Rian Cross—HUSBAND

The master suite. Where air feels stagnant, smelling of a gin-and-tonic Rian Cross had abandoned. He hadn't said a word since the heavy doors had shut. Rian stood by the window. He was looking at his own reflection, a man who had just destroyed a decades long plan by leaving Nia.

He didn't move with the grace of a groom. He moved with the restless twitch of a man who had been holding his breath for twentyfour hours. He reached up, his fingers tugging at the silk tie. He dropped it. The room felt too large, the ceiling too high. Just tension.

"Nia’s father is probably yelling at my father exactly how many millions of dollars my 'little stunt' just cost the firm," Rian said, his voice a low rasp. He didn't turn around. He didn't need to. He knew she was there, sitting on the edge of the bed in a dress.

He finally turned, and the light from the hallway caught the mess of his hair, dark strands falling over eyes that looked completely hollow. There was no charm left. There was just the raw, biological reality of a man who was bored. He looked at her, the maid's daughter, with a gaze that was undressing her. He watched that tiny, rhythmic beat of her heart like a predator counting down the seconds to a strike.

"I didn't pick you because I have some secret, burning affection for the help," he said, taking a step toward her. "I picked you because I’ve spent my entire life eating off fine china and sleeping on silk, and I am so goddamn bored of the taste. Nia was the same. Marry the heiress. Secure stock. Produce the heir. Repeat until dead. It was a loop. I wanted to see the look on her face when I throw her away."

"The board doesn't care who carries the child, as long as the child carries the name," he continued, his voice dropping to a whisper that felt like a threat. "They want stability. So, I’m going to give them what they want. I’m going to give them an heir. But I’m going to do it on my terms, with the girl they spent twenty years telling me to ignore. I want to see their faces when a girl from the servants' quarters provides the future of this empire while their precious Nia is left as a footnote. I want them to look at her every day and remember that I am the one who decides what this family becomes."

He reached out, his hand wrapping around the bedpost with force. He leaned towards her.

"Take off the dress and get on all fours."