AURORA'S POV He turned onto my street and parked in front of my apartment building. A doorman stood at the entrance then I put my hand on the door handle, took a deep breath, and pushed it open. “Aurora.” I snapped my head around, my eyes locking onto his face. “We still haven’t talked about the baby part.” “There’s nothing to talk about. You can start answering my calls. Better yet, call me when you’re ready to try. We can get started right away and have a baby by summer.” I wanted kids more than anything. Was always the girl who put her dolls in little toy strollers while her sister climbed trees and rode skateboards with the boys. All I ever wanted was a family of my own. Babies, matching plaid pajamas, and big Christmas trees decorated with handmade ornaments. “What are the chances of you agreeing to IVF?” Aiden asked, his voice all business. “Zero,” I said flatly. “We have an agreement.” “Fine. I’ll have someone send over ovulation tests so call me when you’re r
AIDEN'S POV The three weeks after my wedding were filled with "almosts." I almost called Aurora when the urge to fly to Europe and satisfy my needs burned through me. It was a miracle I managed to handle things in my shower instead one hand braced against the mosaic tiles, jerking off like a desperate teenager. I almost drove straight to her apartment when I saw Sandy walking around my office with her small baby bump, bringing Henry lunch, finally looking like an expecting mother instead of a skinny kid who ate too many Brussels sprouts. I almost texted my wife when Devon sent me a picture from a gossip site—Aurora heading to a hot yoga class with her sister, dressed in tight leggings and a sports bra. And I almost treated her like a backup plan this morning when I got to the office and saw a giant billboard positioned right in front of my window with my face on it, fake blood dripping from my mouth. The number one Villain of the Western World is here to kill the pola
AIDEN'S POV I walked out of my office, ignoring Casey as she stumbled after me in her high heels, trying to ask what I wanted for lunch. And I doubt she would be able to order Herold’s head on a platter. “Aiden?” Devon asked over the phone as I hit the elevator button. “Landon made a smart move. We might have to make a deal.” “I don’t make deals with enemies.” Besides, I knew Herold didn’t care about polar bears or little snow foxes. He had to know that drilling in the Arctic wasn’t even half as messy or controversial as breaking underground rocks for oil and gas something Royal Pipelines had done before I took over. He wasn’t after the environment. He was after the Kings. Me, specifically. Too bad for him, I had two rules: I never ran from a fight and I always won. After a long meeting that stretched into the afternoon, I took the elevator back to my floor. Devon and my legal team told me to wait, stay quiet, and release a statement in a few weeks saying Royal Pi
AIDEN'S POV I stared at her impatiently the whole time she talked, then sent her back where she came from. Even though I didn’t like either of my sisters in law, they clearly had no idea what was really going on in my marriage. That was good. It meant Aurora had kept quiet. Sure, Henry, Daniel, and Devon knew the truth. I told them during poker night but they were on my side. Aurora jumped off Henry’s desk and put the red lollipop back in her mouth. “All right, hubby. Make it quick.” I took her to my office, then walked into the private room where the walls weren’t glass, so no one could see us and shut the door behind us then gave her a stern look. “What are you doing here?” “Having lunch with friends.” She pulled the lollipop from her mouth. The smell of watermelon filled the air, making my dick twitch. “Having a good day, hubs?” “Not really.” “Yeah, I saw the protest on the news.” She scrunched her little nose, the one I hoped our future kids would get. “That bill
AIDEN'S POV She made sense. That worried me because I was usually the logical one in every conversation. "You’re here now," I said. I wasn’t in the mood for sex,but I supposed we have to get it over with at some point.She smiled, licking her lollipop. Her lips were soft and tempting. "We’re not having sex in your bathroom. I respect myself more than that." "Are you sure?" I asked, half teasing, half serious. "So far, you’ve acted like a bride I ordered online. Bending over the sink wouldn’t be surprising." She laughed. She actually laughed then flipped her hair over one shoulder, turned around and said. "Goodbye, husband." She walked to the door seductively. Her walk was full of confidence and she knew exactly what she was doing. Nothing was shy or innocent about her now. I wasn’t used to women leaving before I told them they could. It annoyed me. Usually, my money and power kept them around. Watching her leave felt like she was taking something from me. "Aurora," I growl
AURORA'S POV My first problem? I didn’t know how to cook. My second problem? I actually believed making Aiden a homemade meal (which would probably taste awful) might change something between us. But my biggest and most urgent problem? I was pretty sure I was setting my husband’s kitchen on fire. Maybe this was karma punishing me for playing dirty. Once it was clear that Dear Husband wasn’t going to make the first move to see me, I decided to show up at his office and get a dinner date out of him. I was desperate to build a connection, while he was determined to keep his distance. It felt like having a sugar daddy who didn’t want to sleep with me. I got all the gifts, but not the man. The problem was, I wanted the man. The fancy shoes were nice, but not nice enough to make me scream their names in bed. I’d asked that it would be at his place because I wanted to be in his world, break down his walls, and force my way into his life. Plus , being married to someone who di
AURORA'S POV "I wasn’t. I wanted to impress you." "Maybe I wanted to poison you," I said, narrowing my eyes. Aiden's lips twitched, almost smiling. "The only person you could poison is yourself, like you did a few years ago. And even then, you messed it up." "Hey, I did a good job. It’s not my fault you saved me." "I still regret it." He playfully shoved me. I stepped back, keeping my eyes on him. "Listen, you tried cooking, and it was a disaster. I have a poker game soon, so we’ll have to skip the first course and go straight to the main event." "You planned a poker game tonight?" My eyes widened. He stepped closer, and I instinctively moved back. He was cornering me, trapping me while I struggled to think straight. "You weren’t hoping we’d cuddle and watch a romantic movie, were you, Flower Girl?" He gave me a mocking smile. I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but before I could, my back hit the kitchen island. Aiden grabbed my waist, lifted me, and placed me on the cold
AURORA’S POVHe moved closer, standing between my legs, still fully dressed and suddenly, the air felt tense, and I could feel the hair on my arms stand up with excitement.I leaned back on my arms, biting my lip. He pulled down his sweatpants, his eyes focused on something behind my head. He was trying not to be involved when it happened, avoiding touching or looking at me. He took his cock out of his underwear and I saw that he was hard, with a drop of cum on the tip.At least now I knew the problem wasn't that he wasn’t attracted to me. He positioned his cock toward my pussy, his face looking like someone about to face a hard fate, then slid all the way in at once, filling me completely. His eyes rolled, and he looked up at the ceiling as he tried not to make a sound.I wasn’t just wet, I was dripping because I was so aroused that I grabbed his face, turning it so he'd look at me. His nose flared, and his lips pressed tightly together. He didn’t move inside me. We both knew it felt
AURORA'S POV Ariella shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, like she didn’t know.“Mom said the one year Herold and Aiden spent in Evon together almost made her lose a son. My older brother lost a lot of weight, stopped playing polo, and stayed away from everyone. He’s always been cold and different, but after that year, everyone agreed he became… well…” Ariella took a deep breath and looked down at the old table in front of us. “Soulless.”That word hit me hard, like a punch. I wanted to flip the table and shout, He does have a soul. So much soul. More than you can ever imagine.Annabelle handed me a glass of water, sensing I was losing my control. I was sure that Herold had done something terrible to Aiden. And because of that, Aiden became who he was today.“Thanks for telling me, Ariella.” I reached out and squeezed her hand.She held my hand tightly. “That’s what sisters in law are for, right? Just please don’t tell Aiden. He won’t forgive me.”“Your secret is safe with us,”
AURORA'S POV Annabelle’s eyes went straight to my half-open shoulder bag hanging from my seat. A drawing from one of my students, Riley, for Greta Reynolds was peeking out. It had her name on it with flowers and hearts.“Does he know you still see Thomas’s grandmother every week?” Annabelle asked.“He found out yesterday,” I said, cutting a meatball with my plastic fork.“Yikes,” my sister winced. “How did you tell him?”“I didn’t. Someone else did.”“Who?” Ariella’s blue eyes went wide.I wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t hard to guess that it was Herold Landon or his wife who told Aiden. I shrugged. “Not sure. But it’s out now. He told me to stop seeing her.”“Ugh, he has no right to tell you what to do,” Annabelle said, clearly forgetting her promise to stop badmouthing my husband after losing a poker game. “Your marriage has a big price, but being a feminist isn’t one of them.”“I refused,” I said calmly.Ariella rubbed my arm. “At least you tried.”“And succeeded,” I added, taking ano
AURORA'S POV The next day, I stayed in the teachers’ lounge during lunch, holding my leftover sandwich . I kept moving from one foot to the other, feeling like a kid who got in trouble. My butt still hurt, but the pain Aiden left inside me hurt even more. Sex with Aiden wasn’t just good. It was amazing. Powerful. Like nothing I’d ever felt before. But the way he quickly pulled away and acted like nothing happened made me dizzy. Not because I wanted cuddles and sweet talk but because the way he changed so fast from warm to cold shocked me. The strong feelings I had for him scared me, and wanting to keep him safe made me feel sick. Not just sick. Crazy. Wrong. I never gave up my values for Thomas. Now I understood why Aiden paid for sex. It wasn’t just because he liked strange things. It was because he lost control when he was with someone. He came alive, he cursed, he stopped holding back. He dropped the careful mask he always wore, like a snake losing its old skin leaving him exp
AIDEN'S POV "Gladly. You’re excused. Have been for the six minutes since we finished," I said, waving her away. Her breasts looked amazing, especially when she suddenly stood up. They were full and shaped like pears, with pink nipples that looked like tiny diamond studs. My wife picked up her dress from the floor and put it back on, shaking her head. “Petar will call the driver for you,” I said, putting the cigar between my lips and texting my estate manager while she shoved her feet into those awful Manolo Blahnik heels that always gave her blisters. “Screw you, Aiden.” “Sure. How about tomorrow? I’m free at lunch. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to wait until I get home around nine-thirty.” She didn’t answer. Just turned around and marched toward the door. She stopped at the door, her hand on the wall, and looked back at me over her thin shoulder. “I’m just like you, you know.” “Highly doubt it,” I said, not looking up from my phone and already replying to an email from m
AIDEN'S POV I was trying to push her to her limit, hoping she’d give up, agree to the IVF, and leave me alone. But she did what I told her. She played with her pussy by touching, pulling, and holding her full breasts. The older man looked up from his roses and froze, staring up at our window. Aurora Knight was supposed to be good, polite and innocent but she was wild and dirty, just like me. That made her dangerous for me. Like a drug I couldn’t quit. “That’s it,” I whispered into her ear, moving harder inside her as goosebumps covered her skin. “Open your legs and rub yourself on my window. Show the neighbor what your husband does to you, my sweet, beautiful slut.” I thought this would finally break her. That she couldn’t and wouldn’t, but she surprisingly did. She opened her thighs and touched herself as I kept thrusting from behind. The man didn’t move. He stood there, staring at my wife rubbing herself on the glass while I fucked her hard from behind. Her clit pressed again
AIDEN'S POV It felt nice. “Now show me why you moved far away from your exes. What kind of wild things did you do with them?” I asked. Then without waiting for an answer, Aurora grabbed my hand and dragged me to the hallway, looked around and waited for me to lead the way to my bedroom. I did even though I knew she snooped around my house when I wasn’t home. I saw it on the cameras when Petar gave her a tour. I closed the door and locked it, just to be sure. She stood in front of me, slowly sliding off her dress and letting it fall to the floor like soft snow then grabbed my hand and placed it gently on the front of her pale neck. "Is this what you like?" she asked. Her chest moved fast with her quick breaths, and her eyes were full of excitement. "You did this that day… that time…” The day I threw her out, screaming. “Or…” She moved my hand down her body to her backside and slid it between her cheeks. “Maybe this? I don’t mind doing things with you, Aiden. I’ll do anything, a
AIDEN'S POV She moved closer to me without waiting, soft and ready. Perfect. I had never met someone so easy to touch, yet so hard to control. We were pressed against each other. Her sweet, flowery smell filled my nose. “Seen your Aunt Tia lately?” I asked, touching her cheek with my hand. She took a shaky breath, her whole body shaking from just that small touch. I wondered if she reacted like this with her ex-husband. Did she shake like this when she was with the man she had picked?. The man I had sent her back to. “Yeah… I did,” she said, her voice unsure. “I think it was… Tuesday?” She couldn’t think clearly. And, sadly, neither could I. I lowered my head as she lifted hers. Her lips opened for me. I kissed her, pressing my knee between her legs. Her body pressed tighter against mine. She let out a small sound and pushed her chest to mine, rubbing against me like she needed more. My tongue played with hers as I held her face and kissed her deeper then moved my mouth down
AIDEN'S POV She turned pale under her makeup and stepped back, almost falling. I reached out, grabbed her arm, and helped her stand. And still maintained the polite smile on my face to onlookers. "That’s what I thought. If you tell anyone that my wife visited her old grandmother in law, I’ll make sure everyone in America finds out your husband cheats on you. Have a good night, Mrs. Landon." "Aurora will sleep at my house tonight. No need to stop at her apartment," I told my driver as we got into the back of the car. Aurora took off her high heels with a happy sigh then leaned her head against the cool leather seat, too tired to talk about what just happened. She had danced with every important man at the party tonight. She was passed from one man to another, like a shiny toy. Everyone wanted to see the woman who had won over The Villain. Since most people had stopped trying to talk to me, Flower Girl was the next best thing. "Looks like you’re starting to like me," she said,
AIDEN'S POV If Aurora felt weird, she didn’t show it. She put her hand in Herold’s. I had to try really hard not to jump in and pull her away from him.It was just a dance. And maybe it was good practice because one day, I’d have to see her with someone else. That would happen in a few years, after she gave me kids and finally gave up on me and my cold heart.We’d end up like my parents. Polite strangers, staying together only because of deals, shared stuff, and what people expected.Now I was stuck alone with horse faced Morgana and her annoying twins. Morgana leaned on the bar with a sly smile and lipstick that didn’t look right.“She’s sweet,” she said.“She’s fine,” I answered.I should have looked away from Aurora in Herold’s arms, but I couldn’t. Watching them made me feel strange. My head started to hurt. Mrs. Landon’s eyes lit up with interest.“That’s not a great thing to say about a wife you can’t stop staring at. How’s married life so far?”I looked at her face. No wonder