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“Mrs. Diamond.” Kelvin’s voice echoed in my head like a distant siren as I stared in shock at the woman standing in front of me.

CHAPTER FIVE

Mira

There were times I had to pinch myself as a reminder that I wasn’t dreaming and that I had really escaped the shackles of the fate life dealt me and was currently living a life I would never have thought possible in my wildest dreams.

Over the past five years, I had looked over my shoulders, holding my breath and waiting for a blast from the past to resurface and take it all away. But it never happened. Instead, life got better. The days got brighter, and the future looked promising for the first time in my life. But as everyone knows, the moment before a bomb explodes is often the quietest.

I felt him before I saw him. The potent smell of sandalwood and musk wrapped around my throat and threatened to squeeze the life out of me. My wolf stirred. Her movement was a mix of caution from being hurt before and the excitement of seeing her mate after a very long time.

I wanted to run away. I wanted to turn around, walk out the door, and not look back until I traveled far to the other side of the world, where neither his scent nor his perfect body could haunt me. But then Kelvin turned to me with a bright smile, alerting his company of my arrival.

“Mrs. Diamond,” he beamed, holding out his arm for a shake. I offered mine in return, but I barely felt his fingers wrapping around mine.

It was the man to his right who held my attention. My body thrummed with awareness, and my pulse raced with so much speed I found myself hoping I wasn’t visibly shaking. I wasn’t even looking at him, yet somehow, he managed to tilt the center of my world in his direction.

“Mr. Kelvin, you have a beautiful home,” I said, giving myself a mental fist bump for how flat and unaffected my voice was.

“Mrs. Diamond.” Griffin’s velvety voice wrapped around me, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake and effectively cutting Kelvin out of the conversation.

It had been five years, and his voice still had the same knee-weakening effect on me.

I sent a polite smile his way, determined not to let the emotions raging in me show.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. Mr….?”

“Thorne. Griffin Thorne,” he finished off, a wry smile playing on his lips. “I’ve been meaning to get a hold of you.”

“Really? Did you go through my secretary?” I queried, plastering an equally fake smile on my face. Two can play this game.

“I did, but I was ignored and eventually added to a waiting list. Can you believe that?”

“That’s quite unfortunate. We’ll make sure that doesn’t repeat itself in the future,” I replied, making a mental note to give my secretary a raise for that.

Griffin looked like he was thinking up his next reply, but thankfully, Kelvin interrupted.

“I see you two are getting along well. I’ll let you get acquainted while I take care of an urgent business.”

His statement caused me to look around, and I realized that during our little exchange, the circle of people who were present had wandered off to different areas of the house, leaving me with Griffin. I guess my gratitude was a bit too early.

“Mira.” His voice came out breathy, and he stared at me like I was the eighth wonder of the world.

“It was nice getting to know you, Mr. Thorne, but I have business associates to say hi to.” I made to leave, but his fingers wrapped around my wrist, and I was immediately transported to the first time we met and the feel of his touch when he saved me from damnation. Those were days I wished to never relive. I turned to him, speaking through gritted teeth to avoid people noticing what was going on.

“Let go of me, Mr. Thorne. This is hardly appropriate.”

He shrugged casually, and as if on cue, the soft strings of a violin wafted into the air. Before I could get a grip of the situation around me, Griffin spun me around, steering me to the dance floor in a swift motion.

“Are you out of your mind?” I seethed, maintaining a polite smile in front of the audience. I have spent years crafting the perfect image of a widow with no intention to mingle. His little antics were threatening to undo everything I’ve strived so hard for.

“On the contrary. Mira. I think it is you who is outof your mind.”

The chill in his tone spread through me, settling deep into my bones. What did he intend to get out of this?

As if he could read my mind, the next words that left his mouth answered my question.

“I picked you from the bottom of your pack, gave you a home and comfort, and you tried to ruin my life. As if that is not enough, you finally found yourself a wealthy benefactor to leech off, and the first thing you thought was to come after my business?”