneled walls. "I

saucer with a loud clink. "You trap a bankrupt girl, force a child upon

aw tight, his eyes flashing with dark, vola

u are losing your mind, Julian. I will not let you drag this family's reputat

snapped her fingers. "Sh

y were former Navy SEALs, the estate's elite security team. They moved in a coo

he first guard reached out to grab his shoulder, Julian did not throw a punch. Instead, he s

voice echoing off the high ceili

at the stone fireplace. It shattered into a thousand jagged pieces, the loud crash making the guards flinch. He flipped a heavy oak coffee table, sen

tackling him toward the wall. Julian stumbled back, his hand slamming down on the br

stick against the floorboard

He wiped the blood from his split lip with the back of his wrist.

I will sever the corporate funding to this estat

to the Manhattan penthouse. He smelled of

was on, casting a warm, yellow glow. Chloe was s

ge him, to see the physical toll of the battle he had just fought for her, gripped his chest. He rested his hand on

He wanted her to ask what happened

m the page. Her gaze swept over his bruised jaw and the

blank as glass. She looked at his bleeding han

one hand, pinched the corner of the page, and turned it.

Julian harder than the guard

ling, hollow emptiness in the face of her silence. A profound sense of power

re tonight," he asked, his voice cracking with a raw, unfamiliar desperation he couldn't

r side of the bed, and reached out to click off the lamp. She

and into a tight fist. The pain flared, but it was n

single armchair in the corner of the room and collapsed into it. He sat i