wouldn't even bother to push away the wo

ach tightene

locked onto hers, cold and unreadable. There was no flicker of surpr

ply st

racetrack, as if she had been nothin

he followed Naven's line of sight and then looked at Sofia w

eady breath. She stepped forward unt

out firmly, holding his

lly toward her and studied her in silence. His eyes

icking her apart wi

st, his voice low and measured. "I

she replied, though her heartb

red dress let o

ur admirers, Naven? Aren't

t spare her

go now, I

across Naven's face, yet Isabelle did not dare add another word. She simply turned on h

stretch of space remained between them. She forced herself not to look away,

rstand what I am willing t

nd I came here because I

his eyebrow was the

my wife, Sofia? I am not a gentle man. And

lm but unshaken. "I only want Catalina safe. And I will no

nded, and there was something sharp beneath the

he murmured softl

the railing, looking down at the track belo

g. A prenuptial agreement with no room for interpreta

ediately, without the s

uth settling deep in her bones. She had just tied herself to the most unreadable and dangerous man sh

next would never be as

lla sun, and several guards followed close enough to be noticed without making a scene. A crisp white suit clung to him like a statement of arrogance, matched perfectly by the smug curve of h

been hiding. Madrid suits you. You have always been impossible to track down." The admiration in hi

e faintest nod, so subtle it was easy to miss. His attention never l

stepped closer with easy comfort, a

is?" He grinned wider. "I did not realize you were bringing pre

ned, not from flattery, but from humiliation. The way he spoke ab

smoothly, his smile sharp and shameless.

among people who treated money like a game and power like a weapon made her feel exposed, as if she di

is belonge

t belong h

ir," she muttered at last, her tone

is brows as though genuinely amused. "Well, that i

s side let out a shar

, leaning closer as if sharing a secret. "H

confidence. She wanted to speak up, to insist they were mistaken, to tell them she was not something bought for entertainment

still remai

, yet he offered nothing. He did not correct the assumption. He did no

ye. His face looked carved from stone, flawle

ght of her? Or was this indifference

uring himself a drink as though he owned the terrace. His voice stayed light, almost playful. "M

t complet

noise of the racetrack had faded. She knew it had been meant as a joke. Yet

you are imagining," Naven said quietly. His voice did not rise, but the

ce. Hearing Naven speak at all was rare. Hearing him correct someone

to believe that. She is obviousl

in that form," Naven r

d with her manicure, acting as though she were not listening. Sofia could still feel heat crawling

uneasy laugh and

t waiting for anyone to respond, he drained the drink and stepped away, retreating wi

ar beyond the track, as though the open sky mig

ying to understand a world she had never stepped into

d stopped beside her, close enough that his presence felt unavoidable

hey can claim whatever th

includ

ither. He studied her with the calm focus of someone weighing somet

ou unless I allow it,"

s feel better," she answered,

his face. The faintest trace of amusement

if you would rather wait for me in the suite whe

o summon anything else. She had

slowly, like a weight dropping across the streets. Sitting in the back of the car on the way to the hotel, her thoughts refused to quiet. She

paper, she had still

ugh the city until it finally

ess of her perfume lingered in the air, a softness that felt almost out of place in a r

e empty space where she had vanished, his steel colored eyes giving no

hing subtle had changed. A quiet fracture.