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She walked right into him—headfirst into his chest.

She stumbled back, but before she could fall, he caught her by the waist, strong hands steadying her.

She looked up, startled, her body tensing.

She had already changed out of her clothes and ditched the mask—no one would recognize her as Astra now.

‘Thank God I packed a change of clothes before coming here,’ she thought with relief in her eyes. ‘Otherwise, this Cactus would have chased me down five blocks again.’

“What are you doing here?” Lorenzo's deep voice cut through her thoughts, his brows drawn in a hard frown.

“Work,” she muttered, trying to pull herself out of his arms.

But he tightened his grip on her waist, keeping her against him. His towering frame made it impossible to ignore him.

"What work? You never went to med school. What exactly are you doing at this hospital?"

Then a thought crossed his mind. His jaw clenched as his hand shot out, grabbing her face and lifting it up to face him roughly.

"You came here for that damn boyfriend of yours?" he ground out.

She blinked, confused—then it clicked. “Damion?”

His eyes darkened.

She pulled his hand off her face, yanking herself free from his grip on her waist. “I’m not with you anymore. It shouldn’t matter to you.”

That only made him angrier. His hands fisted at his sides, barely restraining himself.

“Why are you relying on other men when I already gave you a black card? Isn’t that enough for you?”

She looked at him in confusion, and then the memory resurfaced. He was talking about that card he’d given her when they’d recently signed the papers and he had asked her to come to grandpa’s retirement party.

She let out a slow breath, keeping her voice calm. “I’m not your wife anymore. I don’t use it. I’ll return it to you.”

She turned and started walking away. The farther she got, the more his thoughts spiraled. Panic and frustration built up inside him until he couldn’t take it anymore.

"What do you want?" he shouted. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you!”

She halted. Then slowly, she turned and walked back to him.

"You’ll give me what I want?" Her voice was soft but piercing.

He nodded, uncertain.

She yanked him down by his tie, pulling him close until her lips were just inches from his. Her voice came out like a whisper, dripping with pain.

“I wantyou.The whole of you. Will you give me that?”

Lorenzo froze.

He didn’t say a word. He just stood there, stunned, breathing hard.

She let go of him, the cold air rushing in between them.

Her voice cracked, barely audible. “Since you can’t… I won’t stay with you anymore.”

She turned again and walked away, leaving him standing there. Lorenzo could barely breathe.