Chapter 122 Catherine’s POV I was having a dream, a sweet and beautiful one. Julian was with me, and we were running; not away from something, but toward something. But then, the dream began to fray at the edges. A cold, grey light started bleeding through the darkness, and the
Chapter 121 Julian’s POV I led Catherine into the bathroom. She was completely naked, I peeled my own clothes off too and joined her in the shower, standing at her back. She was about to pick the soap when I placed my palm on the back of her hand, “let
Chapter 120 Julian’s POV She gave me a cute pout, before whispering, “I don’t think that’s possible p> “You better stop thinking. Nothing is going to stop me from having you tonight… except you don’t want me p> She blushed, making a cute sound by smacking her tongue at the
Chapter 119 Catherine’s POV The walk to my bedroom door felt like a retreat from a battlefield. Julian walked beside me, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Go to bed, Catherine,” he whispered when we reached my door. He reached out, his thumb brushing my cheek with a tenderness
Chapter 118 Catherine’s POV The whole pretense was finally over. Currently, we were all lined up, stepping out of the Sterling estate. Our limousine drove to the entrance and the driver stepped out, opening the door for us. We got in one after the other. Richard sat in the rear-facing
Chapter 117 Julian’s POV The stairs leading up to the makeshift stage felt like the steps of a scaffold. As I climbed them, following the broad, confident sweep of my father’s shoulders, the temperature seemed to rise twenty degrees. Richard took his place behind the podium, the Sterling family crest
Chapter 116 Catherine’s POV My dress felt like a second skin, cold and sleek, while the diamonds around my neck felt like lead. I stood near a towering sculpture of a swan, watching the melt-water drip steadily into a crystal basin. It was a metaphor for the whole evening; expensive,
Chapter 115 Julian’s POV Our car pulled up to the Sterling estate. As the valet opened the door, shouting voices and blinding white light hit us. The flashbulbs were like a firing squad, and I had to blink back the spots in my vision. “Smile, Julian,” Richard’s voice came from
Chapter 114 Catherine’s POV Night had officially arrived, and with it, an army of stylists, tailors, and campaign advisors had filled the Vaughn mansion. Everywhere I looked, someone was adjusting a hem, steam-pressing a tuxedo, or whispering into a headset about “optics” and “narratives p> I stood in the center
Chapter 113 Julian’s POV “Julian,” Catherine whispered against my chest, her voice pulling me back to the present. “I’m confused. What do you mean by ’you took care of her’? If Richard finds her… if he starts asking questions about who was in the house while he was gone p>
Chapter 112 Catherine’s POV After the dinner from hell, I got into my room, waiting. My heart skipped a beat every time a floorboard creaked in the hallway. While waiting, I kept counting the minutes until everyone would fall asleep. I wanted Julian. I wanted to finish what we started,
Chapter 111 Julian’s POV Now that Richard was back at home, the compulsory dining table moment was back too. Richard sat at the head of the table, not looking like a man who had spent the evening screaming at his family; me to be precise. He looked like a king
Chapter 110 Julian’s POV The door clicked shut, the sound of the lock sliding into place. I stood in the center of the rug, my chest heaving, my mind a frantic blur of adrenaline and terror. Catherine was in the bathroom now and I was standing here in a room
Chapter 109 Catherine’s POV Looking at Julian— seeing the way his hands still trembled, and his eyes darted toward the door every time there was a noise from outside, made me feel a need to protect him. But underneath this feeling, I was also scared. Richard and my mom were
Chapter 108 Julian’s POV The roar of my father’s voice still echoed in my ears, a punishing sound that made my skin crawl. Every word Richard had spat at me, calling me incompetent, useless, had added to my self-loathing. I wanted to be alone and drown in the dark until
Chapter 107 Catherine’s POV She stood perfectly still, her hands clasped so tightly in front of her that her knuckles were white. The oversized black sunglasses remained fixed on her face. My heart was hammering against my ribs, a frantic, uneven rhythm fueled by a dread I couldn’t quite name.
Chapter 106 Catherine’s POV Usually, the circular drive would have just three cars, Julian’s sleek sports car, a Porsche and a single delivery van but currently, it was a graveyard of a fleet of SUVs and luxury sedans parked in a jagged line. I recognized the lead car, which was
Chapter 105 Catherine’s POV Kiera stood before her wall of monitors, a sophisticated bank of screens that displayed more data than a command center. “The window is closing,” she announced, her eyes locked on a countdown clock displayed on one of the screens. I got a message from Julian and
Chapter 104 Catherine’s POV Kiera sat on the edge of her massive, elegant bed, looking more like a queen planning a coup than a girl helping a friend escape a love triangle disaster. Her focus was entirely on the recent chaos and the video I had just shown her. “So,
Chapter 103 Catherine’s POV The moment I got the text message from Julian, I didn’t hesitate. I hurriedly ran in silence to my room and took his shirt off, changing into a shirt and shorts, with frantic speed. I grabbed my purse, confirmed Kiera’s text, and was out the door