Engagement To My Billionaire Ceo

stepped inside, as if the walls themselves were alive, pressing in closer with every breath I took.

like solemn sentinels, their bare branches reaching for a sky that offered nothing but gray indifference. It was silent here.

my chest. The warmth didn't do much to temper the cold knot that had been s

nything to erase the memories etched into its walls. Yet here I was, tangled in the strings of famil

n there

Leig

, someone who wore glasses low on their nose and smelled of old books and mothballs. But

n't bel

e way it had devoured everyone

idn't need to turn around to know who it wa

the only person I trusted to handle my affairs witho

ing. Vincent waited a

ought h

my jaw. "

d you'd w

ted, my voice sh

"Are you sure? You

repeated, my tone b

breath, gripping the edge of the desk until my knuckles whitened. A child in this h

how, it felt

a castle from some fairy tale. He didn't know the stories this house carried. The darkness stitch

made their intentions clear: allow Amara Leighton to "restore" the manor as a historical landmark. They

nderstand what they meant, too desperate to escape my father's shadow to care about the fine print. Now, I was bound

roject, though that was irritating enough. It was the way she looked at the manor-not with f

tepping into. And I wasn't sure I ha

-

roken windows seeping in through the cracks. I found Amara in what used to be the ballroom, her sleeve

hair out of her face. "Mr. Blackthorn," she said,

replied coolly. "I don

but she didn't rise to the b

g to every surface, and the once-grand chandeliers hung like skeletal remains from the ceiling. But there was a

said, clearly reading my th

sing my arms. "And what

cting the original architecture while making necessary repairs. It entails pr

whether to admire it or scoff at it. "You're wasting you

ack, her voice laced with defiance. "You may o

, I saw a flicker of something in her eyes-something fierce and unrelent

said, my tone clipped. "Do what you want. But don't expect

she turned to her son and smiled. "Theo, why

ds. It was a crude but colorful sketch of the manor, complet

crouching beside him. "You'v

dissolved. I watched them, an odd sensation tugging at

ll leave you to it," I s

and her son from my mind. Their laughter echoed down

felt something stir within me.