Emma had assured her the aphrodisiac was potent; no man could resist it. With that thought, Liliana let the nket fall and wrapped her slender white arms around Finnian''s neck.


    "Don''t touch me!"


    Finnian''s roar was sudden and violent. He thrust her away with such force that she tumbled off the bed. As she had moved toward him, all he could see were shes of his childhood-his father entangled with other women, the grotesque, nauseating images searing themselves into his mind. His body was a raging inferno of physical need, but his mind was recoiling in absolute disgust. Even though the woman before him was someone he had once promised to protect for a lifetime, he pushed her away without a second thought.


    Liliana stared at him from the floor, her eyes wide with disbelief. How could this be happening? Had the drug not worked? Impossible. Finnian''s bloodshot eyes and ragged breathing were clear signs it had. Was she not beautiful enough? That couldn''t be it either. Her looks were considered top-tier even in the entertainment industry, and she and Finnian had dated before. He was not immune to her.


    So why was he rejecting her? A vague, horrifying suspicion began to form in her mind, but she refused to acknowledge it.


    Finnian still didn''t have all the details, but it didn''t take a genius to piece it together. Emma wanted to force his hand, to create a situation where he would have no choice but to marry Liliana. She had lured him here with a false promise of maternal affection, drugged his wine, and then brought Liliana in while he was unconscious, hoping they would sleep together.


    The motherly love he had yearned for his entire life, a glimmer of which he thought he''d finally seen today, had been nothing but a trap. In that moment, thest vestiges of affection he held for Emma evaporated into thin air.


    He strode to the door and tried the handle, only to find it locked from the outside.


    *CRACK!*


    He mmed his foot into the door with enough force to make the entire room shake. But the door of a high-end apartment was built tost. Even with his strength, it wouldn''t give way easily.


    Seeing his violent rage, Liliana scrambled to her feet and threw her arms around his waist. "Finn, please, don''t! I can exin..."


    "Get off me!"


    He ripped her away again, this time with even more force, heedless of whether he hurt her. He was on the verge of losing controlpletely After shoving her aside, he went back to kicking the door, again and again, until the wood splintered and the lock gave way. The door flew open.


    Standing in the living room, her eyes wide with disbelief, was Emma.


    "Mother," he snarled, striding toward her, "you have some nerve."


    He spat the words at her before turning on his heel and storming out.


    "Where are you going? Get back here!" Emma shouted after him. She had been momentarily stunned. She couldn''t fathom how, even how, even under


    these circumstances nothing had happened between Finnian and Liliana. And she certainly hadn''t expected him to kick down the door. By the time she recovered, it was toote. Finnian ignored her cries and fled the apartment.


    Outside, Finnian hailed a cab. He got in but had no idea where to go. He didn''t know what kind of drug Emma had used, but its effects were overwhelming. It felt


    like his veins were about to burst. What was he supposed to do?


    His mind was filled with one person: Amara. He craved her, wanted her, needed her with a desperate, all-consuming urgency. But Amara was pregnant, she couldn''t help him. And even if she weren''t, she didn''t want to be with him...


    At that thought, a raw, savage look entered his eyes.


    The taxi driver caught his reflection in the rearview mirror-the bloodshot eyes, the dangerous glint—and felt a prickle of fear. "Sir," he asked nervously, "where to?"


    Finnian''s jaw tightened. He gave the address of the Everly family estate.