Evangeline met Finn''s captivating gaze and saw the desire simmering in his eyes. She paused, a slow smile spreading across her face. Her fingers hooked his tie, and she gave it a gentle tug.


    Finn leaned forward, following her lead, and braced his hands on the desk behind her. They were only inches apart, so close he could smell the fresh scent of her body wash.


    "No problem," she said, her voice a low murmur.


    Finn''s breath caught in his throat as he looked at her face—sun-kissed but still exquisitely beautiful-and her long, darkshes fluttering. His heart skipped a beat. "So confident? What if my fee is more than you can afford?" he asked, his own voice growing thick.


    Evangeline''s smile widened, and she shook her head. "I''m not worried."


    "I trust that the man I love, who loves me back, would never make things difficult for me."


    A low chuckle rumbled in Finn''s chest.


    "No, I won''t."


    With that, he lowered his head to kiss her, simultaneously scooping her up into his arms and striding out of the office.


    As they drove away, neither of them noticed the small, blinking red light of a camera lens from a parked car down the street.


    Back at the Fawkes Family Estate, Soren stared at the photos his bodyguard had just sent. Evangeline and Finn, holding hands, smiling blissfully as they got into a car. The already cold look in his eyes turned to ice.


    That familiar, suffocating tightness returned to his chest. His breathing grew shallow, and a wave of intense irritation washed over him.


    "Mr. Fawkes, should I continue to follow them?" the bodyguard texted.


    Soren didn''t reply. He stared out at the dark night sky, his gaze as ck as the void. He had never believed


    truly


    that Evangeline and Finn were in love He''d always assumed it was some kind of deal some hidden arrangement But looking at them now, it seemed he was wrong.


    He knew, on some level, that even if their rtionship wasn''t what it seemed, there was no turning back for him. He couldn''t abandon Poppy now, not when their engagement was imminent. It was over between him and Evangeline, and he should wish them well. He had spent the past weeks telling himself that. As her ex-husband and the CEO of Fawkes Enterprises, he was supposed to be mature andposed, to let her go and move on with his own life. He should have been happy, relieved even, to see her find someone else.


    But for some reason, seeing them genuinely happy brought him no joy at all. Only a churning storm of anger and frustration.


    What was he frustrated about? What was he so angry about? He didn''t even know


    himself. For the first time, he felt like a stranger in his own skin.


    After a long pause, he let out a breath and, acting on an impulse he didn''t understand, replied to the bodyguard: "Keep following them."


    "Don''t let her see you," he added.


    His own actions no longer made sense to him. So why not lean into the madness?


    "Soren."


    Liam''s voice came from behind him. Soren instinctively locked his phone and looked up. "What is it?"


    Liam''s gaze flickered to the phone. Soren had been quick, but Liam had still caught


    a glimpse of Evangeline''s name on the screen.


    So, it was true. Even with the wedding just around the corner,


    shameless woman was still trat


    manipte Soren, clinging tohim like a shadow she couldn''t shake


    Liam sighed in frustration.