Ashton's Betrayal, Her Unyielding Vengeance

s empire and warming his bed, only for him to announce hi

er; he used my body as a human shield against a grenade a

o burn his world to the ground, eventually forcing him to han

o I could find peace with

finition of love

tly destroyed Garrick' s career and reputation, driving

back into his arms, into the sa

ons, to the pristine dream ho

ng for understanding, cla

offer for

aimed at the heart I had already broken,

pte

is

mpire, of being his shadow, his strategist, his lover. Tonight felt different. Tonight, the whispers of a shared future felt real,

sn' t

ed the quiet hum of my hope. Ashton' s eyes met mine across the penthouse living room, devoid of the warmth I

flat, emotionless. "Elodie

oice. I knew this look. It wasn't the voice of a man about to pr

she chirped, holding up her left hand. A diamond, impossibly large

a silent whoosh. Engage

ns," I managed, the word a bitter a

alliance. Senator Hubbard' s connections will legit

e woman who had shared his bed, his secrets, his life for

that I was never the priz

hot against my neck. His whispers had filled my ears. False pro

a carefully orchestrated symphony of control and desire. I had melted into him

, his voice rough with something I

rs had traced the line of my jaw, then slid down my arm, intertwining with mine. My he

I had clung to him, pouring all my unspoken hopes into that embrace. My body had ached with

o attend the annual charity gala next month," he' d said, his voice casua

events, the ones where the Maxwell name was paraded in polite society. It was always some

, hope making my voice tre

d that once made my skin prickle with

, his eyes sharp. "No, Iris. You'll be coordinating the

f the bed turned to ice. The p

name foreign on my tongu

een us. "Us? Iris, there is no 'us' in the way you seem to imagine." He ran a hand through his dark

precise, surgical cut. My role.

e barely a whisper. I needed to know. Had I been

is quite... amenable." He paused, a flicker of something almost like regret in his eyes, bu

a silk robe, alread

om suddenly vast and empty. I looked at my reflection in the dark windowpan

the quiet assassinations, the brutal negotiations. I cleaned up his messes, built his empire brick by bloody bri

rayal. I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale, a network of scars barely visible beneath my jawline – a souvenir from a job gone wro

me years ago, a promise whispered in the d

with Elodie' s sweet perfume. He looked at me, still disheveled, still

elicate diamond necklace. "This is for Elodie," he said, his voice softer than I' d he

lly so sharp and calculating, softened with something I had never seen dire

reaching for his. He paused, his voice barely audible. "I

cking shut behind him. His words, a fina

ing at the expensive fabric of my dress. The future I had envisioned, the one I had built my life

. Inside, along with my emergency passport and a burner phone, lay a small, worn leather journal. My jour

gner clothes, a penthouse apartment. All tokens of owne

iven me. It clattered against the other jewelry in the safe – a collection of gilded cages. I added his fa

by one, I fed the tokens of my decade-long delusion to the fire. The ring, the p

ruff but laced with concern, broke through my

ding through me. "Cleaning house, Colonel." My voice was

s gaze shrewd. "W

't find me." My voice was a whisper, but my resolve was ste

onel, I need a new identity. A comp

ation. My only true loya

ed, his gaze softening. "What nam

lied, the name a cold, unfamiliar melod