King of Pride

Ava Selwyn

Price of regret series

Book 4

Copyright © 2026 Ava Selwyn

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0HBN71566

A NOTE TO READERS

These stories are written in third-person point of view. As an international author, English is not my first language, but every story is written from the heart with emotion, passion, and a love for deeply devoted, deliciously jealous men. Thank you for reading and letting these stories become a part of your heart.

Synopsis

“You shouldn't have done something that deserved getting slapped for.”

Rose is humiliated by her fiancé, Ivan Carrington, for breaking a cheap snow globe from his ex-girlfriend.

In that moment, every feeling she'd ever had for him dies.

After walking away from the man she thought she'd marry, Rose wakes up in the bed of Maverick Bishop—the ruthless billionaire feared for his merciless temper.

“Now that you're my wife, don't let me find out there's another man in your heart. I'll break his neck.”

Overnight, Rose goes from Ivan Carrington's fiancée to Maverick Bishop's wife.

What Rose doesn't know is that her best friend's older brother decided she was his the moment he first laid eyes on her.

For years, Maverick waited for the day she finally walked away from Ivan.

Now that she's finally his, he'll give her the world—but never the freedom to leave.

Ivan is certain Rose loves him too much to leave over a single slap.

Until she disappears.

Until she ignores every call.

Until she won't even look at his face.

By the time panic finally sets in, it's already too late.

Because a thorn has already claimed the rose.

Chapter 1 The Slap That Ended It All

Thud.

The sound of the slap echoed inside the luxury apartment, so loud that, for a moment, it seemed as though every other sound had been swallowed by it.

Everything fell into complete stillness.

Rose's body went rigid.

Her face burned where her boyfriend, Ivan Carrington, had slapped her, the heat spreading from her cheek across her entire face and down her neck. It was as if she had been filled with fire, the flames spreading from that single point of contact until her entire body felt unbearably hot.

Her cheek was burning.

Her chest burned too.

And suddenly, it felt as though her heart had stopped along with the slap that had fallen across her face.

Rose remained completely still, her eyes slowly lifting toward Ivan as tears immediately welled in them. She hadn't wanted them to come. She didn't want to cry in front of him, not after what he had just done.

But the burning sensation on her cheek and the sudden, overwhelming pain of betrayal made it impossible to hold everything back.

Anger flashed through her so violently that she couldn't even fathom how to express what she was feeling anymore.

Her fingers slowly curled at her sides. Her eyes burned with the tears threatening to spill over, while her heart began pounding faster and faster inside her chest.

Ivan stood in front of her in complete silence.

His hand slowly lowered from where it had struck her, but the rest of his body remained completely still. His face was filled with a stunned, almost disbelieving expression, as if he himself were shocked by what he had just done.

The entire room was perfectly still.

Everything in the luxury apartment was exactly where it belonged—clean, bright, expensive.

The only thing out of place in the otherwise perfectly luxurious apartment was the broken snow globe.

Glass had shattered across the perfectly polished, expensive Italian marble floor, the liquid from inside the globe spreading across the surface. Tiny stars that had once floated inside the snow globe were scattered all over the ground, along with the little figures that had been inside it.

There was a perfect wooden shelf in the middle of the apartment, completely open and clearly visible to anyone who visited.

And that snow globe had once been sitting right there, directly in front of Rose's eyes.

Every time she visited Ivan's apartment, she saw it.

It wasn't expensive.

In fact, it was a cheap copy compared to the other gifts carefully placed on that shelf. But it had been given to Ivan by his ex-girlfriend, Jessica, and that was what made it different.

Throughout their five years of relationship, Jessica had given Ivan various gifts, and nine slabs on that shelf were completely reserved for those things. Ivan had arranged and placed every one of them there very carefully.

The snow globe had been purchased during one of their trips, and Jessica had gifted it to him on his birthday.

Rose had always known that.

She had seen it every time she came into the apartment.

And now, moments ago, she had accidentally knocked it over.

It happened when Rose was moving.

Her shoulder had accidentally hit the wooden shelf, making the glass and everything else on it shake.

The snow globe, which had been placed perfectly in the middle, had immediately begun to fall.

Rose had instinctively reached out to grab it. Her fingers had closed around it, but the globe slipped through them. She had tried to adjust her grip and place it back where it belonged after rubbing off the dirt that had gotten onto the snow globe.

But she hadn't managed to save it.

It had fallen.

And shattered.

That was when Rose had turned around, only to see Ivan standing in front of her.

His eyes were burning with rage, his face filled with anger and emotions she had never seen before. The fury spreading across his features made Rose's body instinctively stiffen.

She knew how much he cherished all these things—all the gifts he had received from Jessica.

The hurt flashing across his face immediately made her feel terrible. Her heart sank, and she quickly tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

She had barely started when his hand struck her face so hard that everything else became completely silent in her world.

Except for the ringing in her ears.

Rose stood frozen in front of the man she was supposed to marry in a few months. Her heart could barely seem to move inside her chest as she stared at him in complete silence.

Everything suddenly became completely still.

Rose slowly lifted her eyes to him.

This was the man she was going to marry.

Then her gaze shifted toward the snow globe.

And suddenly, everything became so much sharper that she could barely process what had happened.

Rose's mind filled with memories of their time together—all the times she had stood in front of him and given him expensive gifts, only for him to place them carelessly somewhere and even forget about them the next day.

But this snow globe, something that wasn't worth even ten dollars, had enraged him this much that he had slapped her over it.

Rose took one step back.

Her hand slowly lifted toward her burning cheek, her fingertips hovering over the place where his palm had struck her before she finally touched it.

She looked at Ivan.

Her eyes weren't filled with anger. Or betrayal. Or even pain.

Instead, she simply stared at him in complete silence.

Ivan looked at her.

She looked back at him.

Realization flashed across his face for a moment, a startled expression appearing as though he had only just understood what he had done.

But that realization disappeared just as quickly.

His face hardened again as he looked at her.

"Why would you break something important to me? I had told you a hundred times not to get closer to the shelf and not to touch my things. But you just have to move around my apartment like—"

He looked at Rose with anger burning in his eyes, but at the same time, there was a look of startled disbelief in them, as if he himself were shocked by what he had done.

At the same time, he looked at her.

"You shouldn't have touched my things without my permission."

He said it while looking at Rose with a hard, displeased expression.

Rose didn't say anything.

She kept staring at her fingers.

Her hands had fallen back to her sides, but her fingers were slightly curled, her body still unnaturally rigid from the shock.

Ivan's fingers tightened.

Rose still didn't say anything.

She simply turned around, grabbed her purse from the couch, her movements quick and stiff as she swung the purse onto her shoulder, and headed toward the door without giving him another look.

But just as she took one step forward, Ivan shot after her and grabbed her.

Rose immediately stopped and turned around to look at him.

Ivan looked at her, his jaw tight, his expression still hard.

“You know this was your fault. You shouldn’t have done something that deserved getting slapped for.”

In that moment, the rage that filled Rose was so intense that she feared she would grab a knife and stab Ivan with it.

But she didn’t want to go to jail for murder at such a young age, so she thought better of it and roughly freed herself from his grasp, jerking her arm out of his hand.

“We are over,” she said in a deathly low voice.

Then she stormed out of the apartment.

Every step she took suddenly flashed her entire history with him through her mind—the memories of everything she had been doing in his life for the past one year.

It was true that she had liked him first. The crush she had on him had initially been because he was good-looking, but then she had found out he was hardworking. She saw that he had a business. He was doing well. He had his goals.

She had seen the man that everyone else didn’t see except for the power of money that he spread for his friends. She had seen him for the man he was.

And that was what had made her attracted to him in the first place.

Rose wiped away the tear that had filled her eyes with the back of her hand, quickly blinking to stop more from falling. But even though she tried to suppress them, it was difficult. Her throat tightened as she stepped into the elevator, and she pressed the button for the lobby with a trembling finger.

Just then, her phone started ringing.

She pulled it from her purse and picked up the call, the name flashing across the screen.

Zoe.

Rose placed the phone to her ear.

“Rose, where are you?” Zoe Bishop’s enthusiastic, loud voice came through at once, accompanied by the background noise of the party. “I thought you were going to be here already. The party has already started, and I’m getting bored. I thought you were really going to skip it just because Ivan wants to stay home. Come on, the party is hosted by my family. At least help me, okay? I’m getting bored. Please come over. Can you?”

Rose was silent for a brief moment.

Then she swallowed and said, “I’m coming over in a minute. I will be there in half an hour.”

“Yay!” Zoe exploded with happiness, her excitement practically burning through her voice as she continued, “I’m waiting for you.”

Rose managed a faint smile despite the ache in her chest.

The call ended.

She went down the elevator and into the car that was waiting outside. As she got inside, she slammed the door and immediately told the driver to head toward the Aurelia Palace, where a very popular party for the richest people in the city was being held by Zoe Bishop’s family.

The party was mainly for business reasons—to mingle and have an excuse to meet. The main reason stated on the invitation was that the party was being held for the upcoming product launch of one of their fragrances, which was going to be one of the most expensive ones on the market in recent years.

Zoe’s family owned one of the most expensive fragrance companies in the world, Imperium Fragrances, catering to the wealthiest people with expensive shampoos, perfumes, and everything related to fragrances. Basically, everyone knew about them, from the beginning of their business to the present day.

It wasn’t hard for people to know about them with such a huge business. Their family wasn’t exactly hidden from the public or the market. Being one of the richest families in the city meant that very little about them could remain private.

By the time the car came to a stop in front of the Aurelia Palace, Rose could already hear music flowing out from inside.

The entire palace was lit up, glowing beneath countless lights, while decorations made entirely of real flowers covered the entrance and stretched along the grounds. It was clear that a fortune had been spent decorating the palace just for the guests.

At the same time, there was strict security at the entrance.

Rose pushed open the car door and stepped out. Before she could even shut it herself, one of the security guards immediately jogged over and reached for the keys from her.

She handed them over without a second thought and headed toward the entrance.

When she showed them the VVIP gold invitation card Zoe had given her, the security immediately let her into the palace and personally escorted her inside before pointing her toward Zoe.

The moment Rose entered, she stopped briefly. The palace suddenly seemed even more stunning than she had expected.

She looked around, her eyes moving across the bright, extravagant room filled with people. There were so many of them that, for a moment, she simply stood there taking it all in.

And then she became painfully aware of what she was wearing.

Rose had come wearing just shorts and a white oversized T-shirt. Standing among guests dressed in fancy suits and elegant dresses, she looked very different from everyone else.

But it was the first time Rose didn’t fuss about her clothing or worry about dressing up.

Even though a burning sense of intimidation crawled through her as many people turned around to glance at her after she entered wearing casual clothes, she refused to let it bother her.

She simply roamed around the palace, looking in the direction the security guard had pointed her, searching for Zoe.

And then she spotted her.

Zoe was standing near one of the bar counters, drinking and laughing with someone beside her. Rose immediately headed toward her, picking up her pace as she crossed the room.

Just as Rose got closer, Zoe’s eyes lifted and landed on her.

Her entire expression changed instantly.

She straightened, a wide smile spreading across her face. But the moment she broke away from her friend and got a better look at Rose, a frown of confusion quickly replaced it. She set down her champagne glass and immediately hurried toward her.

Her small face, framed by short hair, was delicate and charming, but as she came closer to Rose, the smile slowly faded from her lips. The amusement disappeared completely, replaced by a deepening frown.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking Rose over in confusion. “Why aren’t you dressed up?”

Her voice faltered as her eyes suddenly fell on Rose’s cheek.

She saw the handprint immediately.

Zoe went still as a rock, her mouth falling slightly open in shock. Her eyes flicked back to Rose’s face, and without another word, she reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her away from the crowd.

She led Rose toward the side, behind the bar counter, where fewer people were gathered. Then she stepped closer and reached up to touch Rose’s face, her expression filled with confusion and growing alarm.

“What the hell happened? Who did this?”

Panic flashed in her eyes. She wasn’t shouting, but her voice was loud enough for Rose to hear the alarm trembling beneath it.

Rose answered immediately.

“Ivan. He slapped me because I accidentally broke Jessica’s gift.”

Zoe stared at her in disbelief.

“He hit you?” she repeated. “He slapped you in the face? Or—”

“Just one slap,” Rose interrupted.

Zoe’s eyes hardened even further.

Something about those three words seemed to make her anger burn hotter. She stared at Rose, her jaw tightening as fury flashed across her face.

“That asshole,” she snapped.

A few people standing nearby turned at the sudden outburst, but Zoe didn’t care enough to lower her voice.

“You’re breaking up with him, right?” she demanded. “Don’t tell me you’re going back to him.”

“I broke up with him,” Rose immediately assured her. “I walked out immediately.”

But her heart faltered as the pain she had been trying to suppress suddenly resurfaced in her eyes.

“He cares more about his ex-girlfriend’s gift than he cares about me.” Her voice tightened. “He hit me because I broke a gift that his ex-girlfriend had given him.”

Zoe’s anger hardened.

“Motherfucker.” She shook her head furiously. “He never learned his lesson, did he? Jessica walked out on him after sleeping with him for five years and then disappeared into the wild just because she found a nice opportunity.”

She lifted two fingers into the air, mimicking Jessica’s baby-pitched voice with an exaggerated expression.

“Everyone knows why she moved to France, don’t they? She got together with the owner of that company where she said she was going to work. She’d been sleeping with him and then moved to France to live with him. And then she gave Ivan the excuse that she wanted to further her own career.”

Her lips curled with disgust.

“All a load of bullcrap! She wanted to get ahead by sleeping with more men so she could marry one of the richest.”

Her mouth twisted as she spoke, her voice nearly shaking with rage.

Zoe put her hands on her waist. The black dress she was wearing flowed with the motion as she planted her hands firmly on her hips. She then adjusted the strap of her dress that had fallen off her shoulder before turning back to Rose and snapping, “If it weren’t for you liking him for a year, I swear I would have never let you be with someone like him. Do you remember what all his friends kept saying? All the things that we heard?”

Rose nodded as she stepped closer. Then she turned around, grabbed one of the martinis from the bar counter, and downed it before slamming the glass back onto the counter and turning toward Zoe.

“It’s not like I only heard it once. He got together with me because Jessica left him, but I didn’t mind at all because I always thought he was one of the men I admired.”

Zoe’s voice rose as she spat out, “That motherfucker! He got together with you just because he wanted to get over his ex and show her that he could get into a relationship with another woman, just as she had done. But I thought after he saw how much you liked him, he would change his ways and realize what garbage he had thrown away and what he had. But you cannot teach a monkey what the value of a diamond is.”

Zoe tucked her hair behind her ear.

Rose stumbled only slightly as she picked up another glass of martini and downed it.

She had liked Ivan for so long that it had started to feel like love. She hadn’t realized how much she was giving in to him while ignoring all the things she knew were wrong.

She looked at Zoe and admitted, “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with him right after his ex-girlfriend left. I knew it was wrong, but I still gave him a chance because he proposed to me. And I had never thought that a guy I liked would come forward and propose to me himself.”

Zoe immediately put both of her hands on her waist and said, “It’s not your fault. Why are you blaming yourself? You were sincere with him from the very start. You put in all the effort in the relationship because you thought that he had already forgotten about Jessica. But it turns out that the man is still drowning in his ex-girlfriend’s love.”

Rose frowned as she answered, “I didn’t realize that. It turned out that he still loves Jessica, and he just wanted her to see that he was living a perfect life even after she left him. And that’s why he proposed to me,” she murmured.

“I’m the one who fell in love—the one who liked him first. So it’s true that the one who falls first always loses. I really didn’t mean as much to Ivan as he meant to me. He cherished everything that Jessica had left behind for him.”

Rose said it as she looked at Zoe before continuing, her voice shaking only slightly as she reached over and grabbed another glass from the counter. She took a sip before continuing.

“He wouldn’t throw anything away. He wouldn’t even let me bring up the fact that he was still attached to Jessica’s things. He said they were memories from his life that he didn’t want to lose, even though all of those items were things only Jessica had given him. A couple’s coffee cup. Old photographs. Framed pictures of the two of them from the past. I had overlooked everything.”

Her voice shook slightly as she continued, her anger rising while the ache in her chest grew even more intense because she really had given everything she could to the man she liked.

Ivan wasn’t just some random man she had simply accepted into her life. She had already had a crush on him when he proposed to her. She had truly believed that the man she was going to marry loved her.

Zoe’s voice rose as she said, “Thank God you didn’t marry him. Imagine if this had happened after you married that bastard. What a headache it would have been to realize that he was such an asshole. I would have hated finding out later that he was still in love with his fucking ex.”

Rose continued drinking her third martini, her hands trembling only slightly. The betrayal felt so raw and painful that her body ached slightly as she stood there, trying to process everything.

Suddenly, there were noises around them, and the one word that came through very clearly was the name Jessica.

Zoe and Rose immediately looked at each other as they overheard the voices mentioning Jessica’s name. Then they shifted toward the noise in the back, where a bunch of girls were talking.

“No, why would she even come back to Manhattan? I thought it was already perfect that she had a life with Brandon in France. I mean, Paris is the city of love, after all. Why would she come back here?” one of the girls said.

“I heard that it’s because Brandon caught her cheating on him,” another girl answered.

Zoe and Rose looked at each other, their eyes widening as they heard the information. They immediately moved closer to the voices, as quietly as they could, listening to the girls as they continued to chat.

Then the third girl flipped her hair back and said, “I know something that you don’t know. My sister told me. She’s best friends with Jessica.”

Immediately, all the girls shifted closer to her.

“Don’t hide it from us. Tell us! What’s going on? What are you talking about?” the girls demanded.

The third girl smirked, clearly enjoying the feeling of superiority, before saying, “Jessica was sleeping around. But it’s not like Brandon wasn’t sleeping around either. He was sleeping with other girls as well. So, both of them were seeing other people. But Brandon, of course, didn’t know that Jessica was sleeping around too. And when he caught her with his dad in his bed, he broke up with her and literally threw her out of his house without a penny. That’s why Jessica is back in Manhattan now.”

“What the hell? Are you serious? She slept with his dad?”

The girls looked horrified.

At the same time, Zoe and Rose looked at each other, their eyes widening as their mouths fell slightly open in shock.

The girl continued.

“Yeah, and that’s why he terminated her employment with his company. My sister was talking to her about it over a video call, and when she realized I was listening, my sister moved to another room to talk to her. That bitch even slammed the door in my face. But that’s all I heard when Jessica was talking to my sister, and it was so juicy!”

The girl stopped, disappointment appearing on her face.

“I couldn’t get the whole gossip.”

The other girls looked equally disappointed, some of them giggling as they began talking among themselves.

Zoe and Rose looked at each other in complete shock.

Zoe moved closer to Rose and whispered, “Holy shit. I had no idea Jessica was such a player.”

Rose merely shrugged as she sipped her martini, finishing the rest of the glass while the girls behind them continued gossiping.

“But you know what else I heard?” the girl continued. “As soon as Jessica landed, her ex-boyfriend, Ivan, sent her a diamond necklace. She landed at eight in the morning, and by nine, a million-dollar necklace was delivered straight to her doorstep.”

She leaned closer to the girls, clearly enjoying the gossip.

“She was bragging about it to my sister, saying she’d received so many gifts that she didn’t even know where to put them. She was actually thinking about getting a private locker just to store all the expensive gifts she’d received from her admirers. And the way she was talking about it was so damn casual too. She was like, ‘Oh my God, I cannot. I don’t even know where I’m supposed to put all of these.’ Like, seriously?”

A few of the girls exchanged amused looks.

“And get this—it turns out Ivan didn’t just send her a gift. He even invited her to meet him at a party tonight. The party is happening right now. Apparently, all of his friends are there too, but honestly, I think the whole thing is just an excuse to get Jessica to come and see him.”

Chapter 2 Maverick Bishop

“Isn’t he already in a relationship with someone?” one of the girls asked, confusion crossing her face as she leaned closer to the group. “I heard he got into a relationship with a girl right after Jessica left. I thought he was serious about her. Weren’t they even talking about getting married or something?”

The girl who had been telling them about her sister immediately took a sip of her cocktail before answering.

“I doubt that girl knows anything about this. I mean, who would willingly let her boyfriend go meet his ex? Either she’s incredibly easy to fool, or she has to be completely clueless if she’s actually letting him go meet Jessica.”

She shook her head before continuing.

“Because, from what I can see, Ivan would run straight back into Jessica’s arms if she called him. Why else would he send her a gift like that?”

“Obviously. I mean, come on! What kind of man sends a necklace worth millions to his ex the moment she returns home?”

“I mean, isn’t that the kind of thing you send to your girlfriend, not your ex?”

The other girls murmured in agreement.

Zoe immediately noticed the way Rose was gripping her clear martini glass, her knuckles turning white around it.

Zoe reached over and gently grabbed Rose’s hand, pulling her away from the girls. She stepped closer and carefully took the empty glass from Rose’s trembling fingers before placing it back on the bar counter.

Rose immediately reached for another glass and downed the drink.

Zoe looked at her with concern. “Are you all right?”

Rose took another sip of whiskey. A tear slipped down her cheek as she shook her head.

“No, I’m not.”

Her voice trembled as she set the glass down, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill.

Zoe’s jaw clenched as she watched her, worry filling her eyes.

“It’s going to be all right,” she said softly. “We’re going to find you a better boyfriend. That asshole wasn’t worth marrying anyway.”

“I know.” Rose nodded, but the tears continued to fall.

She picked up the martini again and drank, barely noticing the burn of the alcohol as it slid down her throat. The ache in her chest only grew stronger.

Everything she had been trying to hold back was finally coming to the surface. The pain, the anger, the humiliation—all of it seemed to collide inside her until she could barely breathe through it.

She looked at Zoe, her voice breaking.

“Zoe, I wasn’t even worth more to him than that cheap snow globe his ex-girlfriend gave him. How can someone be so heartless?”

Rose placed the empty martini glass on the counter and pressed a hand against her chest.

It wasn’t only the fact that Ivan didn’t love her that hurt. She could have accepted that, eventually. What hurt even more was realizing that the relationship she had believed in so completely might never have meant to him what it had meant to her.

She had dreamed of a happily ever after with Ivan. He had been her crush for so long that when he finally proposed to her, she had believed she was getting the life she had always dreamed about.

Their families knew about their relationship. Everyone knew they were planning to get married. Their businesses had even started working together, and her father was already involved.

Everything in their lives had become intertwined.

They had been only a few months away from marriage.

And now, in a matter of hours, Rose was realizing that the future she had spent so much time imagining could disappear as if it had never existed.

The life she had pictured with Ivan had shattered before her eyes, just like the snow globe she had broken earlier that day.

Zoe immediately stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Rose.

Rose let out a shaky breath and clung tightly to her. She was already a bit drunk.

“I’ve never had sex!” she said, shaking her head. “My dad is so strict. He wouldn’t let me get close to anyone. How can I be in my twenties and still have no love life?”

She let out a frustrated sigh.

“And now, when I finally thought I was going to kiss someone for the first time, it turns out he’s still hung up on his ex. How can life be this unfair?”

She shook her head again, still unable to make sense of it.

“I thought that if you loved someone, they would eventually fall in love with you too.” Her voice softened. “But I guess that’s not how it works. You can love someone with everything you have, and they still might not love you the same way.”

She looked at Zoe, genuine confusion written across her tear-streaked face.

“How is that even possible? I thought…” She paused, struggling to put her feelings into words. “I thought love was supposed to be simple. If you love someone, they love you back. But it doesn’t work that way.”

Her gaze dropped to the floor.

“Why didn’t it happen for me?”

Zoe forced a small, reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to find you someone better. Someone who’ll make you forget all about that asshole.”

Rose gave a weak nod.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I don’t want to think about him anymore.”

Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.

Zoe’s expression hardened as she looked at her. She placed both hands gently on Rose’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry about anything. Just sit here and have another drink. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Rose looked at her through tear-filled eyes and nodded.

Zoe gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze before turning and walking away.

The moment Zoe disappeared into the crowd, Rose leaned against the bar and reached for another martini. She stared down at the glass for a moment, then took a slow sip.

Meanwhile, Zoe pushed her way through the crowd, her anger growing with every step. She scanned the room, searching for one person.

Her brother.

Maverick Bishop.

She spotted him almost immediately. Even among a crowd of wealthy guests, his tall, handsome figure was impossible to miss.

Zoe quickened her pace and headed straight toward him.

Maverick was standing with a few of his friends, a glass of whiskey in one hand. The moment Zoe stepped in front of him, he stopped mid-conversation.

“Maverick,” she said, her voice strained. “I need your help.”

The distressed look on his little sister’s face immediately wiped the amusement from his expression. His brows drew together, and he straightened, concern flashing across his face.

“What happened?”

Zoe stepped closer, her hands curling into tight fists at her sides.

“I need you to take revenge on someone for me.”

Maverick stared at her for a moment, clearly confused.

“Take revenge?”

“I don’t care what it takes,” Zoe said, her voice trembling with anger. “I want you to destroy him. Completely.”

Maverick’s eyes narrowed.

“Who?”

Zoe looked directly into his eyes.

“Ivan Carrington.”

The moment she said his name, her anger surged again.

“I want you to ruin that asshole. I don’t care how you do it. Just destroy him.”

Maverick’s jaw tightened as he processed her words. He handed his glass of whiskey to Xavier Chen, who was standing beside him.

“What the hell is going on?”

Xavier glanced between the siblings, his expression filled with confusion.

“Isn’t that your friend’s boyfriend?”

Lucian, who was standing nearby, nodded slightly.

“Rose Monroe, right?”

Zoe’s expression hardened even further.

“Yes. Rose.”

She turned back to Maverick, her eyes burning with fury.

“Can you do it?” she demanded. “Or do I need to do it myself?”

Maverick stared at her, his confusion quickly giving way to concern. Tension tightened his shoulders as his eyes searched her face.

“What happened?”

“He hit her.”

The words came out through clenched teeth.

Maverick went completely still.

Zoe’s voice shook with fury as she repeated, “Ivan slapped Rose.”

The words had barely left her mouth when Maverick’s expression changed.

His eyes went completely dark.

Zoe had never seen that look on his face before. He had always been protective of her, but the moment she saw his expression go blank, she expected anger to follow.

Instead, there was something far more unsettling.

A deadly calm settled over his features, burning in his eyes.

Before Zoe could say anything else, Maverick suddenly turned away and stormed off.

Zoe stood there in shock, watching him walk away.

For a moment, she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Then her body stiffened, and she shouted after him, “Are you seriously not going to help? How can you be like this? All I’m asking for is one little thing. How can you not care?!”

Maverick kept walking, leaving Zoe standing there with anger coursing through her veins. She was already furious over what had happened to Rose, and now Maverick wasn’t even willing to help.

She had expected him to at least offer to do something.

Instead, he had simply stormed away without giving her an answer.

That was enough to make her anger flare even hotter.

Zoe’s hands tightened into fists as her expression hardened. She turned around and stormed toward the side of the room.

She grabbed her purse from one of the tables where she had left it and pulled out her phone. She immediately opened her contacts and began scrolling through the names.

It didn’t take long to find the contact she was looking for.

Blaire Lane.

She tapped the name and immediately called.

The phone rang several times before anyone answered.

Zoe called again.

This time, Blaire picked up.

“Zoe?”

“Are we meeting today?”

“I’m coming. I’m so sorry we couldn’t meet at the last party, but—”

Before Blaire could finish, Zoe interrupted her.

“I need you to help me with something.”

Blaire immediately fell silent.

There was a moment of shuffling and muffled noise on the other end before she asked, “What’s going on?”

The concern in Blaire’s voice made Zoe’s expression harden even further.

“Blaire, I need your help getting revenge on someone.”

She lowered her voice slightly.

“You know some dangerous people, right? You’re the only person I know who knows the kind of people who can make someone’s life a nightmare.”

There was more shuffling on the other end.

Blaire moved somewhere more private before answering, her voice dropping as the noise of the hospital she worked at faded into the background.

“Dude, I cannot get into that kind of shit again!”

Her tone immediately turned serious, the hesitation in her voice replaced by genuine concern.

“You know I was at the police station just a few months ago because I got some people to beat up the asshole who hurt my best friend.”

She let out a frustrated breath, rubbing her forehead as she spoke.

“I can’t do it again so soon. I need to stay out of trouble for a few months.”

“Someone hit my friend,” Zoe said immediately, her voice shaking with anger. Her fingers tightened around her phone as she paced a few steps away from the crowd. “I want to take care of him. Give me your guy’s number. I’ll call him myself. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

There was silence on the other end.

Then Blaire’s voice came back, slower this time.

“Say that again.”

“Her boyfriend hit her in the face.” Zoe’s breathing quickened as the anger that had been building inside her spilled over. “I can’t even breathe, Blaire. I’m so angry. I’m so fucking furious. I can barely even find the words to explain how furious I am about this.”

Another brief silence followed.

Then Blaire spoke.

“Are you serious?”

“I am.”

Blaire exhaled heavily, clearly torn between her anger and the trouble she knew she could get herself into.

“You know what? Fuck this shit. We’re doing it. I’m with you on this. He doesn’t get to just get away with it.”

She paused for a moment, her anger still evident in her voice.

“We’re not waiting months to deal with him. Come over. We’ll figure this out ourselves.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering the person at the center of all of this, she asked, “How is she?”

Zoe glanced back toward the bar where she had left Rose.

“Rose is better than I expected. She’s still at the party. I told her to sit down, relax, and have a drink, but I can’t just let him get away with what he did.”

“Come over,” Blaire said firmly. “We’ll go together.”

“Okay.”

Zoe ended the call, shoved her phone into her purse, and immediately made her way out of the party.

Meanwhile, Maverick stormed across the room, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

His expression was hard, his jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle twitched near his cheek. His shoulders were rigid, and his fists remained loosely clenched at his sides. The tension running through his body made it clear that the calm was only on the surface.

People instinctively stepped out of his way as he approached.

The look on his face was unlike anything they had expected to see from him, especially at a party he had hosted himself for such an important project.

He kept walking until he reached the bar.

Once there, he stopped and looked around.

There was no sign of Rose.

His brows drew together.

He scanned the room again, this time more carefully, his eyes moving from one face to another. He stepped around the bar, searching the nearby tables and the surrounding crowd.

Rose was nowhere in sight.

There was no sign of Rose anywhere. Maverick’s brows drew together, tension tightening his face as he slowly looked around the room again. He moved around the bar, his gaze sweeping over each face with increasing attention, but Rose was nowhere to be seen.

But his feet came to an abrupt stop when he heard Rose’s name.

“Josh, do you still like Rose?” A girl whispered urgently to her friend.

The young man glanced at her and shrugged. “Like? Yeah, I guess. She’s sexy.”

The girl immediately smiled.

“She just asked me if you want to sleep with her. Do you want to go?”

The man immediately straightened, interest flashing in his eyes.

“Where?”

“She’s up there.” The girl pointed toward the first floor. “Third room from the stairs.”

Josh turned around and immediately hurried toward the stairs.

A thunderous look settled over Maverick’s face.

He immediately turned and followed the same path, his long strides carrying him toward the staircase.

The crowded hall gradually thinned as the stairs came into view. The upper floor was off-limits to most of the guests. 

Josh didn’t seem to care.

He was already rushing up the stairs.

Maverick’s stride lengthened.

His shoes struck the steps hard as he increased his pace, climbing faster. His entire body had gone rigid with fury, a darkness settling over his features that made it seem as though he could burn through anyone who dared stand in his way.

It wasn’t long before he reached the upper floor.

Josh was looking around, searching for the room.

Maverick reached him in seconds.

The moment he did, he grabbed Josh by the back of the neck, his fingers tightening around him as he forced him forward.

“What the fuck? Who are you? What are you doing?”

Josh immediately struggled, twisting beneath Maverick’s grip as he tried to turn around and see who had grabbed him.

But Maverick refused to let him turn.

He kept a firm hold on the back of Josh’s neck and shoved him forward until they reached a small door at the corner of the corridor.

Maverick yanked the door open and pushed him inside.

It was a broom closet. The brooms stacked inside immediately toppled over Josh, several of them crashing onto his shoulders and head.

Josh winced and cried out in surprise, throwing up his arms as he tried to shield himself from the falling brooms.

“What the fuck is going on?”

He struggled to push the brooms away and turn around, but before he could do anything else, Maverick slammed the door shut.

Then he locked it from the outside.

The handle snapped into place.

Josh immediately pounded his fist against the door.

“What the fuck is going on? Open the door! Open the door!”

His fist struck the wood repeatedly, but the pounding barely made a difference with the loud music and party noise coming from downstairs.

Maverick didn’t wait around.

He turned away, his dark eyes immediately scanning the corridor.

Then he spotted another door.

It was slightly open, a strip of light spilling through the gap.

Maverick’s entire body tensed.

He stormed toward it. Reaching the door, he shoved it open and stepped inside. Then he slammed it shut behind him, the lock clicking automatically into place.

Silence surrounded him.

Maverick’s dark eyes immediately swept across the room, searching for Rose.

The room was filled with darkness, except for the dim yellow light coming from a small lamp across the room. It was quiet, almost unnaturally so, with the silence stretching through the room.

There was only one sound—a woman singing loudly, her voice drifting through the darkness.

Maverick frowned and immediately turned toward the sound, walking across the room. But he came to an abrupt stop when he saw Rose standing on the couch.

Drinks were scattered across the table. Several glasses of martini rested there alongside a bottle of alcohol. The bottle had been opened, and almost half of it was already empty.

Rose was swaying on top of the couch, a beer bottle held loosely to her mouth as she sang loudly.

“So my love is gone… I don’t want you anymore, don’t come back…”

She sang the song loudly before stumbling into another line.

Maverick’s expression darkened.

Rose, still completely oblivious to his presence, continued singing. Her feet shifted beneath her, her balance becoming increasingly unsteady.

Then she started to fall.

Maverick immediately lunged forward and grabbed her around the waist, catching her before she could hit the floor.

Rose’s eyes flew open.

Her gaze fell on him.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other.

Then Rose smiled.

Both of her arms immediately lifted, wrapping around Maverick’s neck as she leaned closer. Before he could even catch his breath, she tilted her head and pressed her mouth against his.

Their lips touched.

Maverick’s entire body went rigid, every muscle tensing beneath the sudden contact.

Rose moved against him without hesitation, while Maverick remained completely still, his hands still firm around her waist.

He stared at her as she kissed him.

Then Rose pulled back.

She blinked slowly, her unfocused eyes searching his face as a small smile appeared on her lips. She lifted her hand and waved it vaguely in front of him.

“Do you want to sleep with me?” she asked.

A displeased frown immediately appeared on Maverick’s face.

He reached over, took the bottle from her hand, and placed it on the table behind them.

Rose didn’t seem to mind.

Instead, she immediately slid her arms tighter around him, pressing herself closer to his body. She tilted her head back and looked at his face, her drunken gaze slowly roaming over his features.

“Hmmm…” Her brows furrowed as she studied him. “You look so familiar. Have I seen you before? Rena said she was going to send Josh, but you don’t look like a Josh.”

Maverick’s expression became stern as a rock. His face darkened, the seriousness in his eyes becoming even more pronounced.

Rose immediately noticed his expression and frowned slightly.

“I want to kiss you more, though.” Her words came out in a drunken mumble. “It’s a good thing that you are not Josh. You are definitely better looking.”

Before he could react, Rose leaned forward and kissed him again.

This time, Maverick put his hand to the back of her head as he took control, his mouth moving over hers as their lips moved together. His other arm slipped down from her waist to her legs, and he lifted her off the couch.

Rose instinctively wrapped herself around him as he turned around, carrying her in his arms. He held her securely by the hips to keep her lifted while his mouth continued moving over hers.

He turned them around, the movement making the table shift slightly with a scrape against the floor. His leg pushed the table aside as he moved, clearing space before he sat down on the couch with Rose in his lap.

She settled over his lap, and his hand remained at the back of her head, keeping her upright as he kissed her over and over again.

He took her lower lip between his mouth, lingering there softly before moving to her upper lip and giving it the same attention, kissing it again and again.

Her body seemed to explode with a pleasure she had never felt before.

Maverick was hungry, his mouth moving over hers with an intensity that left her breathless.

Then Rose’s mouth left his lips, only to move down to his neck.

She licked him over and over again, her mouth moving along his neck as she kissed him. She moved from one side of his neck to the other, lingering there before moving back again, her lips and tongue tracing over his skin.

The sensation raced through every inch of his body.

Maverick had never put so much strain on himself as he was putting in that moment. His jaw tightened, and his breathing grew heavier as Rose continued moving from one side of his neck to the other before returning to his mouth again.

Finally, she lifted her head back.

His gaze traveled from her mouth up to her eyes, his expression hardening as he looked directly into them.

“Look at me,” he said.

Their gazes locked, clashing as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“You know who I am?” he asked.

His voice was calm yet dark at the same time, carrying something familiar that made Rose pause.

Recognition flashed through Rose at once.

Her drunken eyes wandered over his face, taking in every familiar feature she had spent so much time pretending not to notice.

Up close, it was impossible not to.

Her arms tightened around his neck as she leaned closer to him.

Then a small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“Maverick?” She blinked slowly, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I’ve always wanted to kiss you… even though you always looked at me like you wanted to kill me.”

He was wearing a fitted white shirt, the sleeves stretched over his broad shoulders and muscular arms before disappearing beneath the cuffs. His black pants emphasized the length of his legs, making him look even more imposing sitting beneath her.

Then her gaze dropped to his hand.

A platinum ring rested on the middle finger of his left hand, catching the light as he held her. Beneath it, dark tattoos disappeared beneath the sleeve, winding up his wrist. She had never seen how far they went, but somehow, she had always suspected they covered much more of him.

His tattoos. His jewelry. That calm, icy expression.

Everything about him carried the same cold, rebellious edge that had always made him stand apart from everyone else.

Even now, with her sitting in his lap, he looked completely in control.

And somehow, that only made her want to get closer.

Her arms tightened around his neck as she leaned toward him. A small smile curved her lips.

A flicker crossed his face.

Something dark.

Something primal.

The familiar shadows she had always sensed whenever his eyes landed on her suddenly deepened, turning his expression into something far more dangerous. The intensity of it sent a strange shiver through her, and her entire body went taut as though an electric current had suddenly surged through her.

Then Maverick's hand shot up and caught the back of her head.

His mouth crashed over hers.

The kiss was so sudden and intense that Rose barely had time to breathe. His lips moved against hers with a demanding certainty that left her mind completely blank, drowning out every thought except the sensation of him.

She was still sitting in his lap, her hands instinctively gripping his broad shoulders. Her fingers curled tighter into his shirt as the kiss deepened, and she struggled to catch her breath.

His mouth moved from hers to her throat and then along her neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses against her skin.

Rose went completely still, her hands tightening even more around his shoulders.

She had never felt such overwhelming pleasure before. Every kiss sent an electric shiver through her, leaving her breathless and unable to think clearly.

And yet, somehow, she couldn't pull away.

The man sitting beneath her had always been the one who scared the living daylights out of her, yet at the same time, he was the one who could make her feel such a thrill with nothing more than a glance.

As his lips moved over her skin, it felt as though a dark fantasy she had secretly carried for far too long was suddenly coming to life.

The dark dreams she had once imagined about him seemed to blur with reality until she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.

Then he parted from her.

He grabbed the top she was wearing by the hem and lifted it over her head, tossing it aside. As his mouth moved lower, his fingers worked at the fastening of her clothes, the quiet snap of the buckle breaking through the darkness.

The room seemed to grow even darker as Rose’s eyes fluttered closed. She forgot everything except the overwhelming pleasure rushing through her as his mouth moved lower and engulfed her nipple.

Chapter 3 Have You Lost All Shame?

Rose came awake when a sharp pain shot through her lower back and traveled down her legs. She shifted beneath the covers, wincing slightly as she turned onto her side, only to feel the ache spreading through her body. Even the soft bed beneath her felt strangely uncomfortable against her sore body, despite being one of the softest beds she had ever lain on.

Thankfully, the pain didn't last long. It was only a brief flash before slowly fading, leaving behind a dull soreness that made her move more carefully.

She slowly lifted her head and blinked, her eyes adjusting as she looked around the unfamiliar room. A fluffy white cover was pulled up to her waist, its softness wrapped around her as she tried to make sense of where she was. Her gaze moved across the room, confusion gradually tightening in her chest until the realization struck her.

This wasn't her room.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She looked around again, more carefully this time, and that was when her gaze landed on the figure standing beside one of the windows. Morning sunlight streamed through the glass, spilling across the room and illuminating the tall silhouette standing with his back toward her. Rose recognized him immediately. She could have recognized that silhouette anywhere because it always made something inside her shiver, and this time was no different.

If anything, the reaction was even more intense because when she looked at him, she realized he was wearing nothing but his pants, his broad upper body completely bare.

Then he turned around.

Rose's heart seemed to stop.

"Maverick..." A faint whisper escaped her lips as her gaze remained fixed on him.

Those familiar dark eyes settled on her, and Rose couldn't look away. Maverick Bishop was one of the men she had always felt intimidated by, one of the men who had always made her feel an instinctive sense of fear.

Yet at the same time, there was another emotion that moved through her whenever she was around him, one she had never been able to understand. It made her want to stay as far away from him as possible, yet somehow, at the same time, it made her want to step closer and feel that strange thrill again and again. It was confusing, unfamiliar, and impossible for her to explain, but she had felt it every time his eyes had fallen on her.

She continued staring at him as Maverick's intimidating gaze slowly moved over her face before dropping lower. His expression suddenly stilled, and Rose instinctively followed his gaze.

The moment she realized what he was looking at, heat rushed into her face.

Her breasts were completely exposed.

As if struck by lightning, Rose immediately grabbed the covers and yanked them up to her chest, clutching them tightly against herself. Her eyes flew back to Maverick, her lips parting as she tried to say something, but her mind was suddenly too overwhelmed to form a single word.

Maverick moved away from the window and began walking toward her.

Rose's body tensed with every step he took.

A strange panic surged through her, and without allowing herself to think about what she was doing, she shifted toward the edge of the bed. She tried to slip out from beneath the covers, her only thought being to get away from him and reach the door before she had to face whatever had happened between them.

But she barely managed to move before Maverick was already in front of her.

He had crossed the distance between them so quickly that Rose stopped dead, her body freezing as she found herself with nowhere to go. He stood between her and the door, his tall frame blocking her escape as his dark eyes remained fixed on her.

Rose felt her heart drop and then immediately begin pounding so hard that she could barely breathe. The presence of the man in front of her suddenly became even more intense. That familiar sensation she had always experienced whenever she was near him swept through her again, leaving her body strangely still, as though she had fallen under his spell.

Maverick began stepping closer.

Rose instinctively stepped backward, having no choice but to retreat as he continued moving toward her. One slow step followed another, closing the distance between them until the backs of her legs finally hit the edge of the bed and she came to an abrupt stop.

Her fingers tightened around the bedsheet she was desperately holding against her chest as she looked up at him.

“I need to go,” she said, but the words came out so softly that they sounded almost as though she were asking for his permission.

Maverick’s eyes intensified.

He leaned forward, and in the very next instant, his hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her toward him.

Rose’s hand abruptly let go of the bedsheet she had been clutching to her chest. On instinct, both of her hands reached for his shoulders to steady herself, and the sudden movement brought her against him.

Everything seemed to disappear for a moment.

She was held against his body, the bedsheet still gathered around her lower body as she struggled to keep it in place. Maverick’s gaze dropped briefly before sliding back up to her face.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Rose gave him an awkward smile, a nervous little laugh escaping her lips as she immediately reached down to grab the bedsheet again and pull it back up. But it had already slipped too far, and no matter how she tugged at it, she struggled to get it into place.

Her breathing grew uneven as she stood there in front of him.

Maverick was one of the men everyone feared without him ever having to say a word, and standing this close to him, Rose suddenly understood exactly why.

Rose didn’t know a single person who wasn’t aware of Maverick Bishop’s wrath. His reputation alone was enough to intimidate people, and his presence had always affected her so strongly that she had never dared to stand in front of him for more than a few minutes without feeling like he scared the living daylights out of her. Yet, at the same time, there was something about him that stirred a reaction in her so intense that she could barely believe it herself.

Her best friend’s brother was someone she had been around a few times in the past, but whenever he came too close, her body seemed to react before her mind could stop it. The strange, overwhelming feeling always made her instinctively move away from him.

And now that very man was standing directly in front of her, his body pressed against hers, her bare skin against his as his shameless gaze lingered over her exposed chest. A tremor ran through her, and for a moment, Rose couldn’t even force herself to speak.

Then she gathered every ounce of courage she had possessed over the last twenty-six years and straightened her shoulders, forcing herself to meet his eyes.

“The night is over. I should leave now, right?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows as though trying to sound confident. “Do you have something to ask me?”

The intensity in Maverick’s eyes immediately shifted into an irritated look.

Rose’s confidence faltered almost instantly.

Still, she forced herself to continue. “I should go home now.”

She tried to shift away from him, but Maverick’s gaze remained fixed on her.

“Why are you trying to run away?” he asked, his voice calm but carrying a sharp edge.

His gaze dropped toward her legs.

“You’re barely able to walk.”

Rose’s breath caught.

The moment he said it, memories of the previous night came rushing back.

Fragments flashed through her mind—the kisses, his hands, the intensity between them. The memories were so vivid that heat immediately rushed into her face.

Maverick watched her reaction.

A faint, knowing smile slowly appeared on his otherwise deathly calm face.

Rose’s entire body went on high alert.

He knew exactly what she was remembering.

And judging by that smirk, he was enjoying every second of her embarrassment.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

Her body went rigid at the question. Heat still lingered through her from everything she remembered about the previous night, and she immediately shook her head.

“No.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Maverick’s mouth.

It was the kind of smile she had rarely seen on his face, and somehow, simply seeing it sent a strange shiver through her. The sensation traveled from her heart down through her body, making her tremble again.

Maverick looked directly into her eyes.

“Do you remember last night?”

Rose stood frozen in front of him. The stare in his eyes was so intense that she felt as though he could see straight through her soul.

She swallowed before answering.

“Yes.”

The faint smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.

Rose visibly watched his gaze drop toward her lips once again. Then he leaned down and kissed her.

Her body reacted instantly.

She hadn't expected the gentleness of his touch. Unlike the intensity of the previous night, his mouth moved against hers slowly, his lips curling gently over hers before he pulled back.

When he finally lifted his head, he looked directly at her face.

“Wait for me here,” he said in that low, rough voice that always made her shiver. “We’ll get lunch together.”

Then he leaned down and pressed another soft kiss to her cheek before pulling back.

Rose waited for his arm to loosen and release her, but the damn man simply kept staring at her.

She tried to step away from his hold.

Instead, his arm tightened around her waist.

His eyes darkened.

“Screw lunch,” he muttered under his breath.

Before Rose could understand what he was doing, he suddenly grabbed the cover she was holding against her body.

It slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.

Before she could react, Maverick bent down and lifted her into his arms.

Rose stared at him in surprise as he carried her toward the bathroom, her arms instinctively moving around his shoulders for support.

She barely had time to say anything before he carried her into the bathroom.

“We're going to take a bath first,” he said calmly. “Then we'll go to lunch.”

The very next second, he lowered her to the ground.

Rose stepped backward.

Maverick stepped forward.

Before she could move again, her back met the bathroom wall.

His mouth found hers once more, and the kiss quickly stole whatever words she had been about to say. Warm water streamed down over both of them, soaking them completely, but Rose could barely notice it. The heat of his touch seemed far more intense than the water running over her skin.

By the time they finally came out of the bathroom, Rose's legs felt like jelly, and she could barely trust them to hold her weight. Her body was flushed, marked with the lingering evidence of their heated encounter.

Her hair was still wet when she stepped out of the bathroom, a single towel wrapped securely around her chest and falling to her thighs.

Maverick followed behind her.

Before she could take more than a few steps, he walked over, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the bed.

He lowered her gently onto the mattress.

The roughness he had shown only minutes ago in the bathroom was gone so completely that Rose could hardly believe it was the same man. He handled her with unexpected care as he lowered her onto the bed, and once she was settled against the mattress, she looked up at him, her damp hair falling loosely around her face.

Maverick planted both hands on either side of her and leaned toward her, his tall frame hovering over her. With nowhere else to go, Rose instinctively leaned backward until her head touched the mattress. Her heart began pounding harder at the sudden closeness, each beat loud enough to make her feel as though he must be able to hear it.

His gaze moved slowly across her face before settling on her eyes.

“Wait for me here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Rose said nothing. Her voice seemed to have disappeared somewhere along the way, leaving her completely unable to form a response.

Maverick leaned down and pressed one last kiss to her lips before straightening. He rose from the bed and walked away, disappearing into the bathroom once again.

Rose remained motionless for several seconds, staring after him. Her heart continued to pound, and every inch of her body felt tense with emotions she couldn't understand. She had never felt anything quite like this before, and the uncertainty only made her more restless.

Then her gaze drifted around the room.

Her clothes from the previous night were scattered across the floor.

Rose immediately sat up. She loosened her grip on the towel, quickly reached for her clothes, and pulled them on as fast as she could. The sound of running water continued from the bathroom, and the longer she listened to it, the more urgently she felt the need to leave.

She slipped off the bed and quietly crossed the room.

After glancing toward the bathroom one last time, she carefully opened the door and slipped outside, closing it behind her without making a sound.

Then she hurried down the stairs.

The party from the previous night was long over. There was barely any indication that hundreds of people had filled the palace only a few hours earlier. Everything had already been cleaned and restored to its usual immaculate condition. The Aurelia Palace was once again silent and pristine, just as one would expect from the Bishops' luxurious property.

Not a single voice could be heard.

Rose's footsteps echoed faintly as she hurried through the empty halls and toward the entrance. The moment she stepped outside, she looked around frantically.

Her heart still pounding, she hurried toward the main street. The moment she spotted a cab approaching, she raised her hand and flagged it down.

She climbed inside and immediately gave the driver her address.

“Drive to Park Avenue and 72nd, please.”

The driver nodded and started the car.

The cab pulled away, carrying Rose farther and farther from the palace.

She sank back against the seat and finally allowed herself to close her eyes.

It didn't help.

The moment her eyes closed, memories of the previous night came rushing back.

Maverick.

His face appeared in her mind so vividly that she immediately opened her eyes again.

But even with her eyes open, she could still see him.

She looked out the window, trying to focus on the passing streets, but her thoughts refused to cooperate. Every few seconds, his face returned to her mind, followed by the memory of his voice, his gaze, and the way he had looked at her.

It was as though Maverick Bishop had somehow taken over every corner of her mind and refused to leave.

Rose pressed a hand against her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

It didn't work.

Embarrassment rushed through Rose’s face. She covered it with both hands and let out a muffled groan.

“What the hell is wrong with me? How could I sleep with the demon?”

There was only silence in the cab, of course. No one was there to answer her.

By the time the cab finally came to a stop in front of the Monroe house, Rose had managed to calm herself somewhat. The evening had begun to settle over the horizon, the last traces of sunlight fading as the sun dipped lower.

She paid the driver and climbed out of the cab, then hurried up the steps and slipped quietly inside the large house.

Rose closed the door behind her as carefully as possible and began moving through the halls on tiptoe. She glanced around as she walked, checking to make sure no one was nearby. Seeing no one, she continued toward the staircase, hoping she could make it to her bedroom without being noticed.

She had barely taken a few steps when she turned—and nearly walked straight into someone.

Her father was standing directly in front of her.

“Aaaahhhh!”

Rose cried out and instinctively took a step backward, her entire body jolting as she came to an abrupt stop.

Oswald Monroe stared down at her.

He was a man who could intimidate Rose with nothing more than a look. Her father was one of the people she feared the most, and right now, the intensity of his gaze felt as though it were seeing straight through her.

Rose swallowed.

Then, forcing a smile onto her face, she said lightly, “What a coincidence, Dad. I was just looking for you. Were you looking for me too?”

Oswald let out a dismissive huff.

Rose's innocent expression did little to fool him.

His face remained stern as he stared at her, his hands folded behind his back. There was something intimidating about him despite his age. The years were visible in the deep lines etched across his forehead and around his eyes, the silver threaded through his dark hair, and the slight sagging of his skin along his jaw. Yet he remained striking, his broad shoulders still straight, his posture rigid, and his sharp features retaining the commanding presence of a much younger man.

It was enough to make Rose's knees feel weak.

“Where were you last night?” he demanded. “Haven’t I told you that you need to come home on time? You disappeared for the entire night. No calls. No messages. Do you even think about the fact that you have a father sitting at home, worrying about you?”

Rose met his stern gaze with an easy smile and a casual shrug.

“I was at a party with some friends and fell asleep. It’s not a big deal. I didn’t even realize when I nodded off.”

“You should think twice before disappearing for an entire night and leaving your father here to worry.”

Oswald’s voice remained stern, his disapproval clear in every word.

Rose only smiled again before turning toward the staircase.

“Alright, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m going up to my room now. I think that’s enough interaction for one day.”

She headed for the stairs, hoping to escape before he could launch into another lecture.

She had barely set one foot on the first step when Oswald’s voice cracked through the hall.

“Disappearing for an entire night and then strolling home like this? Rose Monroe, have you lost all shame?”

Oswald’s words brought Rose to an abrupt halt.

Her entire body stiffened. Slowly, she turned around to face her father, only to find him watching her with a hard, angry expression.

“Come back here, Rose.”

Rose reluctantly descended the step and walked back toward him, forcing a small smile onto her face as she tried to make light of the situation.

“It was just that I fell asleep, but—”

Before she could finish, Oswald pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward her.

Rose fell silent.

Her own photograph stared back at her.

But she wasn’t alone.

Maverick was in the picture with her, his lips pressed against hers. There was no mistaking the intimacy of the moment. Someone had clearly captured the photograph the previous night.

Rose’s eyes widened. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the screen, unable to process what she was seeing.

For several seconds, she could only stand there.

Then she slowly lifted her gaze to her father.

Oswald was staring at her, his expression stern and furious.

“So this is where you were last night?” he demanded. “And this is your friend? This is what you were doing with your friends?”

Rose swallowed hard.

“You said you fell asleep.” His voice grew colder. “You lied to your father and then sneaked into this house like a thief. Is this what I taught you?”

Rose was still struggling to process the fact that someone had photographed her and Maverick. Heat rushed into her face as embarrassment burned through her. She glanced at the phone again before forcing out an awkward laugh.

“It was just a one-night thing. An accidental slip. I was drunk, and it just happened. It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry about it. It’s over now. Everything is over.”

She gave him another nervous smile, hoping he would let the matter go.

Instead, Oswald’s expression hardened.

“Is that what I taught you when you were a young girl?”

Rose’s shoulders flinched at the sharpness in his voice.

Oswald slipped his phone back into his pocket and clasped his hands behind his back, his stern gaze never leaving her.

“I told you not to get involved in relationships like this. You’re a young woman. You shouldn’t be jumping from one man to another. How could you do this?”

Rose lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling like a child being scolded.

“You’re supposed to marry Ivan in just a few months, and you slept with someone else last night?” His jaw tightened, his disappointment evident in his expression.

“It was just one mistake,” Rose muttered, barely audible. “It’s not going to happen again.”

“That’s what makes it worse!” Oswald snapped.

His voice echoed through the hall.

“You slept with another man without thinking about the consequences or how this could affect your future. How could you do something so reckless? Haven’t I told you time and time again that you’re not supposed to sleep with anyone before marriage? It’s not good for you!”

Rose remained silent, letting his anger wash over her. She knew that trying to argue with him now would only make things worse.

“How are you supposed to go to heaven if you don’t preserve your dignity and your virtue?” he demanded, his voice rising again.

Rose lowered her voice, trying to keep herself calm as she attempted to make him understand. “Dad, it was a one-time mistake. I didn’t even mean for it to happen. I’m sorry, okay? It’s over now. Can I just go to my room?”

Oswald’s expression hardened.

The anger in his eyes intensified as he stepped toward her. “We are in the perfume business, Rose. You are going to take over this company one day. Our cleanliness, our scent, our reputation—everything is connected to what we create. What happens if people find out that you went out and slept with some random man?”

Rose’s brows drew together.

“Do you even understand how much that could affect our business?” he continued. “How are you supposed to become a highly respected perfumer if people stop respecting you? You do things like this, and you contaminate your entire being, your morals, and the reputation we have spent decades building.”

Rose stared at him, her frustration finally breaking through her embarrassment.

“I’ve maintained my dignity and my morals for more than twenty years. It’s not like I murdered someone, Dad.”

Oswald’s face darkened.

“Enough!”

His voice thundered through the hall, making Rose’s shoulders jerk.

“You make mistakes, you do something wrong, and then you don’t even admit that you’ve done anything wrong. Instead, you stand here arguing with me as though you’ve done nothing!”

He pointed toward the front door.

“Go outside and stand there until I tell you to come back. You are not going to your bedroom. You’re going outside.”

Rose stared at him in disbelief.

At the back of the room, the family butler, Troy, had been quietly watching the confrontation. In his late fifties, he had a kind, weathered face, warm brown eyes, and a gentle voice that had always made everyone feel at ease. His silver hair was neatly combed, and despite the sharp black outfit he wore, there was something comforting about his presence.

The moment Oswald ordered Rose outside, Troy stepped forward.

“Sir…” Troy hesitated before continuing, “it’s snowing outside. I don’t think Ms. Rose should be sent out right now.”

Oswald immediately turned toward him, his expression becoming even more thunderous.

“Stop making excuses for her!”

Troy fell silent.

Oswald turned his attention back to Rose.

“She has grown so spoiled and careless that she doesn’t respect anyone anymore. She doesn’t even respect herself.”

He pointed toward the door again.

“Go outside. Now. Stand there until I tell you to come back.”

Rose’s eyes flashed with anger.

For a moment, she simply stared at him. Then she let out a scoff with a frown.

“Fine, I’ll do it! It’s not like you’ve never punished me before.”

She spun around and stormed toward the door.

The moment she stepped outside, the cold air struck her face. She slammed the door behind her and marched away, her footsteps landing hard against the ground as she deliberately stomped forward, her anger burning hotter than the cold surrounding her.

Rose stepped outside the house and onto the pathway that ran through the middle of the garden, with the driveway leading up to the mansion on either side. Snow was falling steadily, and a thin layer had already begun to settle over the grass, turning the lawn white. Still wearing the clothes from the previous night, Rose shivered as the sudden drop in temperature bit sharply into her exposed skin.

But Rose refused to let it show.

She folded her arms tightly across her chest and stood there with a stubborn expression, staring straight ahead at the front door as though she could somehow intimidate her father into changing his mind.

For a while, she managed to ignore the cold.

It wasn't until darkness gradually settled over the house that the chill finally began to seep through her clothes. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, rubbing her arms occasionally as she tried to keep warm.

Then the main doors opened behind her.

The sound broke through the quiet of the evening, but Rose didn't bother turning around. She assumed one of the household staff had come outside.

She continued staring at the house, her patience wearing thinner by the minute.

Then she noticed a shadow fall across the snow beside her.

Someone had stopped next to her.

Rose slowly lifted her head.

Her breath caught.

Maverick stood beside her.

Chapter 4 I Will Marry Him

His tall frame seemed even more imposing against the snowy evening, his shadow stretching across the ground. An oversized coat hung from his broad shoulders, and beneath it, he wore a perfectly tailored suit. He had clearly changed since the previous night. His dark hair was neatly swept back, every strand perfectly in place, making him look completely different from the man she'd left behind that morning.

Rose, meanwhile, was still standing there in the same clothes she'd worn to the party.

The contrast was almost humiliating.

She stared at him in shock, her mouth falling open for a moment before she finally found her voice.

“What are you doing here?”

Her gaze darted toward the house, then back to him.

“It was just one night. It's already over. I already left.”

She spoke faster when he didn't answer.

“What do you want? Money?”

The edge of panic creeping into her voice betrayed her bravado. Maverick had always had a way of making her nervous, but seeing him standing in front of her again—here, of all places—sent an entirely different kind of shiver through her.

He simply looked at her.

His gaze dropped to her arms, which she had wrapped tightly around herself in an attempt to keep warm.

Something in his expression changed.

Without saying a word, Maverick reached up and removed the coat from his shoulders.

Before Rose could react, he draped it around her.

The heavy coat enveloped her completely, falling almost to the ground around her and trapping the warmth of his body against her. Rose instinctively pulled it closer around herself.

She looked up at him, startled.

Maverick still said nothing.

Instead, he bent down and lifted her effortlessly into his arms.

Rose's eyes widened.

“What are you doing?”

“Do you want to freeze to death?” he asked, his voice low and stern. “What are you doing standing out here dressed like this?”

Rose immediately began to panic.

“I'm not naked!”

She looked up at him, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment and irritation.

“What are you doing here? I told you it was a one-time mistake, Mr. Bishop. You can't force me to pay you back for taking your innocence.”

Her voice hardened as she tried to sound intimidating.

“My dad is a big name in the perfume industry. If you threaten, or punish me, he won't let you get away with it.”

Maverick’s gaze never left Rose’s face. Even as she continued trembling beneath the weight of his stare, he remained completely still, listening until she finally finished speaking.

Then one of his perfectly arched eyebrows lifted.

“Punish you?” he asked, his voice dropping lower. “You seem to have misunderstood me, Rose. What happened last night was me showing you mercy.”

His gaze slowly swept over her before returning to her eyes.

“If you think that was punishment, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”

Rose’s breath caught.

“I haven’t even started making you pay for what you did,” he added, the faintest smirk touching his lips. “And when I do, I doubt you’ll be calling it a mistake anymore.”

Heat rushed into her face.

“Pervert,” she muttered, glaring at him.

Maverick’s eyes warmed with amusement as he looked down at her.

“If you don’t want to spend the entire night sitting out here in the snow, then let me do the talking with your father. And when we go inside, you don’t say a word. Got it?”

Rose swallowed.

The authority in his voice made her feel strangely intimidated.

Then the meaning of his words finally registered.

“You’re going inside?”

Rose’s body stiffened.

“What do you want? Why are you going inside our house?”

Maverick looked down at her, completely unfazed by her suspicion.

“What do you think I want, Rose?”

She bit her lip, her eyes darting away.

A tremor ran through her as memories of the previous night came rushing back—the warmth of his body, his hands on her, the way he had made her forget everything around her.

“You’re still thinking about last night,” she murmured.

One of Maverick’s eyebrows lifted.

“Am I?”

His gaze lingered on her flushed face.

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

Rose’s cheeks burned.

“I just meant—”

“I know exactly what you meant.”

His voice dropped, the faintest hint of amusement entering it.

“And judging by that face, I think you remember a lot more than you’re willing to admit.”

Rose glared at him, mortified.

“It was from both sides. It wasn’t just one-sided. It’s not like I forced you into bed. You were equally participating.”

Maverick raised both eyebrows.

“Both sides? Really?”

His gaze remained fixed on her.

“Do you remember the night at all, or do I need to remind you again and re-create it right now?”

He looked down at her entire body as he said it, and Rose felt another shiver move through her.

Her memories surfaced all at once.

She remembered kissing him. She remembered moving against him, taking control, and running her hands over him. She remembered straddling him, refusing to let him move as she held his wrists against the bed and told him not to move as she rode his shaft. She had taken complete control of the moment, barely giving him a chance to react, as though she were a starving woman who had never experienced a man's touch before.

And, in a way, it had been true.

She had never experienced anything like that before.

And the man in front of her was the very man she had been having dark dreams about for several years.

That was why it hadn't been easy for her to keep her emotions under control when everything had suddenly become so intense. The line between her dreams and reality had blurred completely, made even hazier by the alcohol that had clouded her judgment.

Now, as she looked at him, Rose could barely breathe.

Heat rushed through her all over again, and her thoughts immediately drifted toward the image of his bare torso, his defined abs, and the body she had seen the night before.

Every nerve in her body seemed to come alive at the memory.

She had never felt such a powerful desire for anyone else in her life. Even when Maverick was fully dressed, he could make her feel things she had never experienced before.

Every memory of the previous night was still painfully vivid. The pleasure he had given her had been so intense that she knew she would never be able to forget it, no matter how hard she tried.

Her knees nearly weakened as the memories rushed through her again. Her legs trembled slightly, betraying the effect he still had on her.

Rose didn't say a word. She simply stared at him.

‘He's so hot.’ The thought came unbidden. ‘If my first time had to be with someone, there could never have been a better man than Maverick Bishop.’

Her gaze traveled from his face to his mouth. A hungry look crept into her eyes as she stared at his lips, her own parting slightly. Her throat felt dry, and for one reckless moment, she found herself leaning toward him, almost ready to kiss him again.

Maverick noticed.

His eyes dropped to her lips, lingering there for a long, heated second before slowly lifting back to her eyes. Something dark and hungry flickered across his face.

“You keep looking at my mouth like that,” he murmured, his voice roughening, “and you’re going to make it very difficult for me to behave.”

Rose’s breath caught.

He leaned closer, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin, his gaze never leaving hers.

“You want to kiss me again?”

The question was barely a whisper.

Rose’s entire face flushed.

Maverick’s mouth curved into a slow, knowing smile as he watched her reaction.

“Thought so.”

He let the words hang between them for a moment before straightening.

“But you’re freezing.” His gaze swept over her flushed face. “Come inside before I give you another reason to forget how cold it is.”

Rose’s heart hammered.

He had seen straight through her.

She glared at him, embarrassed, but Maverick didn't release her. Instead, he adjusted his hold around her and turned toward the house.

Carrying her securely in his arms, he walked through the snow and back toward the house. A moment later, he stepped inside.

Warmth immediately surrounded them.

Inside the house, Oswald Monroe had been standing in the center of the hall, his phone in his hand. His brows were drawn together, and his expression had grown increasingly impatient as he repeatedly glanced toward the entrance.

Rose had been outside long enough.

The longer she remained in the cold, the more his irritation—and concern—had begun to grow.

Just then, Troy hurried toward him.

“Mr. Monroe,” the man said, stopping in front of him. “I looked into what happened last night.”

Oswald straightened, his back snapping upright as he looked at Troy, a deep frown settling across his face.

“What happened? Did Ivan and Rose get into an argument?”

His thoughts were already racing. Rose was not someone who would betray someone recklessly. 

Troy's expression grew serious.

“Mr. Monroe, there was an incident yesterday. Ivan slapped Miss Rose because she broke something in his house.”

The words had barely left Troy's mouth before Oswald's anger flared.

The man had never raised his hand against Rose. Ever since her mother had died years ago, Oswald had done everything in his power to protect their girl, and the thought of someone putting their hands on her sent his temper surging.

His frown deepened as he stared at Troy, his expression suddenly becoming frighteningly calm—the kind of calm that hid a storm underneath.

“Say that again.” His voice was low and dangerously controlled. “What did you say he did?”

“He slapped Ms. Rose, sir,” Troy repeated.

Oswald stared at him as though he still couldn't believe what he had heard.

“He hit her?”

Troy nodded.

“Yes. That's what I heard. He slapped her because she broke something in his house.”

Oswald's anger rose to the point where it was almost visible.

“Find out what she broke,” he ordered. “Whatever it was, send a dozen of it to his house. I don't want us to owe him anything.”

Troy immediately nodded.

“And call my secretary. Tell him to inform Ivan's family that their business and personal relationship with us is over. We will not give them any business in the future. Cancel all our business dealings with them immediately.”

He paused, his jaw tightening.

“And tell them that Ivan and Rose will have no relationship with each other going forward. Everything is finished.”

“Yes, sir.”

Troy nodded again.

The old man had seen firsthand how much Oswald cared about Rose. He had never allowed anyone to harm her if he could prevent it. She had been pampered from a young age, especially after losing her mother, and Oswald had always treated her as though she were something precious that he needed to protect.

It had always been the two of them against the world.

Yet Rose had never taken advantage of her father's love. Despite being pampered, she had never become arrogant or selfish. She had always been cheerful, caring, and deeply devoted to the people she loved. She had never allowed her father's wealth or influence to give her an ego when it came to her relationships with others.

And now, hearing that someone like Ivan had struck his daughter was enough to make Oswald decide that the relationship was beyond repair.

Troy turned and hurried away. He disappeared down the hallway, already reaching for his phone as he prepared to make the necessary calls.

A moment later, the main door opened.

Oswald looked up.

Maverick walked through the entrance carrying Rose in his arms.

Rose was still wrapped in the coat Maverick had placed around her shoulders, the heavy fabric completely enveloping her as he carried her inside.

Oswald stared at him.

A confused expression slowly appeared on his face.

His gaze moved from Maverick to Rose and then back to Maverick again.

“What is he doing here?” he muttered.

Maverick Bishop was a man who had always kept his personal life carefully hidden from the public eye. As far as Oswald knew, he was simply the older brother of Rose’s best friend.

But Oswald also knew exactly what kind of man Maverick was.

He was one of the most ruthless men in the business world—a man people feared yet desperately wanted to have a relationship with because the advantages of being connected to someone like him could be enough to turn a lifetime of hard work into a fortune. The Bishop Empire was enormous, and Oswald’s perfume company was one of several smaller businesses that regularly maintained close dealings with Maverick’s empire.

Yet despite their business connection, Oswald had never personally interacted with Maverick beyond the occasional business meeting or formal event. They had crossed paths several times, but they had never had a real conversation.

Until now.

Seeing Maverick walk into his house with Rose in his arms was enough to make Oswald’s expression change completely.

His gaze followed Maverick as he crossed the room and carefully lowered Rose onto the couch. He made sure she was settled before straightening, while Rose remained wrapped tightly in the oversized coat he had placed around her shoulders.

The warmth of the coat had finally stopped her trembling.

Oswald’s eyes dropped to the coat before moving back to Rose. Then they returned to Maverick.

Maverick stood calmly in front of him, completely unaffected by the tension in the room.

Oswald’s expression hardened.

“Mr. Bishop,” he said, his voice controlled but wary. “What are you doing here?”

Maverick straightened to his full height.

For several seconds, neither man spoke.

Two of the most intimidating men in their respective worlds stood face-to-face, neither willing to look away first. Their expressions carried a similar coldness, but there was something different about Maverick. The younger man possessed a darkness in his presence that seemed almost impossible to penetrate, an aura of quiet danger that even Oswald couldn't ignore.

Finally, Maverick broke the silence.

“Mr. Monroe.”

His voice was calm, almost unnervingly so.

His gaze remained fixed on Oswald.

“I’m the man in that photograph with Rose.”

Rose immediately straightened, her entire body going rigid as she realized that Maverick had received the same photograph her father had.

Worse, he had openly admitted that he was the man in it!

Her mouth fell open as she looked between the two men standing before her. Her heart began pounding harder when she saw Oswald's expression change little by little, the confusion and coldness on his face slowly giving way to a look of sudden realization—one that seemed almost impossible for him to comprehend.

For several moments, Oswald said nothing. A deathly silence settled over the room as he stared at Maverick.

“I see.”

Rose swallowed, her heart hammering as she waited anxiously for her father's reaction.

Oswald finally looked away from Maverick.

“Let's talk in private.”

Maverick gave a slight nod and followed him toward the study.

Rose immediately rose to her feet and hurried after them, desperate to find out what they were going to discuss. But the two men disappeared into the study before she could catch up.

She returned to the living room and stared at the study, confusion written all over her face.

“What the hell is going on?” she muttered under her breath.

She waited.

Ten minutes passed.

Then another five.

Still, there was no sign of either man.

Rose began pacing restlessly across the living room, glancing toward the study every few seconds. The longer they stayed inside, the more suspicious she became.

“Did they murder each other?” she whispered to herself.

Finally, unable to take the suspense any longer, she headed toward the study. She slowed as she approached the door and carefully leaned closer, intending to sneak a look inside.

Before she could, the door suddenly swung open.

Rose jumped back.

Oswald and Maverick stepped out together.

Neither man looked remotely shaken. They simply walked back toward the living room as though they had just finished discussing an ordinary business matter.

Rose followed them, her confusion only deepening.

She stopped in front of them and looked from her father to Maverick, waiting for someone to explain what had just happened.

Oswald finally turned toward her.

“Marry Maverick.”

He gestured toward the man beside him, his tone so calm and casual that it sounded as though he were asking her to pick up something from the store.

Rose stared at him.

Her mouth fell open.

“What?”

“You can go and marry him,” Oswald continued. “The courthouse should still be open. You can get it done today.”

Rose could only stare at him in shock.

“Why? What is going on?” she whispered.

But the stern expression on her father's face silenced her before he could even answer.

Panic began creeping through every inch of her body.

‘He wants me to marry Maverick?’

Of all the men in the world, he wanted her to marry Maverick Bishop—one of the most ruthless and intimidating men she had ever heard of.

‘How could he ask me to marry him?’

It felt as though her own father had just thrown her straight into the den of a wolf.

Even people within Maverick's own family were said to be wary of him, and yet Oswald was standing there calmly telling her to marry him as though it were the simplest decision in the world.

Her heart pounded violently against her ribs as fear climbed into her chest.

Rose looked at her father, still unable to believe what she was hearing.

“Dad, why do you want me to marry him?” Rose asked, her voice rising with panic. “I told you it was just a one-night mistake. It’s not going to happen again.”

She tried to step closer to her father, hoping to reason with him, but Oswald gave her a stern, cold look that immediately stopped her in her tracks.

“Are you going to create more problems for me?” he asked sharply. “You’ve already caused more trouble than necessary, and you’re still going to argue with me. What’s the problem with marrying him?”

He pointed toward Maverick.

Rose's eyes instinctively shifted toward him.

The moment their gazes met, the look in Maverick's eyes made her body go rigid. She immediately took a small step backward and let out an awkward laugh before turning her head away.

Her gaze dropped to her feet.

‘What is wrong with him?’

Her father was asking her to marry him. He was practically walking her toward a blade and then asking why she was afraid to put her hand on it.

Rose lifted her head again, ready to refuse the marriage.

But the moment she looked at Maverick, she caught the expression on his face.

It was enough to make her fear for her life.

She swallowed hard.

“All right,” she finally said. “Then I’ll marry him, Dad.”

Oswald's expression immediately relaxed, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Maverick's expression changed too.

For the briefest moment, the stern, cold look that had terrified her only seconds ago faded into something she couldn't quite recognize.

Then he reached for her hand, his fingers closing firmly around hers, and pulled her toward the door.

Two hours later, Rose and Maverick stood beside the sleek Mercedes they had arrived in. The car was as elegant and imposing as its owner, with glossy black windows and a luxurious brown interior that looked both refined and expensive.

Rose stood beside the car, staring down at the marriage certificate in her hands.

Her eyes repeatedly returned to the name printed across the document.

Maverick Bishop.

The name alone was enough to scare the living daylights out of most people.

Especially her.

She had already been intimidated by him before this. Now his name was written right beside hers, officially making him her husband.

And she was going to have to live with him for the rest of her life.

The thought alone sent a tremor through her.

But then Rose hardened her expression.

She refused to let herself be intimidated.

Turning around, she looked up at Maverick and stepped directly into his space. Her arms fell loosely at her sides before one hand slowly rose toward his face.

She caught his jaw playfully and gave him a smug smile.

“Now you're under my control,” she announced in a deliberately dominant voice. “Since you've married into my family, you're going to do as I say, Maverick Bishop.”

She looked up at him with a triumphant smile, fully expecting him to become angry, refuse, or perhaps even threaten to divorce her.

Instead, Maverick caught the hand she had placed against his face.

His fingers closed around her wrist, and before she could react, he lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss against her wrist.

A sudden current seemed to shoot from her wrist through her entire body.

Rose shuddered.

Her breath caught as she stared at him.

Maverick slowly lifted his eyes, his gaze traveling from her wrist back to her face.

“All right, then,” he said calmly. “I’ll be under your control, Mrs. Bishop.”

Rose's lips curved into an even smugger smile.

She took his answer as a victory, already convinced that she had managed to put him under her control now that they were married.

Just then, her phone began to ring.

Rose's expression immediately shifted.

She looked down at the screen, her brows drawing together when she saw a familiar name flashing across it.

She immediately tried to pull away from Maverick, but he didn't let her. His arm remained firmly around her wrist, keeping her close. With no choice but to answer the call, she brought the phone to her ear with her free hand.

“Yes?” she said.

Rena's tense voice immediately came through the phone. “Rose, are you all right? I'm so sorry about last night. I promise—”

Rose frowned, confusion deepening across her face. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about last night,” Rena said quickly. “You asked me to send Josh to your room, but he never made it to you. I just found out that someone locked Josh in a broom closet at the palace for the entire night.”

Rose's body went completely still.

“What?”

“He was trapped there all night,” Rena continued. “It wasn't until the staff came in this morning to clean up the palace after the party that someone found him and let him out. He'd been locked inside that closet the entire night. He went home this morning and called me to tell me what happened.”

Rose's fingers tightened around her phone as the implications slowly began sinking in.

“I was so worried about you. I didn't know what had happened. I thought you were with Josh, so that's why I called. I'm so sorry, Rose. I don't think Josh ditched you. He really does have a huge crush on you. It turns out he was just trapped by someone who—”

Rena's words faded into the background.

Rose's shoulders slowly stiffened as the pieces began falling into place. Josh hadn't rejected her, and he hadn't simply abandoned her after she had asked him to come to her room. He had never even reached her. Someone had deliberately locked him away and made certain he couldn't get to her.

And there was only one person who had been there that night who could have done it.

Rose swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around the phone.

“Thanks for telling me,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

She ended the call and lowered the phone, remaining silent for a moment as she stared at the screen. Then she slowly turned toward Maverick.

He hadn't moved.

He stood before her with one hand still resting casually in his pocket, his dark gaze fixed on her face. His expression was completely calm, almost unnervingly so, as though he had been waiting for her to put the pieces together.

A chill ran down Rose's spine.

She stared at him, her heart pounding harder with every second.

“Y-You did it?” she whispered, her voice filled with unmistakable fear.

Chapter 5 We’re Not Getting Back Together

Maverick stepped closer to her, the intensity in his gaze enough to make her tremble. He continued closing the distance between them until he was standing directly in front of her. He caught her wrist, then reached down and tugged at her waist.

Bending slightly, he pressed a brief kiss against her cheek before leaning closer and murmuring against her ear, “Your future husband couldn’t let you sleep with a random man, could he?”

Rose grew even more frightened. Her body trembled as she finally realized just how dangerous this man could be and how easily he could do something without giving it a second thought.

‘He really is as cunning as everyone says he is.’

All the rumors she had heard about Maverick suddenly came rushing back. After his mother died, she had left everything to him, but his father had remarried almost immediately to a woman whose family had supposedly tried to take control of his inheritance. Everyone knew that Maverick had fought his own family to reclaim what belonged to him. He was so ruthless and cruel that people had even started calling him a living demon.

“Demon,” she whispered, the last words slipping from her lips aloud before she could stop herself.

Maverick was already close enough that his mouth was near her neck from behind. His voice came quietly, almost casually. “You’re thinking about me.”

Rose froze. Whatever confidence had been on her face moments earlier disappeared instantly. She tried to run and push him away, but he caught her around the waist and pulled her back against his chest. With his other hand, he caught her face and tilted it upward until she had no choice but to look at him.

“After sleeping with me, you’re trying to run off?” he asked, his voice calm enough to be even more intimidating.

Rose's heart nearly stopped. She immediately pulled away from him, her body reacting before her mind could catch up.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Bishop,” she said, her voice shaking. “It really was a mistake last night. I didn't know it was you. I really thought—”

She stopped when she saw his expression darken.

The look in his eyes became so terrifying that she immediately changed course.

“Let’s get a divorce,” she blurted out. “I won’t bother you again. I promise. Last night was just a mistake. You’re too good for someone like me, anyway. You wouldn’t want to settle for me, right? Let’s just end this and go back to our lives, the way they were before last night.”

Maverick looked down at her, one perfectly arched eyebrow rising.

“Were my skills so bad last night that my wife wants a divorce right after the marriage?”

The memory of the previous night flashed through Rose's mind, making her tremble all over. Heat rushed into her face, but she quickly pushed the embarrassment aside.

“Trust me, it’s not like that. It really was a mistake.” She hurried to explain herself. “You’re too important and famous. You’re incredible. You shouldn’t be wasting your life with someone as insignificant as me. Why would you throw your life away? You should marry a supermodel. Or an actress. Someone who actually belongs in your world. Someone much better than me.”

She gestured helplessly, desperately trying to convince him.

“I’m just a small fish in a big ocean. You just haven’t met enough fish yet. That’s why I think you rushed into this. When you rush into something, you always realize later that it was a bad decision, right?”

She swallowed and forced a nervous smile.

“It doesn’t have to end this way. We’re already at the courthouse, so let’s just get it done. It’ll be over before you know it. It’s just a signature on a few documents. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

She took another cautious step backward.

“So let’s go get a divorce immediately.”

Maverick didn’t answer. Instead, he continued walking toward her as he listened to her rambling. Rose kept creating distance between them, taking cautious steps backward, but he simply closed the gap with every step until he was directly in front of her. Then he bent down, wrapped an arm around her waist, and threw her over his shoulder before carrying her toward the car.

“What are you doing?” she cried, her voice coming out slightly strained as she was suddenly lifted off the ground.

Embarrassment flooded her face when people began looking in their direction, but Maverick didn’t seem to care in the slightest. He carried her straight to the Mercedes waiting nearby and placed her inside before getting in himself.

Instead of driving her back to her own house, however, he drove in the opposite direction.

Rose frowned, growing increasingly confused as she watched the familiar streets disappear behind them. She had no idea where he was taking her until the Mercedes approached a set of enormous gates. The gates opened, revealing a sprawling mansion beyond them.

Her eyes widened.

She hadn't realized this was Maverick's mansion until they passed through the entrance and she spotted his name written in golden letters across a white plaque beside the gates.

Maverick Bishop

Her heart immediately began pounding in her throat as she sat rigidly in her seat. Everything that had happened within the past twenty-four hours suddenly felt unreal. It was as though she had been swept into someone else's life without ever getting a moment to stop, breathe, and understand what was happening.

And now she was being taken to Maverick's home.

As they drove farther onto the property, Rose stared through the window. This was the first time she had ever seen his mansion. The enormous house was built with sleek, modern architecture and surrounded by expansive grounds filled with lush greenery. Trees, gardens, and carefully maintained hedges stretched around the property, so dense that they almost concealed the mansion from the outside world.

Her mind immediately went to the worst possible place.

‘If he murdered me here, no one would ever know.’

There was so much greenery surrounding the mansion that she could probably disappear somewhere on the property without anyone noticing.

Her body stiffened as nervousness and tension tightened every muscle.

The Mercedes finally came to a stop in front of the mansion, and almost immediately, one of the security guards hurried over to open Maverick's door.

The moment the guard's gaze fell on Rose, his eyes widened in surprise.

He looked back at Maverick.

“Mr. Bishop, you've brought someone home with you?”

Maverick didn't answer.

Instead, he walked around the car and opened Rose's door himself. She hesitated before stepping out, but the moment her feet touched the ground, Maverick reached for her hand and laced his fingers around hers.

Then he turned toward the older security guard.

“This is my wife, Rose.”

The security guard's eyes widened in shock. Then his surprise transformed into a bright smile.

“That's amazing news, Mr. Bishop! Congratulations!”

Maverick gave him a faint smile before calmly saying, “Everyone's bonus is tripled this month. Let everyone know, and have my secretary handle the rest.”

The security guard immediately straightened and bowed.

“Thank you, Mr. Bishop. I wish you two a wonderful life ahead.”

He gave Rose another delighted look before turning back toward the mansion, clearly thrilled by the news.

Rose, meanwhile, was still trying to process what had just happened.

Without giving her any time to react, he turned and walked toward the mansion, still holding her hand.

Rose hurried after him, almost stumbling as she tried to keep up with his long strides. Once they stepped through the enormous entrance, she looked around in surprise.

She had expected to see servants everywhere—maids moving through the halls, staff rushing around, and people coming and going constantly.

Instead, the entire mansion was silent.

Every surface was spotless, and every detail appeared perfectly arranged. It was obvious that people regularly took care of the enormous house, yet there wasn't a single person in sight.

Maverick continued pulling her toward the living room while Rose followed behind him, her thoughts racing. The tension running through her body was impossible to hide. Her shoulders were stiff, her fingers were cold, and her uneasy expression made it clear that she had no idea what was about to happen.

Maverick noticed it.

His brows drew together as he studied her face.

The longer he looked at the distress written across her face, the more displeased he became. Something about the troubled expression on her face disturbed him more than he cared to admit.

He suddenly stopped and released her hand before turning to face her completely.

Rose stopped as well.

Maverick stepped closer, entering her personal space until she was forced to lift her head and look up at him.

“Is marrying me such a disaster that you can't even get rid of that frown?” he asked, his voice low. “You've had it on your face ever since we left the courthouse.”

Rose's nerves tightened at the sound of his voice. She was surprised that he had noticed her expression so easily.

She quickly forced a laugh. “You're overthinking it. I'm just getting used to being somewhere new.”

Maverick's gaze remained fixed on her.

The longer he looked at her, the darker his expression became. His intensity made her heart pound so hard that she was afraid he might hear it. She tried to hide the fear in her eyes, but there was little chance of getting anything past him.

He stepped closer.

Then he lowered his head until his lips were beside her ear.

“Mrs. Bishop,” he murmured, his voice dangerously calm, “don't let me find out there's another man in your heart.”

Rose swallowed.

Maverick's gaze remained locked on hers.

“Because if there is,” he continued, “I'll break his neck before I deal with you.”

Then he pulled away, utterly composed, as though threatening her was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Rose stared at him for a moment, her mouth falling open before she quickly turned her head away.

“Why do other newlyweds get flowers, kisses, and diamonds, while I got a husband who seems more interested in drinking my blood?” she gritted under her breath.

Her irritation grew with every word. Realizing she was allowing him to intimidate her, she turned back around and glared at him.

“You’re acting like I’m your slave. Why do I have to follow your unreasonable orders?” she demanded.

The words had barely left her mouth when their eyes met.

One look at the dangerous darkness in Maverick’s expression was enough to make her courage falter. Her voice caught in her throat, and the rest of her anger dissolved beneath his stare.

“I don’t have anything with Ivan anymore,” she quickly added, forcing herself to soften her tone. “I’ve already broken up with him. There won’t be anything between us in the future. I promise. You’re overthinking this.”

She tried to reassure him, but before she could say anything else, her phone began to ring.

Grateful for the distraction—and desperate to escape Maverick’s intimidating gaze—Rose immediately reached into her bag and pulled it out.

The moment she saw the name flashing across the screen, her stomach dropped.

Ivan.

She instinctively tried to hide the phone behind her back, but Maverick noticed the sudden panic on her face. Before she could reject the call, he reached out and snatched the phone from her hand.

“Maverick!” Rose lunged for it.

He easily kept it out of her reach, ignoring her attempt to take it back. Then, with maddening calm, he swiped his thumb across the screen and answered.

The call connected.

Ivan’s voice immediately filled the space through the speaker.

“Rose, where have you been since yesterday? There’s a gift I want you to bring with you to my aunt’s house. They’re having a housewarming party, and they want us to come.”

A deep frown settled over Rose’s face.

“Did you forget that I told you we’re over?” she asked, staring at the phone as though Ivan were standing right in front of her.

Ivan sighed, his impatience obvious. “Look, I don’t have time for this, all right? You can’t expect me to keep coming after you and trying to make you understand everything. You broke something, and I reacted in the moment. It’s not like it was that big of a deal.”

Rose’s fingers curled into fists.

“You need to understand that these things happen in relationships,” Ivan continued. “I’m human, not some god you’ve created in your head.”

Her anger simmered hotter with every word.

“And besides, have you forgotten that your family has business with us?” he went on. “You can’t just act out like a child every five minutes. Our business relationship matters too. No one has time to listen to you whine about everything—not your father, and certainly not me. So stop this foolishness and come to my apartment.”

Rose stared at the phone in disbelief.

“I’ve already asked someone to prepare a dress for you,” Ivan continued, as though he hadn’t noticed her silence. “And this time, make sure you wear it. I was embarrassed enough the last time when you showed up without wearing a designer dress. I don’t want a repeat of that. You’ll look much better in this one.”

His tone became firm.

“And don’t be late.”

Rose’s anger was already simmering. Ivan spoke about her as though her feelings and opinions were irrelevant, as though the only thing that mattered to him was the business relationship between their families. The realization only made her more furious.

“Have you lost your mind?” she snapped. “I have no desire to go to your aunt’s party, and I certainly don’t need you chasing after me and pretending you can pacify me. We both know you’re incapable of that. You were never much of a man to begin with, so what difference does it make whether you try now?”

Her voice rose with every word until she was practically shouting into the phone still held in Maverick’s hand.

“Stop calling me! I’m not getting back together with you. Whatever relationship we had ended the moment you raised your hand against me.”

Silence fell on the other end.

For several seconds, Rose heard nothing but faint movement before Ivan finally spoke again. When he did, his voice had turned noticeably colder.

“You can’t just destroy everything because you’re angry right now. I have a hundred things to deal with. I don’t have time to keep babying you, Rose. How many times do I have to explain that?”

His irritation sharpened with every word.

“I’ve already told you I don’t have time for this. Stop being so stubborn and childish. Sometimes I wish you were more mature for your age. You’re not a child anymore, yet you behave like some teenager who knows nothing about life.”

Rose’s mouth fell open.

The sheer audacity of his words sent her anger skyrocketing. Her expression twisted in disbelief, and for one wild second, she looked ready to smash the phone against the floor.

Instead, she abruptly snatched it from Maverick’s hand and pressed it to her ear.

“Ivan Carrington, listen to me very carefully, because I’m not going to repeat myself again.”

Her voice trembled with fury.

“Get this through your head—I am not getting back together with you.”

She drew a breath, struggling to keep her temper under control.

“I don’t care what kind of relationship you have with my family. I don’t care what you do, and I certainly don’t care what you think about me anymore. None of it matters to me.”

Her grip tightened around the phone.

“The moment I walked out of your life was the moment everything between us ended.”

She took another sharp breath before continuing.

“I already told you. Don’t act stupid. Mind your own business and leave me alone. Do not call me again. I’m warning you, Ivan. I’ve had enough of your nonsense.”

Her voice hardened.

“Don’t you fucking dare call me again.”

She stabbed the hang-up button and ended the call.

For several seconds, Rose stood completely still, gripping the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned pale. Then she released a deep, shaky breath as the anger burning through her chest slowly began to subside. She exhaled again, so forcefully that she had to pause afterward just to catch her breath.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Ivan sat motionless in his office, staring at the phone in his hand after Rose had hung up on him.

His office reflected the wealth and prestige of the Carrington Group. Sleek modern architecture surrounded him, while the latest technology and carefully arranged displays of luxury fragrances filled the expansive space.

The Carringtons and the Monroes were both major names in the fragrance industry, and their families had maintained a close business relationship for years.

Ivan sat behind his desk, his head lowered as he stared at the phone in his hand. The nameplate outside his office identified him as one of the company’s directors. With a deep frown, he placed the phone on the desk.

He had never seen Rose this angry before.

Rose had always had a temper. She could be impatient and easily annoyed, but she had never directed that anger at him. She had certainly never shouted at him the way she had just done.

The more he replayed the conversation in his head, the stranger it felt.

It was almost as though he had been speaking to an entirely different woman.

The Rose he knew had always been so deeply attached to him that she rarely even raised her voice at him. Whenever they argued, he was usually the one who withdrew first, refusing to speak to her until she eventually called him herself, tried to pacify him, and apologized.

But this time, there had been no apology.

Ivan leaned back in his chair, his eyes repeatedly drifting toward the phone on his desk. Every few seconds, he checked the screen, almost expecting Rose’s name to appear.

Nothing.

He unlocked the phone and checked again.

Still nothing.

As the minutes passed, his annoyance gradually turned into impatience. The longer Rose ignored him, the more irritated he became. He couldn't understand how she could simply walk away from him and refuse to call.

Had she really changed this much overnight?

Nearly an hour passed before the door to his office opened.

His best friend, Terrence Page, walked in.

Like Ivan, Terrence worked at his father’s company as a senior director and was expected to take over the business one day. Dressed in a dark suit, he took one look at Ivan sitting behind his desk and immediately noticed where his attention kept drifting.

Ivan tapped the screen again, checking for something that clearly wasn't there.

Terrence watched him for a moment before a loud bark of laughter escaped him.

“Are you waiting for a call from Rose?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Or are you waiting for a call from your ex-girlfriend?”

Ivan’s face immediately tightened.

He lifted his head and shot Terrence an irritated look as his friend walked farther into the office and settled into the chair across from him.

“I don’t have any relationship with Jessica,” Ivan said flatly. “Stop exaggerating everything.”

Terrence immediately scoffed.

“Do you actually believe that yourself?” Terrence asked, staring at him. “Have you already forgotten what happened that night?”

He shook his head.

“You called your ex-girlfriend and went out of your way to get Jessica to that party. You were so eager to have her there that you even sent a car to pick her up.”

A disbelieving smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“And then you called several of our friends and insisted they invite her themselves. Everyone saw how badly you wanted her there.”

He paused, watching Ivan’s expression.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if word got back to Jessica that you were practically begging everyone to invite her.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“So you really expect me to believe you were doing all of that for no reason?” He gave a short, humorless laugh. “The way you were acting that night, I honestly thought you were going to propose to her again.”

Ivan slammed his phone onto the desk with a loud clatter, irritation flashing across his face.

“I already told you. You’re overthinking it.” His voice turned sharp. “I wanted all of our friends there after so many years. Jessica had just returned, and I wanted to make sure she didn’t miss the party. That’s all. There was nothing more to it.”

He leaned back in his chair, his jaw tight.

“Stop reading into everything.”

Terrence drew a slow breath, clearly trying to rein in his frustration. Then he pushed himself to his feet and walked around the desk.

He stopped beside Ivan, planting both hands on the edge as he leaned forward.

“Ivan, let’s be clear about something.”

His voice was firm.

“No man—I mean no fucking man—calls almost all of his friends and asks them to invite his ex-girlfriend to a party when he has already personally invited her and sent her a million-dollar piece of jewelry.”

Ivan’s expression hardened.

Terrence straightened.

“So either you’re trying to fool everyone, or you’re trying to fool yourself. Because what you did last night was not normal.”

He paused for a beat before continuing.

“And then you showed up at that party after you slapped Rose.”

His jaw tightened.

“I was fucking shocked when you told me about it. But you were so drunk that I couldn’t even have a proper conversation with you, let alone knock some sense into you.”

Ivan finally lifted his gaze from the desk.

He folded his arms across his chest, his expression turning cold and defensive.

“You know nothing about my relationship with Rose. It was a small mistake. Nothing more.”

His jaw tightened.

“She broke something that was important to me, and I reacted in the heat of the moment. It’s not going to happen again. It was an honest reaction.”

Terrence stared at him for a long moment before letting out a short, incredulous laugh.

“An honest reaction?”

He shook his head.

“So let me get this straight. If your father had broken that same snow globe, would you have slapped him too?”

Ivan’s expression remained impassive.

“Would you have called that an honest reaction then?”

Terrence held his gaze.

“Or did you do it because you knew Rose was the easier person to bully?”

Ivan’s face tightened with anger.

He looked up at Terrence, who had straightened to his full height and folded his arms across his chest. A deep frown settled between his brows as he stared down at his friend.

“I’m only saying this because I’m your best friend,” Terrence said. “I don’t want you to make a mistake you’ll regret later.”

He shook his head.

“Honestly, Ivan, what are you doing? You’ve already decided to build a life with Rose. You proposed to her. You’ve been with her for a year. Both your families are involved. You’re supposed to marry her.”

Terrence paused, letting his words sink in.

“If you’re going to have a future with Rose, shouldn’t you put the past behind you?”

His expression hardened.

“You ended things with Jessica. She left you. Yet you’re still talking to her, getting involved in her life, and going out of your way to have her around. None of that looks like someone who has moved on.”

Ivan remained silent.

“And the worst part?” Terrence continued. “You still don’t see anything wrong with it. That’s how you’re going to ruin your relationship with Rose—especially when you’re already supposed to marry her.”

Ivan slowly rose from his chair.

His heart was pounding for some reason he couldn't put into words. A strange pressure had settled in his chest, growing tighter with every second.

Yet his face remained calm.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said dismissively. “And as I told you, slapping her was a reaction in the heat of the moment. She wasn’t even sorry for breaking my things.”

Terrence threw his hands into the air.

“What the fuck, Ivan?”

His voice echoed through the room.

“Why are your things more important to you than Rose? Don’t you understand that whatever your ex left behind shouldn’t matter more than the woman you’re supposed to marry?”

He stepped closer.

“It shouldn't have mattered enough for you to hit anyone, let alone Rose.”

Ivan frowned.

“Rose has had a crush on me for years. That isn’t going to change.”

His voice was almost matter-of-fact.

“That’s why we got together in the first place. You know how much she loves me. She’s not going anywhere.”

Terrence stared at him.

Ivan picked up his phone from the desk and turned it over in his hand.

“Whatever happened last night happened. I’m putting it behind us. She hasn’t even apologized for breaking my things, so she can take some time to get her head straight.”

Terrence looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s true. She’s loved you for years. She’s not going to stop loving you overnight.”

He shook his head.

“But that doesn’t mean you can take her for granted. You really, really need to get your shit together.”

Ivan waved him off.

“She’s going to stay in my life whether I want her to or not.”

Chapter 6 He’s A Pervert

He said it with such certainty that Terrence could only stare at him.

Then Ivan’s phone began to ring on the desk.

His hand immediately reached for it.

For a fleeting moment, he expected to see Rose’s name on the screen. A faint smile had already begun to form at the thought of her finally calling him.

But the smile vanished the moment he saw the caller ID.

Unknown Number.

He picked up the call and brought the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice came through on the other end.

“Mr. Carrington, we just wanted to inform you that your fiancée, Miss Rose Monroe, called us a while ago and canceled her bridal dress shopping appointment. We wanted to let you know that you’re no longer on the schedule, so if you would still like to have an appointment, you’ll need to make a new one.”

“Fine,” Ivan replied curtly before ending the call.

Terrence, who had heard every word the assistant had said, raised his eyebrows.

“Aren’t you worried that she’s serious about this? She canceled the wedding dress appointment. I thought that was one of the most important things to her. She wouldn’t stop talking about the dress she was going to wear at your wedding.”

Ivan tossed the phone onto the table, his irritation deepening with every passing second.

“Rose is being stubborn,” he said angrily. “She’ll come back after she calms down.”

Even as he said the words, the tension in his voice betrayed the anger building inside him.

Before Terrence could respond, there was a knock on the door.

It opened, and Ivan’s secretary, Ryan, hurried into the room with a worried expression.

“Mr. Carrington, I have some important news to inform you about.”

Ryan looked so tense that Ivan immediately lifted one hand, dismissing the hesitation.

“Just tell me.”

Ryan swallowed before speaking.

“Mr. Carrington, we just received a call from Mr. Monroe’s secretary at Monroe Industries. They informed us that they have canceled all business dealings with our company. They also said they will not be entering into any new deals with us in the future, and all the agreements currently in place have been terminated, effective immediately.”

The expression on Ivan’s face changed so quickly that the shock was unmistakable.

For a moment, he simply stared at Ryan.

Then the reality of what he had just heard sank in.

Panic flashed across his face, followed by a sudden, terrifying realization.

Rose might actually leave him.

Until now, even when Rose threatened to end their relationship, there had always been something tying them together—the business relationship between their families. Their engagement, their families’ expectations, and their companies’ dealings had all kept them connected.

But now that business relationship was gone.

If the Monroes had truly cut ties with the Carringtons, there was nothing left connecting Ivan and Rose.

Nothing.

The thought hit him with such force that he abruptly straightened in his chair. His breathing grew heavier as the panic spreading through him became impossible to hide.

Before he could say anything, the office door flew open again.

Another young executive rushed inside, her face pale with panic.

“Mr. Carrington, your cars—”

Before she could finish, Ivan whipped around and roared, “Get out. Get the fuck out of here!”

His fury rose with every word, his voice echoing through the office as his heart pounded with panic and a sudden sinking feeling he could no longer suppress. He drew in a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but the uneasiness twisting through his body only grew stronger.

The girl flinched at the volume of his voice and the fury etched across his face. Startled, she tried to speak again.

“But, Mr. Carrington, it’s really—”

“Didn’t you hear me?” he snapped. “Get out! And don’t come in here without knocking. Don’t you know the basic rules of respect for your director? Get out of here right now!”

The girl flinched again. Her face paled as she quickly turned around and hurried out of the office.

Ivan immediately turned back to Rayyan.

“What are you talking about? We’ve had years of business cooperation with them. They can’t just cancel everything. Did you hear them wrong? Perhaps they said something about a single project. What the hell is wrong with your head? Explain.”

Ryan remained composed despite Ivan’s fury. He walked over and handed him the tablet he was holding.

“Here is the document I received, Mr. Carrington. You can read it yourself. It clearly states that Monroe Industries no longer wishes to continue any business relationship with us.”

Ivan snatched the tablet from his hand.

His eyes immediately swept over every line, reading the document carefully. Then he read it again, as though somehow the words might change the second time.

They didn’t.

The document clearly stated that Monroe Industries was terminating all existing business relationships with Carrington Corporation. No current projects would continue, and no new deals would be entered into between the two companies in the future.

Ivan handed the tablet back.

“Fine. Get out.”

His voice was dismissive, but the panic pounding through his chest betrayed him. He could already feel the consequences closing in around him, yet he refused to let any of it show.

Ryan nodded and turned toward the door.

Just as he was about to leave, Ivan stopped him.

“Send the girl who just came in.”

Rayyan nodded and walked out.

A moment later, the young executive returned. This time, she entered leisurely after knocking on the door.

Ivan lifted his head.

“Come in.”

She walked inside at an unhurried pace and stopped in front of his desk.

“Mr. Carrington, do you wish for me to speak now?”

Ivan stared at her impatiently.

“That’s what I asked you to do. Why did I ask you to come back?”

The girl folded her hands neatly in front of her. Her expression remained remarkably calm despite the tension in the room.

Then, in an almost casual voice, she finally said, “Mr. Carrington, I was trying to tell you that someone set all of your cars on fire at your house last night.”

Ivan’s face drained of color.

All the composure he had managed to gather over the past few minutes vanished instantly. A deep frown settled across his face as he stared at her, momentarily unable to process what he had just heard.

The girl, completely unabashed, continued in the same soft, leisurely tone.

“And the police were asking whether you wanted to press charges. I informed them that you needed some personal time and that they should call back later.”

Then she gave him a sweet, innocent smile.

“Have a nice day, sir.”

With that, she turned around and walked out, leaving Ivan standing there in stunned silence.

***

Maverick watched as Rose angrily ended the call, stabbing the hang-up button with her thumb before finally lowering the phone. She let out a frustrated huff and pushed her hair back from her face as she turned around.

She immediately stopped.

Maverick stood directly in front of her, his eyes fixed on her with an intense, unreadable expression.

Rose instinctively took a step back, startled as she finally registered how close he was.

“Why didn’t you tell him about our marriage?” he asked.

His stern gaze remained fixed on her face. He stepped closer, slowly invading her space until her back was nearly against the wall.

Rose’s heart pounded against her ribs.

She tried to laugh it off.

“I forgot. I’m not used to being married yet. I’m not used to having a husband.”

Maverick’s eyes darkened.

He reached behind her neck and drew her closer until her body pressed against his chest. His gaze remained locked with hers as he lowered his voice.

“Then I’ll make sure you remember that you’re my wife every damn day.”

Rose stared into his eyes, her heart racing.

There was nothing playful in his expression now. The seriousness in his face thrilled and frightened her at the same time, sending a strange ache through her chest.

The instant after, he closed the distance between them until Rose was pressed flat against the wall. He trapped her there, one arm winding around her waist, the other clamping the back of her head, and sank his teeth into her neck.

“Ah!” Rose winced, her nails digging into his shoulders as his hunger darkened. He licked the same spot repeatedly before hardening his bite— and then, just as fiercely, he bit the other side. She gasped in harsh breaths, pain and unwanted pleasure convulsing through her. Her body trembled; she clung to him, even as crimson marks bloomed on her skin.

When she flinched, his mouth shifted to hers. He kissed her fiercely, his tongue ripping across her lips with a ravenous need that stole her breath. He tugged her lower lip into his mouth, sucking until she trembled, then moved to her upper lip and did the same.

Every drop of wetness he could seize, he consumed, drawing moans of shock and discomfort from her throat. Within seconds, he’d asserted total control.

He was at least a foot taller than Rose. Small and unresisting, she was helpless beneath his weight. His right arm pinned her wrists above her head while his left arm curved around her waist, pressing her backside to the cold wall.

His lips tortured hers—licking, sucking, flooding her mouth with his saliva even as he stole hers. Rose’s breaths grew ragged; her heart pounded so fiercely she thought it might burst. She tried to shove at his chest, desperate for air, but he tightened his grip, his hunger only intensifying.

Finally, gathering what little strength remained, she broke free from his grasp. She stumbled, clutching at her bruised lips, and fled up the narrow spiral stairs to the first floor, her body shaking, her heart vaulting in her chest.

He pursued her like a predator.

Hearing his heavy footsteps, Rose pivoted, hand gripping the railing as panic sharpened in her eyes.

Maverick lunged, catching her and smashing her again against the wall. His kiss was even more feral this time—hungry, violent—his lips devouring her mouth in maddened thrusts. He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other pressing her wrists behind her back. She trembled, her head spinning as he pressed kisses to her neck and cheeks, each one leaving her more breathless than the last.

She managed to slip free once more and sprinted to the first-floor landing. But he was already there, advancing on her with relentless determination. Before Rose could protest, he caught her, hauling her against his chest, one of her wrists pinned tight behind her.

“Stop,” Rose gasped, her hands flying up to shield her neck and mouth. “Stop kissing me. It hurts.”

In one swift motion, his arms locked around her waist and lifted her off the floor. A startled cry escaped her as she instinctively clung to him, her heart hammering against his chest.

He looked down at her. “Our bedroom is downstairs,” he stated, his voice low. “I’m taking you back.”

She swallowed hard, staring up at him without protest, her fingers tightening their grip on his shoulders. Maverick carried her down the stairs with unnerving steadiness, his steps sure and measured as he descended into the living room. He set her down on the couch just as her phone on the side table began to ring.

Rose reached for it, Zoe’s name flashing across the screen.

Rose looked at Maverick for a brief moment before he took a seat beside her on the couch. He looked at her expectantly, as though he expected her to answer the call.

Nervously, she picked up the phone and brought it to her ear. The mansion was so quiet that Zoe's voice immediately carried through the speaker, loud enough for both Rose and Maverick to hear.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” Zoe demanded. “And who was the man you slept with last night? Rena told me she had sent a man to meet you, but he never made it to you. Does that mean you slept with someone else? What the hell is going on?”

Before Rose could answer, Maverick reached over, took the phone from her hand, and brought it to his ear.

“It was me. Do you have a problem?”

His voice was calm and serious.

Zoe immediately fell silent.

For several seconds, there was nothing but silence on the other end before she finally found her voice.

“Maverick?”

Her voice trembled slightly, a mixture of surprise and nervousness making the single word come out unevenly.

She seemed unable to find the right words for a moment before suddenly launching into an apology.

“I’m so sorry. I didn't know this happened. I think Rose just made a mistake last night. Please don't do anything to her. You know how she is. She probably didn't understand what was happening. Maverick, can you please forgive her? It wasn't intentional. It must have been a mistake last night. I know you're serious about who you let into your life, so please don't take Rose seriously. It was just an error. Can you please forgive her? Don't punish—”

Maverick ended the call before she could finish.

He tossed the phone onto the couch.

Rose released a deep breath of relief, her shoulders finally loosening. Yet the longer she remained beside the dangerous man, the more intensely she became aware of his presence.

Maverick looked at her.

His gaze traveled from the clothes she was wearing back to her face with such intensity that Rose instinctively drew her arms closer to herself, suddenly conscious beneath his stare.

“Take off your clothes.”

Rose stared at him, confused and tense.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Maverick raised an eyebrow.

“Don't your knees hurt?”

Rose’s mind immediately filled with memories of the previous night—how many times she had been on her knees, how he had kept her there for most of the night, how she had climbed onto him and sat on top of him, and how he had been behind her. It didn’t even feel like her first time anymore. They had done it so many times that she had almost forgotten what pain was supposed to feel like. Despite it being her first time, all she could remember was the overwhelming pleasure she had felt throughout the night.

She quickly looked away, her cheeks burning as memories she had been desperately trying to suppress resurfaced.

She swallowed hard and avoided his gaze.

Maverick pointed toward a door at the end of the hallway.

“That’s the bedroom. Your clothes are on the bed. Go change.”

Rose hesitated.

She felt as though she had lost control of her thoughts around him. Every command seemed to leave her flustered and uncertain, and somehow she found herself obeying before she could argue.

She stood, twisting her fingers together nervously, then turned and walked toward the bedroom.

Maverick watched her disappear through the doorway.

Five minutes later, Rose emerged wearing one of his shirts.

It was an ordinary size on him but oversized on her, falling all the way to her thighs. Although it covered her adequately, she was painfully aware of what she wasn't wearing underneath it, and the realization only made her more self-conscious.

Rose nervously glanced around before looking back at Maverick with a frown.

“There were no clothes. Just this shirt,” she said, pointing toward herself before glancing at the bed. “Why is it just your shirt?”

Maverick raised an eyebrow.

“Do you think I keep women's clothes in my house?”

Rose bit back a response. She had no idea what to say to that.

“I need my clothes.”

“I've already arranged for them. They'll arrive in a few days after they're packed from your house. Until then, you'll wear my shirts.”

His gaze briefly dropped before returning to her eyes.

“It's not as though you'll be wearing anything when you sleep anyway.”

Rose's eyebrows drew together, her eyes narrowing slightly.

‘He really is a pervert through and through.’

She finally walked over and sat on the couch again, deliberately leaving two seats between them.

Maverick glanced at the distance she had put between them. His expression immediately tightened.

“Come closer.”

Rose's hands twisted together in her lap as she reluctantly shifted toward him.

He still looked dissatisfied.

“Closer. Come here.”

She had no choice but to move even nearer.

Before she could settle properly, Maverick reached for her leg and pulled her toward him.

Rose sucked in a breath as he drew her closer, until her legs rested across his lap.

His gaze dropped to her knees.

The redness on her skin was clear as day. His expression changed as he carefully examined the irritated areas.

Rose remained still as his fingers gently brushed over the reddened skin.

Maverick reached for the medicine he had brought with him and squeezed a small amount onto his fingertips. Then, with surprising gentleness, he began carefully applying it to her knees.

Maverick’s fingers were so gentle that Rose could hardly reconcile them with the same hands she remembered from the night before. His touch had been so rough and commanding then, yet now his fingertips moved carefully over the irritated skin of her knees, applying the medicine with surprising tenderness.

The contrast left her almost breathless.

Her mind inevitably drifted back to the previous night. Memories of his touch, his closeness, and the overwhelming intensity of everything that had happened came rushing back, making her body tense.

She suddenly jerked beneath his hand.

Maverick immediately lifted his gaze to her face.

“Does it hurt?”

His voice was unexpectedly gentle.

Rose stared at him, her cheeks warming as another thought crossed her mind.

‘Is he asking because he wants to do that again?’

The possibility alone made her flush.

She swallowed nervously before answering, “Yes. It hurts. I might not feel better for a few months.”

Maverick studied her expression for a moment, clearly understanding where her thoughts had gone. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“All right. I won't make you get on your knees until you feel better.”

Rose's entire face turned red.

“Don't talk like that,” she muttered, frowning at him.

A hint of amusement remained on his face as he continued tending to her knees.

After a moment, Rose looked at him again.

“Can you not scold Zoe?” she asked quietly. “She was only trying to help me. What happened last night wasn't her fault.”

Maverick's eyes lifted to hers while his fingers continued their careful movements over her knee.

“You’re a good girl,” he said calmly. “But if you want me to forget about what happened, someone still needs to pay for it.”

His gaze sharpened.

“If you want me to forgive Zoe, how are you going to convince me?”

Rose stared at him, uncertain.

“I’ll pay for it,” she said. “What do you want?”

Maverick’s gaze briefly dropped to her knee before returning to her face.

Rose hesitated, her fingers curling nervously at her sides. She drew in a slow breath, gathering her courage before finally blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“How about I sleep with you one more time?”

The instant the words left her mouth, Maverick’s expression changed.

The amusement disappeared, replaced by something darker and far more difficult to read. He released her knees and reached for the back of her head, drawing her toward him as he leaned over her on the couch.

The sudden movement startled her.

Before she could gather her thoughts, his lips crashed against hers.

Rose’s breath caught.

The kiss was intense enough to leave her struggling to keep up with him. When he finally pulled back, his hand remained cradling the back of her head. Rose breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling as she stared up at him.

Maverick raised an eyebrow, his face still inches from hers, but the sudden tension in his jaw and the dark, possessive look in his eyes made it clear he was pissed off.

“Did you compensate Ivan like this?”

Rose could barely gather her thoughts.

“We never did anything more than hold hands,” she managed. “My family is conservative, and Dad forbade me from sleeping with anyone before marriage.”

Maverick’s expression changed immediately.

A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face.

“Your father is a very smart man, Mrs. Bishop.”

The way he called her ‘Mrs. Bishop’, so intimately and rough, sent another shiver through Rose.

She stared up at him, trembling slightly beneath the intensity of his gaze. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her again.

Then he seemed to reconsider and pulled back just enough to give her room to breathe.

Rose barely had time to steady herself before he leaned toward her again.

His lips brushed hers, and the familiar warmth immediately brought memories of the previous night rushing back. She instinctively tensed, but he kept her close, lingering against her lips before slowly moving away.

His mouth traced along her jaw and toward her neck.

Rose’s breathing grew uneven as his lips lingered against her skin, each slow kiss sending another shiver through her. He moved from one side of her neck to the other, completely absorbed in the reaction he was drawing from her.

She knew there would probably be more visible marks on her skin by the time he was finished—enough to make her face burn if anyone noticed them.

She struggled to catch her breath, and a soft sound escaped her lips.

“Ah…”

His lips grew more urgent. One hand gripped her jaw, tilting her face upward as his mouth descended on her neck with a hunger she’d never known. He sucked and nipped at her skin in rough, greedy strokes, tongue slipping over bruised spots before biting again. Beneath Maverick, she became a trembling, breathless mess.

When she could barely gasp, he shifted his focus to her shirt. As if unwrapping a long-awaited gift, he unbuttoned it one stud at a time in swift, eager motions. The fabric fell away, exposing skin still marked by last night’s kisses. Without missing a beat, he returned to those bruises, his mouth trailing fresh heat across them before gliding down her ribs and collarbone.

At her breasts, his gaze darkened with desire. She sought his eyes but found only his ravenous attention on her curves. Shame rushed her cheeks, and she lifted her hands to hide herself. He caught her wrist, pinning it above her head, thumb brushing her palm, and whispered raspily in her ear: “Keep your hands there. They won’t stop me from kissing you. If they do, I’ll have to tie you up—and I won’t be this gentle.”

Their eyes locked—her confusion mirrored in his. She wondered when he’d ever been “gentle.” Then he bent down again, lavishing one breast after the other with hungry kisses and suckling strokes. Each touch sent delicious shivers through her, his fervent exploration driving her need to heights she never imagined she could reach.

His gaze pinned her down, dark and unblinking, before his mouth descended. He took her in—every curve, every breath—then closed over the swell of her breast. One, then the other, back again, teasing the soft flesh with his tongue, his lips, the scrape of teeth.

Rose arched beneath him, trembling, her body answering his hunger with a heat she hadn’t known she could bear.

His hand slid down her thigh, pulling her leg wide as he settled between her hips, his weight pressing her into the couch. His mouth never left her skin—kissing, licking, tasting—while his hips rocked against hers, the friction maddening.

He avoided the peaks of her breasts, though she could feel how badly he wanted them, how his restraint was fraying. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her fingers twisting in the fabric of his shirt as his lips trailed lower, over the dip of her belly, into the hollow of her navel.

Her shirt had fallen open, buttons undone, and now his mouth was everywhere—licking, sucking, leaving damp trails and the faintest bites, each one sending a jolt through her. She could only feel him: the heat of his skin against hers, the wet press of his tongue, the sharp sting of his teeth, the way his body moved against her like he was memorizing every inch.

He eagerly devoured her skin, his mouth trailing up the swell of her breasts over and over again.

Impatience bubbled within her, and she finally blurted, “Why aren’t you taking my nipple in your mouth?”

Her tone blended frustration with pleasure, a tantalizing sensation so close yet just out of reach, leaving her delirious.

He lifted his head to meet her gaze, a mark of desire etched on his face. His thumb grazed her nipple, flicking her left one before twisting it gently between his index finger and thumb. Locking eyes with her, he brushed against her other breast, sensing her growing impatience.

“Please,” she urged, her voice a soft plea.

Chapter 7 Zoe, Your Brother Is Terrifying!

He dipped down again, his mouth enveloping her breast, teasingly avoiding the other before returning to it, lavishing attention on both.

The teasing became unbearable; her need intensified as he held her captive in the moment. Breathless with pleasure, she grasped his head with both hands, pulling him down to her breast with a force that surprised even him.

This time, he didn’t hesitate; he drew her nipple into his mouth. A sharp gasp escaped her lips, filled with raw pleasure as his mouth wrapped around her, drawing forth a breathless sigh.

He was starving, his mouth trailing down to her stomach before moving lower, exploring her body with an insatiable hunger. She gasped, struggling to catch her breath as his hand glided from her hips to her small waist, squeezing tightly before sliding up to her chest.

He flicked her nipple with his thumb, then reached around to the back of her head, lifting her chin as he pressed his mouth against her skin again and again, his tongue flicking over her, igniting shivers that coursed through her body. He wouldn’t let her escape; he was relentless in his pursuit of pleasure.

His grip tightened around her, holding her arms back as his lips danced over her body, eliciting a mix of ticklish delight and overwhelming pleasure. As he lowered himself to her breasts and then back down to her stomach, she breathed heavily, trembling under his touch.

His mouth slipped down to her panties, and she felt his fingers teasing the elastic before pulling it down. It took little effort for him to lift her hips with one hand, sliding her panties down to her knees and then to her ankles, tossing them aside carelessly. He held both of her legs firmly, settling them comfortably, his eyes filled with desire as he gazed at the woman of his dreams, bare beneath him except for his open shirt, her skin glistening with his saliva.

The wild intensity in his gaze left her breathless, her face flushed and heart racing. He leaned down, kissing along her knees and down her thighs, his tongue flicking over her repeatedly before trailing between her legs, leaving soft kisses that ignited her senses. His mouth explored her body with a ravenous hunger, making her gasp as her body quaked with pleasure.

“Ah…” She cried out, feeling unsteady as he lavished attention on her most sensitive areas, his tongue wrapping around her nerves, flicking over and over again with fervor.

The pleasure surged through her, leaving her shaking and breathless. His hands roamed over her thighs while one slid up to her breasts, where he flicked her nipple with his thumb, rolling it gently between his fingers. His mouth worked tirelessly on her bundle of nerves, while his other hand gripped her hip, holding her steady, refusing to let her move.

“Mmmhmm…” She was trying not to scream, but the more she stifled her voice, the more intense it became. Pleasure surged through her, so overwhelmingly good that she felt utterly controlled.

He held her down, his hand pressed firmly against her body to keep her still as she attempted to move her hips, but he would not allow it. His tongue slid inside her like a serpent before retreating, only to return and tease her sensitive nub.

“Oh my God!” Rose cried out as waves of pleasure crashed over her with an intensity she had never known; her back arched, but he didn’t relent. Instead, he pinned her down as she struggled to manage the pleasure coursing through her body.

He increased the pressure of his tongue, devouring her. She trembled and gasped, but he wouldn’t let go; his ministrations intensified, rendering her completely consumed by ecstasy until he finally released her.

Breathless, she fought to contain herself, but it was impossible. He was insatiable, and she was overwhelmed with pleasure, her body shaking and quaking, entirely at his mercy.

He was shameless as he leaned closer, his voice low and commanding. “If you keep trying to push me away, I’ll tie you down to the dinner table and feast on you the way I want, without interruption.”

The seriousness in his tone startled her, and the very thought sent a thrill through her, making her feel less opposed to the idea as her pleasure intensified.

Completely at his mercy, she felt his mouth return, his gaze focused on her as she teetered on the brink of her orgasm, trembling uncontrollably. He moved down to her stomach, licking her again, before finding her nipples. She shook under his touch, and he seemed wild with desire.

His fingers slid between her legs, finding her warmth and slipping inside her. As he thrust in and out with impatient urgency, it was as if he knew she was on the edge of madness.

“Oh my fucking God…”

When a cry escaped her lips, he continued to work her with his fingers, while her hands tangled in the back of his hair, desperately trying to control the sensations overwhelming her breasts. Pleasure coursed through her body, making it impossible to take even one breath without feeling it. She tried to hold back her screams, but they burst forth uncontrollably.

“Maverick,” she cried out as the pleasure intensified to such an overwhelming sensation that she was completely at his mercy.

He moved to the other side of her breast, his tongue flicking the nipple over and over again before his fingers slid inside her, thrusting in and out over and over, and then the tips of his fingers curled as they reached the spot inside her that was swollen and rubbed it.

“AH! Hahhhhh…”

A scream tore from her throat as a shock of pleasure seized her. Her body arched, clenching around his fingers as she came. The intensity was suffocating, a blinding wave that stole her breath, but his touch remained relentless, circling the same slick, oversensitive spot without mercy.

Her hand shot down to grab his wrist to hold him back, but he didn’t let up—his other hand, the one that had been holding her back, immediately began thrusting fingers in and out of her, and his fingers rubbed the spot inside her as he worked it again, and that filled her with another pleasure-filled wave against his fingers within seconds.

“Ohhh… Hah… ahhhh…”

She cried out as her body trembled and shook.

He finally took mercy on her. He let go of her breast and finally removed his fingers from inside her. She was still breathing hard as the pleasure coursed through her body in waves.

Maverick was trying to hold himself back. He unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down to his knees impatiently before reaching over to her, and then grabbing her by the waist as he lifted her at once and settled her over him with impatience and hunger.

His grip on her was firm, his arousal stood thick, rigid, jutting between them as he gazed down at himself, then back at her.

“Now it’s your turn to take care of me, baby,” he murmured, his stare burning into her.

But her body still hummed from what he’d just done, every nerve tender, oversensitive. She couldn’t look away from him— from the way he pulsed, the glistening bead at the tip betraying just how much he wanted her.

It was a thick, hard shaft, and she could already envision how it would feel inside her.

The memory of intense pleasure lingered, a sensation she struggled to shake off, driving her wild.

She fought to maintain composure, but his grip on her hips tightened, pulling her closer as he commanded her attention.

“Look at my cock, Rose,” he said, his voice raspy. “I clearly can’t wait anymore. Fuck me. Take it inside; I promise it will feel good.”

His hand moved between her legs, his thumb flicking expertly against her, eliciting a gasp that escaped her lips as her forehead pressed against his shoulder. The pleasure coursed through her, leaving her utterly at his mercy.

He guided her hips down onto his swollen shaft, hard and ready for her. With no choice but to obey, she sank down slowly, feeling the thick rod slide inside her completely. It filled her in a way that sent waves of deep pleasure rippling through her. She struggled to breathe, swallowing hard around him, her mouth working instinctively.

He maintained his grip on her hip as her mouth trailed up to the side of his throat. Her tongue danced over his skin, tasting him as she licked and bit, trying desperately to stifle her cries. But the urgency in his movements made it nearly impossible. He tilted his head back, granting her a moment of control, power surging through her as she sucked eagerly. She repeated the action, lost in delirious pleasure, her body trembling as he encouraged her, pushing her further into ecstasy.

She began to move slowly, allowing him to guide her rhythm. He made her slide out before pulling her back down again. Pleasure painted her face as she surrendered to every sensation, her mouth exploring his throat while his head fell back, exposing more of his rough skin to her eager tongue.

Her hand clung to his shoulder as she lifted her head, then sank down again, repeating the motion over and over. Her body responded beautifully, but he struggled to maintain control. His fists clenched tightly around the back of the couch, gripping it with a fierce determination that tested his limits. As she took charge, sliding slowly in and out of his mouth, he felt the tension build within him.

Growing impatient, he seized her hips firmly in his palms and, in an instant, took control. “Rose, I can’t wait any longer,” he declared, his voice thick with urgency.

She gasped as he thrust his hard, thick shaft—veins pulsing—into her. His hands gripped her hips, guiding her down forcefully onto him again and again before lifting her up only to pull her back down. He dominated her body, the pleasure overwhelming her senses, driving her wild. She cried out, her voice trembling as she surrendered completely to his rhythm.

With a hunger that surged through him, he lifted her and slammed her down once more. Within moments, she was lost in a haze of ecstasy, her mouth trailing along his neck. It wasn’t painful for him; instead, it fueled his desire. His other hand cradled the back of her head, guiding her movements as she explored his skin, shifting from one spot to another with fervor. She was breathless, overwhelmed by the waves of pleasure coursing through her. As she yielded to his control, he growled, feeling her walls tighten around him, holding him in a soft, tight grip.

“Mmmhmmm…”

Rose’s face nestled into his neck with a delirious cry as she struggled to hold her breath, growing increasingly impatient with each lift and drop he orchestrated. Each movement heightened her pleasure, sending shivers coursing through her body. The intensity of the sensations flooding her veins was overwhelming, driving her to the brink of madness.

As she became more delirious, she attempted to lift herself away from his lap, but he flipped their positions, laying her back on the couch. He climbed on top of her, remaining deep inside her, trusting and relentless in his rhythm. She felt as though he was pushing her to the edge within minutes, the depth of his thrusts growing more intense with each passing moment.

“Hah… ahmmmm…” Her breath turned harsh and ragged as she fought to regain control, but he drove into her again and again, making it impossible for her to catch her breath.

His body pressed against hers, holding her tightly as he moved with a rough urgency. Waves of pleasure crashed over her, and she shivered uncontrollably, reaching another peak as she tightened around him, losing herself completely in the ecstasy he unleashed within her. She tried to stifle the cries threatening to escape her lips, but his impatience only fueled the fire within them both. Finally, she gasped for breath, her heart pounding fiercely in her chest, each beat further igniting her desire.

For a brief moment, he paused, his face buried in her neck, taking a second to savor the connection. His tongue traced a path along her throat, teasingly moving up to her ear before sliding back down, licking her skin with fervor. She felt breathless, her impatience mounting as he continued his exploration.

His mouth traveled from one side of her collarbone to the other, biting and kissing without relent. As he descended further, his shaft slipped out of her momentarily, just long enough for him to sink his teeth into her breast, igniting another wave of sensation that left her craving more.

Once again, she gasped sharply as her chest arched upward, her nipple sinking deeper into his mouth. His tongue swirled around the peak, teasing and tantalizing before he released it, moving to the other one. He continued to lick and suck, his mouth exploring every inch of her breast.

Waves of pleasure filled her entire body, sending tingles shooting down her spine, leaving her breathless. That sensation was enough to elicit a growl from her throat as he slid inside her again.

He grunted, “Just once more.”

He thrust into her again, the intensity overwhelming her senses.

“Mmhhhhh….” Each thrust made her tremble, and the harder she tried to hold on, the more the pleasure intensified, causing her to quiver uncontrollably. It didn’t take long for her to reach her peak.

As he slid inside her, his mouth clamped onto her nipple, simultaneously thrusting deeply and quickly. The rhythm was maddening, his hard shaft driving in and out of her with relentless speed. He was pushing her to the brink, but that wasn’t enough for him. It was as if he had lost control over both his mind and body, completely consumed by the need to bring her to ecstasy.

Pleasure surged within Rose, overwhelming her completely.

Maverick shifted, getting onto his knees, then pulled her up into his arms. He carried her around the couch, placing her gently on the ground with her feet planted firmly while her hands gripped the back of the couch. Her hips arched as his hand found her stomach from behind, and then he entered her slowly.

“Hah…!” A breath escaped her lips as she fought to maintain her voice, but this time it shattered into a loud cry that echoed in the room. “Oh God!”

Her head fell back against the couch as he thrust deeply inside her, sending tremors through her body. His movements became rough and impatient, as though he had lost all control. He thrust in and out of her at a maddening speed, the tip of him hitting the deepest parts of her before pulling out again, only to plunge back inside.

Rose felt herself becoming unsteady, her body quaking and surrendering to him as she gasped for breath.

He wasn’t letting her go; his hands roamed from her stomach down to between her legs, brushing aside the petals that concealed her most sensitive spot.

He began teasing her with his fingers while continuing to thrust, and Rose whimpered, her knees buckling as she nearly fell.

But Maverick held her steady, his other hand gripping her waist to keep her upright. He continued to take her with fervor, each powerful thrust sending her closer to the edge. She could feel her release building within her, but he didn’t relent, increasing his pace until she was on the verge of passing out. Only then did he finally ease his grip, cradling her against his chest.

Her head fell back onto his shoulder, and he held her tightly, one hand around her stomach and the other around her throat, pressing her to him as he continued his rough, continuous strokes.

She struggled to hold her breath, her chest aching as she teetered on the brink of losing herself completely. He was in complete control, and she was utterly at his mercy. With every thrust, he drove deeper, pushing her body to its limits. She no longer tried to stand; he held her up, and all she felt was pleasure coursing through her veins, so intense that it stole her breath away.

Just as she reached another peak, she sensed his body tense, his thrusts becoming rougher and more urgent. Finally, they both came together, and she fell against him, drifting toward unconsciousness. He lifted her and carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed.

She heard him whisper, “We need to increase your stamina. How can you pass out in such a short time?”

Even in her dazed state, she found his amusement irritating. He chuckled softly, the sound sending another wave of sensation through her, before pulling the blanket from the bed and draping it over her.

***

Rose had just finished the food on her plate when the doorbell rang.

She was still wearing the shirt Maverick had given her, although she had already taken a bath. She had asked him about her clothes earlier, but he had told her they would arrive later, leaving her with no choice but to continue wearing his shirts until then.

The sudden sound of the doorbell made her look toward the entrance in surprise, and she started to rise from her chair.

Maverick immediately stood as well. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently but firmly pressed her back into the chair.

“Are you going to open the door looking like this?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

Rose glanced down at herself and then back at him. She opened her mouth to argue, but one look at his expression made her reconsider. With a quiet huff, she settled back into her chair.

That seemed to satisfy him.

Maverick turned and headed toward the front door. Curious, Rose waited only a moment before getting to her feet and following him into the living room. She stayed a few steps behind, already prepared to make a quick escape back to the bedroom if the visitor turned out to be someone she didn't know.

Just as she reached the middle of the room, Maverick opened the front door.

He stepped outside for a moment before turning and walking back into the house.

Rose leaned slightly to the side to see who was behind him.

Her eyes widened.

Zoe hurried inside.

The moment the door closed behind her, the automatic lock engaged with a soft beep.

“Rose!” Zoe exclaimed, happiness flashing across her face as soon as she saw her friend. She took a quick step forward, clearly ready to rush over to her.

Then she noticed Maverick.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

Maverick walked over and came to stand beside Rose, his hands slipping casually into his pockets.

Zoe walked farther into the room until she was standing directly in front of them. She looked between Rose and Maverick, confusion written all over her face.

“What is going on?”

Rose helplessly lowered her voice. “Even I don’t know how it happened.” She gestured down at herself, the state of her clothing making it obvious that something had happened between her and Maverick.

Zoe froze.

She stared at Rose, then at her brother, unable to process the fact that her best friend had slept with her brother. The shock left her completely speechless for several seconds before she finally turned toward Maverick.

“Can you please let Rose go? It was a mistake. You can’t get angry at her for it. You’re the bigger person, so please don’t get angry with her.”

Maverick raised an eyebrow.

“Let her go?” he repeated.

Zoe immediately felt a familiar wave of fear. Although there were only five years between them, Maverick had always behaved like the overprotective older brother who could scare the living daylights out of her while still protecting her like a parent.

Seeing the expression on his face, she awkwardly laughed and hurried to defend Rose.

“I mean… she was just… you know, something bad happened to her last night. That’s why she made a mistake and went into the wrong room. It was an accident. Just take it as a silly mistake and don’t punish her.”

She looked at Rose with concern before turning back to Maverick.

“She looks terrified. If you punish her, you’ll only scare her even more. Please, just let her go. Her dad must already be worried about her by now. She should be home.”

Maverick pulled his hands from his pockets and looked at Zoe.

“Let her go?” he repeated again, his voice calm.

He paused for a moment before adding, “I married her. She’s my wife now.”

Zoe’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in disbelief. “You gave her this big of a punishment for one night’s mistake?”

Rose immediately nodded, unexpectedly relieved that someone had finally understood how overwhelmed she felt. For once, she wasn’t the only one who thought Maverick’s reaction was excessive.

Maverick noticed her agreement with Zoe, and his expression darkened.

Without taking his eyes off Rose, he reached out and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her firmly against his side.

“It was a mistake, Mrs. Bishop?” he asked, one eyebrow raising.

His displeased gaze remained fixed on her as he leaned closer to her neck.

“Then let me remind you just how serious a mistake you made.”

The moment he lowered his head toward her neck, memories of the previous night and that morning rushed through Rose’s mind. She immediately raised a hand to cover her neck, instinctively trying to protect herself from him.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she blurted out quickly. “I was just joking. We’re best friends!”

Maverick didn’t look convinced, but he eventually pulled back. His expression remained stern as his eyes searched hers, the intensity of his gaze making Rose stiffen despite herself.

She tried to hold his stare, but the longer he looked at her, the more nervous she became.

Just then, his phone began ringing on the table.

Zoe quietly exhaled in relief. The interruption had come at exactly the right moment.

Maverick reached for his phone, glanced at the screen, and answered.

“Leo?”

Rose had seen Maverick with his personal secretary, Leo, many times over the years, so she immediately recognized the voice that came through the phone.

“Mr. Bishop, your private jet is ready, and I’ve arranged everything for your three-day business trip. The car is waiting outside to take you to the airport.”

Rose and Zoe exchanged a brief glance.

Maverick ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. When he turned back to Rose, his expression had already settled into its usual coldness.

“I need to leave the city for three days for work,” he told her. “It’s short notice, but I’ll be back soon. I’ve also arranged for your things to be brought here as soon as possible.”

Rose’s face immediately brightened.

The thought of having the man who had been driving her crazy, making her heart race, and pushing her to the brink of insanity out of the house for three whole days filled her with an almost overwhelming sense of relief.

She nodded eagerly.

“Then you should leave quickly so you can catch your flight. You shouldn’t be late. Whatever you have to do must be important.”

Her voice was far too enthusiastic.

Maverick’s eyes narrowed.

“You want to see me gone?”

One eyebrow lifted, and a threatening edge returned to his expression. He looked almost as though he were daring her to say yes—just so he could decide to stay and spend the next three days at home with her instead.

Rose’s confidence vanished.

“No!” she said quickly, her voice suddenly awkward. “That’s not what I meant.”

Maverick continued staring at her.

“I just meant…” She stumbled over her words before forcing a small smile. “You shouldn’t delay anything important. That’s all. If you leave early, you’ll come back early.”

She paused before adding more softly, “I’ll be waiting here for you.”

Something in Maverick’s expression softened.

His eyes lingered on her face, clearly pleased by her words. Then, without saying anything else, he leaned down and kissed her.

Rose startled.

The kiss was brief this time. Maverick didn’t linger or deepen it. His lips remained against hers for only a moment before he pulled away.

Then he turned and walked toward the door.

Rose and Zoe watched him disappear from view. A moment later, the front door closed behind him.

Silence settled over the house.

Rose and Zoe stared at each other.

Then Rose finally let out a helpless cry and collapsed against Zoe’s shoulder.

“Oh my God. I was scared out of my fucking mind. Your brother is so intimidating and scary. I can’t even tell you how terrified I was.”

Chapter 8 Jessica

Zoe immediately patted her back.

“I know. I know.”

She guided Rose toward the couch and helped her sit down before settling beside her.

Once they were comfortable, Rose finally began telling Zoe everything that had happened after she left the party.

She told her about the misunderstanding, about Josh, and about how she had somehow ended up in bed with Maverick instead.

She described how everything spiraled out of control, her heart racing as she recalled the events leading up to Zoe’s unexpected return, carefully omitting only the details of her second wild sex session with her brother that had taken place that morning.

Zoe sat there with a thoughtful look on her face, her brows drawn together as her eyes narrowed in concentration. She looked as though she were trying to piece together what the hell had gone wrong.

After a moment, she turned toward Rose.

“I keep wondering… who sent that photograph of you and my brother kissing to your dad?”

Rose blinked.

“Who the hell would stalk you, take a picture of you, and then send it to your father anonymously?” Zoe continued, clearly baffled. “And how did they even get your dad’s number? It’s not like he goes around giving it to random people. His number is extremely private. Hell, I don’t even have it. So how did someone just happen to have it and send him that photograph?”

Rose’s expression slowly changed.

“You mean someone is plotting against me?”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, her mind already racing through the possibilities.

Then, after a moment of thought, she lowered her voice.

“Is your brother behind this? Does he have some ulterior motive?”

Zoe stared at her for a second before immediately shaking her head.

“That’s not possible. My brother is very straightforward about what he wants. He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He doesn’t play shady games. If he wants something, he simply takes it.”

She paused, her brows knitting together as another thought crossed her mind.

“Unless…”

Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“Unless he really, really wants you.”

Zoe immediately fell silent.

A confused look settled over her face as she considered the possibility. But just as quickly, she dismissed it.

“No. There’s no way Maverick would do something like this.” She shook her head firmly. “Even if he can be wicked and cruel, he’s never been the type to resort to something like this. If he wants something, he gets it. He doesn't scheme behind someone's back.”

Rose reached over and touched Zoe’s shoulder, pulling her back from her thoughts.

“I’m not going to let this go,” Rose said firmly. “Someone took a photograph of me without my knowledge and captured your brother and me kissing in a photograph. Then they sent it to my dad. Whoever did this knows enough about me to know exactly what would happen if my dad saw it.”

Her eyes narrowed with determination.

“I need to know who’s behind this. And I need you to help me find out. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

Zoe immediately nodded in agreement.

“Of course we will.”

Her expression hardened.

“We’ll find out who did this, and we’ll kick his ass!”

***

Ivan was drowning his frustration in alcohol.

He sat at a table surrounded by a group of friends, bottles and glasses scattered across the surface. Terrence sat beside him, watching as Ivan downed beer after beer.

Ivan was already heavily drunk, but he showed no intention of stopping.

One of his friends finally leaned toward him.

“Ivan, what happened to the cars that were burned down at your house? Did you find any clue about who did it?”

Ivan glanced at him before taking another drink.

“No. I haven’t found out who did it yet.”

His voice was strangely flat, as though the matter barely mattered to him.

Adam, who was sitting across from him, frowned.

“What are you talking about? Those cars were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of them were worth millions. You’ve already lost a fortune. Didn’t the police find anything?”

“Yeah, the cars are already burned down,” Ivan replied casually. “There’s no value left in them anymore. I guess it’ll be sorted out in a few days.”

Adam stared at him in disbelief.

Then he turned toward Brian, who was sitting beside him, and leaned closer.

“Brian, don’t you think his reaction is a little underwhelming?”

Brian glanced toward Ivan.

“His cars were literally the most important things in the world to him,” Adam whispered. “He cherished them so much that he barely even let us touch them. And now they’ve been burned to a crisp, and he’s acting like it’s nothing. What the hell is going on with him?”

Brian nodded slowly.

“He wouldn’t even let us sit in the passenger seat of those cars before. Now they’re gone, and he barely reacts.”

Adam glanced toward Ivan again.

“Is he really that happy about Jessica coming back? Has everything else just stopped mattering to him?”

The two exchanged puzzled looks before Adam turned toward Terrence.

“Are you guys actually going to dig deeper into this? Those cars were worth millions. What happened? Did you and Ivan try to find out who burned them down? Wasn’t there CCTV footage?”

Terrence sighed.

“There is. But the cameras are connected to the surrounding apartments too, so we need special permissions and have to go through all the legal procedures before we can access the footage. It’s taking some time, but we should have it soon.”

“So it won’t be long?” Adam asked.

“It shouldn’t be.”

Adam nodded, satisfied.

“Of course it won’t. Those cars were incredibly important to Ivan. There’s no way he’s going to let this go.”

He glanced toward Ivan and gave a knowing smile.

“Once we find out who did it, I bet you’re going to make their life a living hell.”

Ivan didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up another full glass of whiskey.

He picked it up and took a long swallow, letting the burn spread down his throat. He said nothing, simply continued drinking, his expression dark and cold.

At the same time, Zoe stormed into the club.

Her heels struck the floor in quick, furious beats as she marched past the bartender. Without even breaking stride, she snatched a tall glass of beer from the counter and headed straight for the private seating area in the center of the room.

Zoe rounded the back of the couch and, without hesitation, tipped the entire glass over Ivan’s head.

Beer drenched his hair and streamed down the side of his face.

Ivan froze.

For one stunned second, the entire table went silent.

Then he shot to his feet.

“What the fuck?”

His chair scraped violently across the floor as he spun around, fury flashing across his face.

“What the fuck is going on?”

He dragged a hand through his soaked hair, wiping the whiskey from his face as he stared at Zoe in disbelief.

Zoe stepped around the couch until she stood directly in front of him.

Without breaking eye contact, she tossed the empty glass onto the floor.

Crash!

The glass shattered, fragments scattering across the polished floor.

Ivan instinctively stepped back.

His three friends jolted to their feet, startled by the sudden confrontation. Terrence was the first to find his voice.

“Zoe?” he demanded, staring at her in confusion. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Ivan’s anger only intensified. His jaw clenched as he glared at her, whiskey dripping from his hair onto his expensive shirt.

“Have you lost your damn mind?”

Zoe scoffed, her breath coming out sharply as she stared at Ivan, fury burning in her eyes.

“How dare you slap Rose?”

Her voice cracked through the private room.

“Did you even think about what you were doing before you lost your fucking mind?” she demanded, her anger rising with every word. She stood directly in front of him, her face twisted with disgust as she glared at him.

For a moment, Ivan said nothing. His eyes hardened, his jaw tightening as his own anger began to rise.

“You’re such a fucking asshole,” Zoe snapped. “You don’t deserve any happiness in your life. I hope you never get married. A two-timing rat like you has no business marrying someone else.”

She took a furious breath, refusing to let him interrupt.

“I hope you end up alone, because you don’t deserve to have anyone by your side. You’re a disgusting human being. I thought you were just an asshole, but it turns out you’re a fucking loser too.”

Her voice shook with rage.

“How could you slap Rose?”

Ivan’s expression darkened.

“Watch yourself, Zoe.”

“Or what?”

His jaw clenched.

“This is between me and Rose. None of you have anything to do with what happens between us.”

Zoe let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

“There is nothing between you and her anymore. The moment you put your hands on her, you crossed a line. You don’t get to slap her and then expect everyone else to sit back and pretend it’s none of their business.”

She stepped closer, her eyes blazing.

“Don’t forget that you’re not the only person in her life. Rose has people who love her. She has people who will stand up for her. And that slap you put across her face is going to have consequences, whether you like it or not.”

Ivan stared at her, his expression hard.

“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

Zoe's eyes widened in disbelief.

“Are you fucking serious?”

Her voice rose again.

“I thought you were just angry and venting when I heard about it, but you’re actually sitting here acting like you did nothing wrong. You haven’t even apologized!”

“She did something wrong,” Ivan snapped. “That’s why she was punished.”

Zoe stared at him as if she could barely believe what she was hearing.

“Punished?”

She laughed bitterly.

“You actually think you had the right to punish her?”

Ivan’s expression remained cold.

“It was her fault. She broke something important to me. She knew exactly what she was doing.”

Zoe shook her head, disgust written plainly across her face.

“You know what? You are not an asshole. No. You are a fucking abuser!”

Ivan dropped onto the couch, his face icy, breathing heavily with fury burning through his veins.

No one in the room had expected Ivan to ever hit Rose. Even though it had always been obvious that his heart belonged to Jessica Morgan, Rose had still been the woman he was supposed to marry. Yet now he had slapped her and seemed to have no remorse whatsoever.

Ivan leaned back, his expression hardening.

“Think whatever you want. I don’t give a damn about your opinion. She’ll come back to me on her own,” he said dismissively. “She knows it was her fault. She broke something important to me. I lost my temper. That’s all.”

Zoe stared at him for a long moment.

Then she let out a disbelieving laugh.

“You really think she’s going to come back to you?”

Ivan said nothing, but the confidence in his expression made his answer obvious.

Zoe let out a bitter laugh.

“Keep dreaming, Ivan Carrington.”

Her voice dropped, each word turning colder.

“She’s not going to need your fucking apology anymore. So don’t bother wasting your breath. She already has a husband who loves her.”

She remained standing in front of him, her eyes fixed on his with open disdain.

“She doesn’t need an asshole like you for a husband anyway.”

Terrence, Brian, and Adam all froze.

Their expressions shifted to shock as they exchanged stunned looks. Ivan’s head snapped toward Zoe, the color draining from his face as her words finally sank in.

Zoe noticed his reaction and gave a bitter laugh.

“Did you really think she was going to keep waiting for you?” she asked, shaking her head. “How stupid do you have to be to believe Rose is going to come back to you after you hit her? Don’t worry about it. She’s never coming back.”

Ivan scoffed, quickly masking his shock with irritation.

“How long are you going to keep lying for her?” he demanded. “Aren’t you tired of making up one ridiculous story after another? Listen to yourself. Anyone can see through you, Zoe.”

Zoe stared at him as though he had just said something unbelievably stupid.

Then she scoffed.

“She’s already married.”

Ivan’s expression tightened.

“She’s married to a man who is a thousand times better than you, and while you sit here convinced she’ll come crawling back, she’ll be moving on with her life. You’re going to spend the rest of your life regretting the moment you lost her.”

Her voice hardened.

“Rose is a fucking angel, and I’m glad she’s finally free from a monster like you.”

Zoe pulled out her phone, opened a photograph, and thrust the screen toward him.

“Look. Whose name is this?”

Ivan stared at the image.

It was a photograph of a marriage certificate. Rose’s name was clearly visible in it, while the husband’s name, date, and other identifying details had been deliberately blurred.

“This is her marriage certificate,” Zoe said firmly. “You can see her name right there.”

Ivan’s expression hardened.

“I could print a fake certificate like that in five minutes.”

Zoe stared at him as if he were an idiot.

“Something fake like this?”

She reached into her bag and pulled out the engagement ring Ivan had given Rose.

She tossed it directly at his chest.

The ring bounced off him and landed in his lap.

“She doesn’t need this anymore.”

Zoe’s eyes narrowed.

“Keep your fake promises, your fake ring, and your fake relationship. Just stay away from her. You don’t deserve her.”

She turned on her heel and stormed out without waiting for his response.

Ivan remained frozen for a moment, his anger slowly boiling over.

Then he let out a furious laugh.

“Rose is never going to change. There’s always some fucking drama with her. She just wants me to give in first. This is another one of her stupid tricks to piss me off.”

Terrence stared at him.

“Are you really sure it’s just drama?”

Ivan’s expression tightened.

“What else would it be?”

“What if it’s true?” Terrence asked. “What if she really got married?”

Ivan said nothing.

“And even if it isn’t true, you still slapped Rose,” Terrence continued. “You should be trying to make things right with her instead of sitting here acting like you did nothing wrong. Are you seriously not going to admit your mistake?”

Ivan looked frustrated, almost incredulous.

“No.”

He leaned back against the couch, his arrogance returning.

“Rose was the one who had a crush on me first. She’s the one who can’t live without me—not the other way around. She’ll come back once she realizes I’m not going to bow to her.”

Before anyone could respond, a figure appeared beyond the privacy surrounding their seating area.

Everyone turned toward the figure.

Jessica stepped inside.

She was dressed in a low-cut red dress that hugged her curves, her appearance clearly chosen for a night at the club. She walked toward them with a confident smile before taking a seat beside Ivan.

“Why is everyone so gloomy?” she asked lightly.

Adam, Brian, and Terrence exchanged uncomfortable glances. A heavy silence settled over the group.

Jessica seemed oblivious to it.

She slipped her arm through Ivan’s and leaned comfortably against him before looking around with a sweet smile.

“Where’s Rose? Hasn’t she come over yet?”

Terrence’s eyes dropped to Jessica’s arm wrapped around Ivan’s.

The sight clearly disgusted him.

He looked at Ivan, his expression hardening.

“Are you really going to keep acting like this?” he asked. “One day, you’re going to regret all these decisions when it’s too late. You don’t even seem to have any boundaries anymore.”

Anger flashed across his face.

Before Ivan could respond, Terrence turned and stormed away.

Jessica watched him leave, her eyebrows drawing together with quiet curiosity. She seemed to wonder what had gotten into him, but after a moment, she turned back toward Ivan.

He looked tense.

Jessica immediately brightened, putting on a cheerful smile as though nothing had happened.

“So, are we having a party for me tonight?” she asked, giving his arm a playful shake. “We haven’t had an all-night party since I came back.”

She tugged his arm again, this time more insistently.

Ivan didn’t smile.

His expression remained tight and distant, as though he hadn’t even heard her.

Jessica moved closer, pressing herself against his arm.

Ivan slammed his glass onto the table.

“Not today,” he said, his voice strained. “We’ll do it next time.”

He removed her hand from his arm and rose abruptly from the couch.

Without another word, he walked away.

Behind him, Jessica’s pleasant expression vanished.

Frustration twisted across her face. She clenched her hands in her lap, gritted her teeth, and sat there in simmering silence.

***

Outside a massive corporate building, a Mercedes waited at the curb.

Two impeccably dressed men descended the steps and headed toward the waiting car. People passing by couldn't help but glance in their direction, their attention drawn to the two striking men.

The driver immediately opened the rear door.

Maverick slid inside first, followed by Lucious, who entered from the opposite side. The driver shut the door, climbed into the front, and pulled away from the curb.

Within moments, the Mercedes disappeared into the stream of traffic.

“This deal with the Hamingtons seems a little dodgy,” Lucious muttered, frowning down at the documents in his hands. “I think something is wrong with that guy. Wasn’t he being unusually pushy about including your newest product?”

Maverick barely responded.

He was scrolling through his phone, his attention fixed on the screen.

“Hm.”

That was all Lucious got.

He frowned and lowered the documents.

“What the hell are you so busy with? You’ve barely been paying attention to anything since we left Manhattan.”

Maverick continued staring at his phone.

Lucious studied him for a moment before asking, “You’re coming to the party tonight, right?”

“No.”

Maverick muttered.

For a brief second, disappointment crossed his face as he stared at the empty message screen. There were no messages or calls from Rose.

He slipped the phone into his pocket and glanced at Lucious.

“I’ll fly home as soon as the deal is finalized. I have a wife now. I have to act like a family man.”

Lucious blinked.

“What?”

He lowered the files completely, turning toward Maverick with a confused expression.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m married.”

Maverick said it casually, as though he had just announced that he had bought a new car.

“My wife is waiting for me at home. You can attend the party.”

Lucious stared at him for several seconds before slamming the file onto the seat between them.

His body shifted toward Maverick, shock spreading across his face.

“Married?”

He repeated the word as though it made no sense.

“A wife? When the hell did that happen?”

“Rose.”

A smug smile spread across Maverick’s face.

Lucious froze.

“Rose?”

His eyebrows shot upward.

“Rose Monroe?”

Maverick’s smile widened.

Lucious stared at him in stunned silence for a moment before roughly his hand through his hair.

Then he looked back at Maverick.

“When?”

“The day after my business party.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lucious’s voice rose in disbelief. “Is that why you had me take that picture of you kissing her that night and send it to her father?”

Maverick remained silent, but his silence was enough to confirm Lucious’s suspicion.

Lucious let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head in disbelief as he settled deeper into his seat. After a moment, he turned his gaze back to Maverick.

“Aren’t you worried she’ll find out about your little tricks and divorce you?”

Maverick dismissed the concern with a cold look.

“She’s my wife now. If she gets upset, I’ll pacify her.”

His expression hardened, the amusement disappearing from his face.

“But after Ivan laid a hand on her, there was no way in hell I was going to let her go back to him.”

Lucious studied him for a moment before a knowing smile appeared.

“Is that why you told everyone we met today that anyone who does business with the Carringtons from now on will be ineligible to work with your company?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Trying to cut him off from all sides?”

“He deserves much worse.”

Maverick’s jaw tightened. His eyes turned cold as he looked at Lucious.

“He hit her.”

His voice dropped, each word carrying quiet fury.

“I’m going to fucking destroy him.”

Lucious let out a low scoff, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Looks like things are about to get brutal for the Carringtons.”

Chapter 9 I Won’t Be the Sacrificial Lamb

In Manhattan, winter had settled over the city.

Snow covered the streets and sidewalks, while the usual stream of luxury cars moved through the busy avenues. Rose eventually brought her car to a stop in front of Monroe Manor.

She stepped out and started toward the entrance.

But as she approached, she noticed an unfamiliar car parked near the driveway, along with a driver standing beside it.

Rose slowed.

Confusion flickered across her face.

Who was visiting their house?

She hurried toward the house and quietly stepped inside, immediately looking around for Oswald.

“Dad?”

Her voice echoed through the foyer.

She glanced around.

“Dad, where are you?”

She called again, but there was no answer.

Then movement from the sitting area caught her attention.

A figure rose from one of the couches.

Rose came to an abrupt stop.

Her eyes widened.

She knew the woman standing before her.

Maria Carrington.

Ivan’s mother.

For a moment, Rose could only stare at her, her entire body going rigid.

Maria, however, looked delighted to see her.

The instant their eyes met, her face brightened as though all her wishes had suddenly come true.

“Rose! Sweetheart!”

Maria immediately hurried toward her.

“I was just wondering when I would get to see you!”

Rose remained frozen, barely able to process the unexpected encounter.

Maria looked exactly as she always did—perfectly polished from head to toe. Her signature red lipstick was immaculate, and a few carefully styled strands of hair framed her forehead. She wore an expensive, perfectly tailored outfit that complemented her figure, while a designer handbag rested against her arm.

Maria Carrington had always been meticulous about her appearance in society. Even at home, she was perfectly dressed in clothes that complemented her figure and reflected the wealth of the Carrington family. Rose had never seen her look anything less than flawless, and today was no exception.

“I came to meet your father about something important, but unfortunately, he wasn’t here,” Maria continued as she gently took Rose’s hands into hers. She held them affectionately, smiling brightly. “I thought I would wait for him to come home, but it turns out you came home first. Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you, but I couldn’t reach you.”

Rose’s shoulders finally began to relax as the initial shock wore off. She offered Maria a hesitant smile.

“I was just a little busy, Mrs. Carrington. How are you?”

“I’m fine, dear.”

A flicker of tension crossed Maria’s face before she lowered her voice.

“I heard about what happened between you and Ivan.”

Her smile faded.

She reached for Rose’s arm and gently guided her toward the seating area.

“Come. Sit with me.”

Rose followed her, but instead of sitting beside Maria, she gently freed her arm and took a seat across from her in a single armchair.

Maria looked slightly uncomfortable with the distance between them but didn't comment.

“It was a mistake,” she said, her voice becoming more serious. “You know Ivan. He would never normally raise his hand against anyone. This must have been the first time, right?”

Rose studied her carefully, tension returning to her expression. She clasped her hands together in her lap before answering.

“Yes. It was the first time.”

Her voice hardened slightly.

“And it will be the last time he ever gets the chance to do it.”

Maria’s body stiffened.

The smile disappeared from her face completely, and a crease formed between her brows.

“Come on, Rose. Don’t be like this.”

She leaned forward.

“You know it was just a moment of anger. Can’t you forgive him? Mistakes happen in relationships. He won’t dare do it again. I’ll make sure of it. He’ll never raise his hand against you again—not even his voice.”

Maria looked at Rose with a mixture of expectation and hope.

“You two love each other. Surely you understand that mistakes can happen sometimes. Don’t let one mistake destroy something so important. Ivan really cares about you. He loves you, Rose. What happened was simply a terrible moment.”

Rose stared at her for a long moment.

Then she shook her head.

“Yes, but it did happen.”

Her voice remained calm.

“He slapped me. I don't care if it was the first time. I will make sure it never happens again.”

Maria’s expression tightened.

“That’s why I’ve already ended things with him,” Rose continued. “I won’t give him another chance.”

Maria looked increasingly uncomfortable with Rose’s bluntness. It was becoming clear that Rose wasn’t going to be as easily persuaded as she had expected.

Maria had always recognized Rose’s value, perhaps even more than Ivan did. She knew Rose was kind, understanding, and easy to reason with. She was the sort of woman who could be persuaded without much difficulty, who would listen instead of making a scene, and who was quick to forgive and make peace.

To Maria, Rose was practically perfect wife material. Especially because she was the only daughter of a wealthy man. Maria knew that, as Rose’s husband, Ivan would eventually have a claim to everything Rose inherited from her father. That made Rose’s value to Maria far greater than just being a good wife.

“Rose, you’re both young. You know how boys are. They have testosterone. They can be hot-blooded. Sometimes things happen in a moment of anger. He never meant to hurt you. I’m sure he regrets it.”

She leaned forward, her voice softening as she tried to reason with her.

“You shouldn’t let one decision made on impulse affect your entire life. You two love each other. Don’t throw away all that love because of one incident. You’ve been together for so long, and you’re supposed to get married. Why not give him another chance?”

Rose’s expression didn’t change.

She remained calm and composed, her face almost indifferent as she listened to Maria. When the older woman finally finished, Rose met her gaze with quiet confidence.

“Mrs. Carrington, I know you love your son. But I’m not making this decision on impulse. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I know what I want.”

She paused, making sure Maria understood every word.

“And what I want is not to have Ivan as my husband. Please accept that this is my decision. It’s final, and I’m not going to change my mind.”

Maria’s expression tightened.

“I don’t love Ivan more than I love myself,” Rose continued, her voice steady despite the emotion tightening her chest. “I’m not going to be a sacrificial lamb, constantly tolerating his demands and enduring his anger every time he loses control.”

Her voice remained steady.

“If this happened once, I have no reason to believe it would never happen again. A man who is naturally hot-blooded isn’t going to magically change just because he marries me. I’m not going to gamble my future on the hope that he will.”

Rose shook her head.

“I don’t want that kind of man as my husband. And honestly, I hope no other woman ever has to experience what I did.”

Maria’s face fell.

For a moment, she looked as though Rose had slapped her.

She had come expecting Oswald to be the one who had canceled the engagement. She had assumed Rose was still willing to marry Ivan and that the decision had been taken out of her hands.

But after speaking to Rose, Maria finally understood.

Rose was the one determined to end the relationship.

And she wasn't going to change her mind.

The Carrington family was already suffering from the canceled business deals, and now Maria realized just how serious the situation had become. Rose wasn’t simply angry with Ivan. She was determined to walk away from him for good.

The shame on Maria’s face was impossible to hide. She was clearly embarrassed by her son’s actions, but she struggled to find the words to express it.

Rose finally rose to her feet.

“I’m not going to forgive him, Mrs. Carrington.”

Maria opened her mouth, clearly preparing to try once more to persuade her with gentle words, but Rose had already made up her mind.

Before Maria could say anything else, Troy appeared from the hallway beside the kitchen. He had been quietly listening to the entire conversation, and the determination in Rose’s voice brought a small, approving smile to his face.

“Troy, please escort Mrs. Carrington out of the house,” Rose instructed.

Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

Troy approached Maria with his usual polite demeanor.

“Mrs. Carrington, please allow me to walk you back to your car.”

Maria had little choice but to follow him.

***

After picking up a few things from her room, Rose returned downstairs. She stepped into the living room and looked around before asking, “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s at work, Miss Rose,” Troy answered. “If you’d like, you can go to his company and see him. Would you like me to call his assistant?”

“No, that’s fine. I was just asking.” Rose shook her head. “I don’t have anything important to talk to him about. I’m going to leave now.”

She glanced at Troy.

“Thanks for helping me with Mrs. Carrington.”

Troy smiled knowingly.

“Of course, Miss Rose.”

There was an understanding look between them, and Rose smiled faintly before turning toward the door.

She had barely taken a few steps when Troy suddenly called after her.

“Miss Rose, there’s something else.”

She stopped and turned around.

“There’s a package that your father has purchased for you. Would you like me to bring it out?”

Rose immediately turned back.

“What is it?”

Troy walked toward the table in the living room where the household packages were usually placed. Rose followed him.

There was only one package sitting on the table—a medium-sized box.

“That one, Miss Rose.”

Rose picked up the scissors lying beside the box and cut through the tape. She opened the package and looked inside.

Her expression changed.

The box was filled with snow globes.

She pulled one out.

Her eyes widened slightly when she recognized it.

It was the exact same brand as the snow globe she had broken.

The entire box was filled with them.

Rose stared at the snow globe for a moment before a faint, mocking smile appeared on her lips.

“This little thing used to cause me so much pain and uncertainty.”

She turned it over in her hands, studying it almost absentmindedly.

“And now…”

She let out a soft breath.

“I don’t feel anything at all.”

Her gaze moved over the box filled with snow globes.

“All that mess over something that cost less than ten dollars.”

The realization was strangely freeing.

The ache that had once consumed her whenever she thought about that stupid snow globe was gone. The uncertainty, the anger, the fear of losing Ivan—it had all disappeared.

Rose looked down at the snow globe one last time.

Then she turned to Troy.

“I need you to deliver this package somewhere. Can you help me?”

Troy immediately stepped toward the table.

“Of course, Miss Rose. Just tell me where you want it delivered, and I’ll make sure it gets there.”

***

Across the city, the Carrington Group headquarters remained busy, filled with the constant hum of employees, ringing phones, and hurried footsteps.

From the outside, everything looked as normal as ever.

But beneath the polished surface, the company was beginning to struggle.

Deals that had once been easy to secure were suddenly disappearing. One contract after another had been canceled, and despite the executives’ efforts to replace them with new business, every attempt seemed to end in failure.

Over the past week, the situation had deteriorated rapidly.

Inside the director’s office, Ivan stood behind his desk, flipping absently through a file in his hands.

He wasn’t reading a word.

His mind was somewhere else entirely.

Rose.

No matter how hard he tried to focus on work, memories of her kept creeping into his thoughts—the argument, the slap, the look on her face when she had walked away from him.

He found himself replaying the moment over and over again.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Ivan’s head snapped up.

“Rose?”

The name left his lips before he could stop himself.

For one brief second, hope flashed across his face.

But when the door opened, his expression fell.

It wasn’t Rose.

An executive walked in carrying a stack of files.

“Mr. Carrington, may I speak with you? There are a few documents that need your signature.”

Whatever excitement had appeared on Ivan’s face disappeared instantly.

“Give them to me.”

He strode toward his desk, took the files from her, and quickly signed each document while she waited quietly.

Once he finished, he handed the files back.

The woman turned to leave, but her gaze caught on something sitting on a side table.

A small plant.

It was completely dead, its once-green leaves now brown and wilted.

“Mr. Carrington,” she said, frowning at it. “It looks like this plant has died. I’ll throw it out for you.”

She reached down and picked it up.

Ivan’s eyes immediately fell on it.

He froze.

Rose had gifted that plant to him.

She had always taken care of it herself, coming to his office every few days to water it and tend to it. She had been so careful with it, making sure it stayed healthy even though he had barely paid any attention to it.

And now, after only a week without her...

It was dead.

Something tightened painfully in Ivan’s chest.

His expression shifted from surprise to sadness, then hardened into anger.

“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?”

The woman jolted, nearly dropping the plant.

“Can’t you take care of one goddamn plant?” Ivan snapped. “What’s the point of having so many people on this floor if you can’t even keep one fucking plant alive?”

Her shoulders jerked beneath his anger.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Carrington. I’ll see if we can revive it. I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”

She hurried out of the office with the plant in her hands.

The door closed behind her.

Ivan remained standing there.

He slowly placed both hands against his desk and lowered his head, releasing a sharp breath through his nose.

For some reason, the sight of that dead plant had affected him far more than it should have.

Ivan released a frustrated breath and planted both hands on his desk, his head spinning with everything that had happened over the past few days. He barely had time to gather his thoughts before the office door opened and Terrence walked in carrying a big cardboard box.

“Looks like you’ve received a package from Rose,” Terrence announced, a teasing smile spreading across his face. “Wow. Your girlfriend finally remembered that you exist.”

Ivan’s head immediately lifted.

The mention of Rose was enough to change his entire expression. The tension that had been weighing on his face disappeared, replaced by a sudden flicker of anticipation.

“What is it?” he asked, already turning toward the box.

Terrence walked over and placed it on the desk in front of him. He picked up a pair of scissors, cut through the tape, and opened the box.

“I guess you’ll have to see for yourself.”

He reached inside and pulled out an object wrapped in protective paper. As he removed the covering, a snow globe appeared in his hand.

“What is this?” Terrence murmured, turning it over.

Then a grin spread across his face.

“Looks like a romantic snow globe. There are even two figures inside.” He glanced at Ivan with an amused expression. “Is that supposed to be you and Rose?”

Ivan’s eyes fell on the snow globe.

For a second, he didn't move.

Then the recognition hit him.

It was the exact same snow globe—the same design as the one Jessica had given him, the one Rose had broken.

His expression changed instantly.

The color drained from his face as the memory of that night came rushing back with brutal clarity. He remembered Rose standing in front of him, the argument between them, and the moment his hand had struck her. More than anything, he remembered the look on her face afterward—the shock and hurt in her eyes as she stared at him.

His jaw tightened.

Before Terrence could say anything else, Ivan abruptly reached across the desk, snatched the snow globe from his hand, and hurled it onto the floor.

Crash!

The glass shattered across the polished floor. Water spilled between the scattered shards, carrying glitter and tiny decorative pieces with it.

Terrence stared at the mess, then slowly looked back at Ivan.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked, his eyebrows lifting in disbelief. “Why would you smash it?”

He turned back toward the box, pushed the flaps farther apart, and peered inside.

His expression changed.

“Wait…”

Terrence reached into the box and pulled out another snow globe. Then he looked inside again.

The entire box was filled with them.

Dozens of identical snow globes were packed neatly inside.

Terrence gave a short laugh.

“Looks like she knew you’d still be angry. That must be why she decided to give you a hundred of these.”

Ivan stared at the box, his chest rising and falling more heavily as his anger continued to build.

“She’s provoking me,” he said through clenched teeth.

Terrence looked at him in confusion.

“She’s deliberately trying to piss me off. She knows exactly what she’s doing.”

His voice grew harsher as he glared at the box.

“She’s lost her goddamn mind.”

Terrence frowned, unable to understand why Ivan was so furious over something that seemed so harmless.

“It’s just a fucking snow globe,” he pointed out. “What’s the big deal?”

Ivan didn't answer.

Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and immediately dialed Rose’s number.

The call rang once.

Then again.

Ivan waited.

But before the call could connect, it abruptly ended.

He stared at the screen, his brows drawing together.

“She blocked me.”

Terrence looked at him in surprise.

“Are you sure?”

Ivan didn't respond. He immediately called again.

The same thing happened.

The call was rejected almost instantly.

He tried a third time.

Then a fourth.

Each attempt ended the same way.

Terrence stared at Ivan in disbelief, clearly running out of patience with him.

“You’re really going to keep acting like this?” he asked. “Things have already gone this far, Ivan. Rose isn’t coming back to you, and you haven’t even contacted her since that night. How exactly are you planning to fix things if you refuse to even talk to her?”

Ivan’s jaw tightened.

“I told you, she’s just angry. She needs time to calm the fuck down.”

“Except the fact that she’s clearly not calming down.”

Terrence shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Before he could say anything else, the office door opened.

Jessica stepped inside.

She had clearly overheard the last part of their conversation as she walked in, and her gaze immediately settled on Ivan.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is Rose still upset with you?”

Ivan didn't answer.

He remained silent, his attention fixed somewhere in front of him.

Jessica didn't seem bothered by his lack of response. Instead, she moved closer and slipped her arm through his, pressing herself against his side.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” she said gently. “I think she’s probably still upset because of me. Why don’t I come with you and help you? I’m sure she’ll understand once we talk to her.”

She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

“Rose gets upset over little things sometimes. You might have to be a little patient with her, but I’m sure the two of you can work this out. We should just go and talk to her.”

Jessica smiled.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

Ivan remained silent for a moment, the tension still visible in his expression. Finally, he released a heavy breath, slipped his phone into his pocket, and nodded.

“All right.”

He stood and walked toward the door, with Jessica immediately falling into step beside him.

Chapter 10 Call Me Honey

Nearly an hour later, their car pulled up outside Monroe Industries.

Ivan remained behind the wheel while Jessica sat beside him, both of them watching the entrance of the building.

“Are you sure she’s here?” Jessica asked, glancing toward the building. “Maybe she went home today.”

“She won’t be home.”

Ivan kept his eyes on the entrance.

“When we were together, she was either at her office or at her father’s house.”

His gaze shifted briefly toward the parking area.

“Her car isn’t at her father’s house, so she has to be here.”

Jessica nodded, though uncertainty still lingered in her expression.

They waited.

Minutes passed.

Then more.

Ivan’s fingers remained tightly wrapped around the steering wheel, his shoulders rigid with tension as he watched every person leaving the building.

Nearly an hour later, Rose finally appeared through the main entrance.

Ivan’s expression immediately brightened.

“See?” he said, a hint of satisfaction entering his voice. “I told you. She’s here.”

He watched Rose descend the steps.

“She’s always been obsessed with work. This is exactly where she would be.”

Before Ivan could say anything else, Jessica opened her door and stepped out.

Ivan barely noticed.

He was already getting out of the car, his attention completely fixed on Rose.

Jessica hesitated for a second before following him. She rounded the car and walked toward him.

Rose saw the two of them standing side by side, and her steps immediately faltered. A look of displeasure crossed her face, but she quickly looked away and tried to walk past them without saying a word.

Ivan stepped directly into her path.

“Seriously?” he said, his voice already edged with irritation. “Can’t you see I’m standing right here?”

Rose stopped and looked at him, her patience clearly wearing thin. She drew in a slow, frustrated breath.

“What do you want?” she said flatly.

Before Ivan could answer, Jessica stepped forward with a bright, almost cheerful expression.

“Rose, are you still upset about everything? About that little slap Ivan gave you?” she asked, as though she were discussing something completely insignificant. “Come on. Things like that happen between couples. It’s not exactly unheard of. Sometimes, when you’re in a relationship, you have to put up with a slap or two.”

Rose slowly turned her head toward Jessica.

The look on her face was one of pure disgust, as though Jessica had just said something utterly repulsive.

Jessica’s smile faltered.

Her mouth snapped shut, but she quickly recovered and slipped her arm through Ivan’s, pressing herself against him.

“I mean, you must have heard that Ivan sent me a gift as soon as I came back,” she continued, her voice becoming sweeter. “It really showed me how much he still cares about me. No one knows better than me how well Ivan treats the woman he loves.”

Her gaze slid toward Rose.

“After all, now you are his girlfriend. I’m sure he treats you wonderfully too. If you understood how much he loves you, you’d realize how lucky you are.”

Rose stared at her in disbelief.

Then a cold, humorless smile touched her lips.

“Are you sure you have a single functioning brain cell?”

Jessica’s expression froze.

Rose continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Do you really think I’m too stupid to understand your pathetic little ‘pick-me’ act? You keep bragging about everything Ivan does for you as if you’re the only person capable of recognizing how shallow and transparent you are.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Do you honestly think you’re the only intelligent person on this planet?”

Jessica’s face fell.

A deeply offended expression immediately replaced her smile.

Beside her, Ivan’s jaw tightened.

His expression darkened as he glared at Rose.

“Are you seriously going to act like this?” he snapped. “She’s trying to make you understand, and all you’re doing is insulting her. Do you think this makes you look good? Or your father?”

Rose's expression hardened.

“You and I are in a relationship,” Ivan continued, his voice growing more forceful. “You can’t just decide to end it and walk away whenever you want. Come inside. We’re going to talk.”

He reached for her arm.

The moment his hand moved toward her, Rose stiffened.

“Don’t touch me.”

Ivan paused.

But before he could respond, Rose’s gaze shifted toward the restaurant on the ground floor of Monroe Industries.

An unwelcome memory flashed through her mind.

Six months earlier, when Jessica had returned to the city for a short stay, Ivan had been in a meeting at Rose’s father’s company and couldn’t wait to see her. The moment he received a call from Jessica, he had asked her to meet him at the restaurant downstairs.

Rose had been there too.

She still remembered sitting across from them while Ivan had spoken to Jessica with an eagerness she had rarely seen from him.

At one point, he had casually asked Rose to get his coffee.

He had even given her specific instructions about exactly how he wanted it prepared.

Rose had gone to get it without thinking twice.

But when she returned, Ivan had eagerly handed the coffee to Jessica.

The memory remained painfully vivid.

Ivan had never even remembered what kind of coffee Rose liked, let alone the specific way she wanted it prepared. Yet with Jessica, he had remembered every little detail, treating her as though she were the most important person in the room—as though Jessica owned the building and Ivan would bend over backward to please her.

And it wasn't as though Jessica had even appreciated the effort.

She had taken one small sip of the coffee Rose had brought and immediately grimaced.

“It’s terrible. I can barely taste anything.”

Rose still remembered the look Ivan had thrown her way.

His expression had turned accusing and angry, as though Rose had deliberately served Jessica something awful. The intensity of his reaction had caught her completely off guard. He had been more concerned about Jessica disliking her coffee than about how Rose felt standing there.

The memory still felt as fresh as yesterday.

Rose's expression hardened.

She abruptly pulled her arm free from Ivan's reach and stepped away from him.

“The food here isn't good enough for either of you,” she said coldly. “Don't you remember the last time you had coffee here? You almost threw up.”

Her gaze shifted pointedly toward Jessica.

“I’m sure anything served at the restaurant in my father’s company will be far too rich for her delicate little throat—and far too much for your big one to swallow.”

Ivan's face darkened.

“So leave me alone. And don't even think about stepping inside my father's office.”

Her voice grew firmer.

“Neither of you is welcome here. Not in the company, not in the restaurant, nowhere near anything connected to me. So don't make me say it again.”

She turned away from them with an irritated shake of her head.

Before Ivan could respond, Rose's phone began to ring.

She glanced at the screen, and her entire expression changed.

A soft smile appeared on her face as she answered.

“Hello, honey?”

Ivan's frown deepened immediately.

“Where are you?” Maverick asked from the other end of the line.

“I'm at Dad's office. I had to finish a few files, but I'm done now. I'm coming home.”

Rose shifted the phone to her other ear, her voice becoming noticeably warmer.

“I miss you so much. It feels like forever since I saw you, even though it’s only been a little while. When are you coming home, honey? I've been waiting for you.”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then Maverick answered, “I'm home. Come home right now. I'm waiting for you.”

“All right, all right. Don't get so impatient.” Rose smiled, a playful blush touching her cheeks. “You always make me blush when you talk like that. I'll be home in ten minutes. Don't worry. I'll be there soon.”

She glanced toward the building.

“I'm just leaving the office now.”

She ended the call.

Ivan had been watching her the entire time.

The longer the conversation continued, the darker his expression became. By the time Rose lowered her phone, his jaw was clenched tightly.

“Can you stop all this fucking drama?” he snapped. “You know I don't like it when you try to make me jealous. I know what you're doing. You look ridiculous.”

Rose turned toward him, almost as though she'd forgotten he was still standing there.

Then her expression became cold.

“Have you forgotten that you and I have nothing to do with each other anymore?”

She gave him a dismissive look.

“Why would I pretend for you? I wasn't even talking to you. You're nothing more than a stranger to me now, so stop assuming you know anything about me.”

Ivan scoffed.

“Have you forgotten that we're engaged?”

He stepped closer.

“You're still wearing my engagement ring. You and I are supposed to get married. Don't you remember that?”

Rose's expression remained unmoved.

Ivan reached into his pocket and pulled out the engagement ring.

“You don't want this anymore?”

His voice hardened.

“Because if you keep acting like this, that ring is never going back on your finger. Keep that in mind.”

He held it up between them, deliberately displaying the ring Rose had once worn—the same ring Zoe had returned to him only days ago after Rose herself had given it to her to throw away.

He extended the ring toward her, holding it out as though he expected her to take it.

Rose gave a small scoff at his words.

“I don't want it.”

Rose immediately stepped back.

The ring slipped from his fingers and hit the pavement with a faint metallic clink.

“I already have a husband,” she said calmly. “I have no interest in someone like you anymore.”

Ivan's expression changed instantly.

Whatever patience he had been trying to maintain disappeared.

His voice shifted from coaxing her into listening to openly frustrated and angry.

“You know what? I’m getting fucking tired of this. Every time you try to make me jealous, you only make things worse between us. I won't take you back if you keep pissing me off. Don't you understand that I'm already angry, Rose?”

Rose's frustration rose with his.

She looked at him steadily.

“I've already told you. You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. How many times do I have to say it before you finally get it through your head? Stop acting like we're still together.”

Without waiting for his response, she turned and walked away.

Her car was already waiting near the entrance. She opened the door, climbed inside, and shut it behind her.

“Rose!” Ivan shouted after her. “Come back! Talk to me! Are you really going to keep acting like this?”

Rose didn't even look back.

The car pulled away from the curb and disappeared down the road.

Ivan stood there, his fury building with every passing second. He clenched his fist and slammed it against the hood of his car.

“Fuck!”

Jessica hurried toward him.

“Ivan—”

He didn't even let her finish.

He turned away from her and strode toward his car.

Jessica rushed after him, trying to catch up before he got inside, but Ivan was already behind the wheel. The engine roared to life.

“Ivan!” she shouted as he pulled away.

He didn't stop.

Jessica remained standing beside the road, staring after him as his car disappeared from sight. Her hands curled into fists at her sides, frustration and anger burning across her face.

Ivan drove several blocks before reaching for the car's built-in screen and calling Terrence.

The call connected after a few rings.

“Meet me at the bar. Right now. I'm fucking pissed.”

He ended the call before Terrence could respond.

A short while later, Ivan pulled up outside one of the bars he and Terrence frequented. He walked inside, took a seat at the counter, and immediately ordered whiskey.

He was already three glasses in when Terrence finally arrived.

Terrence slid onto the stool beside him and gave him a long look, one eyebrow lifting.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you drinking like that?”

Ivan turned toward him, irritation flashing across his face.

“What the fuck is wrong with Rose? That's what you should be asking me.”

He grabbed his glass and took another drink.

“She’s been acting like this for weeks. Something changed. I don't understand what the hell is wrong with her.”

His jaw tightened.

“She used to get jealous whenever I talked to Jessica. She'd lose her mind if I even spent time with her. But today? Nothing. Jessica was standing right beside me, and Rose didn't even react.”

He shook his head, clearly unable to understand it.

“She acted like she didn't care at all.”

Terrence stared at him for a moment before taking another drink.

“Maybe that's because she doesn't care about you anymore.”

Ivan went still.

Terrence shrugged.

“What else could it be?”

Ivan gripped the whiskey glass so tightly that his knuckles turned pale. He shook his head, refusing to accept what Terrence was saying.

“You're overreacting. It's not like that. She can't just stop caring about me after one week. How could she?” he argued, his voice filled with disbelief. “She’s liked me for an entire year. We were together all this time. She was planning to marry me. How can you seriously think she suddenly doesn't care anymore?”

Terrence stared at him for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh.

“What do you want from her, Ivan? Do you want her to keep crying over you?” He shook his head. “She has moved on. She doesn't want anything to do with you anymore, and you should start doing the same.”

Ivan's jaw tightened.

He slammed his glass onto the counter and turned toward Terrence with a furious glare.

“She loves me.”

His voice was filled with absolute conviction.

“She got together with me the moment I told her I wanted her. I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes without even thinking twice. She did everything for me because she loved me. She followed every fucking word I said as if it were the only thing that mattered.”

He scoffed bitterly.

“And now she's pretending to have a husband? A fake marriage? She's doing all this because she wants me to chase after her. She wants me to apologize and give in first.”

His anger continued to build as he spoke.

“Fine. If that's what she wants so badly, I'll apologize. I'll give her what she wants. One last fucking time.”

Terrence stared at him in disbelief.

“You're delusional.”

He shook his head.

“Seriously, Ivan. Can you hear yourself? From what angle does it look like Rose is waiting for you to apologize? Has she even asked you for an apology?”

Ivan opened his mouth, but Terrence continued before he could answer.

“She hasn't. Not once. If she wanted you to apologize, she would've asked for it. Instead, she's telling you she wants nothing to do with you. That means you need to accept reality. You're history to her.”

Ivan's expression remained tense and agitated.

“You just don't understand.”

His voice dropped, almost as though he were trying to convince himself.

“She loves me. You don't understand how love works. How can she just move on? It's not like she had someone else waiting for her. I'm the man she's loved all this time. It's impossible for her to suddenly stop caring about me.”

He shook his head firmly.

“Trust me. She still loves me. She's just pretending. She's trying to make me jealous.”

Terrence finally lost his patience.

“See, this is your fucking problem!”

He finished his drink and slammed the glass onto the counter.

“She doesn’t want you anymore! How many times does she have to reject you before you get it? What the hell are you going to do now? Get down on your knees and propose to her again?”

Ivan went completely still.

Then something changed in his expression.

A determined look slowly appeared in his eyes.

He pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly from the alcohol.

“Yeah.”

Terrence frowned.

Ivan pointed toward the door as though he'd just figured everything out.

“She wants me to propose to her.”

“What?”

“I canceled the wedding because of this fight between us.” Ivan nodded to himself, his words becoming increasingly convinced as the alcohol blurred his judgment. “That's the problem. I need to fix things with her first. I'll propose to her again. Then we'll get the wedding sorted out.”

A crooked smile appeared on his face.

“That'll fix everything. Once she realizes we're getting married, she'll stop this nonsense.”

He stumbled toward the exit.

“It's that simple.”

“Ivan!” Terrence shouted after him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Ivan didn't stop.

He staggered out of the bar, leaving Terrence staring after him in complete disbelief.

Terrence dragged a hand down his face and let out a long, frustrated breath.

“Unbelievable.”

***

Rose practically skipped up the steps as she entered Maverick’s house, a smile tugging at her lips as she carried her things inside. After spending almost a week without her favorite bags and perfumes, she had missed them so much she felt as though she could barely breathe without them.

But the moment she stepped farther inside, her heartbeat suddenly quickened.

A strange sense of intimidation swept through her, making her body tense. A chill ran down her spine, and she came to an abrupt stop.

She slowly looked around.

Then she saw him.

Maverick was standing a short distance away, his attention fixed entirely on her. The moment their eyes met, he walked toward her without hesitation, his long strides carrying him across the room until he stopped directly in front of her.

Rose's already-racing heart seemed to stop.

She could barely breathe as she looked up at him.

His gaze was calm, but there was something dangerous beneath it—the same look that always made her feel as though she were standing at the edge of a cliff, held there by nothing but his hand. One wrong move, and she would fall straight into the abyss.

Her smile slowly disappeared.

“You're back,” she managed.

One of his eyebrows lifted.

“We spoke less than half an hour ago. I told you to come home. How could I not be back when I was the one asking you to return?”

Rose swallowed and gave an awkward little laugh.

“Yeah. You're right. Well... welcome back to your house, then.”

She started to move past him.

“I'm going to the bedroom.”

She had barely taken a step when Maverick caught her by the arm and pulled her back.

Rose stumbled straight into him.

His gaze dropped to the things she was carrying before returning to her face. He took them from her arms and placed them on the couch beside them.

Then he looked back at her.

“Call me honey again.”

Rose froze.

“What?”

“On the phone.” His voice dropped lower. “You called me honey.”

Her cheeks immediately warmed.

Maverick stepped closer, deliberately invading her space until there was barely any distance left between them.

“What happened?” he murmured. “Why are you suddenly nervous? Weren't you so brave a little while ago?”

Rose's back nearly touched the wall.

“Why the sudden change?”

“I wasn’t really calling you honey,” she rushed to explain, trying to calm the big, intimidating man standing over her. “Ivan came to my office and wouldn't leave me alone. He was bothering me, and then you called. I thought talking to you that way would be the easiest way to get rid of him.”

Maverick's expression changed immediately.

His brows drew together.

“Ivan came to see you?”

Concern flashed through his eyes, followed quickly by something darker.

His hand closed around her arm as he pulled her closer.

“Did he hurt you again?”

Before she could answer, his other hand came up to her face. His fingers gently moved along her cheek as he examined her skin, his gaze searching for the slightest sign of redness or injury.

Rose quickly shook her head.

“He didn't.”

Some of the tension left his shoulders, but his expression remained hard.

“So that sweet voice...” His thumb brushed lightly over her cheek. “And calling me honey.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You did all of that for him?”

Rose stiffened.

“No. I mean... kind of. But not really.”

She hurried to explain.

“He showed up out of nowhere and kept bothering me. He wouldn't leave me alone. Then you called, and I thought it would be the perfect way to get rid of him.”

“Get rid of him by making him jealous?”

Maverick stepped closer.

Rose instinctively tried to move back, but there was nowhere left to go.

“I wasn't trying to make him jealous.”

“He was your boyfriend until a few days ago.” Maverick's gaze drilled into hers. “And now you're telling me you weren't at least a little pleased to see him chasing after you?”

Rose swallowed.

“You'd better not let me find out you're thinking about forgiving him.”

“I’m not forgiving him. No.”

The answer came immediately.

“It was only to get rid of him. That's all.”

She hesitated before adding quietly, “And I'm married to you now. I know I can't just walk away from my marriage.”

The hardness in Maverick’s eyes softened slightly, and Rose caught the subtle change in his expression.

Without warning, he reached for her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom.

Rose followed reluctantly, her stomach tightening. She couldn't shake the worry that he was about to scold her—or worse, lose his temper with her.

“Do you still not believe me?” she asked, her voice a little unsteady.

“Stay right here.”

His voice was as cold and commanding as ever.

Rose stopped obediently while Maverick walked toward his suitcase. He crouched beside it and began rummaging through it.

Rose watched him nervously.

‘Is he going to hit me with a belt?’

She took the tiniest step backward.

‘Zoe told me he once beat up his cousin when he did something Maverick didn't like. Is it my turn now?’

Her imagination immediately ran wild. She pictured herself crying dramatically and collapsing at his feet like some helpless damsel in a drama, with absolutely nowhere to run.

Rose bit her lip, growing more nervous by the second.

Then Maverick turned around.

Rose stiffened.

“I should leave now. You need to rest, right?” she blurted, already turning toward the door.

She barely made it a step before Maverick reached out and caught her arm.

Rose froze.

He pulled her back toward him, one arm wrapping around her to keep her close. Then he held something out between them.

“Here.”

Rose looked down.

Her eyes widened.

There was no belt.

Instead, he was holding out a box of chocolates.

Her mouth fell open slightly.

“Oh. I love chocolate.”

She immediately opened the box, picked one up, and took a bite.

“I know,” Maverick replied without hesitation.

Rose's gaze flicked up to him.

He knew?

The realization felt strangely intimate. She still couldn't understand how he knew something so simple about her when they had barely known each other.

Unsure what else to say, she held out the box.

“Here. Do you want some?”

“Yes,” he replied, his voice low and steady.

She immediately lifted the box he had given her, extending it toward him with a hopeful smile. Instead of accepting it, he seized her hand, pulling her closer with an intensity that quickened her heartbeat.

In one fluid motion, he bent down, capturing her lower lip between his teeth and licking her mouth with a fervor that sent sparks through her. Within moments, he had claimed complete control over their connection.

He towered over her, his presence both intimidating and thrilling, and in that instant, she felt the weight of his dominance. His arm encircled her waist, drawing her tighter against him, while his mouth consumed hers with an unquenchable hunger. The other hand found its way to the back of her neck, anchoring her to him as their lips collided with a fierce urgency.

Rose had never known a kiss so enveloping, where surrender felt not just possible but inevitable. Even as she kissed him, it was clear he dictated the rhythm, guiding her lips against his in a way that satisfied his primal desire.

Maverick’s mouth enveloped her lower lip, sucking on it with a ravenous need before releasing it with teasing abandon, only for her upper lip to experience the same fiery devotion. His tongue slipped inside, tangling with hers, sending electric shivers coursing through her body as the heat radiating from him merged seamlessly with her own.

Chapter 11 Zoe Has Been Arrested

In a matter of moments, his hands began to roam, seeking to unveil her. He grasped the hem of her top, ripping it away with an urgent fervor that left her breathless.

Rose’s fingers fumbled, desperately finding his suit jacket and sliding it off his shoulders, allowing it to drop to the ground with a soft thud.

Impatience surged within him, his breaths growing ragged and uneven as he deftly unclasped her bra, letting it fall away. His hands moved with purpose to her shorts, swiftly pushing them down along with her panties, leaving her exposed and vulnerable against him.

His mouth descended to her neck, warm and insistent. His arms slipped effortlessly beneath her hips, lifting her as he pivoted, pinning her back against the wall.

She was suspended, her feet no longer touching the ground, completely at his mercy. His arms wrapped around her legs, hoisting her up so that her thighs clung tightly around his waist. Against the cold wall, his mouth explored her neck with fervor. His tongue traced a path from her ear down to the tender skin of her neck, each wet stroke igniting a fire within her, making her breath hitch and surrender to the demands of his kiss.

Rose felt utterly powerless, her strength waning as he claimed complete control.

Maverick’s tongue danced from one side of her neck to the other, teasing her skin with a tantalizing caress. Rose’s head fell back, a soft gasp escaping her lips as pleasure surged from where his mouth met her skin, radiating downward to the sensitive spot between her legs, deepening her submission.

“Ah…” She gasped again, lost in the sensation of his mouth devouring her neck. Her arms wrapped around his neck, trembling as she strained to breathe, each inhale filled with the intoxicating scent of him.

“Maverick,” she whispered, her chest heaving, overwhelmed by the intensity of her desire.

He was relentless, hunger etched into every move. One hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back slightly, while the other continued to support her against the wall. His tongue slithered over her neck like a serpent, the warmth and wetness enveloping her with an insatiable craving that left no room for resistance.

“Mmhhmm…” Rose shivered, her eyes squeezed shut, surrendering fully to the sensations coursing through her body. Her fingers wove into his hair, gripping the back of his head tightly, anchoring herself against the storm of desire.

He reveled in the illusion of control she believed she had, though it was clear who held the power. His gaze bore into hers, igniting a fire that compelled her to yield to his every need.

Then, his leg wedged between hers, alleviating some of the weight of his arms while his hand slid down to her chest. His fingers enveloped her breast, and she gasped as his large palm claimed her, his fingers pinching her nipple with a possessiveness that stole her breath away.

“Oh God!” Overwhelmed, her chest burned with desire, and she felt completely consumed by him.

A moan of pleasure surged through her, surrendering to his rough demands.

Within moments, he lifted her, and his fingers were replaced by his ravenous mouth, devouring her sensitive button. Breath escaped her as he feasted hungrily, his tongue swirling around the delicate tip, drawing it into his mouth and sucking before releasing it with a soft pop, only to take it back in again. The warmth of his saliva coated her nipple while his tongue stroked over the sensitive flesh repeatedly.

“Oh God…” she whimpered, fingers tangling in his hair as she held the back of his head tightly.

He dominated every inch of her, hungrily sucking, teasing her, denying her the breath she craved. She longed for relief, yet simultaneously resisted it; the sensations coursing through her were intoxicating, igniting a fire within that demanded more. His mouth traveled to her other nipple, his tongue gliding over the tip before drawing it into his mouth, sucking with fervor and then letting go, only to repeat the act.

“Mhmmm…” She gasped, her chest burning, completely ensnared by his spell. She struggled to catch her breath, but he showed no mercy, taking total control. His hand roamed like a rogue, a rough palm intent on making her writhe.

The coarse texture of his palm slid over her delicate skin, pressing, pulling, caressing, then releasing before finding another spot to torment. Exhaustion threatened to consume her, yet waves of pleasure coursed through her veins, leaving her breathless. Maverick’s mouth moved between each nipple, licking and sucking, repeating the cycle with relentless hunger.

“I want to eat you alive,” he growled, his rough voice sending shivers down her spine as he switched back to the other breast.

He pulled back slightly, slicking his lower lip with a swipe of his tongue, watching intently as his thumb and index finger rolled her sensitive tip between them, then released it. His palm engulfed the entire softness, his fingers flicking and caressing over and over again, driving her wild with pleasure.

“Maverick…” she moaned, realizing her breath came in shaky bursts, but he seemed oblivious to her need. His mouth latched onto her nipple again, switching back and forth, each movement drawing out sharp breaths from her. Her head fell back, a moan escaping her lips,

“Ahhh… hahhhh.” Every stroke of his tongue sent tremors through her body, and the pleasure overwhelmed her, compelling her to yield entirely to his desires.

Just as she felt herself nearing the edge, about to collapse into ecstasy, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. Her hands instinctively fell against the wall for support, her body arching back toward him, betraying her with an insatiable need she had never known. Trembling hands pressed against the wall, her face buried in its cool surface, breaths shuddering.

Moments later, she felt him press against her, his body moving in sync with hers, his hand sliding between her legs. The length of him brushed against her, one hand gripping his girth while the other clutched her hips, pulling her back as he guided himself inside her, inch by tantalizing inch.

“Mhhmmmm…” A broken moan slipped from her lips, making her tremble and quiver under his touch. A sound of pure longing, making her tremble and quiver under his touch.

With each thrust, he filled her completely, igniting every nerve ending, as she surrendered to the intoxicating rhythm, losing herself in the depths of his desire.

Her vision blurred as her breath fogged the wall, every thrust sending delicious shivers up her spine. Each time he buried himself inside her, she felt shockwaves of pleasure rippling outward, melting her from the inside until her legs threatened to buckle.

“Mmmm!” She tried to bite back a moan, to keep their secret encased in the storeroom’s four thin walls, but it escaped anyway—a jagged, helpless sob that vibrated against the bricks.

He moved harder, faster, his hips slapping her thighs in a cadence that made her dizzy. Rose dug her nails into the mortar, grounding herself in the scrape and sting of stone against her palms. The hand between her legs never stilled, two fingers stroking her with expert precision. It was obscene, the way he played with her body.

When she felt herself crest again—a white-hot, blinding flood—she tried to hold back, afraid she’d fall apart and disappear altogether.

But she couldn’t. Not with him pressed so tight and alive behind her, not with her own body so greedy for every inch of him.

“Hahhh…! Ahhh!” Shudders raked her shoulders as she arched back, every muscle aching for more. His grip tightened at her waist, bruising and sure, and for a heartbeat he bent to her ear, his breath hot as a fever.

“I absolutely fucking love it when you moan,” Maverick growled, voice rough with his own unraveling.

Rose felt peeled open, a nerve stripped to its rawest edge. Even muffled in this room, even with her cheek pressed to the cool bricks, every sound seemed to echo through her. Each slap and gasp a record of her need.

She clenched around him and he swore, burying his face in her hair. His rhythm snapped, wild and erratic now. The heat built, a sharp-sweet agony, and she surrendered to it, felt herself fracture into a thousand brilliant pieces.

She bit the meat of her hand, muffling her cry as she came, the world telescoping down to the throbbing, the wet slide, the heat drumming up her bones. He chased her over, hands feral at her hips, his own release shuddering through her with a desperate, low groan like an animal breaking its leash. For a second they hung together in that perfect, senseless ruin, a tight knot of pulse and sweat and heart.

It was only after, when she let herself breathe, that she realized how hard she was shaking. He stayed pressed to her, forehead to her neck, arms braced around her middle like if he let go she’d collapse. She felt wrung out, boneless, so ruined she might never gather herself again.

When he finally drew back, he did it slow, nuzzling her hair, drawing his nose along her nape before pulling free. They both stood for a beat, unmoored, silent except for the quick-cooling rasp of their lungs.

He was still hard, somehow, still humming with that livewire need. He stepped back, his pants and shirt gone in a second, all of him pale and taut and hungry. She could barely stand, thighs quivering, but he caught her—easy, like she weighed nothing—lifted her bodily and caged her against the wall.

She heard the thunk of her head hitting drywall and then he was inside her again, too fast, too deep, and she gasped, legs wrapping instinctively around his waist. They moved together, frantic, both of them slick and noisy and not caring who might hear. She raked her nails down his back, left half-moons, pulled at his hair until he bared his teeth at her.

She was already sore, every stroke dragging oversensitized nerves, but she wanted more, wanted him to fuck the memory of the last hour out of her skull. He pinned her wrists above her, one-handed, and she melted against the wall, let herself be nothing but sensation.

The only things anchoring her were his mouth, his hands, the blunt shock of each slam forward. She felt bruised and wanted, wet everywhere, the air thick with their sweat. Her voice snarled up in her throat—too raw for words, just ugly stabs of sound—and all the while, his grip got harsher, almost desperate, as if he was holding on to her to keep himself alive.

“Oh… hahh… ahhhh…” Her spine arched off the wall, scraping drywall dust into the sweat on her back.

He mouthed at her neck and collarbone, teeth grazing hard enough to sting. It rattled something loose in her, a molten core that started in her gut and ricocheted through her whole body. Her climax was brief and feral, a shockwave that left her shuddering and blind. When she blinked back, he was still thrusting, a rhythm falling apart at the seams, his mouth open and breath ragged.

He let go of her wrists and cupped her ass, fucking her up higher against the wall like he wanted to bruise the memory right into her skin. His hand was hot where it gripped her, fingers digging in, the pain barely distinguishable from pleasure anymore. He groaned—almost a sob—and came, hips thrust so hard she felt it in her teeth.

They clung together, animal and unsteady, until the aftershocks faded. He pulled out and set her down, gently at first, but her knees wouldn’t lock. She sank to the carpet, breathless and punchdrunk, the night air cold and sharp on her skin.

***

Rose shifted in bed, her back turning slightly as a soft sigh escaped her lips. Her body was still sore from the night before, every movement reminding her of how thoroughly exhausted she was, but she slowly turned over anyway.

Her eyes opened.

It was already morning.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, bathing the room in a warm glow. Rose's gaze drifted toward the window, and she immediately noticed Maverick standing there, pouring himself a glass of water.

He was wearing only his trousers, the waistband sitting low on his hips while his upper body remained completely bare. His back was fully exposed, the muscles across his shoulders and along his spine defined beneath the morning light.

From behind, he looked almost unfairly handsome.

His dark hair fell messily over the nape of his neck, as untamed as ever, yet somehow perfectly suited to him. It was the kind of effortless appearance that made Rose wonder how someone could look so good without seeming to put any effort into it at all.

She continued staring.

Despite the soreness still lingering through her body, a familiar warmth stirred inside her as her gaze remained fixed on him.

There were faint scratches across his back from the night before, and the sight immediately brought back memories she probably shouldn't have been thinking about so early in the morning.

Her eyes burned with embarrassment, yet she couldn't seem to look away.

‘He really is way too lethal when it comes to looks.’

Dangerously handsome. Completely irresistible.

She couldn't understand how someone like him had apparently managed to stay single for so long. She had never even heard of him having any close female friends.

Her gaze shamelessly traveled lower, moving from his broad shoulders down his back, across his waist, and toward his hips before continuing down his long legs.

She was so absorbed in looking at him that she failed to notice when he turned around.

Until she realized where his eyes were.

Maverick was looking directly at her.

Rose's gaze snapped back to his face.

Her entire face flushed.

She jolted beneath the sheets, her fingers tightening around them as she realized he'd caught her staring at him the entire time.

Then the corner of Maverick's mouth lifted into a smile.

“Why did you stop?”

Rose's face burned even hotter.

“You don't have to stop if you want another look.”

His gaze remained fixed on hers, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

“All you have to do is say the word, Rose.”

Rose immediately buried herself deeper beneath the sheets, mortified.

Her face flushed, and she immediately shifted away, scrambling out of bed.

“I wasn't looking at you,” she insisted, hurriedly grabbing the sheets as she tried to stand.

She barely made it a step.

In the next breath, Maverick caught her arm and pulled her back.

Rose fell onto the mattress, her head landing against the pillow. Before she could recover, he was above her, bracing himself over her and leaving her completely trapped beneath him.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

Rose suddenly became painfully aware of how close he was. Her body tensed, yet a strange electricity ran through her at the same time. She swallowed hard.

“I have work,” she whispered. “I need to meet with a company about a new perfume’s launch.”

Maverick barely seemed to hear her.

His gaze lingered on her face before drifting briefly toward her neck and the edge of the sheet covering her. The unmistakable hunger in his eyes made Rose’s breath catch.

Then his gaze returned to hers.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” he murmured. “There’s still plenty of time. It’s only six in the morning.”

Before Rose could answer, he lowered his head and kissed her.

The kiss was brief but heated, leaving her momentarily breathless.

When he lifted his head again, his eyes remained fixed on hers.

“You should be careful when you tempt me like this,” he murmured, his breath warm against her skin. “I’m not known for having much restraint.”

Rose barely had time to process his words before he leaned down again, his lips brushing along her neck. A soft shiver ran through her, and whatever protest had been forming on her lips disappeared instantly.

Three hours later, Rose finally rushed down the stairs, dressed in her office clothes and already running late.

She hurried toward the door, grabbing her bag from the table.

Maverick followed behind her.

Just as she reached the entrance, he stepped into her path.

“Breakfast?”

“I don't have time right now,” Rose protested. “Maybe later. I'll just skip breakfast.”

“No.”

His answer was calm but firm.

He caught her gently by the arm and guided her toward the breakfast table. Then he picked up a sandwich, wrapped it in a napkin, and held it out to her.

“Eat.”

Rose took a reluctant bite, then immediately glanced toward the watch on her wrist.

“I’m getting late.”

“You’re already late.” He held the sandwich to her lips again. “Five more minutes aren’t going to make any difference.”

Rose sighed in defeat before finally opening her mouth and taking another bite.

His expression softened at once.

The pleased look that appeared on his face for something as simple as watching her eat made an unexpected warmth settle in her chest. For some reason, she liked seeing that expression on him. She liked knowing that she had pleased him, even if it was over something as insignificant as breakfast.

And, if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to see that look on his face again.

More often than she cared to admit.

She said nothing, simply taking the sandwich from his hand. He seemed reluctant to let it go, but eventually released it.

His hand, however, didn't move away.

Instead, he stepped closer. His other hand came up to the side of her face, his fingers sliding gently into her hair as he cradled the back of her head. The affectionate gesture caught her off guard, and she stood quietly beneath his touch as he brushed his fingers through her hair.

Then he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

Rose's heart gave a small, unexpected flutter.

Maverick picked up his coffee from the table and took a slow sip, still standing close enough that his familiar scent surrounded her.

She had grown used to it.

His scent was warm and distinctly his, and somehow, instead of overwhelming her, it made her feel strangely calm. The closer he came, the more comfortable she felt in his space.

Perhaps she had simply become accustomed to having him around her, to the way he quietly took control of little things, to the way his presence seemed to fill whatever space he occupied.

Whatever the reason, she didn't dislike it.

In fact, she liked it far more than she should.

So she simply stood there, letting him stay close, allowing herself to enjoy the quiet affection without questioning it.

When her phone started ringing on the table, Rose glanced down at the screen and frowned at the unfamiliar number. She picked it up and stepped away from Maverick, creating some distance between them. She caught the displeasure that appeared on his face at once, but he didn't say anything.

Rose turned away from him and brought the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Am I speaking to Miss Rose Monroe?”

“Yes, this is Rose.”

“Ms. Rose, this is Officer Dennis with the NYPD. I’m calling from the 28th Precinct in Manhattan regarding Zoe Bishop.”

Rose’s brow furrowed.

“Ms. Bishop was taken into custody earlier this morning in connection with an investigation involving several vehicles belonging to Ivan Carrington. The vehicles were set on fire a few days ago.”

Rose’s entire body went rigid.

“The investigation has progressed, and we have evidence placing Ms. Bishop at the scene. She’s currently being held at the 28th Precinct while we process the arrest. We’re also investigating another individual who appears to have been involved.”

Rose's heartbeat immediately accelerated.

Her fingers tightened around the phone as the officer's words sank in.

She slowly lowered the phone from her ear.

“What the hell…” she whispered under her breath.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as panic took hold. Her mind raced through the implications of what she had just heard, and the alarm on her face was impossible to hide.

Without wasting another second, she turned around, grabbed her bag, and hurried toward the door.

She had barely taken a few steps when Maverick caught her arm.

“What the hell is going on?”

Rose froze at his interruption.

For a few seconds, she hesitated, wondering whether she should tell him.

Zoe was his sister. If she were in trouble, he had every right to know. But Zoe hadn't called Maverick. She had called Rose instead.

That could only mean one thing.

Zoe didn't want Maverick to know.

“Nothing. I just have something urgent to take care of before I go to work.” Rose tried to pull her arm free. “I'll see you tonight.”

She barely managed to turn away before Maverick caught her again, this time pulling her back against his chest.

His hand came up to her face, gently but firmly tilting her chin until she was forced to look at him.

His gaze locked onto hers.

“What the hell is going on, Rose?” he asked, his voice low and controlled. “I can see it on your face. You're not leaving until you tell me.”

Rose's heartbeat quickened.

There was something about the way Maverick looked at her that made it difficult to hide anything from him. He wasn't a frightening man, but there had always been an intensity about him that made her nervous, especially when she knew he was determined to get an answer.

She swallowed hard.

She knew he wouldn't let her walk away until he found out the truth.

And if he discovered what Zoe had done, there was no telling how he would react.

That was probably exactly why Zoe hadn't called him first.

She had called Rose instead.

“I’m just a little busy with work. I’ll see you this evening,” Rose said, trying to sound casual.

She immediately tried to pull away again, but Maverick didn't let her go. His grip tightened around her arm, his other hand still holding her face as he looked down at her with an increasingly serious expression.

“Unless you tell me what the fuck is going on, you’re not leaving this house, Mrs. Bishop. If we have to sit here and do this all day, then I’ll stay home all day.”

Rose took a deep breath.

There was no way she could sit there arguing with him for hours when Zoe was waiting at the police station. And judging by the look in Maverick’s eyes, he had no intention of giving up anytime soon.

With a frustrated sigh, Rose finally looked up at him.

“It was the police station,” she admitted reluctantly. “They said several of Ivan’s cars were set on fire a few days ago, and Zoe has been arrested in connection with it.”

She expected Maverick’s expression to immediately fill with anger.

After all, Zoe was his only sister, and she had apparently done something this reckless because of Rose. Surely he would be furious.

His brows drew together, and a frown briefly crossed his face.

But instead of exploding, he simply said, “Let’s go.”

He released her face, caught her hand, and pulled her toward the door.

Rose hurried after him, barely keeping up as he led her outside. A car was already waiting at the entrance, and the driver immediately opened the door.

They climbed inside, and the moment Maverick settled into his seat, he pulled out his phone and called his lawyer.

“Meet us at the station,” he instructed. “Zoe has been arrested.”

He ended the call and leaned back, his expression tense and unreadable.

Rose sat beside him in uneasy silence, watching him carefully.

She couldn't believe he wasn't angry.

But she knew better than to assume that meant he wasn't furious.

His silence felt almost like the calm before a storm.

After all, Zoe had done something reckless enough to land herself in a police station, and she had done it because of Rose. There was no way Maverick wasn't angry about that.

Yet he said nothing.

He simply typed something on his phone as the car continued toward the police station, occasionally receiving messages from his lawyer as he updated him on the situation.

Chapter 12 Keep This Relationship a Secret

At the police station, Zoe and Blaire sat across from the police officer with their arms folded, looking more like two rebellious teenagers than women who had just been arrested.

The officer glared at Blaire, his expression clearly fed up.

“It hasn't even been a year since you were caught for hiring men to beat up an individual, Miss Lane,” he said sternly. “This is your second offense in such a short time. Aren’t you afraid you're putting your career at risk? You're a doctor, for God's sake, and you're still going around behaving like a teenager, burning down cars?”

Blaire threw her hands into the air, looking thoroughly annoyed.

“Well, I didn't do it for fun, Officer. Can't you see that your gender has morons like him who are putting men like you to shame?”

She pointed her thumb toward Ivan, who stood nearby with Terrence. Both men were still dressed in their office attire.

Ivan immediately scowled, his expression darkening.

Blaire merely huffed and muttered under her breath, “I can't wait to get out of this place. God.”

Terrence's gaze shifted toward Zoe, and his expression hardened.

“How could you set Ivan’s cars on fire?” he demanded. “Did you really think that was a good idea? Those cars were worth millions of dollars.”

Beside him, Ivan clenched his jaw, fury evident on his face as he stared down at Zoe with a dark, pissed-off expression.

Zoe rolled her eyes, completely unimpressed.

“So what? He hit Rose and didn’t go to jail for it. Burning a few of his precious cars is nothing compared to what he did to her.”

“Zoe, you’re crossing all fucking lines,” Terrence snapped, his temper rising. “Just apologize to Ivan and let’s get this over with. Rose isn’t going to be pleased when she hears what you did. They’re about to get married. Do you really want to start a fucking fight right now and risk ruining your relationship with Rose?”

“As if!”

Zoe immediately whipped her head toward Terrence, fury flashing in her eyes.

“Rose would never choose a shithead like him over me.” She glared at Terrence. “Stop being Ivan’s lapdog already, Terrence. It’s getting ridiculous. Can you shut up and mind your own business?”

A furious growl rumbled from Ivan’s chest.

“Zoe Bishop!”

His voice cut through the room as he glared at her, his jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle ticked along his cheek.

“I’ve tolerated enough from you. First, you slapped me, and now you’ve gone and set my cars on fire?” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Do you really think you can keep getting away with this shit just because Rose happens to care about you?”

Zoe merely rolled her eyes, looking completely unimpressed.

She didn't even bother answering him.

Ivan’s expression darkened further.

“Your brother certainly won’t be proud of you when he finds out you’ve been committing crimes. And don’t think you’re going to walk away from this as easily as you seem to think.”

“We we blah blah blah…”

Blaire immediately began mimicking him in an exaggerated voice, waving her hand dismissively before turning to Zoe.

“Why the fuck does he talk so much?” she complained. “That girly voice of his is giving me a headache.”

Zoe couldn't help it. A snicker escaped her.

That was enough to send Ivan’s temper over the edge.

His head snapped toward Blaire, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Blaire blinked at him innocently for a second before pointing at herself and then Zoe, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

“Charlie’s Angels.”

She leaned back in her chair, completely unbothered by his glare.

“Now fuck off before the third girl shows up and kicks your ass.”

Ivan stared at her in disbelief, his anger practically radiating from him.

Before he could fire back, his phone suddenly rang.

He clenched his teeth, pulled it from his pocket, and stepped away from them to answer.

“Mr. Carrington, we just received another piece of bad news.”

Ivan’s expression tightened.

“What now?”

“Several of our major deals that were nearly finalized have been canceled.”

His brows pulled together.

“They canceled?”

“Yes, sir. Several of them. The clients aren't giving us much explanation.”

“How the fuck is that possible?” Ivan demanded, his voice sharp with disbelief.

“We’re still trying to find out.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

He ended the call and stood there for a moment, staring at the screen with a dark expression.

Then he shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned around.

Whatever anger had been directed at Blaire was now mixed with something far more serious.

He strode back toward Zoe and stopped in front of her.

“You’ll come crawling back to me when you realize you have no other choice,” he said coldly. “You’ll have to beg me to get you out of this, and when you do, we’ll see how confident you are then.”

Zoe gave him a bored look.

“In your fucking dreams, Carrington.”

Ivan’s jaw tightened.

He didn't waste another word on her. Instead, he turned toward Terrence and jerked his chin toward the door.

“Come on.”

Terrence gave Zoe and Blaire one last look before following him out, leaving the two women sitting together in the station.

***

The car came to a stop, and Rose stepped out as the driver opened her door. Maverick got out from the other side at the same time.

Rose had barely taken a few steps toward the entrance when Maverick caught up with her and took her hand in his. He glanced down at her, his fingers tightening around hers.

“Stay with me. Don’t run off.”

“I wasn’t going to run off. I was just going inside the station,” she replied, as though it were obvious.

Maverick lifted their joined hands slightly.

“If you want to go somewhere, grab my hand first.”

Rose looked at him, and some of the tension in her face eased when she realized he wasn't angry. There was no fury in his expression, no hint that he was about to lose his temper. He was as calm and controlled as ever.

She let him lead her toward the police station.

The moment they stepped inside, they were met by the busy atmosphere of the station. Before Rose could look around properly, a voice called out to them.

“Rose?”

Her eyes immediately shifted toward the sound.

Zoe was sitting on one of the chairs, with Blaire beside her.

The moment Zoe spotted Rose, her eyes widened.

Then her gaze shifted toward the man holding Rose's hand.

The color drained from her face.

She slowly sank back against the chair, staring at Rose as though she'd just committed the gravest betrayal imaginable.

Rose immediately knew what was coming.

“It’s not my fault,” she mouthed desperately.

Zoe's glare only intensified.

Rose suddenly wished she could disappear.

Maverick pulled her gently toward them, and that's when Rose noticed the lawyer already standing beside Zoe and Blaire, speaking with the officers.

Apparently, he'd already taken care of everything.

As Maverick approached, the lawyer looked up, gave him a reassuring thumbs-up, and smiled.

“You’re both free to leave,” he told Zoe and Blaire.

The two women immediately brightened.

Blaire practically jumped out of her chair, while Zoe rose more cautiously, still looking somewhat unsettled.

They started toward the exit, but Zoe slowed when she reached Maverick and Rose.

Blaire stopped beside her, then looked at Maverick with a grin.

“Thanks, rich guy. I guess having a gazillion dollars really does come in handy when you need to make a little legal trouble disappear.”

She winked at him.

Maverick didn't even crack a smile.

Instead, he raised an eyebrow.

“Still a goon, Miss Lane?”

“Not anymore.” Blaire flashed him a shameless grin. “Now I just have a lot of friends who are goons.”

Zoe immediately smacked her arm.

“Keep quiet,” she hissed.

Blaire barely reacted.

Instead, her attention shifted to Rose.

“So you’re the one who secretly married him?” she asked, looking Rose up and down. “Really? Couldn't you find someone with emotions? Why did you marry a statue?”

Rose bit her lip.

Blaire was hilarious, but Rose wasn't nearly brave enough to laugh at that comment in front of Maverick.

Zoe bumped her shoulder against Blaire's.

“That’s my friend. The one I told you about.”

Blaire's amused expression vanished.

Her eyes widened as she looked at Rose again.

“You're her?”

Rose gave her a small, uncertain smile. 

Blaire’s gaze immediately flicked toward Maverick. She planted one hand on her hip, looked him over, then turned back to Rose.

“Okay. Yeah. This guy is a million times better. Jesus, woman. You have a terrible taste in men.”

“Blaire.”

Maverick’s voice was low, but there was a clear warning in his tone. 

Blaire glanced at him, but instead of backing down, she simply turned her attention back to Rose and lifted a finger as if she had one more important thing to say.

“Your ex was a bonehead. I’m glad you got rid of him.” She shook her head, still looking at Rose. “But why didn’t you hit him back? Seriously?”

Rose gave her a slightly guilty smile. “I was in shock.”

“Fair enough.” Blaire nodded, accepting the explanation, although the frown remained on her face. She drew in a deep breath and glanced briefly at Zoe before looking back at Rose. “Anyway, it’s fine. Zoe and I took care of him for you. Next time, you can—”

“There won’t be a next time.”

Maverick cut her off before she could finish. His voice was stern and cold.

Blaire’s mouth snapped shut.

She glanced at him and cleared her throat, suddenly looking a little less fearless than she had a moment ago. Apparently, even Blaire had limits when it came to testing Maverick’s patience.

“Good, then,” she said, recovering quickly. “But if you ever do need help, don’t hesitate to ask. We girls have to stick together.”

She turned toward Rose and offered her hand.

Rose smiled and took it. “Thank you. You too.”

“Let’s go. I’ll drop you off at your place.”

Maverick stepped in, taking Rose’s hand from Blaire and keeping it securely in his own. He turned toward the exit, already preparing to lead her out.

Blaire shook her head. “Never mind. My friend is already here to pick me up. She’s waiting outside, so I’m going to head out first.”

She gave everyone a quick wave before turning toward the exit.

“Blaire, wait!”

Zoe hurried after her.

The moment she caught up, she wrapped her arms around Blaire, hugging her tightly. Blaire hugged her back without hesitation, squeezing her just as firmly before Zoe finally pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” Zoe said quietly. “I really am. I shouldn’t have gotten you into trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Blaire immediately scowled and gave Zoe’s arm a reassuring pat. “I’m glad you care that much about your friends. Don’t forget that I’m your friend too.”

Zoe’s smile widened.

Blaire grinned and took a step backward. “All right. I’m really leaving this time.”

Zoe laughed softly. “Go.”

Blaire turned and headed toward the exit, and Zoe remained where she was, watching her disappear through the doors with a small smile on her face.

***

Rose stepped inside the Oracle Fragrances office, her nerves immediately getting the better of her.

The building was far more impressive than she had expected. Sleek glass walls, polished floors, and expensive modern furnishings gave the entire place an air of quiet luxury. This was the first time her father had trusted her with an entire project of this scale, and that alone was enough to make her nervous.

In the past, Rose had worked primarily as a perfumer. Her father had always been comfortable letting her handle the creative side of developing new fragrances, but he had never given her complete responsibility for an entire fragrance line. This time, however, everything was in her hands.

And she desperately wanted to prove that she could handle it.

She took a slow breath before approaching the office at the end of the hallway. After a brief knock, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The office looked nothing like it had the last time she had visited.

The once-dull interior had been completely transformed. The old-fashioned furniture was gone, replaced by sleek modern pieces, elegant lighting, and tasteful decorations that made the entire room look considerably more sophisticated.

Rose's gaze swept across the room until it landed on the man standing behind the desk.

She stopped.

The last time she had been here, an older, bald man had been sitting behind the CEO's desk. He had been the one who agreed to work with her father's company on developing the new fragrance line.

But that man was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a tall figure stood with his back to her, reading through a file.

A fresh wave of nervousness rolled through Rose.

Who was he?

She tightened her grip on the files in her hands and took a few cautious steps toward the desk.

“Excuse me?”

The man went still.

Then he slowly turned around.

Rose froze.

Her breath caught the instant she saw his face.

“Maverick?”

His name escaped her lips in a stunned whisper.

Of all the people she had expected to find in this office, he was the last.

“What are you doing here?”

Her gaze darted around the office before returning to him. Then realization struck her.

“You acquired this company?”

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Maverick's mouth.

He lowered the file onto the desk and placed both hands against its polished surface before leaning toward her slightly.

“Smart girl.”

Heat rushed into Rose's cheeks at the compliment.

It was ridiculous how easily he could make her nervous. She had spent the entire morning preparing herself for an important business meeting, yet the moment she saw him, every carefully rehearsed thought seemed to disappear.

And the way he was looking at her wasn't helping.

“You weren't here last month when I came to finalize the deal,” she said, trying to regain her composure.

She moved closer to the desk, but Maverick didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he watched her approach until she stopped directly in front of him.

Their eyes met. Then his gaze dropped to the bag and files she was carrying.

Without a word, he reached out and took them from her hands. His fingers brushed hers briefly before he placed everything on the desk.

When he looked back at her, his expression was calm, but there was something in his eyes that made Rose's heart beat a little faster.

“Yes. I took over the company three months ago,” he answered calmly. “We needed more manufacturers to join our network, and this company was struggling. Acquiring it made sense.”

Rose stared at him, her suspicion only growing.

Three months ago.

The timing was far too perfect.

Her father’s company had finalized the deal with Oracle Fragrances around the same time. She had come here expecting to work with the previous owner, only to discover that Maverick had somehow ended up taking his place.

It felt like too much of a coincidence.

Maverick seemed completely unfazed by the troubled look on her face. Instead, he stepped closer, stopping just short of touching her.

“Do you have a problem with it?” he asked. “Are you questioning my judgment or the decision to acquire the company?”

Rose immediately smoothed the expression from her face, realizing she had been far too easy to read.

“No. Of course not.”

His eyes softened slightly, but the familiar arch of his eyebrow remained.

“Then what’s the problem?”

Rose hesitated.

Maverick studied her for another moment before asking, “Do you have a problem working for your husband?”

His voice was quiet, but there was a faint edge to it that made her nervous.

Rose shifted her weight.

“It’s not that.” She lowered her gaze for a moment before looking back at him. “We weren’t together when I got this project.”

She gestured toward the files on his desk.

“And if I start working here now, everyone is going to think I got the project because of you. Even my father might think that.”

Her expression fell, frustration creeping into her voice.

“That bothers me. I worked hard for this. I earned the opportunity to handle this project, and I don’t want anyone thinking I only got it because I’m married to you.”

Silence settled between them.

Maverick didn't answer immediately.

Rose looked up at him nervously, waiting.

He rarely went quiet around her. When he did, she never knew what was going through his mind.

Then his hand lifted.

His fingers curled gently around her chin, turning her face toward him as he stepped closer. Rose's breath caught as the distance between them disappeared, leaving them standing so close that she could feel the warmth of his body.

His gaze held hers.

“What exactly do you want, Mrs. Bishop?”

Rose swallowed.

Being this close to him always made it difficult to think clearly. She could feel the tension gathering in her body beneath his unwavering stare.

“I was thinking…” She hesitated before finally forcing the words out. “Maybe we shouldn't tell anyone about our relationship for now.”

Maverick's expression changed instantly.

The softness disappeared from his eyes.

For a moment, he simply stared at her, his jaw tightening as though she'd just asked him for something completely unreasonable.

Rose's confidence faltered.

“You… don't want to?”

He didn't answer.

His hand remained beneath her chin, but the displeasure in his expression was unmistakable.

Rose's heart sank.

“If that's the case…” She lowered her eyes, trying to hide her disappointment. “Then I'll ask another director at my father's company to take over the project.”

She looked back at him.

“That would be the only way I could continue working on it without everyone thinking I got the project because of you.”

Rose stepped away from him, creating a little distance between them before turning toward the door.

She had barely taken a step when Maverick caught her arm.

He pulled her back, and she stumbled against his chest, instinctively placing a hand against him to steady herself. His other hand settled around her arm, keeping her there as his gaze fixed on her.

“Why do we have to hide our relationship from everyone?” he asked. “What difference does it make whether people know or not?”

Rose stared at him, almost offended that he couldn't understand something that seemed so obvious to her.

“Of course it makes a difference.” Her voice rose with frustration. “Everyone is going to think I got this project because I'm your wife, not because I worked hard for it. Do you know how embarrassing that would be?”

She pulled her arm slightly, but he didn't let go.

“Do you know how many years it took me to get here? How long I worked before my father finally trusted me enough to put me in charge of an entire project?”

Maverick's eyes narrowed.

“It won't make a difference.”

“It does to me.”

“Who cares what they think?”

Rose's expression fell.

“It's fine.”

She turned away again, but before she could get more than a step, Maverick caught her once more.

This time, he let out a slow breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

Rose watched him closely.

There was a brief flicker of frustration across his face, followed by something that looked suspiciously like resignation. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze settled on hers.

“How long?”

Rose blinked.

“What?”

“How long is the project?”

She stared at him for a second before the meaning finally sank in.

“Three months.”

Hope immediately brightened her voice.

“Three months?”

Maverick clenched his jaw, as though he were gathering every ounce of patience he possessed.

“Fine.” He finally gave in. “We'll keep our relationship private for three months.”

Rose's eyes widened.

“But after that, I'm not hiding it for another second. I don't care what you want after those three months. Three months from today. That's it.”

Her face lit up.

“Of course. Yes!”

Before he could say anything else, she threw her arms around him.

Maverick stiffened for half a second before the tension in his body melted away. He let out a quiet breath and lowered his head, burying his face against her shoulder as he held her close.

The scent of her hair surrounded him, and whatever irritation had been lingering in his expression disappeared completely.

After a moment, he eased his hold and pulled back just enough to look at her.

Rose looked up at him.

The way he was looking at her made her heart stumble.

There was something so openly affectionate in his eyes that it sent a strange warmth through her entire body. She found herself staring back at him, unable to look away.

“Why are you so good to me?” she asked softly.

Maverick was silent for a moment.

Then his answer came without hesitation.

“Because you're mine.”

A shiver ran through her.

There was something about the certainty in his voice, and the way he looked at her when he said it, that made her chest tighten. His gaze held an intensity she couldn't quite understand, yet she found herself drawn to it anyway.

She finally looked away, trying to settle the strange emotions stirring inside her.

They returned home late that night. The work at the office had taken longer than expected, and Maverick had stayed with her until everything was settled. Once he had handed the project over to her and made sure she had everything she needed, he left soon afterward.

It was already past ten when Rose finally settled into bed with a book in her hands. She had changed into her pajamas, and her phone rested untouched on the nightstand beside her.

The sound of the shower running drifted from the bathroom, and despite her best efforts to focus on the book, her attention kept wandering toward the frosted glass door. Through the translucent surface, she could make out Maverick’s silhouette moving inside.

She quickly lowered her eyes to the page, pretending to read, only for her gaze to drift back toward the bathroom a few moments later.

She had barely managed to read another paragraph when her phone suddenly rang.

Rose startled so badly that the book slipped from her hands and landed on the bed.

With an annoyed frown, she reached for the phone on the nightstand and glanced at the screen. An unfamiliar number stared back at her.

She answered the call and immediately switched it to speakerphone, keeping the phone in her hand as her eyes instinctively returned to the bathroom door.

“Hello?”

“Come over to my apartment. We need to talk.”

Rose’s expression tightened the moment she recognized Ivan’s voice.

“I don't want to,” she said flatly. “Stop calling me. I've already told you. You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

She let out a frustrated breath, her fingers tightening around the phone.

“I’m married now, Ivan. I have a husband. Whatever is left between us is over. So stop calling me and asking me to come to your apartment. Someone might see me, and it’s going to ruin my reputation.”

Ivan’s voice immediately hardened.

“Have you lost your damn mind, Rose? Don’t make me angry. You keep crossing the line because you’re trying to make me jealous. I know about all your little schemes, so don’t try to fool me.”

“I’m not trying to fool you,” Rose shot back, her voice growing firmer.

“You really expect me to believe that?” Ivan scoffed. “What about Zoe? You know exactly what she did to my cars. First, you tried to make me jealous, and when that didn’t work, you started coming up with other ways to get my attention. How long are you going to keep playing these childish games?”

Rose's jaw tightened.

“Ivan—”

“I’ve told you before, you always overthink everything,” he continued, his irritation rising. “There is nothing between Jessica and me, yet you keep acting like there is. You’re making yourself miserable over nothing.”

Rose stared at the phone in her hand, her expression slowly hardening.

“Come over right now,” Ivan ordered. “We will talk. You can spend the night at my apartment tonight.”

Rose didn’t notice when the bathroom door opened.

Maverick stepped out, a towel wrapped low around his hips, droplets of water still clinging to his bare chest and shoulders. His long hair was damp, a few strands falling around his face as he walked toward the bed.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard Rose’s voice.

“I’m not going to your apartment. Are you out of your mind? What did I just tell you? I have no interest in you anymore. We’ve gone our separate ways. How long are you going to keep pestering me?”

Maverick’s expression changed immediately.

He didn’t need to hear much more to understand who was on the other end of the call.

Jealousy flashed across his eyes, followed by a sharp tightening of his jaw.

Rose continued, completely unaware of him.

“You—”

The phone was suddenly taken from her hand.

Chapter 13 Why Do You Care?

Rose blinked in surprise as Maverick tossed it onto the nightstand and stepped closer.

Before she could even process what he was doing, he planted both hands on either side of her pillow and leaned over her, trapping her beneath him.

Rose’s breath caught.

His damp hair dripped onto his forehead, while the towel around his hips sat dangerously low. The sight of him so close made her heart stumble, but the expression in his eyes quickly wiped away any other thought.

“Who were you talking to?”

His voice was quiet.

There was no curiosity in his gaze. Only jealousy.

Rose opened her mouth to answer, but Maverick didn’t give her the chance.

He lowered his head and kissed her.

The kiss was sudden and possessive, stealing the words right from her lips. Rose’s hands instinctively found his shoulders, her fingers curling against his damp skin as he deepened the kiss.

One of his hands slid from the mattress to her face, holding her gently but firmly as he tilted his head and kissed her again, leaving her struggling to catch her breath.

Beside them, the phone suddenly came alive.

Ivan’s furious voice erupted from the speaker.

“What the fuck? Are you with another man right now? Who is that?”

Rose barely heard him.

Maverick kissed her again, completely ignoring the voice coming from the phone.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Ivan shouted. “What are those noises? Are you sleeping with him?”

Maverick’s jaw tightened.

Without taking his eyes off Rose, he reached over, grabbed the phone, and ended the call.

The room immediately fell silent.

He tossed the phone aside and turned his attention back to her as though Ivan had never existed.

Rose was breathless beneath him. She turned her face away for a moment, trying to catch her breath, then glanced toward the phone before looking back at Maverick.

“He’s already hung up,” she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow, his expression darkening as he looked down at her.

“What did I tell you when you came home with me for the first time?” he asked, his voice low and rough.

His thumb brushed across her lower lip, wiping away the trace of moisture there before he continued, his gaze fixed on hers.

“I told you that if I ever found out there was another man in your heart, I’d break his fucking neck. Don’t you remember that, or do you simply not care what I say?”

Rose immediately stiffened beneath his gaze. The possessiveness in his voice sent a nervous shiver through her.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “It won’t happen again. I won’t pick up Ivan’s calls when you’re around anymore.”

The anger in his expression only deepened.

Before she could say anything else, he lowered his head and kissed her again, his frustration evident in the intensity of the kiss. When he finally pulled back, his eyes remained fixed on hers.

“In front of me?” he repeated.

Rose’s stomach tightened.

‘Oh my God. What am I even saying?’

He was already like a wild animal, perfectly capable of tearing her apart. The last thing she needed was to irritate him by saying something stupid.

‘What is wrong with me? Why can’t I ever seem to think logically around him?’

Before she could gather her thoughts enough to explain herself, Maverick leaned down again.

His mouth moved from hers to her neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses along her skin. Rose's breath caught, and her fingers instinctively curled against his shoulders as the tension between them slowly overwhelmed her.

Whatever argument she had been trying to make disappeared from her mind as she lay beneath him, her body trembling beneath the intensity of his attention.

He nipped at the delicate skin just beneath her ear and she gasped, sharp and high in her throat, every nerve ending pinpricked with longing and fear. His hands roamed her waist, splaying flat, fingers digging into the fabric of her shirt, anchoring her to the mattress. Maverick’s breath was ragged, the edge of it hot and ragged against her cheek.

Every movement of his mouth felt like an accusation. She couldn’t keep up—his tongue was insistent, lips relentless, as if he was trying to erase any trace of Ivan from her memory and replace it with himself. The force of him was overwhelming, and she was drowning in the taste of him, the scent of his skin, the weight of his thigh between hers.

“Ah!” Rose’s head spun. Her hands scrabbled at his back, nails catching at the thin cotton of his t-shirt, desperate for something to hold on to. She could sense the jealousy radiating off him, bitter and electric. 

His teeth grazed her collarbone, and she felt her body arch, hips grinding up into him without her permission. Her breath hitched, a trembling whimper escaping, humiliating in its neediness. 

“You are mine now,” he muttered, the word muffled against her throat.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

He came down hard on her lips again, hungrier this time, and she surrendered to it, let herself tumble headlong into the want. She forgot about Ivan, her phone, the fight. All that mattered was the crush of Maverick’s body on hers, the way his hands mapped her ribs, thumbs tracing slow lines just under her bra.

He pulled back, just enough to hiss, “Stay the fuck away from him,” and the warning was clear, but so was the plea underneath it. She nodded, dazed, and Maverick kissed her harder, his body molding to hers as if he meant to fuse them together.

***

Maverick stepped out of the Oracle Fragrances building, and Rose hurried after him, quickening her pace to keep up with his long strides. He was already several steps ahead when he glanced over his shoulder and noticed her struggling to catch up.

Without saying a word, he slowed down.

Rose noticed immediately and smiled to herself as she fell into step beside him. A moment later, Maverick reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers as they continued toward the car waiting at the curb.

But as they drew closer, Rose's smile faded.

Their driver was standing beside the car.

And he wasn't alone.

Another man stood beside him, waiting.

Rose's brows knitted in confusion, but before she could ask who he was, she felt Maverick's grip tighten around her hand.

She looked up at him.

His expression had changed.

The relaxed look he had worn moments earlier was gone, replaced by a hard, displeased stare directed straight at the man waiting by the car. There was a clear edge of irritation in his eyes, and the tension in his jaw made it obvious that he wasn't pleased to see him.

Yet Maverick didn't slow down.

As they approached the car, Maverick glanced briefly toward the driver.

“Let's go,” he said.

His hand immediately shifted to Rose's waist, drawing her closer as he guided her toward the passenger door. He didn't acknowledge the other man, didn't even spare him a glance, as though he wasn't standing there at all.

The deliberate dismissal only seemed to make the man's expression darker.

Just as Maverick was about to help Rose into the car, the man stepped directly into their path.

Rose stopped short.

The man was considerably older than Maverick, with a face that carried a similar sharpness to Maverick's features, though age had hardened it in a less appealing way. His expression was twisted with irritation as he looked down at Rose, then slowly shifted his attention back to Maverick.

“How can you get married secretly without even bringing your new bride to meet your family?” he demanded, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Maverick's expression turned colder.

The man continued before he could respond.

“We’re family, Maverick. Your father is going to be deeply disappointed when he finds out that you don’t respect your own family enough to even introduce your wife to us.”

He smiled sweetly, though there was a clear edge to her words.

“Don’t worry. This time, we won’t make you eat with the servants. We’ll even let you sit at the dining table with the rest of us. I’m your cousin, remember? I’ll convince Dad and Grandpa myself.”

Maverick’s expression didn’t change. If anything, it grew colder.

“I have no desire to eat with dogs,” he said dismissively.

Before Augustus could respond, Maverick gestured toward the driver with two fingers. Then, without another word, he shoved Augustus aside and opened the car door for Rose.

“Get in.”

His voice was cold, but the way he guided Rose into the car was careful, almost gentle, as if nothing had happened.

Rose climbed inside, still trying to process the strange encounter.

Behind her, the driver glanced at Augustus, who was now standing beside the car with a furious expression.

“Get away from the car, Augustus,” the driver said casually. “And you're paying for the cleaning. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to clean a Mercedes?”

Augustus's face twisted with disbelief.

“Excuse me?”

The driver didn't even bother looking at him again. He simply walked around the car and got into the driver's seat, completely unfazed by the fact that he had just insulted Maverick's cousin to his face.

Rose stared at him in surprise.

‘Did he really just say that?’

And more importantly, why didn't he seem even slightly afraid?

Maverick climbed into the car beside her a moment later. His face was set in stone, his anger still evident in the tightness of his jaw.

Rose glanced back through the window.

Augustus was still standing there, his face dark with fury.

She slowly turned back toward Maverick.

She had heard the rumors about his family.

After Maverick and Zoe's parents died when they were children, the Bishop family had allegedly taken control of the fortune and businesses their parents had built together. There had been countless stories about how badly Maverick and Zoe had been treated growing up—how their relatives had humiliated them, pushed them aside, and treated them as though they were nothing more than unwanted burdens.

And then, years later, Maverick had taken everything back.

Brutally.

There were even rumors that he had beaten several members of his own family so badly that they had nearly died.

That was why people feared him.

Maverick had no mercy for anyone—not even his own blood relatives.

Rose’s gaze shifted back toward the window. She looked at the man with a deepening frown.

The thought of someone mistreating Maverick and Zoe when they were children made her blood boil. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she glared at him through the window.

If Augustus was one of the people who hurt them… then Maverick had every right to do what he did.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

Someone like him deserved to be beaten within an inch of his life.

Augustus shot them one last furious look before the driver closed the car door, shutting him inside.

The moment the door shut, Maverick reached for Rose's hand and pulled her toward him, his arm settling firmly around her waist. He held her close, as though he didn't want even the slightest trace of Augustus near her.

Rose didn't resist. She let herself be drawn against his side while Augustus stood outside the car, his face twisted with fury.

The driver climbed into the front seat, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb.

Maverick still didn't release Rose.

His grip remained firm around her as he stared straight ahead, his expression hard and distant. But Rose could see the anger wasn't the only thing weighing on him anymore.

There was something else in his eyes.

Something darker.

She reached up and gently cupped his face, turning his attention toward her.

“Don't accept them as your family,” she said quietly. “They're not your family.”

Maverick's gaze shifted to hers.

“Don't pay any attention to what he said. You deserve so much more than anything they could ever give you.” Her thumb brushed gently across his cheek. “You have your own home now. You have me. You don't need anyone else from them anymore, okay?”

Her voice was earnest, almost fierce with conviction. She couldn't stand seeing the hurt beneath his anger.

Slowly, the tension in Maverick's face began to ease.

The hard lines around his eyes softened, and the anger that had been burning there gradually faded as he looked at her.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at her.

Then his gaze dropped briefly to the hand still resting against his cheek.

“Why do you care if I feel bad?”

Rose's fingers immediately loosened.

Only then did she seem to realize how close they were.

A nervous flush crept across her face as she pulled her hand away and looked toward the window.

She hesitated for a moment before answering softly, “Because you're my husband.”

The words made her even shyer.

She turned her face toward the window, pretending to be suddenly fascinated by the passing city.

“Stop talking. I'm hungry.”

A quiet smile tugged at Maverick’s lips. He said nothing, but his gaze lingered on her flushed face as the car continued down the road.

***

It was getting colder in Manhattan, and over the past few days, the snowfall had grown heavier. A thick layer of snow covered the roads and sidewalks, turning the entire city white as the temperature continued to drop.

“Oh my God, I’m so full,” Zoe groaned as she walked out of a fancy restaurant, one hand resting over her stomach. “I haven’t had food this good in my entire life.”

Rose walked beside her, equally stuffed and barely able to do anything more than nod in agreement.

“I honestly didn’t expect all those rumors to be true,” Zoe continued happily. “The food really is that good. I could come here every single day.”

“Yeah,” Rose agreed with a small smile. “It’s a shame Maverick wasn’t there with us. I think he would’ve loved it too.”

Zoe suddenly stopped walking.

Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at Rose, a strange amusement appearing on her face.

Rose took another step before realizing that Zoe had stopped. She turned around, her eyebrows lifting in confusion.

“What?”

“Ever since you married my brother, you’ve changed so much,” Zoe said, studying her with an amused expression. “You don’t even seem afraid of Maverick anymore. Before, you were so fucking terrified of him that you avoided him whenever you could.”

Rose immediately waved a hand dismissively, although the faint flush spreading across her cheeks betrayed her embarrassment.

“You’re overthinking it. Isn’t it normal? We’re married now. Besides, after getting to know him, I realized he’s not really as bad as I thought he was.”

Zoe giggled and started walking again, easily matching Rose’s pace.

“I never said it was a bad thing. I’m actually happy about it. Maverick has always been a great brother to me, so I know he’s going to be a great husband to you, too. I’m just happy that you’re happy with him.”

Rose clasped her hands behind her back as she walked through the snow, a small smile appearing on her lips.

“I am,” she admitted quietly.

The two continued down the sidewalk, their conversation carrying on naturally as the snow fell around them. Neither of them noticed the hurried footsteps approaching from behind.

It happened so quickly that Rose barely had time to react.

A hand suddenly came from behind and clamped over her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock as something pressed against her face, and she struggled instinctively, trying to pull herself free.

“Rose!”

Zoe's scream rang through the snowy street.

Several men dressed in dark clothing and masks appeared around them almost at once. Two of them immediately grabbed Zoe, while another caught Rose as her body began to lose strength.

Zoe fought desperately, twisting and kicking as she tried to break free.

“Let her go!”

She managed to wrench one arm loose and reached toward Rose, but one of the men shoved her hard enough to send her stumbling backward.

Rose had already lost consciousness.

Her body went limp as the men dragged her toward a dark car waiting farther down the road.

“No! Rose!”

Zoe struggled against their grip, but by the time she managed to pull herself free, the men had already forced Rose into the vehicle.

The car door slammed shut, and the vehicle immediately sped away, its tires kicking up snow as it disappeared down the road.

Zoe stood frozen for a moment, staring after it in disbelief.

Then panic took over.

“Oh my God…”

Her hands shook violently as she pulled out her phone and immediately dialed Maverick’s number. He answered after only a few rings.

“Maverick!” Zoe shouted, her voice trembling with panic. “Someone just kidnapped Rose!”

She could barely catch her breath as the words rushed out of her.

“They were men in masks. They came out of nowhere and grabbed her. They took her in a car and drove away!”

A curse left Zoe’s mouth before she heard the quick shuffle of movement on the other end of the call. Maverick’s voice came through immediately, sharp and commanding.

“Where are you? Send me your location. Don’t move. I’m sending someone to pick you up. I’ll take care of it.”

Before Zoe could answer, the call ended.

An hour later, the thunderous sound of Maverick’s footsteps echoed through the abandoned building as he stormed inside. Silence hung heavily in the air, broken only by the hurried footsteps of his men as they spread out and surrounded the place.

Maverick didn’t slow down. The moment his men located Rose, he headed straight toward the sound of their voices.

The building wasn’t empty after all.

His men had already cleared the lower floor, and Maverick pushed past them without wasting a second. He stormed toward the stairs and took them two at a time, his expression growing darker with every step.

Then he reached the floor above.

The sight waiting for him nearly made his blood boil.

Four men surrounded Rose.

Her hands were tied tightly behind her back at an awkward, painful angle, while a blindfold covered her eyes. One of the men had a tight grip around her neck, holding her in place as he shouted something directly into her face.

Maverick didn’t even wait to hear what he was saying.

He charged forward and drove his foot into the man's back.

The man stumbled forward, caught completely off guard. Only then did the others realize they had been surrounded. Maverick’s men moved in at once, cutting off every possible escape.

Maverick grabbed the nearest man and shoved him aside before rushing toward Rose.

He tore the blindfold from her eyes and freed her from the hands holding her.

The moment she was released, Rose sucked in a shaky breath of relief.

“Maverick!” she cried, throwing her arms around him.

He caught her immediately, pulling her tightly against his chest as his gaze swept over her.

“What did they do to you?” he demanded, his voice dangerously low.

Rose was breathing heavily, still shaken from everything that had happened. Her face was flushed, and then Maverick noticed the red marks across her cheek.

Handprints.

Someone had slapped her.

His entire expression changed.

His jaw tightened, and something vicious flashed through his eyes as he looked at the marks.

“What did they do to you?”

Rose immediately shook her head, trying to calm him.

“He just hit me a few times,” she whispered. “They were threatening to ra—”

Her voice faltered.

She swallowed hard, unable to force the rest of the words past her throat.

But Maverick understood enough.

His eyes darkened dangerously.

While his attention remained fixed on Rose, neither of them noticed one of the men breaking away from the others.

The man rushed toward Maverick from behind and swung a heavy brick into the back of his head.

Thud.

Rose screamed.

“Maverick!”

His body lurched forward, and Rose instinctively reached out to catch him as he staggered.

Her hand flew to the back of his head.

“Maverick!” she cried again, panic flooding her voice.

For a moment, he couldn't hear anything clearly.

A sharp ringing filled his ears, drowning out every other sound around him.

Maverick’s men immediately grabbed the man who had struck him and pinned him to the ground with brutal force. The sharp snap of his wrist breaking cut through the silence, followed by his scream.

Rose barely noticed.

She was too focused on Maverick.

She wrapped her arms around him in panic, her voice trembling as she looked up at him. “Maverick… are you okay? Please, tell me you’re okay.”

Maverick’s face fell against the curve of her neck as he took a slow breath, his arms tightening around her.

“I’m fine,” he muttered. “Give me a second.”

Rose carefully reached toward the back of his head, her fingers trembling as she checked the spot where he had been hit.

“You should see a doctor.”

“I will.”

He straightened slowly, and even as he got back on his feet, he refused to let go of her. His arm remained firmly around her wrist as he guided her toward the door.

Before leaving, Maverick turned his head toward his men, his expression turning cold.

“Find out who is behind this.”

His secretary, Leo, who had been standing nearby with the men who had entered the building, immediately stepped forward.

“Mr. Bishop, don't worry. I’ll take care of it. The driver is waiting downstairs, and I’ve already arranged for a doctor to come to your house to take care of Mrs. Bishop.”

Maverick didn’t wait for him to finish.

He simply pulled Rose along with him and headed down the stairs.

He didn't let go of her hand for even a second.

Once they reached the car, he helped her inside before climbing in beside her. Even on the drive home, his hand remained wrapped around hers, as though he needed to make sure she was really there and safe.

By the time they arrived home, the doctor was already waiting.

He examined Rose first, checking her injuries and making sure she hadn't suffered anything serious. After giving her some medicine, he advised her to rest.

The fear and exhaustion finally caught up with her.

Once she had calmed down, Rose eventually drifted off to sleep.

Only then did Maverick finally rise from his seat and walk out of the room.

Zoe was waiting in the living room. The moment she saw him, she stood up.

“How is she?” she asked anxiously. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Maverick replied. “The doctor gave her something to help her sleep.”

His expression remained grim as he looked at his sister.

“I need you to stay with her for a while. I have something to take care of.”

Zoe immediately nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay with her.”

Maverick gave a brief nod before turning around and walking out of the house.

His anger had been silent throughout the entire night.

Now, it was finally showing.

By the time he reached his car, Leo was already waiting beside it. 

Maverick stopped. His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes became frighteningly still.

“Who was it?”

Leo answered at once.

“Augustus, Mr. Bishop.”

Maverick's jaw tightened.

“Take me to his house.”

His voice was dangerously quiet.

Leo had worked for him for years, and he couldn't remember the last time he had heard Maverick speak in that deathly calm tone.

It sent a chill down his spine.

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter 14 Augustus

The car came to a stop in front of the massive mansion. The once-grand property had begun to deteriorate in places, but it was still an imposing sight, its sheer size and grandeur a reminder of the family’s wealth.

Maverick didn’t wait for Leo to open the door. He shoved it open himself and stormed inside.

Leo hurried after him, while another car pulled up behind them. Several men dressed in black immediately jumped out and followed.

The two security guards stationed outside the mansion barely had time to react before Maverick’s men moved in. Within seconds, they had been overpowered and forced to the ground.

Maverick shoved open the front door and headed straight inside.

He stormed up the stairs and marched directly toward Augustus’s bedroom. Without bothering to knock, he threw the door open.

Augustus was lying on his bed, apparently in the middle of a frantic phone call.

“What the fuck? Why would you let her go?” he demanded into the phone.

Before he could say another word, Maverick was on him.

He grabbed Augustus by the back of the head and slammed it brutally against the wall.

Bang.

Augustus cried out in pain.

Maverick didn't stop.

He slammed his head against the wall again.

And again.

And a third time.

The sound of each impact echoed through the room as blood began to trickle down Augustus’s forehead. Augustus struggled desperately against Maverick’s grip, but Maverick held him firmly, refusing to give him even an inch of freedom.

Then, as though Augustus weighed nothing, Maverick grabbed him by the hair and dragged him across the floor.

Augustus clawed at the carpet, trying to stop himself.

“Maverick! Wait—”

Maverick didn't even look at him.

He dragged him straight toward the staircase before shoving him down.

Augustus tumbled down the stairs, his body striking step after step as his terrified cries echoed throughout the house.

The maids rushed out of the adjoining rooms.

They froze at the sight.

Augustus lay crumpled at the bottom of the staircase, blood covering his face.

Maverick descended after him, skipping several steps at a time, his expression utterly devoid of mercy.

He reached Augustus and grabbed him by the hair again.

Then he dragged him into the living room.

Augustus barely had time to catch his breath before Maverick threw him onto the floor.

The room fell silent.

Maverick reached for his belt.

The moment Augustus realized what he was doing, all the color drained from his face.

“No…”

Maverick pulled the belt free.

The same belt. The same man. And the same punishment Augustus remembered from five years ago, when Maverick had beaten him nearly to death.

Only this time, Maverick looked even more furious.

Maverick kicked Augustus hard, sending him crashing back to the floor, then brought the belt down again.

And again.

And again.

The sharp cracks of the leather echoed through the house, followed by Augustus’s screams, but Maverick didn't stop. His face remained cold and furious as he continued, every strike fueled by the image of Rose crying.

Fifteen minutes later, another panicked voice suddenly rang through the doorway.

“Stop! Stop!”

Albert Bishop, their grandfather, hurried into the room.

“Are you going to kill him?” he demanded furiously.

Maverick didn't even look at him.

Albert rushed forward and tried to position himself between Maverick and Augustus, shielding the younger man with his own body.

“Enough!”

Maverick still didn't stop.

The belt continued to crack through the air until finally his arm began to slow. His hand was aching from the repeated strikes, and the leather belt was stained with blood. Augustus’s shirt was covered in red streaks, his body barely moving beneath him.

Only then did Maverick finally stop.

He took a step back, his chest rising and falling heavily.

His face was thunderous, his eyes bloodshot with fury, and his hand was smeared with blood from gripping the belt.

Yet he showed no sign of pain.

Albert had already retreated several steps, staring at him with a mixture of fury and fear.

“You’re a fucking devil!” he shouted. “How can you hit him like this? You’re a monster! You’re a madman. You still haven't gotten your brain fixed!”

Maverick slowly lifted his eyes toward him.

The look in them was so cold and merciless that Albert instinctively took a step back.

“Keep your dog in check,” Maverick said, his voice dangerously calm. “He tried to lay a hand on my wife today.”

His fingers tightened around the bloodied belt.

“The only reason I’m not killing him is because I don’t want my wife to watch me go to prison.”

Albert's anger flared again.

“He is your family!” he shouted. “How can you do this to him over some woman you just married? All because he made one mistake? Are you going to beat him to death?”

Maverick stared at him for several seconds.

Then he gave a cold, humorless laugh.

“You’re not my family.”

His voice dropped.

“And I don't remember ever being part of yours.”

Albert's expression hardened.

“My father left this house the day he married my mother because you didn't want her. But the moment they died in an accident, you were the first one to take everything they had.”

Maverick's jaw clenched.

“You took their properties. You took their company. You took everything they built together and left Zoe and me to survive on whatever scraps you decided to throw at us.”

His eyes swept over Albert with pure contempt.

“You've been a parasite on my family from the beginning. You and everyone who stood beside you.”

He took one slow step forward.

“I spent years getting everything back.”

Another step.

“And I won't hesitate to take the rest.”

Albert's face tightened, but Maverick's expression remained utterly cold.

“So listen carefully,” he said. “Stay away from my wife. Stay away from Zoe. And stay out of my life.”

His gaze hardened.

“Because if you come after either of them again, I will kill you.”

Albert looked shaken as he stared after Maverick, fear finally creeping into his eyes. This wasn't the first time Maverick had destroyed everything in his path, and Albert knew exactly what he was capable of.

But this time was different.

Augustus had pushed him past the last thread of his patience.

Maverick turned back toward them one final time, his gaze moving between Albert and Augustus.

“I've already taken everything that belonged to me,” he snapped. “I left this house for you to die in, but clearly, generosity doesn't suit you.”

Albert's face paled.

“You deserve to live on the street, scrambling around like fucking cockroaches.”

With that, Maverick turned and stormed out of the house, leaving the room heavy with silence.

Albert's expression darkened as he rushed toward Augustus.

“Don't worry,” he said, trying to steady his voice. “We'll take care of him.”

Augustus could barely lift his head. His body was trembling from the beating, and he could only stare at his grandfather through pain-filled eyes.

Before Albert could say anything else, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the entrance.

Several police officers rushed into the house.

Albert's expression immediately changed.

Two officers approached Augustus and grabbed him, pulling him to his feet.

“What are you doing?” Albert shouted, stepping forward. “What the hell is going on?”

One of the officers stopped and looked at him calmly.

“Mr. Augustus Bishop, you are being arrested for the kidnapping of Mrs. Rose Bishop.”

***

Ivan stormed into the massive bridal store, his face drawn with exhaustion and anger. He hadn't slept much the previous night, and it showed.

The moment he stepped inside, one of the assistants recognized him and hurried over.

“Mr. Carrington, what a surprise. How can we help you today?”

Ivan barely acknowledged her. He walked straight toward the couches and dropped into one of them.

“Prepare a gown for my girlfriend,” he ordered. “We’re getting married. I need you to have her dress ready.”

The assistant hesitated, clearly unsure how to respond.

“Please wait here. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried away, and five minutes later, the manager appeared. He approached Ivan with a polite smile and bowed his head respectfully.

“Mr. Carrington, unfortunately, we don't have Miss Monroe's measurements. As you know, she never came in for her appointment, and she canceled the consultation where she was supposed to choose her dress. We don't have any of her measurements or preferences, so I'm afraid we can't prepare a gown for her.”

Ivan rubbed a hand over his face, his exhaustion obvious. His eyes were bloodshot, and the frustration in his expression made the manager straighten nervously.

“I'll choose the dress,” Ivan said flatly. “She'll wear whatever I choose. Just bring me the damn dresses, and I'll pick one for her.”

He paused before adding, “I'll also give you her measurements. Use them to make the gown and have it ready within a week.”

The manager's expression immediately brightened.

“Of course, Mr. Carrington. Absolutely.”

He hurried away and began instructing the assistants to bring out their best gowns.

Within minutes, several dresses were wheeled out on racks and displayed in front of Ivan.

He barely glanced at most of them before stopping at one.

“This one.”

He pointed toward an elegant gown with an open neckline that left the shoulders exposed.

“She likes dresses like this. She'll wear this one.”

The manager immediately nodded.

“Excellent choice, sir.”

“Have it ready within a week.”

“Of course.”

Ivan was still discussing the alterations with the manager when another set of hurried footsteps echoed through the store.

Maria stormed inside.

An assistant immediately rushed toward her, but she waved her off and headed straight toward Ivan.

She stopped directly in front of him.

Ivan looked up, surprised.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

“What the hell are you doing?” Maria demanded.

Ivan frowned.

“Rose is upset with me,” he explained, as though the answer were obvious. “I'm going to arrange the wedding and surprise her with it. She's angry right now, so I thought a surprise wedding might—”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?”

Maria roughly tossed the bag in her hand onto the couch beside him.

Her expression was furious.

“Ivan, what exactly are you planning to do?”

“Ivan, she’s not getting married to you. You broke up. She told me clearly that she has no intention of marrying you and that she wants nothing to do with you anymore. So what wedding are you talking about?”

“I told you, she’s angry with me because I hurt her. I know it was my fault, but I’m not going to accept that this is the end. I’m going to fix it. Everything will be fine, so don’t worry about our relationship.”

Maria nearly lost her mind.

She stared at him in disbelief before throwing her hands up.

“You’re acting crazy! Don’t you realize Rose has already refused you? What are you doing now when she has already made it clear she doesn’t want to marry you?”

Her voice rose with every word.

“When it was the right time, you didn't even bother apologizing to her! I told you a hundred damn times to go and patch things up with her, but you were too damn stubborn to even talk to her. And now, after all this time, you’re suddenly arranging a wedding without even having the bride!”

She pointed toward the racks of wedding gowns.

“Have you lost your mind? Have you even talked to her? And now you're here picking out a wedding dress?”

Ivan didn't look the slightest bit bothered.

He rose from the couch and straightened his jacket, his expression stubbornly confident.

“She wants to marry me. You know that.”

Maria stared at him.

“I’m not acting out. This is what she wants. Once she sees that I'm giving her the wedding she really wants, she'll be happy.”

Maria's jaw dropped.

Then her anger exploded.

“Are you seriously still thinking like this?”

She stepped closer, her eyes blazing.

“You slapped that poor girl! You hit her, Ivan! Do you even understand what you've done?”

Ivan's expression hardened.

“Her father isn't even willing to speak to me because of what you did to her. Oswald is furious. I was so ashamed standing in front of him that I couldn't even lift my head.”

She shook her head bitterly.

“And he isn't the only one. He has already made it clear that he wants nothing more to do with you. They've canceled all the deals we had with them.”

Ivan's expression finally shifted.

Maria continued before he could interrupt.

“Every time I go to a party, people know. Do you understand that? Everyone knows why you and Rose broke up. They know you raised your hand against her.”

Her voice cracked with frustration.

“People have started distancing themselves from us and from our business because of it. Do you know how humiliating that is? I can barely hold my head up when I walk into a room anymore because of what you did.”

She pointed toward him, her eyes filled with anger.

“And after all that, you're standing here choosing a wedding dress as if Rose is going to magically forget everything and walk down the aisle with you?”

Ivan's jaw tightened, but his stubborn certainty remained.

“She'll come back.”

Maria stared at him as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“Ivan, for God's sake, she already told you she doesn't want you.”

Ivan's jaw clenched, and his entire body went rigid for a moment. Yet even then, he refused to accept what Maria was saying.

“I know things have been difficult between us. That happens between couples. She loves me, and I love her. Nothing is going to change that. I'm telling you, everything is going to be fine between us. You're overreacting.”

Maria's anger finally reached its breaking point.

“She is not coming back!”

Her voice rang through the store.

“She has already married someone else. There is no going back between you two, Ivan!”

Ivan fell silent.

For a brief moment, shock flashed across his face.

Then he let out a disbelieving scoff.

“Mom... you didn't fall for it too, did you?”

Maria stared at him.

“She’s trying to make me jealous,” he continued stubbornly. “There is no other man. She's just angry with me. She always uses these little tricks whenever she's upset. I'm telling you, she's only acting this way because she's hurt this time. Once I give her the wedding she wants, she'll be happy and come back to me.”

Maria stared at him in disbelief.

Then, without saying another word, she pulled out her phone.

Her fingers moved furiously across the screen before she found what she was looking for.

She shoved the phone directly in front of his face.

“Look at this picture.”

Ivan's eyes dropped to the screen.

It was a photograph of Rose kissing another man.

His expression froze.

“Do you see it now?” Maria demanded. “She married someone else. That's her husband.”

Ivan's eyes remained fixed on the photograph.

“Oswald himself showed this to me and gave it to me when I tried to talk things out with him. He told me Rose is already married and living happily with someone else.”

Her voice softened slightly, but the frustration remained.

“She married him the day after you hit her.”

Ivan's fingers slowly curled into fists.

“And Oswald is so furious that he told us to stay away from Rose. He doesn't want anyone from our family disturbing her ever again.”

Maria lowered the phone.

“She has moved on, Ivan. You need to accept that.”

Ivan’s anger only intensified as Maria’s words sank in. His eyes burned as he stared at the photograph of Rose kissing another man, his chest rising and falling heavily as shock gave way to fury.

“What the fuck?” he breathed.

He looked at the picture again, as if staring at it long enough would somehow make it impossible. Then he turned on his mother, holding the phone out toward her with a shaking hand.

“She can’t do this to me. We have—she’s my girlfriend. How can she kiss someone else?”

Maria stepped forward and caught his arm before he could storm away. “I just told you. She married someone else.”

Ivan ripped his arm from her grip, his face hardening.

“I’m going to track her down and drag her back to my side if I have to. She can’t just leave me. We’ve been together for a year. We’re in a relationship. She can’t simply go off and marry someone else because she’s angry with me.”

He turned and stormed out of the shop.

“Ivan!” Maria hurried after him. “Where are you going?”

He didn’t even look back.

He strode straight outside, climbed into his car, and drove directly to Rose’s house.

The moment he reached the mansion, he stopped at the gate and looked through it. Rose’s car was parked outside.

A surge of relief immediately washed over him.

‘She lied to me.’

He drove through the gates and headed straight for the house. Maybe his mother had misunderstood. Maybe Rose had never married anyone at all.

Ivan pushed through the front door without bothering to announce himself.

Inside, he found Rose standing beside several cardboard boxes while a helper carried another one toward the entrance.

“Please help me put these in the car,” Rose was saying. “And if I realize I’ve forgotten anything, I’ll call you. Please have someone send it over, okay?”

Troy stood nearby and nodded. “Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything is loaded into the car. If you need anything else, just call me.”

Ivan stopped dead.

Relief spread across his face.

‘She really did lie to me.’

Rose was still here. She was in her own home. She hadn’t gone anywhere. Of course she isn’t married.

For the first time since seeing the photograph, Ivan felt certain that everything Maria had told him had to be some kind of misunderstanding.

Then a man appeared behind Rose.

Ivan’s relief vanished.

Maverick stepped close to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back against his chest in an effortless display of possession.

Troy immediately looked away, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden intimacy, and quietly walked out of the room.

Rose startled for a brief second before relaxing against Maverick. She tipped her head back to look at him, her expression softening.

“Maverick, you scared me,” she murmured, drawing a breath as his arm remained securely around her waist.

Maverick leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “Sorry,” he whispered against her skin.

His hands slipped down to hers, and his gaze dropped to the faint marks around her wrists. His expression immediately softened.

“I’m sorry about these bruises,” he murmured. “Next time, I’ll be more careful. I won’t tie you to the bed so tightly.”

Rose’s mouth fell open as she realized what he was talking about.

“Stop it,” she hissed, glancing toward the doorway. “We’re at my house. Someone might hear you.”

She lightly smacked his arm, trying to hide her embarrassment.

In her other hand, she was holding a piece of candy. She quickly unwrapped it and held it up between them.

“Here. Do you want one? It’s strawberry flavored.”

Maverick rarely ate sweets, but when she brought it toward his mouth, he opened it without hesitation.

Just as she was about to feed him, Rose pulled her hand away.

Maverick frowned down at her.

A mischievous smile spread across her face.

She brought the candy toward him again.

Once again, he opened his mouth.

And once again, she pulled it away.

This time, she burst into laughter at the annoyed expression on his face.

“Rose.”

She only laughed harder.

Determined to have the last word, she brought the candy toward him a third time. Maverick opened his mouth, expecting her to finally give it to him, but at the last second, she slipped the candy into her own mouth instead.

Before she could laugh at him again, Maverick’s expression changed.

His hand slid from her waist to the back of her head, and he pulled her toward him. With one smooth movement, he turned her in his arms and kissed her, stealing the candy from her lips.

Rose’s laughter disappeared into a startled breath as she instinctively gripped his arm.

Neither of them noticed the third person who had entered the house.

The sight in front of them kissing made Ivan’s fury explode.

He stormed toward them and grabbed Maverick by the arm, roughly pulling him away from Rose.

Maverick stumbled back a step, completely caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. The impact made him lose his balance for a fraction of a second, but he recovered almost immediately.

The moment he saw Ivan standing there, his entire demeanor changed.

Maverick moved toward Rose without hesitation, stepping directly between them and blocking Ivan’s view of her. His shoulders squared, his body becoming an unmistakable barrier between Rose and the man who had just barged into the room.

His expression turned cold.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Ivan’s face was already flushed with rage. His chest rose and fell heavily as he glared past Maverick, his eyes fixed on Rose.

“Are you fucking doing this to me?” he shouted. “Have you forgotten that you’re my girlfriend? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Rose stared at him in disbelief.

For a moment, she couldn't even find the words to respond. Then her shock gave way to anger.

“Are you kidding me?” she demanded, her voice steadier now. “I broke up with you before I left. I told you we were over. We’re not together anymore.”

She stepped closer to Maverick, her fingers instinctively wrapping around his arm. She looked up at him again, her expression softening as concern replaced the anger in her eyes.

“Are you all right?” she asked quietly.

Ivan seemed to lose whatever restraint he had left.

“How can you betray me?” he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his fury. “You and I are supposed to get married in a few weeks! How the fuck can you kiss someone else? Is this the bastard you’ve been sleeping with? Is he the one you were with the other night when I called you? Were you making out with him then, too?”

Rose drew in a slow breath, forcing herself to remain calm despite the anger boiling in her chest. Then she lifted her chin and met his furious stare head-on.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Her voice rose with every word.

“And I didn’t just kiss him or make out with him. I slept with him, too. More than once.”

Ivan went completely still.

For several seconds, he simply stared at her as though his mind had refused to process what she had said. Then his face twisted with disbelief, and the fury burning in his eyes intensified.

“You’re my girlfriend!” he shouted. “How could you do this to me? How could you humiliate me like that?”

Rose let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

“You’re the one who spent our entire relationship parading Jessica around in front of me. And now you have the nerve to stand here and accuse me of betraying you?”

She stepped toward him, anger tightening every muscle in her body.

“Weren’t you the one who was always telling me I was immature? That I didn’t understand you? That I wasn’t intelligent enough for you? That I was childish?”

Her eyes flashed.

“You found fault with everything I did. You made me feel like I was never good enough for you, and now you’re standing here demanding to know why I don’t want to marry you anymore?”

Ivan’s jaw clenched.

“I already told you we’re broken up,” Rose continued. “So why the hell are you still coming after me?”

“Whatever happened between us, we can fix it.” Ivan stepped toward her, his voice dropping as though he were trying to regain control of the situation. “Come with me. We’re going to talk.”

He reached for her arm.

Maverick moved before Ivan’s fingers could even touch her.

His hand shot out and caught Ivan by the wrist. With one hard shove, he knocked Ivan’s hand away and sent him stumbling backward.

He immediately stepped in front of Rose, his broad frame blocking Ivan from reaching her again.

His expression was cold enough to make the room feel suddenly smaller.

Rose barely had time to react before Ivan’s furious voice filled the room again.

“You’re really going to do this to me?” he demanded, glaring at Rose over Maverick’s shoulder. “How can you betray me? You’re my—”

He faltered for half a second, as though even he could hear how ridiculous he sounded.

“You’re going to be my wife!” he shouted instead. “Do you think I’m that easy to get rid of? I’m your boyfriend!”

Rose stared at him.

Then, slowly, she reached for Maverick’s arm and moved closer to his side.

“I’m married now.”

Her fingers tightened around Maverick’s arm.

“To him.”

Chapter 15 You Will Beg

Ivan went completely still.

Rose didn’t look away.

“You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore, and I don’t want anything to do with you. Stop ruining my life and get out.”

She pointed firmly toward the door.

“This is my house. Leave.”

She had never spoken to Ivan like that before.

Never raised her voice at him. Never looked at him with such absolute finality. Never made it so clear that there was no place for him in her life anymore.

And somehow, that only seemed to push him further over the edge.

Ivan’s jaw tightened as his gaze slowly shifted from Rose to the man standing beside her.

Until now, he had barely paid attention to Maverick.

Now he looked at him properly.

His eyes traveled upward, taking in his imposing height and broad shoulders before settling on the cold expression carved across his face. There was something about the man’s presence that made Ivan instinctively tense.

Then recognition flickered across his features.

Maverick Bishop.

The owner of Imperium Fragrances—one of the most powerful groups in the country.

The man people whispered about behind closed doors.

The man they called a demon. A monster. An angry beast.

The man rumored to have turned against his own family and dealt ruthlessly with anyone foolish enough to cross him.

Ivan let out a disbelieving scoff. A mocking smile slowly spread across his face as he looked at Rose.

“You married him?” he said incredulously. “The man everyone calls a monster? A devil? A demon?”

A bitter laugh escaped him.

“He destroyed his own family and ruthlessly took everything from them. And now you’ve married him? That heartless bastard? Everyone knows how evil he is.”

Maverick’s expression hardened.

Before Ivan could say another word, Maverick stepped forward, seized him by the collar, and hauled him toward the front door.

“Let go—”

Maverick didn't even slow down.

He dragged Ivan outside and shoved him down the front steps. Ivan stumbled, his arms flying out as he desperately tried to regain his balance, but his foot slipped off the edge of a step.

He went tumbling down the remaining stairs before landing hard at the bottom.

Maverick remained at the top, looking down at him without the slightest flicker of emotion.

“Get lost.”

Ivan pushed himself to his feet, his face burning with humiliation.

His anger was rising, but beneath it lurked something far more unsettling.

Fear.

For the first time, the reality of losing Rose was finally sinking in.

He had spent so long convincing himself that she would come back. That she was only angry. That whatever she was doing with another man was simply an attempt to make him jealous.

But she had married someone else.

She had chosen another man.

And she had looked at Ivan as though he no longer mattered.

His heart pounded painfully against his ribs.

Then his gaze shifted.

Rose had stepped outside and was standing beside Maverick. Without hesitation, she slipped her hand into Maverick’s.

Ivan’s eyes immediately dropped to her wrists.

Bruises.

His expression changed.

For a brief second, his anger faltered as he stared at the dark marks circling her wrists. Then his jaw clenched.

‘That bastard abused her?’

The thought sent another surge of fury through him.

He took a step forward, but Rose immediately moved closer to Maverick, instinctively placing herself at his side.

“Let’s go inside,” she said quietly, giving Maverick’s arm a gentle tug. “There’s no reason to argue with him.”

Maverick kept his eyes fixed on Ivan for another long second. His jaw tightened, but he eventually allowed Rose to lead him back toward the house.

Ivan remained at the bottom of the steps, breathing heavily as he watched her disappear inside.

“You want to stay married to your domestic abuser husband?” he muttered under his breath, his voice low and bitter. “I’ll see how long it takes before you come running back to me after he does the same thing to you that he did to his family. That demon is going to torture you until you break. And then, you’ll come begging me to take you back.”

***

Oracle Fragrances had changed considerably over the past few days since Maverick had taken control of the company. The interiors had been upgraded, the operations had been reorganized, and everyone had been busy adjusting to the new changes.

Rose, however, was surprised by how smoothly everything had gone.

She had been handling the new project, and having Maverick there to help had made things far easier than she had expected. He had taken care of so many details behind the scenes that she sometimes wondered how she would have managed without him.

That afternoon, she quietly knocked on the door of his office before pushing it open without waiting for an answer. A coffee cup was clasped in her hand as she stepped inside.

Maverick was seated behind his desk, his laptop open in front of him. A frown creased his forehead as he studied a stack of files and fragrance designs, his attention completely absorbed in his work.

The moment he looked up and saw her, however, the frown disappeared.

His expression softened almost instantly.

Rose walked toward his desk and placed the coffee cup in front of him. Then she clasped her hands behind her back and stood there like a student waiting to ask her teacher for permission.

She was wearing a short skirt with a blouse and a fitted jacket, a simple office look that somehow made her look even cuter.

“Mr. Bishop,” she said sweetly, tilting her head slightly. “Can I go home early today?”

Maverick rose from his chair, his expression shifting from pleasant to suspicious.

“Why do you want to go home early, Mrs. Bishop?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Your husband isn't home. What are you going to do there by yourself?”

Rose bit her lip.

“Nothing. I just want some personal time. It’s not like I need to have my husband around me every second of my existence.”

Maverick placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward slightly, his eyebrows lifting.

“Why does it bother you that your husband is always around?”

Rose stared at him for a second before letting out a long, frustrated breath.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she complained. “Don't tell me you're actually going to make me stay late.”

“Why do you want to leave early?”

“Why do I have to tell you?” she shot back. “It’s nothing. I just want to go home early.”

She folded her arms across her chest, her expression turning stubborn.

Maverick merely watched her.

“Are you really not going to let me leave early?” she asked.

He shook his head.

He didn't even bother giving her an explanation.

Rose's arms dropped to her sides.

“Come on,” she pleaded, stepping closer to his desk. “Don't do this to me. Please. It's only a few hours early. You can allow me that much, can't you?”

She leaned slightly toward him, giving him her most innocent expression.

“I've been working so hard. I'm not behind on anything. I've finished everything you gave me.” She paused, then smiled hopefully. “I've been a very good employee, Mr. Bishop. Consider it a little reward.”

“How can that be a reward if you were simply doing your job, Mrs. Bishop?”

Maverick raised an eyebrow, looking at her as if her argument made absolutely no sense.

Rose’s mouth fell open.

She stared at him in disbelief, unable to believe the way he had answered her. After a moment, she snapped her mouth shut and glared at him so fiercely that the corner of his mouth twitched.

He quickly hid his smile and settled back into his chair.

“If you want to leave early, you need to convince me,” he said calmly. “So go ahead. Show me how you're going to convince me.”

Rose stared at him, practically stunned by his audacity.

She took a long, frustrated breath before forcing a smile onto her face and smoothing out her expression.

“Don't do this. Come on. You have to understand that I just want a few hours to myself. Are you really not going to give me that?”

“I already told you. You have options.” His voice remained maddeningly calm. “Convince me, and you can leave.”

Rose clenched her teeth.

‘This demon is always so stubborn.’

No matter what she wanted, he somehow always managed to make her give in to him.

She glared at him, but it had absolutely no effect.

Finally, she marched around his desk.

Maverick barely had time to lift an eyebrow before Rose grabbed the back of his chair, turned it slightly, and settled herself onto his lap.

His hands immediately came to her waist, steadying her before she could lose her balance. His grip tightened as he pulled her closer, while Rose slipped her arms around him, one hand resting at the back of his head and the other gently caressing his cheek.

“Maverick,” she murmured sweetly, “I want to go home. I need to get some rest before we play in bed tonight. How are we supposed to enjoy ourselves if I'm exhausted and fall asleep before you even get home?”

His eyes shifted.

The darkening look in them told Rose she'd hit exactly the right spot.

She fought back a smile.

She was beginning to realize just how easy it was to get her stubborn husband to give in when she knew exactly how to tease him. And, perhaps more dangerously, she was starting to enjoy it.

Rose leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“I’m just going to go home and rest,” she whispered, her fingers brushing gently over his cheek. “Then I need to get ready for bed. You remember that red lingerie you bought me last weekend? I think it’s about time I finally wore it for you.”

She paused, watching his reaction with a mischievous smile.

“And then I need to see if I can get on my knees while I’m wearing it.”

Maverick’s gaze immediately sharpened.

Rose smiled innocently, as though she hadn’t just said anything provocative.

“I really want us to have a nice time tonight,” she continued softly. “I don’t think my knees are going to cooperate if I don’t let them rest before all the exercises we have planned.”

That was enough.

Maverick’s hand tightened around her waist and pulled her closer. His mouth covered hers before she could say another word.

The kiss quickly deepened, his lips moving against hers until Rose’s fingers curled into the back of his hair. When his mouth finally left hers, it moved along her neck, making her breath catch—

The office door suddenly swung open and footsteps echoed across the room.

Rose shot out of Maverick's lap so quickly that she nearly stumbled.

Her entire face turned bright red as she stood beside his desk, staring toward the doorway in complete embarrassment and shock.

Maverick's eyes lifted toward the doorway, and the irritation that had been building in his expression sharpened when he saw Lucious walk in.

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, it looked as though he was about to snap at him.

Lucious looked between them, then raised an eyebrow.

“Did I come at a bad time?” A faint, amused smile tugged at his mouth. “I can come back later.”

“No.” Rose's face was already burning. “I-I'm leaving.”

She didn't wait for either man to respond. She hurried toward the door, but just before stepping out, she glanced back at Maverick.

“I’m going home.”

Then she disappeared down the hallway.

Lucius watched her leave before turning back to Maverick. An amused smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“Looks like someone needs a long honeymoon.”

Maverick’s expression darkened.

“Do you have nothing better to do?”

Lucius dropped into the chair across from the desk, looking far too pleased with himself. He coughed, hiding a laugh as he leaned back.

“Fine. I came here to talk business.”

“Then talk.”

Outside the CEO’s office, Rose hurried back to her desk and gathered her things, her face still burning with embarrassment.

Every time she thought about Lucius walking in at the exact moment he had found her sitting on Maverick’s lap, she wanted to disappear all over again.

She shoved the last of her belongings into her bag and headed straight for the elevator, determined to put as much distance between herself and that office as possible.

Her car was already waiting at the entrance. She climbed inside and drove home, but she had barely been on the road for a few minutes when her phone rang and Zoe’s name flashed across the screen.

“Are you on your way?”

Rose answered through the car’s hands-free system.

“Yes. I’m almost there.”

“Good. Hurry.”

Rose smiled faintly. “I’m coming.”

By the time she pulled up to the mansion, she spotted Zoe waiting near the entrance. Rose parked and hurried inside, only to stop dead the moment she stepped into the living room.

“What the hell?”

The room was covered in stuff.

Boxes were stacked against the walls, bags were scattered across the furniture, and decorations spilled out of half-open packages. Zoe stood right in the middle of it all, pulling things from one bag after another as though she had been preparing for a small-scale invasion.

At the sound of Rose’s footsteps, she looked up and immediately let out a relieved breath.

“Finally! You’re here.”

Rose laughed as she looked around at the chaos.

“You bought all of this?”

“Of course.” Zoe spread her arms proudly. “Everything we need is here.”

Rose grinned.

They spent the next two hours turning the mess into something that actually resembled a birthday celebration.

By the time they were finished, the living room had been transformed. Red balloons floated near the ceiling, decorations framed the walls, and the room had taken on a warm, festive glow. It wasn't the most extravagant celebration either of them had ever seen, but it felt personal—and that mattered more to Rose.

She stood beside Zoe, looking around at everything they had put together.

Zoe clasped her hands together, her earlier excitement replaced by nervousness.

“I’m really worried.”

Rose turned toward her. “About what?”

“Maverick.”

Zoe glanced around the decorated room as though her brother might suddenly appear and demand to know what they had done to his house.

“What if he doesn’t like it? What if he gets angry?” she asked anxiously. “I’ve never seen him celebrate his birthday. He doesn’t exactly seem like the birthday-party type.”

Rose couldn't help smiling.

“You think he’s going to get angry because we decorated the house for him?”

“You don’t know him like I do.” Zoe lowered her voice. “He gets angry over everything.”

Rose looked around at the balloons before turning back to her.

“Well…” A smile slowly spread across her face. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Rose’s voice softened as she looked around the room again.

“I want him to have at least one day that feels special. He spends almost all his time working, and I don’t get many chances to surprise him or celebrate something for him. Now that it’s his birthday, I really want him to feel special.”

Zoe studied her for a moment.

Then a grin slowly spread across her face.

“You seem really excited.”

“I am!”

Rose practically bounced on her feet, unable to hide her enthusiasm.

Zoe laughed and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

“Okay, okay. I’m leaving before you two lovebirds start getting all mushy in front of me. I can’t handle watching you two say ‘I love you’ every five minutes.”

Rose burst out laughing.

“Go away, then!”

“I was planning to!”

Zoe waved over her shoulder as she headed for the door and disappeared outside.

Once she was gone, Rose wandered over to the couch and settled down, her excitement slowly giving way to anticipation. She pulled out her phone and checked the time, wondering how much longer Maverick would be.

She had barely put the phone down when it began ringing.

Rose glanced at the screen but ignored the call.

A moment later, the ringing stopped.

Then her phone began chiming repeatedly.

Notification after notification appeared across the screen.

Rose frowned and picked it up.

“What the hell…?”

She stared at the screen, realizing that the notifications were coming from news outlets.

There were so many that they nearly filled the entire display.

Curiosity got the better of her. She opened the first alert and found an article about Maverick. A video was embedded near the top of the page.

Rose frowned as she tapped it.

The video began playing.

She barely registered the headline before the image on the screen made her freeze.

Her heart stopped.

It was Maverick.

But not the Maverick she knew.

The video showed a little boy, perhaps nine or ten years old, standing in front of a camera.

Rose stared at the screen, unable to look away.

That was Maverick.

Her Maverick.

As a child.

His face was familiar, but everything else about him looked painfully different.

He was frighteningly thin. His cheeks were hollow, and his small limbs looked almost skeletal beneath his oversized clothes. His eyes were sunken, his skin pale, his entire body carrying the signs of a child who had been neglected for far too long.

Rose’s breath caught.

She stared at the screen, unable to process what she was seeing.

The video had been posted from Augustus’s Instagram account.

On the screen, Maverick was sitting on the ground with several dogs crowding around him. A small piece of food rested in his trembling hands, but before he could bring it to his mouth, one of the dogs snatched it away.

Maverick didn't fight it.

He simply reached for another piece.

Again, the dogs took it.

He tried again.

His hands were shaking as he desperately reached for whatever scraps he could find, his movements becoming increasingly frantic as though he hadn't eaten in days.

Rose’s chest tightened.

Then a man’s voice suddenly thundered from behind the camera.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, boy?”

Rose flinched.

A wooden stick came crashing down across the boy’s back.

Maverick cried out and crumpled to the ground, the little food he had been clutching scattering across the floor. A red welt immediately rose across his thin back.

Rose’s hand flew to her mouth.

“No…”

A laugh came from behind the camera.

The footage shook as whoever was holding it moved closer before setting the camera down against a nearby surface.

The angle changed, but Rose could still see everything.

A younger Augustus stepped into the frame, laughing as Albert stood over the terrified boy.

“You disgusting little beast!” Albert shouted.

He raised the stick again.

“How can you behave like this? You’re eating with dogs?! You’re acting like a damn monster!”

The stick came down again.

Maverick curled into himself, throwing his arms over his head as he desperately tried to protect himself.

Another strike.

Then another.

Albert didn't stop.

He kept beating the little boy as though he weren't a child at all. As though there were no human being beneath the stick. As though Maverick didn't feel every blow.

Rose’s vision blurred.

Tears spilled down her cheeks before she even realized she was crying.

Her fingers tightened around the phone, her hand trembling so badly she nearly dropped it.

“No…”

The word came out broken.

She couldn't look away.

Every time the stick came down, something inside her seemed to splinter with it.

That little boy was Maverick.

The man who now towered over everyone around him. The man who never showed weakness, who carried himself with such ruthless confidence that people were afraid to even meet his eyes.

He had once been this small.

This helpless.

This completely alone.

Rose pressed her free hand over her mouth, but the sob that escaped her was impossible to hold back. Her shoulders shook as tears streamed down her face.

She wanted to reach through the screen and tear that boy away from them.

She couldn't watch anymore.

With trembling fingers, she tossed the phone onto the couch and covered her face, desperately trying to stop the tears. It didn't help. They kept spilling down her cheeks while her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

But even after she looked away, the images wouldn't leave her mind.

Maverick as a child.

So thin he looked almost fragile. Sitting on the floor while hungry dogs fought him for scraps of food. Albert striking him again and again with a wooden stick. That cruel voice calling him a monster.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, but the memories only became clearer.

For the next hour, Rose couldn't settle down.

Eventually, she managed to wipe her face and steady her breathing, but her eyes remained swollen and red. She picked up her phone again and stared at Maverick’s name on the screen, her thumb hovering over it.

She was just about to call him when the front door opened.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the house.

Chapter 16 Ivan’s Accident

Rose’s head snapped up.

Maverick walked inside, completely unaware of what had happened while he was gone. The moment Rose saw him, whatever composure she had managed to gather disappeared.

She shot to her feet and hurried toward him.

“Maverick…”

Before he could even ask what was wrong, she threw her arms around him.

He stiffened in surprise.

Then, almost instinctively, his arms came around her, pulling her against his chest.

Rose said nothing. She simply clung to him, burying her face against his chest as another wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. The familiar scent of him only made the tears come harder.

Maverick’s hand moved slowly over her back.

“Rose…”

When he finally eased her away, his eyes immediately searched her tear-streaked face. The concern that crossed his features was instant.

“What happened?” His voice dropped, each word edged with concern. “Why are you crying?”

Rose looked up at him, desperately trying to hold herself together.

She failed.

More tears spilled down her cheeks.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Why did you have to suffer so much?”

Maverick frowned, clearly confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Rose caught his hand and pulled him toward the couch. He followed without resistance, though his eyes never left her face.

The moment he sat down, she picked up her phone and held it out to him.

“Look.”

Maverick glanced at the screen.

The moment the video began playing, something in him changed. His shoulders stiffened. The warmth disappeared from his face, leaving behind an expression so blank it was almost frightening.

He didn't need to watch for long.

He knew exactly what it was.

Rose watched the color slowly drain from his face as his eyes remained fixed on the screen. Then, without a word, he reached over and stopped the video.

“Forget about it.”

His voice was quiet.

He lowered his gaze, and Rose saw something in his expression that she had never seen before.

Shame.

Her heart clenched.

She immediately moved closer.

“What?”

“Forget you saw that.” His jaw tightened. “It doesn't matter.”

Rose stared at him in disbelief.

“It doesn't matter?”

Maverick said nothing.

She reached up and gently took his face between her hands, turning him toward her.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, her voice trembling with emotion. “Why are you ashamed of what happened to you?”

His eyes flickered away.

Rose held his face firmly, refusing to let him hide from her.

“You shouldn't be ashamed. Not even for a second.”

Her fingers trembled against his cheeks.

“They did that to you. You were a child.” Her voice broke. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

Maverick looked away again, but Rose gently turned his face back toward her.

“I’m furious at them,” she whispered. “I’m not ashamed of you.”

Something in his expression shifted.

His eyes softened, though the old hurt remained buried beneath them.

Rose swallowed hard, fighting back another wave of tears.

“I don't feel disgusted by you,” she continued. “I feel disgusted by the people who did that to you.”

Her voice trembled as tears gathered in her eyes again.

“How could anyone do that to a little boy?”

“I don’t feel the pain anymore.”

Maverick’s voice was quiet as he carefully wiped the tears from Rose’s cheeks. He held her close until her sobs gradually faded, his hand moving gently over her back.

When she finally calmed down, Rose pulled away and sniffed, still looking at him with tearful eyes.

“I want you to celebrate your birthday with me.” She glanced around the room. “Look. I decorated everything for you, and you didn’t even notice.”

Maverick blinked, then finally looked around.

Only then did he seem to notice the decorations scattered throughout the living room. Balloons, ribbons, and a large birthday banner bearing his name covered the walls. The entire room had been transformed for him.

His eyebrows lifted slightly.

“So that’s why you left the office early?”

Rose nodded, a small smile returning to her face. She slipped an arm around his neck and leaned closer.

“Of course. Birthdays are important. I want you to have at least one day that feels special.” She paused, then smiled mischievously. “And I want you to make a wish.”

“A wish?”

“Yes.” She tapped his chest lightly. “A wish that only a divine being could fulfill, because you can obviously make all your own wishes come true. Someone has to keep you in check—and make sure you always have something left to wish for.”

A faint smile tugged at Maverick’s lips. He gave her a look that made her smile widen before he leaned down and kissed her.

It was brief and soft, but when he pulled away, Rose was still smiling.

Maverick turned toward the cake and reached for the candle.

“Wait.”

He paused and looked back at her.

“You can't blow it out yet.” She pointed at the candle. “Make a wish first.”

Maverick stared at her for a moment before finally indulging her. He drew in a slow breath, brought his hands together, and closed his eyes.

For a few seconds, he remained completely still.

Rose watched him quietly, her expression softening.

‘If wishes really do come true,’ Maverick prayed, ‘then let Rose live until my last breath—and let her spend every one of those years with me.’

His chest tightened with the depth of what he felt for her.

He had never known peace after losing his parents. For years, his life had been nothing but survival, anger, and the determination to reclaim everything that had been stolen from him. He had forgotten what happiness even felt like.

Then Rose had entered his life.

There had been a time when he couldn't approach her because of Zoe’s accident and the coma that followed. When everything in his life had seemed to fall apart, he hadn't believed he would ever feel whole again.

But now, with her beside him, he finally understood how much he had needed her.

He had brought her into his home thinking marriage would simply give him the one thing he wanted most.

Instead, she had become something far more dangerous.

She had become the person he couldn't imagine living without.

The thought of losing her was enough to make something feral twist inside his chest. He didn't know how to explain it, and he didn't want to. He only knew that he wanted her beside him for the rest of his life.

Maverick opened his eyes and blew out the candle.

Rose immediately smiled.

“Happy birthday, Maverick.”

She cut a piece of cake and held it out to him, waiting until he took a bite before speaking again.

“I really hope you live a happy life,” she said softly. “I hope you never have to experience any kind of sadness again.”

Maverick's gaze settled on her.

“Even though it's not my birthday, I'm still going to make a small wish for you.” Her voice trembled slightly, but she continued. “I hope you get everything you want in life. And I hope you live a life so happy that no one can ever take it away from you again.”

Something shifted in Maverick's expression.

His eyes softened, and for a moment, Rose thought she saw something painfully vulnerable beneath all that control.

The thought of someone having treated this man—this man she knew now, this man who could be so gentle with her—as though he were nothing more than a monster broke something inside her.

She couldn't hold herself back anymore.

Rose threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Maverick immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest until there was no space between them.

They stayed like that for several seconds.

Then, against her hair, he whispered the words he had kept buried for so long.

“I love you, Rose.”

Rose froze in surprise.

Maverick was the one who pulled back first. He kept his hands around her waist as he leaned back just enough to look at her, his eyes searching her face.

For a moment, Rose could only stare at him.

Maverick held her gaze, his expression unusually open and sincere. A hint of uncertainty flickered in his eyes, as though he was waiting to see how she would react.

“I’m in love with you,” he repeated, his voice softer this time.

A smile slowly spread across Rose’s face.

She didn't make him wait any longer. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around him again and whispered against his ear, “I love you too, Maverick.”

His arms immediately tightened around her, pulling her closer as a genuine smile finally broke across his face.

Maverick gently pulled back and cradled her face between his hands. He leaned down and kissed her.

Rose melted into the kiss, allowing him to draw her closer as it deepened. But only a few seconds later, the sudden buzzing of his phone on the table interrupted them.

Maverick's jaw tightened.

He reluctantly broke the kiss and reached for the phone, his irritation obvious as he glanced at the screen.

“Leo.”

He was about to silence the call when Rose caught his arm.

“What if it's important?” she asked.

Maverick looked at her, clearly displeased by the interruption, but after a moment, he finally sighed and answered.

“This better be important.”

On the other end, Leo's voice immediately became apologetic.

“Mr. Bishop, I'm sorry to disturb you. It's about the video that was released online.”

Maverick's expression changed.

He slipped an arm around Rose's waist, drawing her closer as his gaze sharpened.

“What about it?”

“I've already had the video taken down from the major platforms,” Leo explained. “Augustus released it on purpose to humiliate you, but it completely backfired. Someone reported the video to the police, and they are investigating Augustus and Albert.”

Maverick's expression remained cold.

“The police went to the residence while Albert was attempting to leave with his son. They've arrested both of them for child abuse. They're being taken into custody now.”

Leo paused briefly before adding, “So you don't need to worry about it anymore, Mr. Bishop. I've taken care of everything on this end.”

The tension in Maverick's forehead eased slightly.

“Good,” he said before ending the call.

He put the phone down.

Rose immediately looked at him, her eyes lighting up.

“They’re in jail?”

Maverick nodded.

A satisfied smile spread across her face. “Good. I hope they rot in there for a very, very long time. May the rats bite their toes, chew on their ears, and keep them awake all night. I want them to spend the rest of their lives counting the cracks in their cell walls and wishing for death.”

Maverick chuckled at her response before leaning closer and pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

“I like it when you get dark,” he murmured.

***

It was early morning when the sharp ringing of Rose’s phone broke through her sleep.

She stirred beneath the sheets, barely conscious of the sound at first, until the phone continued ringing from the nightstand beside the bed. Still groggy, she shifted away from Maverick, only to shiver when the cool air touched her bare skin.

Maverick immediately reacted.

His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her back against him as he murmured sleepily, “Don’t move.”

“Someone’s calling me,” Rose whispered, trying to free herself from his hold. “Give me a minute.”

He opened his eyes, clearly displeased at being disturbed, but the persistent ringing seemed to have finally dragged him out of his sleep as well. After a moment, he reluctantly loosened his arm and let her move.

Rose pushed herself upright and blinked toward the windows. Sunlight was already streaming through the curtains, much brighter than she had expected. She glanced at the clock and frowned when she realized it was already well into the afternoon.

‘How did I sleep this long?’

Her phone was still ringing.

She reached for it and froze when she saw Maria’s name flashing across the screen.

For a few seconds, Rose simply stared at it. She didn't know why Maria was calling, but an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Finally, she drew in a breath and answered.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Rose, thank God you finally picked up.” Maria sounded exhausted and frightened. “Ivan was in an accident last night. He’s at City Hospital.”

Rose’s expression changed instantly.

“What?”

She sat up straighter, and the movement caught Maverick’s attention. His arm slipped around her waist again as he watched her face, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

Rose glanced at him before putting the call on speaker.

“Mrs. Carrington, is he all right? What happened? Do you need help?”

“He’s stable. The doctors treated the wound on his forehead and moved him to a private room, but…” Maria hesitated, her voice becoming strained. “He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything properly for the past two days. The doctors keep telling him that he needs food and medicine if he wants to recover, but he refuses everything.”

Rose frowned.

“Why would he do that?”

“He keeps asking for you.” Maria sounded close to tears. “He won't listen to anyone else. He keeps saying that he wants to see you. Rose, please. Can you come here and talk to him? Maybe if you ask him to eat, he'll listen.”

Maverick's expression hardened immediately.

His hand reached behind her head and gently tilted her face toward him. The look in his eyes immediately made her anxious. There was a possessiveness burning in his gaze that made her swallow hard.

Her lips had gone dry, and she instinctively ran her tongue over them before answering Maria.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Carrington. I cannot,” she said, clearing her throat before forcing herself to speak in a steadier voice.

Meanwhile, Maverick lowered the hand resting behind her head, only for his other hand to settle against her waist as he leaned closer. His mouth found her neck, his kisses slow and wet.

Rose shifted uneasily, trying to move away from his kisses, but Maverick wouldn't let her escape. His arm tightened around her as his lips continued to move along her neck.

She cleared her throat again, desperately trying to focus on the conversation.

“Mrs. Carrington, I cannot come over there. Please take care of him. I’m glad to hear that he’s fine, but as I said, we have already broken up.”

Maverick suddenly caught the edge of her neckline between his teeth, making her head jerk back. She shot him an irritated glare.

He only met her glare with an amused look before leaning in again and pressing another series of kisses along her neck.

Rose’s breath caught as his mouth traveled along her throat, making her shiver despite herself. She shifted beneath him, trying to create enough distance to keep speaking, but Maverick only tightened his hold on her and continued devouring her neck.

“Please, Rose. I’m really asking you this for the last time,” Maria pleaded through the phone. “I wouldn’t bother you if it weren’t urgent, but he’s refusing to eat anything. He won’t listen to anyone.”

Rose closed her eyes briefly, trying to concentrate on Maria’s words while Maverick’s lips continued moving against her skin.

“Please come and talk to him. Maybe he’ll listen to you. I promise I won’t keep you there long.”

Rose exhaled slowly.

Maria clearly wasn't going to give up.

“All right, Mrs. Carrington. Give me some time,” she finally said. “Please send me the hospital’s name and his room number.”

“Oh, thank you.” Relief immediately softened Maria’s voice. “I’ll text you everything right now.”

The call ended.

A moment later, Rose’s phone chimed with a message containing the hospital address and room number.

She had barely glanced at the screen when Maverick reached over and took the phone from her hand.

“Maverick—”

He tossed it onto the other side of the bed.

Rose stared at him.

He was already leaning over her, his jaw tight and his expression dark. One arm came down beside her, effectively trapping her beneath him as he looked into her eyes.

“You’re really going?”

His voice was quiet, but the displeasure in it was impossible to miss.

Rose raised an eyebrow.

“To see him?”

Maverick’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not letting you spend the day running around after that bastard.”

He shifted closer, his gaze fixed on hers.

“You’re staying here with me today.”

Rose stared at him for a moment before a slow, mocking smile curved across her lips.

“Are you jealous?”

Maverick’s jaw tightened.

“Take a guess, Mrs. Bishop.”

A small, knowing smile tugged at her lips as she pressed them together to keep from laughing.

“I’m not going,” she promised.

The tension in his face eased slightly, though he still looked suspicious.

“But you just promised his mother.”

Rose lifted an eyebrow. “I never said I was going.”

Maverick narrowed his eyes at her, clearly unconvinced.

Rose couldn't help smiling. She slipped her arms around his neck and leaned closer, brushing a soft kiss against his lips.

“Give me my phone.”

He shifted onto one arm before reaching over with his free hand and picking up the phone. He handed it to her without taking his eyes off her.

Rose quickly tapped the screen a few times before turning it toward him.

Maverick glanced at the screen, confusion briefly crossing his face.

Then his eyes narrowed.

“You sent those details to Jessica?”

Rose nodded innocently.

“Of course. Why would I go? He wanted Jessica, didn’t he? She can take care of him now.” She gave him a pointed look. “What am I, some kind of caretaker for dogs? If he needs someone to hold his hand and take care of him, he already has the woman he always wanted by his side.”

Maverick stared at her for a moment.

Then a satisfied smile spread across his face.

Rose barely had time to react before he leaned down and kissed her again.

She laughed against his lips as he took the phone from her hand and set it aside, clearly pleased with her solution. His kisses moved from her lips to her cheek and then along her neck, making her squirm beneath him.

“Maverick,” she protested between laughs.

He only tightened his arms around her, completely delighted by her decision.

Rose continued giggling as he showered her with affectionate kisses, her earlier frustration disappearing completely beneath his playful mood.

***

Terrence stormed into the private hospital room at City Hospital, his expression hard with anger as he marched straight toward the bed.

Ivan lay beneath the white sheets, his body covered in bruises and a bandage wrapped around his forehead. He looked exhausted, but there was hardly any emotion on his face as he stared up at the ceiling.

Terrence stopped beside the bed and glared down at him.

“How can you drive so recklessly?” he demanded. “I’ve been telling you for days to stop driving like a madman. Ever since Rose left you, you’ve been acting completely out of control—breaking things, throwing things, and now you’ve gotten yourself into an accident and nearly killed yourself.”

Ivan didn't respond.

Terrence's anger only grew.

“Do you even understand what could have happened? If the airbags hadn't deployed in time, you could have died.”

“I’m fine,” Ivan muttered.

His voice was low and emotionless, as though none of it mattered.

Terrence's jaw tightened.

“No, you’re not fine.” He dragged a hand over his face, struggling to contain his frustration. “You didn't even know how to make that woman feel loved when she was with you, and now that you've lost her, you're acting as if your entire world has ended. How long are you going to keep doing this to yourself?”

Ivan closed his eyes and released a slow, frustrated breath.

“It happens between couples,” he said stubbornly. “There are always fights. Rose took things too far. She got angry and married someone else, but she's going to come back.”

He opened his eyes again, and a strange certainty flashed through them.

“After an accident like this, there's no way she won't come to see me. She cares about me. She's only pretending that she doesn't because she's angry.” His voice became more convinced with every word. “Once she hears that I was injured, she'll come back. Just wait and see.”

Terrence stared at him in disbelief.

He drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but Ivan's complete refusal to face reality was pushing him to the edge.

“You're only realizing that she cares about you now?” Terrence finally snapped. “You knew she cared about you when you were together. You knew exactly how much she loved you, and what did you do with it?”

Ivan remained silent.

“You were the one who didn't care about her,” Terrence continued, his voice heavy with disappointment. “I told you countless times to apologize to her after you slapped her. I told you to fix things before it was too late, but you were so convinced that she'd always come back that you couldn't even be bothered.”

He shook his head.

“And now look where that confidence has gotten you.”

Ivan didn't answer.

His eyes slowly closed again, and the stubbornness disappeared from his expression. For the first time, he looked less angry than defeated. His face was heavy with sadness, as though he was finally beginning to understand how badly he had ruined everything.

Terrence stared at him for a moment, his own anger fading into disappointment.

He had tried to help him.

Again and again.

But Ivan simply hadn't listened.

Before Terrence could say anything else, the door opened.

Maria hurried into the room, her expression filled with determination as she walked straight toward the bed.

“Ivan,” she said breathlessly. “I called Rose.”

Ivan's eyes immediately opened.

“She agreed to come,” Maria announced.

Hearing Maria’s words, Ivan immediately sat up, the sadness on his face giving way to a flicker of hope.

“She’s coming?” he asked, almost as though he needed to hear it again to believe it.

Maria nodded. “Yes. I managed to convince her to come.”

Relief washed over his face. Then, almost instantly, he became self-conscious. He glanced down at himself and frowned at the hospital gown, his bruised arms, and the bandage wrapped around his head.

“Where’s a mirror?” he asked anxiously. “I need to clean myself up. I look terrible. She’s going to worry when she sees me like this.”

Before Maria could stop him, Ivan pushed himself out of bed, nearly forgetting that an IV was still attached to his arm.

“Ivan!” Maria grabbed him by the shoulder. “At least eat something first. You haven’t eaten properly in days. How are you planning to recover if you keep refusing food?”

“I’ll eat later.”

He gently but impatiently removed her hand and hurried toward the bathroom, dragging the IV stand behind him.

Maria could only stare after him with exasperation.

Within a short while, Ivan returned looking as presentable as he could manage. He climbed back into bed and immediately turned his attention toward the door.

He waited.

Every time footsteps passed outside his room, his heart jumped. Each time, he expected Rose to appear.

One hour passed.

Then two.

Then three.

Still, there was no sign of her.

His anticipation slowly turned into uneasiness. He kept glancing at the door, his fingers tightening against the blanket as doubt began creeping into his mind.

What if she wasn't coming?

Maria and Terrence had eventually left the room to deal with his medication and hospital bill, leaving Ivan alone with his thoughts.

By the fourth hour, his impatience had become almost unbearable.

Then he heard footsteps approaching.

Ivan's entire body went still.

He quickly closed his eyes and settled back against the pillow, pretending to be asleep.

The footsteps entered the room.

They drew closer.

His heart pounded so hard that he was certain whoever had come would be able to hear it.

A hand gently touched his forehead before sliding down to his cheek and then resting briefly against his neck. A chair scraped softly against the floor as someone pulled it closer to the bed.

A foolish smile almost tugged at Ivan's lips.

‘I knew she cared. Of course she came. She couldn't possibly stop loving me overnight.’

His heart raced as he lay there, waiting for Rose to speak.

When the hand finally began to pull away, Ivan couldn't hold himself back any longer. His eyes flew open, and he reached out, catching the woman's hand before she could move.

“You came,” he breathed, his voice filled with relief.

He pressed her hand against his chest as he looked up at her.

Then he froze.

A familiar, seductive voice answered him.

“Ivan, it's me, Jessica.”

Chapter 17 A Home With His Wife

The smile on her lips widened.

For the briefest moment, disappointment flickered across her face at the fact that he hadn't even recognized her.

But she quickly concealed it.

It had been days since Ivan had contacted her.

Before Rose, he had showered Jessica with expensive gifts, constant messages, and endless attention. But over the past few weeks, he had seemingly forgotten she existed.

Jessica had been furious about it.

Then Rose's message had arrived, telling her that Ivan was in the hospital and asking her to come.

Jessica had immediately seen the opportunity.

She wasn't going to let it slip away.

She knew Rose had once loved Ivan deeply, and she also knew that Rose could easily reclaim him if Jessica allowed her back into his life.

So Jessica had no intention of stepping aside.

She had waited too long to have Ivan's attention again.

“You were in an accident? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jessica said, leaning toward him.

She lowered her face, intending to kiss his cheek, but Ivan abruptly shoved her away.

Jessica stumbled backward and dropped into the chair behind her, twisting her ankle awkwardly in the process. A sharp cry escaped her as pain shot through her foot.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped, her face twisting with pain and anger. “Why did you push me?”

Ivan barely looked at her.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded, his voice cold and furious. “Where is Rose? I asked for Rose. Why are you here? I never called you.”

Jessica stared at him in disbelief.

“Rose told me you wanted me to come,” she said, still rubbing her ankle. “She said you were asking for me.”

That was enough to shatter whatever patience Ivan had left.

The anger he had been holding inside for days exploded, but beneath it was something far more frightening—the realization that Rose had never intended to come to him herself.

Even now, while he was lying injured in a hospital bed, she hadn't come.

She had sent Jessica instead.

His face tightened as anger and hurt collided inside him. Without another word, Ivan threw the covers aside and climbed out of the bed.

“Ivan!” Terrence immediately stepped forward.

Ivan stopped and looked up.

He hadn't even noticed Terrence enter the room. He was now standing near the door, his expression tense as he watched Ivan pull himself upright.

“What are you doing?” Terrence asked again.

Ivan ignored him.

He roughly pulled the IV from his arm and tossed it aside before grabbing the clothes that had been left on the chair. He disappeared into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later dressed in his own clothes.

Terrence stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you out of your mind? You're still injured. Look at you! Your body hasn't even healed. The doctor said you need to remain under observation for at least twenty-four hours.”

Ivan didn't even acknowledge him.

His attention shifted to Jessica.

He pointed toward her, his expression hardening.

“Don't let her come anywhere near me again.”

Jessica's eyes widened.

“Ivan—”

“I told you Rose doesn't like her,” he snapped, cutting her off. “Why is she here? I never asked her to come. Who the hell told her to come here?”

His voice rose with every word.

“From now on, I don't want her anywhere near me. Do you understand?”

Terrence stood frozen for a moment.

He had never seen Ivan treat Jessica like this.

For years, Ivan had been so consumed by his obsession with Rose that Jessica could barely get his attention, yet he had still never been this openly dismissive of her. A single message from her used to be enough to make him respond immediately.

Now, he couldn't even be bothered to look at her.

Jessica's face hardened with humiliation and anger.

“Ivan, I—”

But he had already turned away.

He stormed out of the room without another glance in her direction.

“Ivan, wait!” Terrence hurried after him. “You can't leave. You're still not medically cleared!”

Ivan didn't stop.

He continued down the corridor, ignoring Terrence's protests until he pushed through the hospital doors and walked outside.

***

Rose had barely stepped inside the house when her phone began ringing.

She pulled it from her purse and glanced at the screen.

Her brows immediately drew together. Troy rarely called her, and when he did, it was usually because her father had asked him to.

She answered at once.

“Troy? Is Dad okay?”

“Miss Rose,” Troy said, his voice tense, “everything is fine, but there’s a problem at the house.”

Rose’s expression changed instantly.

“What happened?”

Troy hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Mr. Carrington is here. He came looking for you. When he realized you weren’t here, he started causing a scene. He’s broken several things inside the house and refuses to leave. He keeps demanding to see you.”

Rose’s brows knitted tightly.

“He’s still there?”

“Yes, Miss Rose. He’s been here since this morning.”

That was all she needed to hear.

Rose turned around immediately and hurried back outside. Her steps quickened as she approached the waiting car, where her driver was standing nearby.

“Please take me to my house.”

The driver nodded and opened the door for her.

Rose climbed inside, and the moment the door closed, the car pulled away.

Her mind raced the entire way.

She was worried about Troy. More than that, she was worried about what Ivan might do to him. Her father had always been difficult, but if he was angry enough to start destroying things, there was no telling what he might do next.

They reached the house within minutes.

Rose pushed the door open and hurried inside.

She stopped dead.

Broken glass covered the floor. Several pieces of furniture had been knocked out of place, and the once-orderly living room looked as though a storm had torn through it.

Ivan stood near the couch, his face twisted with rage.

“Call her!” he shouted at Troy. “Call Rose right now! I'm not leaving until she gets here. Tell her to come back!”

Rose's heart tightened.

“Ivan?”

Ivan spun around.

The fury on his face disappeared for one brief second when he saw her.

Then it returned twice as fiercely.

Rose barely had time to react before he crossed the room and grabbed her by both shoulders.

“How could you do this to me?” he demanded, his fingers tightening around her arms.

Rose frowned at him, completely bewildered by his behavior.

“What is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?”

Ivan's jaw clenched. Her words only seemed to fuel his anger, and his fingers tightened around her arms.

“Then tell me how you could send Jessica to the hospital to see me!” he demanded. “It was supposed to be you and me. You're the one who was supposed to come. Instead, I get into a serious accident, and you don't even bother to see me. You send Jessica in your place like I don't matter to you at all.”

His voice cracked with frustration.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You loved me. You still love me. I don't believe that you've stopped loving me. I don't believe it. There's no way you could just stop caring about me.”

Rose grabbed his wrists and roughly pulled herself free.

“I have nothing to do with you anymore.”

Her voice was firm, exhaustion evident in every word.

“Whatever we had is over, Ivan. How many times do I have to repeat myself? I'm tired of having this same conversation with you. What are you even doing in my house?”

Ivan stared at her.

For the first time, he seemed to truly notice how little emotion crossed her face. She had heard that he had been injured. She had seen him standing in front of her, bruised and furious, yet there wasn't even a flicker of concern in her eyes.

She looked at him as though he were nothing more than an inconvenience she desperately wanted to get rid of.

His expression faltered.

Ivan took a step backward, his foot trembling slightly beneath him.

The anger in his face slowly faded, replaced by something far more vulnerable. His voice dropped when he spoke again, rough and unsteady.

“If... if I hadn't done that—”

He swallowed hard.

“If I had never hit you, would we be married by now?”

The question came out almost painfully, as though he already feared the answer but needed to hear it from her anyway.

Rose's expression didn't change.

“There are no ‘ifs,’” she said quietly. “It happened. You hit me, and everything that followed happened because of that. I made my choice, and I chose what I wanted for myself.”

Ivan's face fell.

Rose looked away for a moment before continuing, her voice steady.

“And honestly, it wasn't only because you hit me. You never respected me. You never cared about me. You never made me feel like I mattered to you.”

She looked directly into his eyes.

“I would've left you eventually, Ivan. Maybe not that day, maybe not that month, but eventually. It wasn't just the slap that destroyed our relationship. It was the way you treated me throughout our entire relationship.”

Ivan stared at her, disappointment written all over his face. The longer he looked at Rose, the more that disappointment twisted into anger.

“I’m a better man than the one you married,” he said bitterly.

His jaw tightened as he stared at her, his heart breaking even as his expression hardened.

“You married a monster, Rose. I'm not a monster. What I did was a mistake. You can't punish me for one goddamn mistake while you're willing to spend the rest of your life with someone like him.”

Rose frowned, completely confused by what he was implying.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the man you married.”

Ivan's voice rose again, his anger returning.

“The man who hits you. The man who abuses you. That's the man you chose to marry?”

His gaze dropped briefly to her wrists, lingering on the faint marks he had noticed the last time he had seen her.

“I saw the marks around your wrists the last time I came here.” His jaw tightened as he looked back into her eyes. “He abused you. He hurt you. Yet you’re furious with me because of one fucking slap?”

Rose stared at him, her lips parting in disbelief.

For a moment, she looked as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then anger flashed across her face, replacing the shock. Her shoulders stiffened, and her hands curled into fists at her sides.

“I asked him to do it to me,” she said, her voice sharp with anger.

Ivan's brows drew together.

He stared at her as though she had just said something completely insane. A disbelieving scoff escaped him, and he shook his head once.

“What?” His voice rose as disbelief hardened his features. “You asked him to hit you?” He took a step toward her, his eyes narrowing. “Do you think I’m a fool?”

Rose let out a frustrated breath and threw her hands up for a moment before letting them fall again.

“Those weren’t marks of abuse, Ivan!” she snapped. “Those were marks from what a husband and wife do in bed!”

The words hung heavily between them.

Ivan went completely still.

His expression emptied of anger as if someone had suddenly pulled the emotion from his face. His eyes remained fixed on Rose, but the fury that had been burning in them moments ago slowly disappeared.

He blinked once.

Then again.

His gaze dropped instinctively toward her wrists before returning to her face.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

His lips parted slightly as the meaning of her words finally sank in. The tension in his shoulders shifted, and the realization slowly spread across his features.

Rose saw the look in his eyes and let out a bitter laugh.

“Do you even see how selfish you are, or do I need to hold up a mirror for you?”

Her voice trembled with anger.

“You don't care about me. You don't care whether I'm happy or whether I'm being treated well. You only care about what you want and what you need to do get me back.”

She stepped closer, her eyes burning into his.

“If I really were being abused, you were ready to leave me there just to make me come back to you. You were willing to let me suffer at the hands of another man if it meant making me regret choosing him over you.”

Ivan had no answer.

His mouth opened, but nothing came out. The accusation struck too close to the truth, leaving him staring at her with a troubled, wounded expression.

After a moment, he stepped closer.

“Rose...” His voice had lost its anger. “You and I were in love. We still love each other.”

He swallowed hard.

“Couldn't you have just looked past that one slap? It was a mistake. I've told you that over and over again. It happened in the heat of the moment. I didn't hit you because I wanted to hurt you. I didn't—”

His voice faltered.

He lowered his gaze, guilt weighing heavily on his face as his chest rose and fell with uneven breaths.

Rose shook her head before he could finish.

“Ivan, you don't understand. If Maverick hadn't come into my life, I still wouldn't have married you.”

She held his gaze, her voice calm but firm.

“Don't you see how many times you've disappointed me? That slap wasn't the only reason I walked away. It was simply the final straw—the one thing that finally gave me the courage to leave. If Maverick hadn't been in my life, it would've been someone else. It still wouldn't have been you.”

Ivan stared at her, his expression crumbling.

“I will never marry someone who doesn't truly want me,” she continued. “And I will never marry someone who is still in love with another woman.”

“I'm not in love with another woman!”

Ivan's voice rose immediately. He stepped toward her, anger and grief colliding in his eyes.

“I'm in love with you, Rose!”

Rose didn't flinch.

“And you're only realizing that now, after I've already ended our relationship?”

Her voice remained painfully calm.

“It's too late, Ivan.”

The words hit him harder than any shout could have.

His face fell, disappointment and heartbreak flashing across his features before anger slowly swallowed them again. He swallowed hard, forcing down whatever pride remained, then turned away from her.

He started toward the door.

But just before he crossed the living room, he stopped.

He didn't turn around.

Rose watched his back, noticing how tightly his hands were clenched at his sides, as though he were struggling to hold himself together.

“Rose,” he said quietly.

She lifted her head.

His voice cracked slightly.

“I'm sorry.”

He took a slow breath.

“I shouldn't have hit you.”

Rose said nothing.

The silence stretched between them.

Ivan's shoulders stiffened, and after another moment, he finally walked out.

As he reached the bottom of the steps, he caught sight of a black car pulling up outside.

Maverick stepped out, his long black coat shifting in the wind as he headed toward the house.

Ivan and Maverick's eyes met for a brief second.

Maverick didn't stop.

He barely acknowledged Ivan's existence, his gaze passing over him as though he wasn't worth the time it would take to react.

Then his attention immediately returned to Rose.

“Rose.”

His voice was soft, calm, and filled with warmth.

Something inside Ivan cracked.

He turned away and walked down the steps, his jaw clenched as he hurried away from the house. His heartbeat pounded so violently that he could hear it in his ears.

Behind him, Maverick climbed the stairs.

The moment Rose saw him, her entire expression brightened.

“You came to pick me up!”

She hurried toward him and threw her arms around his neck.

Maverick caught her easily, a smile spreading across his face as he held her close.

“Yes, Mrs. Bishop.” His voice held a teasing warmth. “I'm happy to be your personal driver. Are you ready to come home?”

Rose grinned up at him.

“Very.”

She leaned forward and kissed him.

When the kiss ended, Rose didn't let go. She remained wrapped around Maverick, her feet barely touching the ground as she leaned comfortably against him.

She looked up at him, and the playful smile slowly faded from her face.

“Maverick?”

“Hmm?”

“I want to ask you something.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around his shoulders.

“Promise you won't lie to me?”

Maverick's eyes softened as he looked down at her.

“I would never lie to you. What do you want to ask?”

Rose hesitated for only a moment before answering. She believed him. He had never given her a reason to doubt him, and she trusted that every word he spoke to her was the truth.

She stepped closer, lifting her face toward his.

“What did you say to my father to make him agree to let me marry you?”

Maverick didn't hesitate.

“I told him that if I married you, I would transfer half of my property into your name. And if I ever cheated on you or betrayed you, the rest of my property would be transferred to you unconditionally.”

Rose's eyes narrowed.

Her heart sank slightly at the thought of the terms he had offered her father, but another question immediately surfaced.

“You were the one who sent my dad that photograph of us kissing?”

A flicker of tension crossed Maverick's eyes, but he didn't look away.

“Yes.”

His voice hardened.

“He never deserved you. He raised his hand against you, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make sure you became mine.”

Rose studied his face.

Maverick watched her carefully, his body tense as he waited for anger or betrayal to appear in her eyes.

Instead, Rose smiled.

Before he could say another word, she rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment, Maverick simply stood there, as though he couldn't quite believe she had chosen to kiss him.

Then the tension finally left his body.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close as he returned the kiss with all the emotion he had spent so long keeping buried.

For once, neither of them cared about what had happened before.

The past could stay where it belonged.

Behind them.

Rose rested her forehead against his when they finally parted, her fingers gently brushing through his hair.

“You know I’m not going anywhere, right?”

Maverick looked into her eyes.

For a man who had spent his entire life believing that love was something other people were allowed to have, the certainty in her voice felt almost unreal.

His arms tightened around her.

“I know.”

And this time, he did.

He had Rose.

He had her love.

And for the first time in his life, Maverick Bishop finally had something no amount of money, power, or revenge could ever buy him.

A home.

With his wife.

***

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Books In This Series

Price of Regret

All the books in the addictive Price of Regret series can be read as a standalone. Dive into a world where billionaires are dangerously jealous, fiercely territorial, and used to getting everything they want.

In this empire of pride and obsession, even the most powerful king must one day kneel.

King of Jealousy

King of Sin

King of Ruin

King of Pride

King of Rage

Books By This Author

Obsessed Billionaires, Cherished Brides series

Possessive Billionaires, Precious Sweethearts series

Price of Regret series

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About The Author

Ava Selwyn

Ava Selwyn is an Asian #1 International Bestselling Author of steamy billionaire romance, with a deep love for angst, heartache, and romance that burns with intensity. She creates addictive worlds filled with powerful, possessive men who crave to give everything to the women they love. Her stories are drenched in longing, desperate passion, and unforgettable happily-ever-afters.

When she’s not writing, Ava loves to travel—indulging in new cuisines and exploring diverse cultures. She lives happily with her many fictional husbands, who never fail to keep her heart racing.