He might be willing to play dirty.
But I play to win.
9
Lila
I storm through the streets, the crumpled letter burning in my grip. The Kingsley Hotel looms ahead, sleek, modern, polished to perfection. Just like him. Just like the life he built after he walked away.
Now he thinks he can waltz back in, throw some money at me, and take the last thing I have left?
I let out a sharp, humourless laugh. No, not today.
I push through the revolving doors with a bit too much force.
His offer was an insult. He was an insult.
The air-conditioning blasts against my heated skin, but it does nothing to cool the fury curling hot and tight inside me. The Kingsley’s lobby is too pristine. White marble floors, warm golden lighting, the faint murmur of business deals and expensive champagne being poured.
I shouldn’t be here. I should be back at the shop, finishing the bouquets for Sophie’s gala.
Fifteen years. The memory hits before I can stop it.
The first time.
We’d been together for a year. A whole year of Ben being patient,being careful, being a gentleman. Never pushing, always waiting and I loved him for it.
His body above mine, his hand tangled in my hair, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered, “Are you sure?”
I was breathless, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. “Yes.”
That was all it took.
His mouth met mine, hesitant at first, then deepening, a slow, nervous kind of urgency. His hands skimmed my skin. Not confident, not practiced, just careful. Trembling fingers tracing the curve of my waist, like he was scared of getting it wrong.
We were both shaking.
Tangled in sheets, breathless and unsure, figuring it out together. Heat, nerves, and something deeper. Something we didn’t have the words for yet.
At that moment, the world outside didn’t exist. There was only us.
Above us, my origami cranes swayed in slow, weightless circles, suspended from the mobile overhead. Caught in the soft current of air, their folded wings cast shifting shadows across the bed, moving with every shaky breath I took. I watched them drift, my chest rising and falling in time with their lazy dance.
I remember the way his breath evened out as we lay there, the heat of his body pressed against mine, his fingers trailing absent-mindedly over my bare shoulder. I was sore in a way that made me blush, but I felt safe. Wrapped up in him, warm, drowsy, the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my cheek.
His hand slid down to my waist, pulling me closer, his lips brushing the top of my head. “You okay?”
I nodded against him, my voice a murmur. “Mmm.”
The room was quiet, only the soft hum of the night filtering through the open window. The world outside still didn’t matter.Not yet.
Then his phone buzzed.
A sharp vibration against the nightstand.
Ben groaned, shifting against me. His arm flexed around my waist like he didn’t want to move.
“Leave it,” I murmured, pressing closer, tightening my hold on him.
