Chapter 7 - The First Dinner
The dining room of Sterling Manor was too large for two people. A long mahogany table stretched between them, illuminated by a dozen tall silver candelabras that cast long, flickering shadows on the wood.
Maya wore a simple, elegant dark blue dress the staff had provided. Her hair was swept up, revealing the delicate line of her neck and the small, silver necklace Julian had given her before dinner—a "token of his affection" for any eyes that might be watching.
Julian sat at the head of the table, carving a roast with a silver knife that looked dangerously sharp in his hands.
"The Chicago representatives are arriving tomorrow," Julian said, his voice echoing slightly in the vast room. "Their leader is a man named Dominic Vale. He is older, traditional, and highly observant. If he suspects this engagement is a sham, he will use it as leverage to renegotiate the transit rates."
"I won't let you down," Maya said, her fingers tracing the edge of her silver fork. "I spent three years pretending to be happy with Derek while my life was falling apart. I’m very good at acting."
Julian paused, his knife hovering over the meat. "What did he do to you, Maya?"
The question was unexpected. In the week she had spent at the manor, Julian had treated her like a business partner—polite, distant, and completely professional.
"He... he wanted to control everything," Maya said, her voice dropping as the memories threatened to claw their way back to the surface. "He didn't want me to have friends. He didn't want me to have a job. When I tried to leave, he... he locked me in the guest room of his estate for four days. No phone. No lights. He told me that if I ever left him, he would make sure no one ever found me again."
She looked up, her blue eyes bright with a fierce, burning anger. "He wanted to break me, Julian. He wanted to turn me into a ghost."
May you like
Julian’s eyes narrowed. The silver knife in his hand sliced through the roast with a quiet, savage precision.
"He won't break you here," Julian said. "In this house, you are protected. By my name. By my men. And by me."
