Synopsis
“Take off your dress, Meadow.”
“Why?”
“Because your sister and your ex are watching,” he said calmly. “And I want them to understand exactly what they lost.”
••••••••••••*
Meadow Russell was supposed to get married in Vegas to the man she believed was the love of her life. Instead, she walked into a hotel room and found her twin sister tangled in bed with her fiancé, smiling, unapologetic, and cruel. One drink at the bar turned into too many. One shattered night turned into a reckless decision. And one powerful stranger’s attention turned into a contract she signed with trembling hands, and a diamond ring she never expected.
Alaric Ashford is the devil wrapped in a tailored black suit. Billionaire CEO. Cold, controlled, and feared. A man born into power, blood, and steel. He also suffers from a rare neurological condition, he cannot feel. Not pain. Not pleasure. Not even human touch.
Until Meadow touches him, and everything changes.
Now she belongs to him.
On paper. In public. And behind closed doors.
She wants him to break her. To take what no one else ever could.
He wants control, obedience… and revenge.
But what begins as a transaction slowly twists into something neither of them planned. Obsession. Buried secrets. And a past soaked in pain that threatens to destroy everything they’ve built.
Alaric Ashford does not share what belongs to him.
Not his empire.
Not his wife.
And never his vengeance.

The room became very quiet. No one spoke after the last message appeared. "Only one Alaric will remain." Lily looked at Alaric. "That is not a normal system message." Dr. Ward checked her tablet again. "It is a selection rule." Meadow stood still. "It means removal is coming." Alaric did not move. He kept watching the screen. All screens now showed the same thing. The five versions of them in the same space. Each one standing slightly differently. Each one looking aware. Run 4 Alaric stepped forward again inside the display. He placed his hand on the barrier. The barrier looked like glass but was not glass. He spoke again. "You cannot all stay," he said.


Chapter 49 - Instance Collapse