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“Send the bill to the Montgomery House.”

“Yes, Mrs. Montgomery,” the receptionist replied quickly.

She stepped out of the boutique and into the mall.

Adrian stalked right right after her. He didn’t care who was watching, nor did he give a damn about his reputation or the whispers trailing in his wake.

He only wanted her. Even if it meant losing everything.

He caught up with her in a few powerful strides and grabbed her arm. Grabbing her wrist, he spun her around and pulled her toward a restroom tucked into the corner and dragged her inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it behind them, the sound echoing off the walls.

He pinned her against the wall, his eyes searching hers. His hand slipped to her waist. Her palms flattened against his chest, trying to push him away.

“Get off me!” she hissed. “Adrian, I’m married! If someone sees—”

His hand shot up, fingers wrapping around her jaw. Her words caught in her throat.

“If he can be with other people,” he said, voice low and gravelly, “then so can you.”

She blinked, confused.

“Be with me, Sienna.” His voice cracked ever so slightly—just enough to betray the pain underneath the dominance. “I don’t give a damn about Theo. I don’t care what you do with him. I just want you. In my arms. In my bed. Like before.”

“Adrian! I’m marri—”

“Then keep the goddamn marriage!” he snapped, desperation rising. “Stay with him. Be his wife. But take me too. I don’t care what you call it. Lover, friend, stranger, bed mate—I’ll take anything. Just don’t shut me out again.”

His hold on her waist tightened, gripping it like she was slipping through his fingers again. He was shaking, not with fear, but with the need to hold onto her before he shattered.

Her eyes flashed in surprise.

He leaned in, his forehead resting gently against hers. “I want to be yours again. Even if it’s not love... let it be something casual. Anything. Just let me stay close.”

She scoffed, voice dripping with ice. “So you want to be my mistress now?”

His eyes didn’t flinch. “I can be whatever you want as long as you’re the one I belong to.”

Her expression twisted. Fingers brushing his face, she gave him a cruel smirk.

"Being a kept man isn’t easy, Mr. Vaughn. Don’t fool yourself into hoping for more than a bedmate. You’ll never be my boyfriend, never my husband. You won’t exist to me in public. You’ll be at my beck and call. You won’t speak to me in front of my family, my friends, or even strangers. You won’t touch another woman, won’t even look at one. And above all, you’ll never do anything that dares to displease me."

Each word hit like a blade. But Adrian stood there, unblinking, jaw clenched, enduring the punishment like a man ready to burn for what he broke.

Then his voice dropped, deep and quiet. “Those words sound familiar.”

She smiled.

“That’s exactly what I told you,” he murmured.

Her mask cracked. The smile vanished from her face. Her hand clutched his collar and yanked him closer, fury in her eyes.

“Exactly,” she snapped. “The first night you slept with me, you warned me never to dream of being your wife. You warned me never to look at another man. And now you feel small hearing the same words?”

She shoved him, hard, making him stumble back on his feet. “Don’t come near me again, Adrian. I remember every single word of the humiliation you put me through like I was worthless, just because I fell in love with you.”

Then she yanked open the door, and turned to leave.

But he moved. Fast.