Chapter 2

Jax's teasing voice pulled me back to reality.

"Well? Think about it. Sure, my brother is a cold bastard, but he showers his women with perks. Just look at the private tutors he hires for the kid—each cost a king's ransom. He clearly spoils whoever's tied to that boy."

"If he actually cared about the mother, why didn't he just put a ring on her?"

Spoils whoever's tied to the boy?

A mocking smirk touched the corners of my lips.

A man like Christian Sterling was incapable of love.

He loved only himself and his absolute control.

That child was nothing more than a trophy proving he owned the board.

"Drop the jokes, Jax."

I handed him a leather-bound folder of client profiles, my tone sliding back into pristine professionalism.

"A king like your brother is way out of my league."

"Tsk," Jax raised an eyebrow.

"You're boring, Chloe. You have a direct golden ladder to the penthouse, yet you insist on wallowing in the gutter."

His words stung, but I didn't push back.

Over the past five years, I was no longer that wide-eyed waitress.

In this business, I’d witnessed every dirty deal and two-faced lie the elite had to offer.

I thought I had become completely bulletproof.

Yet the name Christian Sterling remained the one raw nerve I could never numb.

"The reason is simple," I said, meeting his eyes head-on. "I don’t have the stomach to cater to someone like him."

"Besides, he repulses me."

Jax’s smug grin froze instantly.

He had probably never heard anyone use a word like "repulsive" to describe his untouchable older brother.

He glared at me, his gaze oscillating between suspicion and wounded pride.

"Chloe, you'd better give me a damn good explanation for that."

Before I could answer, the heavy double doors of the VIP suite swung open.

A tall, imposing figure stepped in, bringing an arctic chill that sucked the warmth right out of the room.

The second my eyes locked on his face, the blood drained from my veins.

Christian Sterling.

What was he doing here?

Jax jumped to his feet, caught off guard. "Christian? What brings you here?"

Christian ignored his brother entirely. His obsidian eyes, sharp as twin shards of ice, nailed me to the spot.

He walked toward me with slow, measured steps, radiating a crushing aura that nearly suffocated me.

Stopping inches away, he leaned down. His chilled fingertips gently brushed across my cheek, his voice dangerously low, like a devil's murmur.

"I could've sworn I just heard someone say..."

"I repulse her?"