Page 193 of The Owner's Temptation

Harper pauses, one hand halfway to the pan. “What do you mean?”

“Lucian. He ended the sponsorship. Said I should report to Eve. Pick a contract.”

Her brow furrows slowly, like she’s trying to make the pieces fit, and they just… don’t.

“Wait,” she says, setting the cheese down gently this time. “You’re not serious.”

I give a hollow laugh. “Dead serious.”

“But…” Harper trails off, blinking hard. “What, he just cut you loose like none of it ever happened?”

I nod once, because saying it out loud again might break something I can’t put back together.

She walks over, rests a hip against the counter, and crosses her arms. “You guys weren’t just playing a game. He felt something.”

My chest tightens. “Apparently not enough.”

Harper tilts her head, studying me. “What did he say, exactly?”

“That it was a mistake.” My voice barely scrapes above a whisper. “That I need to separate business from the heart. And when it feels real… I have to know it’s not.”

For a long beat, Harper doesn’t say anything. She just looks at me like she’s trying to see through the cracks in my armor.

Then, softly, she asks, “Do you believe him?”

I swallow, hard. Then lift my eyes to hers.

“No.”

And that’s the problem.

The apartment falls into silence as Harper absorbs it all. The wheels of mischief are turning and finally, she lifts a brow, her voice quiet but steady.

“So… what are you going to do about it?”

* * *

The doors glide open like always, but this time, I walk through them with purpose. Not desperation. Not confusion. Not heartbreak.

Purpose.

It’s been three days since Lucian Vale stripped me bare—not just of my clothes, but of the illusion I thought we’d built together. He kissed me like I was everything. Touched me like I was his. And then he shoved me out like I was nothing.

Fine. He wants it to be business?

Let’s do business.

I step off the elevator in a tailored dress that hugs every inch of me like armor. My heels echo sharp across the marble. I don’t flinch. I don’t falter.

I’m here to remind him what he threw away.

Eve looks up from her tablet, her brows lifting in surprise. “Well. Didn’t expect to see you this soon.”

I offer her a cool smile. “Just needed a couple days to regroup.”

She watches me for a beat longer than necessary.

Not prying, but aware. She was there, after all. She saw the aftermath. She helped me piece myself back together without ever asking for the broken details.

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