Page 19 of The Rancher's Wedding Deception

These were the words he had lived by ever since the death of his biological parents. But in his younger years, he had thought such words would eventually change. Once he, Rush, and Mikey became successful, they could finally say they all had a good life.

But somehow, the emptiness was always there.

Even when they had all started building a name for themselves, and Mikey had enjoyed global fame while he and Rush had become self-made billionaires of their own right—-

The emptiness didn't go away.

And it still wasn't a good life.

By the time Hale had celebrated his 30th birthday six years ago, the emptiness had turned into ennui, and in his desperation to feel something, he had decided to challenge himself by putting up an ambitious project like the Sanctuary.

Since his life in the worst neighborhood in Chicago had made him witness senseless violence even towards animals, Rush wanted this time to protect all the things he once hadn't the power or money to protect.

And for a time, the Sanctuary had served its purpose.

His ennui had faded.

For a time.

His feelings of emptiness were replaced by a sense of purpose.

For a time.

The Sanctuary had even become a source of pride - but alsofor a time -having won awards left and right for architectural excellence and wildlife conservation.

National Geographichad even described the whole of Sixty-Acre Woods as a modern-day Eden and the Sanctuary as a bed-and-breakfast set in Paradise.

All six of their luxuriously appointed suites had an eighteen-month waiting list, and last year alone, the Sanctuary had received a record-breaking 200 million dollars in donations.

Life had been good.

For a time.

But now, it felt as if life had gotten even worse.

Because ofher.

Hale remained on his feet as he watched the blinds in his office slowly roll down. This was also taking place in every room in the Sanctuary. The lights were still on at this moment, but even if they were to suffer from power loss, the Sanctuary had more than enough generators and solar-powered batteries to keep the place running for days.

The Sanctuary's resident cats and dogs had been temporarily rehomed with the staff. All of their staying guests had already checked out early this morning. It was just him now...and thehamsters.

Hale got moving as soon as he remembered the furry little things. While he would never admit this out loud, and least of all to Devon and his wife, he had known from the start that he had nothing to worry about if they were in Heaven's care.

He would check on them all the same, make sure they had everything they needed for the night, andfuck!

Tension turned his entire body rigid when he caught sight of a figure running down the steps. It was too dark to tell who it was, but when the figure headed to the reception counter, and the desk light illuminated the person's face—-

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Heaven

MY WHOLE BODY IS Amess.

I'm unable to move, but I can't seem to stop shaking either.

All I can do is stare.

What ishedoing here?