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I Don't Take No for Answer

Author: Mira Adeline
last update Last Updated: 2025-02-28 12:48:19

Elena tilted her head, letting her lips brush just slightly against Ethan’s cheek as she whispered, “You think you can beat my father to this game?”

Ethan’s grip tightened. “You tell me.”

She smirked. “Let’s find out.”

She definitely was going to enjoy and see how this folded. But, she would never be a part of it.

Her heart beats in a way she couldn't explain. At first, she was scared of being caught in her father's game. But now it seems she wants to protect this man from her father.

But why?

Is it love, lust, infatuation, or pity? She can't say.

But she was ready to play the game with them and win.

*******

Elena sat at the long conference table, her fingers laced together as she listened to the financial projections being presented.

She had been at Ethan Cross’s company for three months now, and while her position as an executive assistant had given her access to sensitive reports, she had remained careful, walking the fine line between her father’s expectations, Ethan's suspic
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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   You Don't Trust Me

    “What did you do?” she demanded.A pause. Then, a casual, “I’d check the news if I were you.”The call ended.Elena stood frozen in the hallway, her grip tightening around the phone.She tapped open a news app.BREAKING NEWS: LOCAL WOMAN ATTACKED IN ALLEYWAY, POSSIBLE ROBBERY ATTEMPT.She scrolled down. A grainy image of the victim loaded, and Elena’s breath left her in a sharp gasp.Her aunt. Her late mother’s younger sister.A thousand emotions slammed into her at once, rage, fear, guilt.She didn’t think. She just moved.Turning on her heel, she strode towards the exit, her heart pounding so hard it hurt.But before she reached the elevator, a voice stopped her.“Elena?”She turned to see Ethan walking towards her, watching her with narrowed eyes.She hadn’t even heard him step out.Something in his expression told her he had seen her reaction, her panic, the way her entire body had gone rigid.And Ethan didn’t miss details.“Where are you going?” he asked, his voice unreadable.El

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   You Are Losing It

    “Why do you keep asking me if I believe you?”She turned back, her heart pounding.His gaze was sharp, piercing. She swallowed hard. “Because I want you to.”Ethan’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel. “Then you haven't been proving yourself enough. What's your plan?”Elena hesitated. She didn’t have one. Because she never thought she would need a plan to work in the corporate world. But she knew one thing for sure, she wasn’t going to let her father win.She met Ethan’s gaze, steel in her voice.“I’ll figure it out.”A long beat of silence stretched between them.Then, finally, Ethan nodded. “Yeah. I think you should”Elena didn’t know what to make of that.So she got out of the car, shut the door behind her, and walked inside without looking back.But she could still feel his eyes on her.And for the first time since this whole thing started, she wondered if Ethan Calloway was the only one keeping an eye on her.He had barely pulled away from Elena Blake’s apartment when

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Trusting Her is a Mistake

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Let Me Protect You

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   This isn't a Mistake

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   I Will Resign

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   I Can't Pretend Anymore

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Latest chapter

  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   EPILOGUE

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Where Our Hearts Meet

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   I'm Married to A Billionaire

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  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   A Visit to the Past

    Ethan’s lips curved into a smirk. “Only one. And I’m holding her right now.”The band transitioned into something slower, more sensual. The air between them thickened. Ethan pulled her closer, his breath warm against her ear.“You have no idea what you do to me, do you?” he murmured.Elena’s fingers tightened around his shoulder. “Maybe you should show me.”Ethan exhaled sharply, a dark chuckle escaping him. “Careful what you wish for, Mrs. Calloway.”The words sent a thrill through her. Mrs. Calloway. She was his. And yet, there was a part of her that still couldn’t believe it.A burst of laughter from a nearby table pulled them back to reality.At a round table draped in silk, Liam leaned back in his chair, swirling his glass of whiskey with a knowing smirk. Clara sat beside him, her emerald dress hugging her curves, her expression amused as she watched Ethan and Elena.“They look disgustingly in love,” Clara mused, taking a sip of her champagne.Liam chuckled. “Who knew the cold,

  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   The Vows

    “It is time for your vows.”A hush fell over the crowd.Ethan inhaled sharply, his blue eyes locking onto hers.For the first time since she had met him, he looked…nervous.Not in the way most grooms were...there was no hesitation, no doubt. But there was weight behind his gaze as if the words he was about to say carried more significance than anything he had ever spoken before.Then, his voice came, steady but thick with emotion.“I spent my life chasing power, wealth, control.” He paused, exhaling slowly. “I built an empire from nothing. I was ruthless and strategic. I knew how to win. I thought that was all there was.”Elena’s breath hitched as his fingers tightened around hers.“But then I met you.” His voice dropped slightly, the rawness in it making her throat tighten. “And you showed me what it truly means to live.”The world disappeared.There was no sunset, no guests, no officiant standing between them.Just Ethan.Just the man who had once been her greatest mistake, then h

  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Declaration of Love

    Liam barely contained his laughter. “Speak of the devil.”Ethan shot him a glare before running a hand through his thick, slightly disheveled hair. His chiseled jaw clenched, and his piercing blue eyes...usually calm and unreadable...were clouded with nervous energy.“Where’s Elena?” he asked, voice taut.“In her bridal suite,” Clara answered, flipping through her clipboard without looking up. “You’re not supposed to see her before the ceremony, so don’t even think about it.”Ethan let out a breath and muttered, “I wasn’t going to.”Liam smirked. “Liar.”Ethan ignored him and resumed his pacing. His mind was racing. It wasn’t cold feet...it was something deeper, something rawer. He had spent years building his empire, making high-stakes deals without breaking a sweat. And yet, standing here, on the precipice of marrying Elena...the woman who had unraveled him in ways he never expected...he felt a foreign sense of vulnerability creeping in.What if she changed her mind? What if she

  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Wedding Paranoia

    “Running away already?”The deep timbre of his voice sent a familiar shiver down her spine.She didn’t turn. “Would you blame me if I was?”Ethan came to the scene, his warmth seeping into her. Dressed in black slacks and a white button-down, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, he looked every bit the man she had fallen for...confident, steady, devastatingly handsome.He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Nervous? ‘Uncle, you are scaring my wife?” he added staring at his uncle Who just smiled and left. “Are you okay?” He asked Elena again with concern. She nodded, her fingers tightening around his wrists. “I don’t know if I can handle all of this attention. I'm not used to getting attention”Ethan pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, his breath warm against her skin. “We don’t have to do this tomorrow if you’re not ready.”Elena turned in his arms, searching his face. “I am ready,” she said softly. “I just don’t want to lose myself in t

  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Wedding Eve

    But trust?Trust was a fragile thing. And even now, with Ethan, there was a part of her that flinched at the idea of giving someone else the power to hurt her.Her phone vibrated in her pocket, pulling her from her thoughts.Ethan.She hesitated before answering.“Elena.” His voice was sharp, and controlled, but she could hear the tension beneath it. “Where are you?”She turned a corner, glancing up at the towering glass windows of a familiar building.“I just needed fresh air,” she said softly. “I’ll be back soon.”A pause.“Elena,” he said, quieter this time. “Talk to me.”She swallowed hard, gripping the phone. “I will,” she promised. “Just… give me a little time.”Another silence.Then, finally, “Okay.”But she knew Ethan. He wasn’t the type to sit back and wait.And if he was looking for her, there was only one place he would never expect her to go.The cemetery.Where the past lay buried.***The cemetery loomed ahead, silent and vast. Fog clung to the damp earth, weaving throug

  • WHERE OUR HEARTS MEET   Wedding Preparation (3)

    Ethan ran a hand through his hair, his frustration barely contained. “I don’t know. But I’m not going to sit back and hope nothing happens.”Liam studied him for a moment, then sighed, sitting forward. “Alright. What do you need me to do?”Ethan grabbed a file from his desk and handed it over. “I need you to personally oversee the security team. Make sure there are no weak spots. The guest list is final...no last-minute additions. No surprises.”Liam flipped through the documents, nodding. “Got it.”Ethan exhaled, some of the tension easing. “And I want two of our best men watching Elena at all times...discreetly. She can’t know.”Liam smirked. “Because she’d kill you if she found out?”Ethan gave him a look. “Because she’d insist she doesn’t need it. But I’m not taking chances.”Liam nodded, standing. “Alright, I’ll handle it.” He paused, studying Ethan with something almost amused in his eyes. “You know, for a guy who built an empire from nothing, you sure do freak out a lot when

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