?Chapter 627:


    Framing her cheeks with both hands, he gazed down at her, the tenderness in his eyes undeniable.


    “But things are different now. You’re Milena—the only person with the power to heal me. You’re Death Thorn—someone strong enough to meet me on equal ground. I want you here, beside me, for every part of my life, no matter what barriers lie ahead. I’m ready to share everything with you.”


    Elliana’s heart clenched. This was the moment she had been waiting for. The reason she had agreed to the divorce so neatly, without arguments or questions, was to force him to this exact point—the realization that he couldn’t, and shouldn’t, hide anything from her. He finally understood her.


    But she wasn’t ready to forgive him. Not yet. Barely a week had passed since their divorce. The lesson hadn’t been painful enough, and his regret still looked too fresh, too uncertain. If she fell back into his arms now, he’d think her forgiveness was cheap. People didn’t value what they didn’t have to fight for.


    She would make him earn her forgiveness until the lesson was etched into his very bones.


    Drawing in a steadying breath, she ced her hands against his chest and created some distance between them. Frost colored her tone as she spoke.


    “I was willing to face anything with you before, but you tossed me aside. Now that we’re divorced, why on earth would I sign up to go through hell with you again?”


    She slid off hisp as she spoke.


    “You can’t fix something you shattered and pretend it was never broken, Cole. You abandoned me. I don’t forget things like that. Remarriage is off the table.”


    But for all her harsh words, she didn’t get out of the car. Instead, she settled into the seat beside him, deliberately smoothing her hair and straightening her clothes. Then she tilted her head, a wicked glint in her eye.


    “I have no intention of remarrying you, but you are easy on the eyes and filthy rich. Maybe you could be my pet. What do you think, Cole? My own little kept man—there when I need you, gone when I don’t.”


    Stunned into silence, Cole could only gape at her. The idea of being kept around for her amusement—nothing more than a decoration or a distraction—threw himpletely off bnce.


    A heavy pause stretched between them until Cole let out a short, disbelievingugh.


    Your next story starts here: g?lnσν???s


    “You’re joking, right?”


    Her answer was a casual shrug, her gaze unbothered.


    “No joke at all. I’m avable now. I’m not bound by marriage anymore. I can do whatever I want, with whomever I want.”


    I want. We can have an arrangement, if you like. Take it or leave it. But don’t get toofortable. I could kick you to the curb and find a new ything tomorrow.”


    With her chin lifted high, she met his eyes with smug confidence. “Commitment’s never been my thing. Why settle for one vor when the world has so much variety?”


    Words like those—carefree, wild, unapologetic—sent a sh of heat through Cole’s face, his jaw clenching in response. He knew she was just trying to get a rise out of him, but damn it, it was working. He was seething.


    He pinned her with a dark, dangerous stare, his lip curling into a sneer. “Oh, really? You sound like you have plenty of experience. Tell me, how many men have you ever kept? Who were they? Did they all outdo me in cash or looks? Or are you just collecting trophies?”


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