She’s not mine, not really—not yet. But still, the thought of someone else walking in here and seeing her like this makes my hands curl into fists.
I shouldn’t have touched her again. Not after how intense the first and the second times were. But I did anyway. And now, when I look at her, it’s not just lust clogging my throat anymore. It’s something heavier. Real. It knots my stomach.
She turns her head to look at me over her shoulder, brows furrowed, eyes filled with uncertainty and something that looks dangerously like hope, and my chest constricts, my steps actually faltering.
That look—half guarded, half soft—it makes me feel like a fucking idiot for letting this get so far out of control. Or maybe for pretending it wasn’t already this far gone weeks ago.
I should say something to make her feel less guarded, less uncertain. But I don’t know what. There’s no manual for this kind of situation. No rule book for what to do when the girl you were supposed to use starts crawling under your skin and making a home there.
My steps feel jerky and awkward as I approach her insilence. Her gaze stays heavy on my face, searching while I drag the wet towel up her thigh, cleaning her up as gently as I can. Then I follow with the dry towel, trying to keep my movements clinical even though nothing about this feels neutral. Once she’s clean, I wad up both towels in one hand and tug her rumpled skirt down over her ass with the other, covering her.
Space. I need it before I do something I can’t undo. I turn away and head back to the ensuite, dumping the towels next to the others before pulling open the drawer where I keep spare clothes. I pull on a pair of clean slacks and a fresh shirt. Routine movements, grounding ones. By the time I step back into the office, I’m dressed again—contained, at least on the outside.
She’s off the desk now, sitting in my chair, looking small and vulnerable in the big piece of furniture. “What—what do we do now?” She licks her lips, and I can’t help noticing they’re swollen and red… from my cock, my mouth.
I clear my throat and drag my gaze back to hers. “Give me a few hours to come up with a plan.”
She gets to her feet, wincing slightly. “Do you want to see the ledger? The physical copy?”
I nod. Yes. Seeing it in person and thoroughly examining it will make it feel more real than just scrolling through the pictures she took on her phone. I watch her carefully as she walks towards me, noticing a slight limp in her steps. “Are you okay?”
Her cheeks flush red, and she avoids my gaze as she passes me. “I’m fine. Just… a little worn out.”
My lips lift into a smirk as she reaches the door and glances back impatiently, waiting for me to unlock it. “Not a word out of you,” she warns, shaking a finger.
I mime zipping my mouth shut, but my smile only widens as I retrieve my discarded pants from the floor and fish the key from the pocket.
I unlock the door, and we head into the hallway, the silence between us thick as we make our way towardsAtë’s office. As I open his office door, someone appears at my side. I don’t need to look. Dhimitër’s presence is unmistakable.
I spare him a glance, ignoring the judgment written all over his face. “Katie found something that might be useful to us.”
“Katie,” he repeats blandly, shifting his gaze to the woman now approaching my father’s desk. “Her name’s Katie?” He lowers his voice so she won’t overhear.
That’s right. I deliberately withheld her real name from him. Because for reasons I didn’t examine too closely at the time, I didn’t want him digging into her background. I wanted to be the only one who knew who she truly was beneath the lies. But there’s no need for that secrecy anymore.
“Yes, Katie.” I step away from him, my attention snapping back to her just as she finds the false drawer inAtë’s desk.I didn’t even know that existed.
A heavy envelope drops into her palm, and she brings it straight to me.
Thankfully, Dhimitër keeps quiet as I slip the ledger out and open it to the first yellowed page. “Thank you,” I tell her. “I’ll go through this and get back to you.”
It’s a clear dismissal, and from the way her eyes narrow, she doesn’t like it one bit. She spins on her heel and storms off.
As soon as she’s gone, Dhimitër explodes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re thinking with your cock instead of your head, and it’s going to get someone killed.”
My hands go still on the ledger’s fragile pages, and I glance up at him cooly, “You dare question me?”
He freezes mid-breath, mouth opening and closing as if searching for words that won’t get him thrown out of my inner circle. “Roan…”
Without another word, I leaveAtë’s office, closing and locking the door behind us. Dhimitër stays on my heels as Imake my way back down the hall, the ledger heavy in my hand.
Entering my office, a tight knot forms in my chest as the realization fully sinks in: this ledger—this evidence of betrayal—is probably what triggered my father’s heart attack. I asked him to look into Fabian to give him something productive to do, never thinking he would actually find anything. I was so careless with his life. My grip on the ledger tightens, and I blink rapidly against the burning sting in my eyes as I move forward.
I ignore my desk entirely and collapse into one of the armchairs, suddenly drained. Dhimitër slides into the one across from me. “Do you know what this is?” I ask him, waving the ledger in the air.
He shakes his head slowly, waiting.
“It’s the evidence we’ve been looking for to prove Fabian is a traitor. He’s been steadily sabotaging our empire for over a decade—for reasons only he knows. And—” My throat locks for a second. I force the words out. “He was somehow involved in my mother’s death.”
