Chapter 4

The car smelled faintly of sandalwood. Calming, and somehow invasive at the same time.

Adrian didn't take me to his private estate. He had the driver head straight to Pinnacle — the most exclusive private club in the city.

The panoramic suite on the top floor looked out over a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. The capital's nightline stretched endlessly below.

Adrian shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the arm of the sofa. Underneath he wore a black dress shirt, the collar open just enough to reveal the hard line of his collarbone.

He walked to the bar, poured two glasses of whiskey, and held one out to me.

"Drink. It'll warm you up."

I took the glass. The cold liquid slid down my throat and left a trail of fire behind it — but my head felt clearer for it.

"Mr. York." I met his eyes directly. "Why me?"

The head of the York empire could have had anyone. So why approach me — Hudson Calloway's fiancée — at a charity gala with a marriage proposal?

Adrian carried his glass to the window and looked out over the city below.

"Because you're ruthless." He turned back to face me. His gaze was steady and direct. "Seven years. You ended it without blinking. Sophia, you're sharp. The York family needs a woman with a clear head, real instincts, and the nerve to act on them — not someone whose whole world revolves around keeping a man happy."

He paused, then closed the distance between us and looked down at me.

"And honestly — I've never liked Hudson Calloway. Taking what he values most? I find that very satisfying."

I looked at the ambition and possessiveness sitting openly in his expression, and I laughed.

"You're straightforward. I can work with that. But I have conditions."

"Name them."

"I want full controlling interest in Sutton Group." I said it one word at a time.

Sutton Group was everything my parents had built. When they died in a car accident, Hudson had folded it into Calloway Group under the pretense of protecting me. For seven years, while I stayed quietly in the background for him, he'd hollowed out everything my parents had left behind.

Now I was taking it back.

Adrian studied me. Something like approval moved through his eyes.

"Done. My legal team will bring the transfer papers to you first thing tomorrow morning." He reached up — long, deliberate fingers — and let them skim lightly across my cheek. A small shiver moved through me. "Then we have a deal, Mrs. York."

I didn't pull away. I raised my glass and touched it to his.

"Deal."

Across the city, at the Calloway estate.

Hudson sat on the couch, his expression dark enough to fill the room. The phone he'd thrown lay shattered on the floor. Liam stood nearby, not making a sound.

"She actually left?" Hudson asked, his jaw tight.

"Yes, sir. She barely took anything — a few of her own clothes. She left the key. And the ring."

Hudson let out a sharp laugh and kicked the coffee table over.

"Classic move. She thinks playing hard to get is going to break me? Seven years under my roof — everything she had came from me. Without me, Sophia Sutton is nothing."

He yanked at his tie, restless and irritated. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop seeing the look in her eyes when she walked away. The way she hadn't hesitated.

A knot formed somewhere in his chest, one he couldn't name.

Then, from upstairs — the sound of something ceramic shattering. A housekeeper's startled cry.

"Miss White, please — don't do this!"

Hudson's expression shifted. He was up the stairs in seconds.

In the guest room, Evelyn White stood in a thin nightgown, a piece of broken glass pressed against her wrist, tears streaming down her face.

"Ethan, this is all my fault. I ruined everything between you and Sophia. Just let me go — if I'm gone, she won't be angry with you anymore."

Hudson's chest clenched. He crossed the room in two strides, pulled the glass from her hand, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't do that, Evelyn. This isn't on you. Sophia's the one being unreasonable."

He held her, rubbing slow circles on her back. But his eyes went cold.

"If she wants to throw a fit, fine. Cancel all her cards. Put the word out — no one in our circle helps her. I want to see how long she lasts out there on her own. When she's desperate enough, she'll come back. She always does."