Thomas sighs, as if he’s explaining something tedious. “You seem like a bright young woman, Iris Desmond. Ambitious. Stanford is a great school you’ve managed to get into, despite your…monetarydeficiencies. But surely you understand that certain choices have consequences.”
He slides a document across the table. The logo of one of Vancouver’s elite consulting firms—the onethat had just offered me a position. The one I’d been raving about with Levi a few days ago, and was planning to accept soon.
I stare at the document, my heart sinking. It’s an official statement confirming their newest partnership with Astor Holdings.
“Congratulations, by the way,” Odette says, almost gently. “It’s an excellent firm. Though they do rely heavily on our portfolio accounts, as of one week ago. I’d hate to see a promising start vanish over something so… trivial.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
My chest tightens. I can’t even breathe.
Trivial. My relationship with Levi is trivial to them. Anobstacle.
They don’t raise their voices. They don’t need to. Fuck. I somehow knew they wouldn’t approve of me. Not with the way Levi described his childhood.
Odette smiles faintly, lowering her voice. “You come from a good family, I’m sure. But it’s not a fit, you see? Levi’s life, his role, our legacy—requires something you don’t have, unfortunately.”
“Mrs. Astor—”
She interrupts smoothly. “Your parents, for instance. Retired, aren’t they? Teachers, both of them. Your brother, Dylan—” she glances at Thomas, pretending to recall, “—an… unemployed vagabond? And your sister, Amelia, was it? A low-level government employee?”
She’s fucking FBI, but a government employee—sure. But Dylan isn’t an unemployed vagabond.My throat itches to tell her that he’s CIA special ops. But I can’t.Legally, I can’t.
The air leaves my lungs. “How—how do youeven—”
“We know everything about the people who orbit our son,” Thomas says simply. “You’re bright, Iris. You’ll land on your feet. Just not… with him. Understood?
My mouth goes dry. I want to tell them that I love him. That Levi isn’t them. That he wouldn’t want this. That he’d fight it.
But Odette’s next words crush that fragile thought. “You should know, dear, that if you tell him about this conversation, we’ll deny it. You’ll look… desperate. Opportunistic. And perhaps your parents’ retirement fund will also shrink… to zero.”
This can’t be real.
She smiles as she rises, adjusting her cuffs. “It’s a terrible thing when love isn’t enough. But, I assure you—he’ll find it again. With therightwoman.”
And with that, they leave. But not before exchanging a look that has panic clawing in my chest.
The low hum of the music is somehow jarring now. And I sit there long after they’re gone, shaking. My hands gripping the edge of the table until my knuckles ache.
Because I know what they’re saying is true.
Levi is the legacy. The heir. Theperfect son.He was always meant to inherit the empire that I was never supposed to touch. He has wanted it for years—cravedit, even. His ambitious plans have always sprinkled into our conversations. It’s something he hasneverstrayed from. Something he’s molded his career path toward.
And no matter how much I love him, I know exactly what I have to do.
ONE
Levi
PRESENT DAY
I miss her.
Fuck, I miss her.
It feels like it’s been forever and yet—
“She said she looksuncouth,” my mother cackles from across the sunroom. “That’s the word she used! My Lord,uncouth? I mean yes, Celestine’s hair has been a topic of discussion—but really, who even uses that word anymore?”
