“It's you?” Derek stared at the woman in front of him, caught somewhere between disbelief and exasperation.It was Fae Gray. His landlord.The same woman he had rescued after she nearly set herself on fire in a hotel room.“What are you doing here?” Derek asked. “If you needed something, couldn’t you just talk to me at the apartment?”Maybe it was because she hadn’t exactly left him with the best impression that day, but even seeing the framed plaque of appreciation in her hands, Derek still couldn’t shake the feeling that she had some ulterior motive.“Isn’t it obvious?” Fae raised one elegant eyebrow, her face bright with a smile as she held the plaque out to him. “I came to thank you for saving my life.”“Thanks.” Seeing that she genuinely seemed to have no other intentions, Derek finally smiled and accepted it. “And from now on, take better care of yourself. Your life isn’t something to throw away.”Maybe he really had been overthinking things. Fae had been drunk that night. Perha

“Derek, you’ve got some fucking nerve!”The shout tore out of her before she could stop it, raw and ragged, echoing down the empty corridor.She advanced on him, her finger stabbing the air between them.“You seriously think I came here because I wanted to see you? Don’t flatter yourself. I came here only for your signature!”Still furious, Erin yanked the divorce agreement out of her bag and threw it at him. The papers hit his chest and fluttered down between them.Derek bent to gather them up. His gaze fell on the bold heading on the first page: DIVORCE AGREEMENT.Erin couldn’t quite suppress a smile.On her way to the station, she had played this moment over and over in her head. His face would go pale as he finally realized what he was losing. He would beg her to reconsider, and she would stand there with a cold smile, letting him plead.She had been so sure of it.But Derek’s expression didn’t change.There was none of the hesitation she had expected. He simply read through the a

The woman at the front desk glanced at Derek, then at the thoroughly drunk Fae in his arms.Judging by her expression, she had seen this kind of thing plenty of times before.“Sir, do you have ID for the lady as well?”Before Derek could answer, Fae suddenly stirred in his arms, fished her ID out of her purse, and dropped it onto the counter.“Got it…”Derek looked down at her. “You’re awake?”He immediately started to lower her to her feet.It wasn’t that carrying her bothered him. But after hearing what she had told him at the bar, he understood her a little better now. For all her bold flirting and carefree attitude, Fae was actually far more conservative than she let on.After that one slurred answer, she went completely limp again.Derek frowned. For a moment, Derek wondered if she was only pretending to be this drunk. He couldn’t quite tell.By then, the front desk clerk had finished checking them in.“Here you go, sir. Room 303, third floor. Turn left when you get out of the e

Derek heard Fae scream the moment he stepped out of the elevator.His blood ran cold, and he broke into a run.At the far end of the second-floor hallway, Frank was still hammering on her door.Derek recognized him immediately.Frank Wells, the Wells family’s second son.His name seemed to show up in the gossip columns every other month for one scandal or another. Derek had seen more than enough pictures of him online.“Who the hell are you?” Frank spun around. Then he saw Derek coming down the hallway and seemed to put the pieces together. “You’re the bastard she’s been fucking!?”Derek’s jaw tightened. “Move away from the door.”Frank laughed. Instead of moving away, he walked straight toward Derek. Up close, Derek could easily smell the alcohol on his breath.“You brought my fiancée to a hotel room in the middle of the night, and you’ve got the balls to tell me to move away?”Frank jabbed a thick finger toward Derek’s chest.But it never reached him. Derek caught his wrist and held

Derek glanced at Frank, who was hovering nearby like a dog waiting to be kicked. His voice stayed flat, almost bored. “Fae and Frank’s marriage. Frank cheated on her. More than once. Whatever they had, it wasn’t love. I just want him to leave her alone from now on.”And only then did Benjamin connect the dots. the man Frank had accused of stealing his fiancée was Derek Moss, the same man who had pulled his pregnant wife from a burning building.Benjamin’s face went dark.For years, Frank had hidden behind the Wells name, treating the world like a playground and the family credit line like an allowance. Benjamin had looked the other way, telling himself youth, telling himself recklessness, telling himself none of it had been truly unforgivable.But this time, Frank had aimed at the one person the Wells family owed everything to.Benjamin exhaled slowly. “Mr. Moss. I owe you an apology.”“When Fae’s family ran into trouble, I arranged this engagement. I thought it would bind both fami