Walking down the opulent yet dim hallway, Kym Xanders had no mind to admire how magnificent this apartment was. All she could feel was that this long hallway seemed endless, as if every step she took brought her one step closer to hell.
“Ms. Xanders, this is the room. Sir is waiting for you. No need to knock. Just enter.”
Kym froze for a few seconds. When she turned around, the housekeeper who led her there had vanished. She gave a bitter smile, tightened her grip on the folder, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door in front of her.
Compared to the hallway, the room was even darker. She could barely see anything, but the intense masculine scent in the air was impossible to ignore. She could feel it, a pair of sharp, burning eyes staring right at her. And there was something else... a strangely familiar presence.
“Mr. Shaw?” she called tentatively. “I’ve brought the contract. Would you like to take a look?
She waited for his reply, but the silence stretched on, so she asked again, cautiously, “Or would you prefer that I explain the terms?”
“You think signing a contract is that easy?”
That voice...
She hadn’t recovered from her shock when the lights in the room flicked on. Still dim, but enough to reveal the figure before her. Those cold, hawk-like eyes were fixed on her, and his lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. “Kym, long time no see.”
That familiar voice, soft and low, had haunted her dreams a thousand times.
She froze, unable to react. The folder in her hand slipped and fell to the floor with a thud.
“What’s wrong? Surprised to see me?” He was standing in front of her; she didn’t even know when he had moved.
His gaze locked onto hers; those clear, beautiful eyes were as captivating as ever, long lashes trembling faintly.
His fingertips were ice-cold. With familiar intimacy, they gently brushed her cheek, stirring old memories.
Her courage deserted her in an instant. She hurriedly crouched down to pick up the documents she had dropped, her voice barely a whisper. “Sorry... I think I came to the wrong place…”
“Didn’t you come to sign a contract? How could it be the wrong place?”
He took the folder from her hand, but didn’t even glance at it before tossing it onto the coffee table. Then he deliberately moved closer, the faint fragrance coming from her enveloping his senses.
It was a scent from his memory. One he could never forget, even in his dreams.
“I’m sorry... I didn’t know it was you...” Her mind was in chaos.
“If you had known, you wouldn’t have come to sell yourself, right?” he said in the gentlest tone while uttering the cruelest words.
Kym trembled violently, her face turning deathly pale. Yet she couldn’t find a single word to defend herself. She let his cold fingers trace across her cheek, her lips.
She couldn’t stop the trembling, didn’t know how to resist. Scene after familiar scene surged in like a tide, drowning her until she forgot how to breathe.
Then that voice came again; lower, gentler, dangerous.
"I have no interest in signing with a company on the verge of bankruptcy. Unless you have a better pitch… how exactly do you plan to win my contract?”
He hated her.
She knew he hated her. It was all her fault. She was the one who had abandoned their love. She had no way to explain herself. His breath was in her ear, his voice pressing in. She could feel his carnal desire.
She had no way out. Her lashes lowered as she whispered, “Is this what you want?”
