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.

Darkness again. Not suddenly this time. Not violent. Slow. Like something was covering the world piece by piece. Alaric felt it before he saw it. A pressure. Not on his body. On his thoughts. Like something was pressing down on his mind. Trying to smooth it out. Trying to erase sharp edges. He did not move. He remembered. That was the difference now. The darkness did not take that away. Not this time.


Chapter 54 - Loop Breach