r felt more dressed

k suits, gold pens, and a war chest of NDAs. The windows framed the skyline li

a charcoal suit, eyes unreadable as his legal team we

int appearances over the next six months, starting with tonight's press event at the Caledonia. One charity gala, exclusiv

ena said coolly, fingers ti

-brand comments about the merger." A pointed look

wed to be human."

ch. "You're allowe

ard him. "You

were never obedient. That

them, which was uninv

"The NDA is standard. No disclosures about the arrangement's st

any edits?" Lucien

her mother's name above the firm's door. She thought of the employees she c

word 'obedient.' Replace it with 'independ

irked, just sligh

arpet under a canopy of camera flashes, shoulder t

g was curated-the lighting, the backdrop, even the soft press-ready piano music. And

she muttered, her

his hand settling at the small

a trained

oice calm yet infuriating. "You

was being consumed. The contract was signed at a gold table beneath a chandeli

, and Elena felt no

her heels, her movements sharp. Lucien poured whiskey into two crystal glasses like they wer

e who lie to me," she sai

hink I

I was at that masquerade, and yo

n without touching i

seduced me the night before, and then made it look like fate. That

lked into that night with fire in your eyes. Don't rewr

sychoana

elling you the truth. That night w

ilt an empire on timing. I recognize

r breath, and j

s, the contract, the performative

t making lies sound

was a skittish animal he didn't want to s

e. "No, it just

her cheek. His fingers hovered longer than necessary

ena

ped back

r shoes, straightened her posture, and headed

rning, "but I own the truth. And the truth is,

stood in the silence that followed, he

in years, he felt something stir benea

knew this. But he liked it as h