Page 3 of King of Rage

She had first seen him at a business gala, standing among a room full of wealthy executives, yet somehow he had been the only man she noticed.

He was tall and powerfully built, with broad shoulders and a lean waist that made the black suit look almost unfairly good on him. His dark hair was swept back from his forehead, revealing a strong jaw, straight nose, and deep-set eyes that seemed even darker beneath his thick brows.

The sharp lines of his face gave him a naturally intense look, while the slight stubble along his jaw only added to it. A gold watch showed beneath the cuff of his shirt as his long fingers curled around a glass of whiskey.

Stella had noticed him first.

And when his gaze had settled on her, her heart had begun to race.

She hadn't expected him to be interested in her.

But he was.

At the time, both of them had been focused on their businesses and had little room for complications. Yet somehow, their attraction had grown into something neither of them had been prepared to ignore.

Eventually, Lucius had offered her a relationship of convenience.

And Stella, already hopelessly drawn to him, had agreed without hesitation.

Lucius had three rules for her.

The first was to be a proper girlfriend in public, always sophisticated and poised at his side.

The second was to be loyal to him. He wanted a monogamous relationship, and he expected her to remain faithful.

The third was one she could still hear in his deep, measured voice.

“If we ever part ways, we return to being strangers.”

At the time, Stella had nodded as though the rule meant nothing.

As though she could walk away from him one day and feel nothing at all.

How naïve she had been.

Lucius had always seemed to have his entire life mapped out in his head. He knew what he wanted, how he wanted it, and exactly what he expected from the people around him.

Their relationship had been no different.

He had created the rules.

She had agreed to follow them.

And for a while, their life together had felt almost effortless.

He was like a machine. Everything in his life was planned, every hour accounted for, and every routine followed with clockwork precision.

At ten o’clock every night, he would leave his study, take a bath, and pull her beneath him, making love to her all night before gathering her into his arms.

Some mornings, he would press his lips against her forehead before breakfast. Other times, he would brush a stray strand of hair away from her face and call her darling in that deep, smooth voice of his.

She had loved those moments.

The quiet intimacy they had shared. The way he had made their arrangement feel like something more than a simple agreement.

For three years, Stella had lived in that illusion..

What had begun as a relationship built on attraction had slowly turned into something far more profound than either of them had intended. She had agreed to be with Lucius because she couldn't deny the pull she felt toward him, never imagining that those initial feelings would grow into something she would eventually struggle to contain.