Selena Sterling's wedding dress hit the floor of the honeymoon suite. The silk lingerie underneath barely covered anything. Candlelight turned her skin golden, and Alex Crown couldn't take his eyes off her.She climbed onto the bed and straddled him. Her fingers worked the buttons of his shirt, pulling it open."Finally," she whispered. She kissed his jaw, then his neck. "No guests… No more speeches….. No cake…. And Just us.""Just us," he repeated. His hands gripped her waist.She kissed him deep. It was hungry and warm and real. She had waited for this. All through the ceremony, through the toasts, through the hours of smiling at strangers, she had been thinking about this exact moment. About being alone with the man she chose.His mouth moved down her throat. Her breath caught. His fingers traced the edge of her lingerie, teasing along the lace. She pressed herself against him and felt him respond."You're so beautiful," he said against her skin."Then stop talking." She pulled his

The honeymoon suite still smelled like her perfume. The candles had burned down to nothing, leaving little pools of wax on the nightstand. The bed was still unmade from where they had been tangled together just hours ago. Alex Crown ignored all of it. He walked to the closet and pulled out a small suitcase from the back. Inside was a password box. He entered six digits and the lock clicked open. Sitting inside on black velvet was an encrypted wrist device. Sleek. Military grade. He had not touched it in three years. He powered it on. The screen glowed pale blue. He entered a second password and dialed a number he had memorized a long time ago. It rang once. Someone picked up immediately. "Commander." The voice on the other end was sharp and clear. No hesitation. No surprise. Just instant readiness, as though the person had been waiting by the phone for three years. "Voss," Alex said. "I need something." "Anything." "Prepare a divorce contract. Full terms. No conditions in her

Selena Sterling pulled her hands back and rubbed her wrists. The sting of rejection sat heavy on her chest. She stared at Alex Crown's back for a moment, searching for the right words. Guilt was there, buried underneath the exhaustion and the ache in her neck. She knew she had been wrong. She knew leaving on their wedding night looked bad.But then something clicked in her mind. Her eyes brightened. She reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek black box tied with a gold ribbon."Here," she said, holding it out to him. "I got this for you on the way back. It's from the Rosetti boutique on Fifth Street. Limited edition. They only made two hundred of these in the world."She opened the box. Inside, resting on dark velvet, was a high end watch with a platinum face and sapphire crown. It must have cost more than most people earned in a year."I know I messed up last night," she said. Her voice softened. "This is my way of saying sorry. Try it on. It'll look perfect on you."Alex Crown l

The meeting point was a private lounge on the thirty second floor of a building downtown. No signs on the door. No cameras in the hallway. Just a locked room with blacked out windows and a single table.Alex Crown walked in and found his subordinate already standing at attention. The man was tall, built like a wall, with a military cut and a scar running from his left ear to his jawline. His name was Voss. He had served Alex Crown for over a decade.The moment Alex entered, Voss snapped a crisp salute."Commander. The documents you requested."He placed a folder on the table. Alex Crown sat down and opened it. Inside was a divorce agreement. Clean. Professional. Every clause already filled in."Everything is in order," Voss said. "Full separation of assets. No conditions in her favor. All you need to do is sign, and we can file it within the hour."Alex stared at the first page but did not pick up the pen. Not yet."How are your injuries, Commander?" Voss asked. His voice carried genu

Selena stood up from her desk and pointed at the door."Get out. Go back to the hospital. Right now.""I'm fine, Selena. Really. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.""You were bleeding internally twelve hours ago. You should be lying in a bed with an IV in your arm, not dragging yourself across the city to check on me."Dennis smiled weakly. It was a soft, boyish smile. The kind that made him look harmless and sweet and completely incapable of hurting anyone."I couldn't stay in that bed knowing you might be upset because of me," he said. "I kept thinking about what happened. About your wedding night. About Alex."He lowered his eyes and his voice dropped."Has he... misunderstood us? Because of me?"Selena's jaw tightened. She looked away from him."It's not your fault, Dennis.""It is my fault. Everything is my fault. If I hadn't gotten sick, you would have stayed at the hotel. You and Alex would have had your night together. None of this would have happened.""Stop blaming yo