Audrey frowns slightly, confusion flickering in her eyes. "A new contract? For what?"
"For the architecture firm," I reply smoothly. "You need a legal entity to begin taking on freelance clients. I will provide the initial capital investment. You will retain one hundred percent ownership."
Her lips part on a silent inhale. "Malcolm, I can't take your money to start my firm."
"It is not a gift, Audrey. It is an investment." I slide my hand to the back of her neck, my fingers tangling in her hair. "I expect a return on my capital. I expect you to build the most successful firm in Chicago."
She stares at me, the reality of the offer sinking in. He isn't buying her a company. He is giving her the foundation to build her own. He is giving her back exactly what Simon stole, but this time, it belongs entirely to her.
"And what about the engagement?" she whispers, her eyes dropping to the ring on her finger. "The fake contract is void."
"The contract is void," I agree.
I reach down, my fingers wrapping around her left hand. I don't pull the ring off. I just hold her hand, my thumb resting over the vintage diamond.
"I am an unemployed man with a history of corporate sabotage," I say, my voice rough, completely stripped of its usual polished armor. "I am arrogant, I am controlling, and I have a terrifying lack of patience for anyone who is not you."
Audrey’s breath hitches. She looks up at me, her eyes wide.
"But if you leave this loft tomorrow," I continue, the absolute, terrifying vulnerability of the confession burning in my chest, "I will spend the rest of my life looking for you."
I let go of her hand and frame her face.
"Marry me, Audrey."
The words hang in the quiet air of the loft. It isn't a tactical maneuver. It isn't a manipulation. It is the most honest, terrifying thing I have ever said in my entire life.
Audrey stares at me.
A single tear spills over her lashes, tracking down her cheek. She doesn't wipe it away. She smiles, a brilliant, devastating expression that completely illuminates the dark room.
"You are a menace," she whispers, her voice thick with emotion.
"I am aware."
"And you are going to drive me insane."
"Probably."
She leans in, her hands gripping my shoulders.
"Yes," she breathes against my mouth. "I will marry you."
I close the distance, kissing her with a fierce, absolute devotion that erases the last sixteen years of my life.
The empire is gone. The legacy is ashes.
But as I pull her flush against my chest, the cold metal of the vintage ring pressing against my neck, I know I have finally found exactly what I was built to protect.
CHAPTER 31
AUDREY
The ceiling of the safe house is a grid of exposed steel beams and ductwork.
I stare up at it, tracking the lines of gray metal, listening to the quiet, rhythmic sound of Malcolm breathing next to me. The mattress we are lying on is pushed against the far brick wall of the loft, sitting directly on the concrete floor. It lacks a frame, a headboard, and the high-thread-count sheets of the penthouse. We are tangled in a heavy wool blanket that smells faintly of dust and industrial cleaner.
It is the best I have slept in a month.
