Xavier Storm was a man who thrived on control. Ruthless in business and merciless in vengeance, he knew exactly where to strike to bring an enemy to their knees. And Marie Lockwood was the perfect target. A seductress, a spy, a woman who played with fire and never got burned—until now. She had destroyed his best friend, and for that, Xavier would make her suffer. But Marie was not the villain he thought she was. Framed by the very man she served, she had become the fall girl for crimes she didn’t commit. Betrayed, hunted, and trapped in a game she never wanted to play, she vowed that no man would ever see her break. Not even Xavier Storm. He wanted revenge, but she wouldn’t beg. He wanted to break her, but she knew how to endure pain. What neither of them expected was the fire that ignited between them, a dark and all-consuming obsession that blurred the lines between hatred and desire. The deeper Xavier dug, the more Marie’s mask began to crack, and with every secret he uncovered, he realized he had miscalculated. Because in shattering her, he was unraveling himself. And by the time the truth came to light, he would have to face the one thing he never saw coming— that he had fallen for her.
View MoreMARIEI woke with a start, and tried to call out, but my throat felt sore, and my tongue felt like it was rough, dry, sand paper.The numbness in my hands drew my attention to them, and I realized that I was tied up – my surroundings had changed as well. Someone had moved me out of the hotel.“Help! Please help” I called out, forcing the sound out through my throat.Garrick had taught that in situations like this, the best thing is not to let my captor know I am awake, that way, I could discover a thing or two unnoticed, but my emotions felt too raw for me to think straight.“Help!” I started again, then paused in fear as I heard footsteps and approach the door, and the clicking sound as it opened.Peter – Xavier Storm stepped in, his eyes expressionless, his face cast in the shadows of the darkening room.“Hello Marie,” he said softly, coming to sit on the bed beside me. “Welcome to your nightmare.”I hated the tears that filled my eyes, hated how much I forgot my spy training. All I
XAVIER STORM“So, have you decided the cause of action to take? Legal, or are you going to destroy her the dirty way?” Roland, my PA who liked to think of himself as my friend said, dancing around me as he tried to catch my attention through the throng of men that surrounded me.I docked into my limo, and he entered as well.“All I’m saying is, if you go the legal way, this could do wonders for the company image, endear you to the masses.”And this was exactly why Roland could never be my friend. “Since when has winning the heart of the masses meant anything to me?” I asked, keeping my voice cool, even though I felt irritated.But it was not Roland’s constant nagging that irked me, it was something else…. The paradox that was Marie. I hated unsolved puzzles. How the hell did literal innocence and the pain I’d briefly seen in those eyes blend well with cunning and treachery?“Okay, okay, hear me out,” Roland continued, with his palm up in the air. “Better goodwill equals more patronage
MARIE“Wh-what do you mean you were waiting for me,” I stuttered, realizing too late that I had dropped my French accent.The knowing look in his eyes told me he’d realized too.He smiled. “I mean that I’ve been waiting exactly for you, a beautiful woman, lovely, with an innocent heart. You’re exactly what I need to thaw my icy heart.”“Why do you need it thawed?” I asked before I could stop myself.He shrugged. “Isn’t it better that way?”I shook my head, realizing too late that I was letting him lead the conversation and worse still, I was invested in it.With other clients, manipulation came easily, I told them what they wanted to hear, and before long, they were spilling their darkest secrets to me, but this man…. If I was not careful, I would be tempted to spill secrets of my own.“Tell me,” he asked softly. “Have you ever been heartbroken?”“No – I mean yes... Haven’t we all?” The pain that came with the admittance was shocking, and I stared at the table a bit to catch my breat
MARIEI stared at the little scrap of paper in my hand as I headed over to the multi-million dollar mansion I lived in with the other girls.“Surprise!” A chorus echoed as I stepped in the door, and only then did I notice that the light had been changed to something twinkly, soft jazz music played in the background, and someone had hung “happy birthday Marie” across the sitting room, and the four other spies I shared the mansion with all wore matching T shirts, and sat sipping from a cup.I sighed. I hated my birthdays, I’d even forgotten it was today, but my smile was genuine as I walked over to the group.“At least let me have a drink,” I said snatching a cup from the person nearest to me.Nathalie shrugged. “You could have waited, let me pour yours.” Nathalie was the silent weapon among us, she usually got her information from targets in the most cruel way, and yet when she was not working for Garrick, she was just the regular nerd.“We should …. Sing the happy birthday song, shoul
MARIESoft music floated through the air, blending with the low hum of conversation at the Ritz. I swayed slightly to the melody, fingers tracing the stem of my wine glass as I watched James’ expression shift. First confusion, then disbelief.“I… I don’t understand,” he whispered, his voice unsteady. “Marie, you said you loved me.”I tilted my head, offering him a small, almost pitying smile. “I lied.”His blue eyes searched mine like he was hoping—praying—this was all some cruel joke. It wasn’t.“But I love you,” he choked out, his fingers tightening around his glass. “I wanted to marry you.”Oh no. Was he going to cry? I hated that. Weakness in men repulsed me. Strength—that was what I enjoyed breaking.Putting both hands on the table, I leaned in so that I could pin those eyes of his with mine. “James, please, don’t embarrass yourself. Take your loss like a real man, trust me, it’s way better that way.”“Trust you?” He asked in disbelief. “Trust you!” He thundered, his face crumpli
MARIESoft music floated through the air, blending with the low hum of conversation at the Ritz. I swayed slightly to the melody, fingers tracing the stem of my wine glass as I watched James’ expression shift. First confusion, then disbelief.“I… I don’t understand,” he whispered, his voice unsteady. “Marie, you said you loved me.”I tilted my head, offering him a small, almost pitying smile. “I lied.”His blue eyes searched mine like he was hoping—praying—this was all some cruel joke. It wasn’t.“But I love you,” he choked out, his fingers tightening around his glass. “I wanted to marry you.”Oh no. Was he going to cry? I hated that. Weakness in men repulsed me. Strength—that was what I enjoyed breaking.Putting both hands on the table, I leaned in so that I could pin those eyes of his with mine. “James, please, don’t embarrass yourself. Take your loss like a real man, trust me, it’s way better that way.”“Trust you?” He asked in disbelief. “Trust you!” He thundered, his face crumpli...
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments