Tangled in Deceit

ght, her mind racing with everything she'd uncovered. Dominic Blackwood was engaged. No-he

n't just hurt-she was angry. How dare he pursue her, make her feel some

tile mix of confusion, hurt, and a growing defiance. She'd spent years being silent, bending

er answers and she was d

her purse and left the apartment. The crisp morning air

t in his office, his hands steep

nstructing an impenetrable fortress around his life, keeping everything and every

uard down, showing her a side of h

give her what she wanted, not with the weig

g him out of his thoughts only to r

Ashcr

is before it spirals. Call me." The message read as

ligation, a chess move orchestrated by their families to secu

supposed t

in the picture, every

me with a call from his assista

t carried a note of urgency. "There's som

aring her name as his

He murmured sile

none of the turmoil brewing inside him a

ll. Dominic's heart began pounding hard as he w

the elevator onto the top floor of Blackwood Holdings. The plush carpet muffled her foo

ass doors to Dominic's office, a flicker of doubt crept in. What was

ning. She hadn't felt this unsure of herself in a long

ramatic backdrop behind him. He looked up, his face a mask of calm, but the f

low and steady, but she cau

r swing shut behind her. "I wasn't sure if you

diately, watching her with

n, Dominic. About this." She tossed her phone onto his desk, the headli

Dominic's jaw tightened,

e her best efforts. "Why did you pull me into this if y

" Dominic said finally, h

. "Because right now, it looks like you're playing games with

his gaze intense. "You wer

, her voice trembling. "Just

, and the silence stretched

... it's complicated. There are thi

don't get to pull me into your life, make me feel like there's s

nted this?" he said, his voice finally breaking. "You think I wa

d vulnerable, and for a moment, O

anything, the door behi

lled as Olivia turned to see a tall,

n Olivia and Dominic, her expres

said, his voic

op as Lila stepped into the room, her po

her gaze lingering on Olivia before shifting

r, his jaw clenched as he gla

uld feel the tension in the room, becoming thick and suffocating, bu