Because Your Love is a Negotiation

Sleep wouldn't come.

No matter how I tried, my mind refused to quiet. Images of Julian and Seraphina burned behind my eyelids—the way he must be holding her now, whispering comforts into her ear.

Finally, I threw back the covers and started packing.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by a commotion in the living room. Annoyed, I opened the bedroom door to see Julian's men hauling away a wooden box.

"Are we really trashing this? What if Miss Donovan asks?"

"She’s getting tossed out on her ass. Who gives a damn?"

"Exactly. The new Mrs. Thorne is moving in. This whole place is getting gutted. Everything goes."

My heart seized. I lunged forward to stop them. "Don't you dare throw that out!"

But Julian caught my arm, his voice nonchalant. "It's just some wooden carving. It's gone. I'll buy you a more expensive one."

I frowned, a fresh wave of disappointment washing over me. He’d forgotten. It was the first good-luck charm I had ever carved for him. I dropped my gaze, yanked my arm free, and gave in. "Fine. Throw it away."

His gaze was indifferent, his tone as cold as ice. "The penthouse needs to be cleared out and redecorated. Your flight is in three days. Until then, you'll stay at a motel."

I stared at him, shocked he was so eager to get rid of me. There wasn't a shred of warmth in his eyes. To him, I was just a pet he'd grown tired of.

As his men drove me away, my chest felt heavy as lead. Through the rear window, I watched Julian standing in the doorway, personally directing the renovations, completely absorbed in preparing for his new life. I let out a bitter, silent laugh.

A pain so sharp it felt like a fist clenching around my heart ripped through me.

The car rolled to a stop in a desolate district of abandoned warehouses by the port. I glanced at the driver in confusion just as my door was wrenched open. Two Soldatos grabbed me, dragging me roughly from the car.

And there, standing by the roadside with an air of regal arrogance, was Seraphina Ricci. A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. She was stunning, a woman born to be at the center of a storm of power. No wonder Julian would give up everything for her.