Chapter 144

[ 911 words ]

Katia’s POV

I felt the tear before I decided to cry.

Just one. It slipped before I could stop it, and I pulled back and pressed my fingers to my face and looked at the ceiling for a second because I was Katia Kensington, and I did not cry in people’s offices.

Julian’s thumb came up and caught it.

He didn’t say anything about it. He just looked at me with that expression, the unguarded one, the one he had no control over, and said quietly, “I will fix this. All of it. I promise you p>

I looked at him.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I said.

“I have never made a promise I didn’t keep,” he said.

I believed him.

That was the most terrifying part. I believed him completely.

I stepped back. I straightened my jacket. I sat down across from his desk because if this conversation were going to continue, I needed something solid between us.

He sat down too.

He opened a folder and pushed it across the desk.

“The file,” he said.

“The file,” I agreed.

I read it.

All of it. The WEG connection was made four years ago — the same Victor had used against Julian’s company before he had refined it. The government contract five years ago that Meridian won and that had started Victor’s vendetta before Katia had anything to do with Meridian at all. Sir Edmund’s involvement. The renewal timeline. Everything Julian had known for weeks and had decided, unilaterally, not to tell me.

I closed the folder.

“You’ve had this since Dubai,” I said.

“Yes p>

“You decided I didn’t need to know p>

“I decided that knowing would make you move visibly and tip Victor off,” he said. “I was wrong. He moved publicly anyway, and now you’re behind on information you should have had p>

I looked at him across the desk.

“Don’t do that again,” I said.

“I won’t p>

“I’m not asking. I’m telling you. Don’t make decisions about my company and my safety without telling me. Not once. Not ever again p>

“Understood,” he said. No qualification. No defence. Just that.

I picked up the folder.

“The seed company,” I said. “He lost the contract to Meridian five years ago. I bought Meridian three years ago. He didn’t know it was me until I stepped into the public light p>

“Yes p>

“So his vendetta predates me entirely p>

“Yes p>

“Which means I inherited an enemy I didn’t create.” I set the folder down. “That is genuinely impressive levels of bad luck p>

Something moved at the corner of Julian’s mouth. “I thought you’d find it interesting p>

“Interesting is one word.” I stood. “I need the Sir Edmund contact. And I need everything you have on the renewal committee p>

“Already prepared,” he said. He slid another folder across the desk.

I picked it up. At the door I stopped.

“Julian p>

“Katia p>

“The next time you decide to protect me from information I need—” I held his gaze. “Don’t p>

He nodded, and I left.

In the elevator I pressed my back against the wall and touched my mouth with two fingers and stared at the ceiling.

The statement had sixty thousand shares by the time I reached the lobby.

Victor Hale was apparently watching the numbers too. Sam forwarded me a message from a contact: Hale read the statement. He smiled.

Good.

I wanted him to smile.

Smiling men got comfortable.

Comfortable men made mistakes.

I walked out into the city and went back to work.

Delia’s POV

Ever since that night in Victor’s penthouse, a constant, restless heat has been humming under my skin. The way he took me—without hesitation, without the distance I’ve grown used to, left me starving. I woke up every morning with a buzzing horniness that wouldn’t fade, a physical reminder of what it felt like to actually be wanted.

I knew Julian wouldn’t touch me if I simply asked; he’s spent months treating me like a ghost in his hallways. But I was his wife. I was a Kensington, and I was going to make sure he finally fucked me. I was tired of the cold bed and the even colder silence.

I needed to break the stalemate. I needed to see him look at me with something other than complete boredom.

I cleared the estate staff early, telling the chef and the maids to leave dinner on the warmers and disappear for the night. Once the house was empty, the silence became my stage. I spent an hour decorating the living room, throwing deep red rose petals across the floor until the white marble was stained with color.

I knew he wouldn’t let me into his bedroom; he’d just lock the door and leave me standing in the hall like a beggar. So, I set the trap here, in the open. He was going to have to deal with me.

I went to my room and shed every piece of clothing I owned. No panties, no bra, no lace to hide behind. I slipped on a floor-length silk robe with no buttons, letting it hang open just enough to be an undeniable invitation. I wanted him to see the “perfect” Delia Kensington completely unravelled and raw.

When I finally heard the low rumble of his car in the gravel drive, my heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I positioned myself a few feet from the grand entrance as the key turned in the lock.

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