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The thought startled me, but not enough to pull away. Not enough to let go.

His hands lifted, and I sensed they were hovering at my back like he wasn’t sure if he should hold me—but then, slowly, carefully, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in. It wasn’t possession or desperation. It was something quieter. Something softer.

I felt him relax—truly relax—in a way I’d never seen before. No tension in his shoulders, no battle-ready stiffness. Just warmth, steady and real.

He exhaled, the sound slow and deliberate, and then…

I felt him move.

His chin dipped, his breath tickling against my hair, my temple, my cheek. My pulse surged as his fingers curled, digging gently into my waist, his head tilting.

Unsure, I lifted my head, just barely, just enough that my lips hovered near his jaw. Close. Too close.

For a single breath, neither of us moved.

Was he… was he going to kiss me?

Worse, did I want him to?

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything but freeze in place, my heart stumbling and my body trembling. He hadn’t kissed me since our wedding day.

And then—

He pulled away. Not sharply, not like he wanted to escape, but like he couldn’t allow this to happen. Like it was something he wanted, something we both wanted, but he was choosing restraint.

His eyes locked on mine, heat simmering beneath his quiet control, and I knew—I knew—that whatever had just happened, whatever almost just happened, it wasn’t over.

Not really.

For a moment, I let myself imagine that this was real, that we were more than just a promise on paper.

But I knew better. This could only lead to more heartbreak, more pain. I needed to remember that I was nothing more than a pawn to him in whatever game he was playing. I still didn’t know the reason he had married me, but whatever it was, it wasn’t so I’d fall in love with him and we could live happily ever after.

This wasn’t what I wanted it to be. The cold grip of reality squeezed the breath from my lungs, and I stepped back, tearing myself away from the reckless want that threatened to consume me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, the words too small to carry the weight of my retreat. I saw the flicker of something in his eyes, a brief spark that was gone before I could name it. “I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.”

Despite his words, I turned away, forcing myself to remember the truth, to remember that his actions were nothing more than a businessman’s miscalculation. To remember that what I wanted didn’t matter.

The distance between us, physically, was small, but mentally… we might as well be galaxies apart. As we should be. As we’d agreed.

Chapter Six

Alexander

One week later

It was like stepping into another universe, going to Claire’s home. I’d come home to find her gone, and figured she’d needed to escape. So, I’d decided to show up.

The first thing I’d noticed was that, here, Claire’s laugh wasn’t stifled by my presence like she’d been lately. From the front door, I could hear her laugh. Her brother cracked jokes that made her grin—nothing like the superficial interactions at my family dinners.

This world of hers was not a world I fit into, and yet here I was, watching her go pale with surprise as I stood in her living room. My being there seemed to irritate her, but her family quickly took to me. Claire’s brother was the first to size me up, and soon I found myself charming them more than she’d probably like.

Michael was quick to corner me. "Alexander, right? The billionaire boss," he said with an exaggerated eye roll as if he’d forgotten he’d been the one to walk her down the aisle at mine and her wedding. I could only assume it was a dig that I never visited. "I thought people like you traveled with an entourage."

"No entourage today," I said, my voice a notch above reserved, trying not to betray how out of place I felt.