Leonidas Lopez was hot on my Clementine's trail, only to get cut off mid-step by someone.

Mckenna Lopez nudged him gently, "Uncle, maybe if Clementine lands a job, she’ll start feeling like herself again."

Leonidas’s chiseled handsome face went dark as storm clouds.

Up in the northern business world, the only man who could go toe-to-toe with Leonidas was Raphael Garza. His company, Garza Heavy Industries, and Leonidas’s own Lopez Aviation were the two unrivaled giants of the industry—both dwarfing the three firms Clementine had interviewed at. Leonidas was known to everyone as the Ice-Cold Tycoon, while Raphael went by the Charming Tycoon. Two alphas can’t share one territory, and these two were born rivals.

Clementine cut right through Raphael’s flirty banter with his date.

"Mr. Garza, do you have a minute?"

The man lifted his gaze to her, a flicker of annoyance melting into a glint of sharp interest. He patted his companion’s ass, and once she’d sauntered off, he drawled teasingly, "Maybe you should wipe those battle stains off your lip first."

Flushing awkwardly, Clementine pulled out a tissue and blotted the blood off her split lip fast, then handed him her resume.

Raphael scanned it once, then lifted his eyes again. "You’re Leonidas’s soon-to-be ex-wife. Convince me why I should hire you."

Twirling the pendant at his neck with one hand, the other curled around a glass of red wine, a faint smirk tugged at his lips—his expression impossible to read.

Clementine smiled right back. "In research, in business… you’ve always been just a hair behind Leonidas, haven’t you, Mr. Garza? Wouldn’t having his ex on your team give you the edge you’ve been chasing? Or are you… scared?"

Raphael laughed low, "That sounds way more intriguing than anything else I’ve heard all night."

He tapped his wine glass against hers, a wicked grin spreading across his face, "Alright then… be in my office tomorrow morning for your formal interview."

"Then I’ll let you get back to your night." Clementine took a token sip of wine and turned to leave. This gala wasn’t the place for a deep dive conversation—she just needed to get her foot in the door. Meeting Raphael outside a big public event like this? Next to impossible.

Finally, Leonidas shook off his blocker and caught up, his face colder than ice as he stepped between Raphael and the exit.

Raphael laughed it off easy, "I’ve heard Mrs. Lopez is a total spitfire. I find her fascinating."

With that, he sidestepped Leonidas and walked off, humming a little tune under his breath.

Leonidas’s chest heaved visibly as he stormed out of the grand ballroom. The other guests, who’d been leaning in waiting for a full-on fight, exchanged loaded glances. That was it? They’d been counting on a real show.

Liberty Marshall had just gotten back from the restroom and hurried after him, "Mr. Lopez, leaving so early? Weren’t you looking for Dr. Walker?"

Meanwhile, Clementine stood on the side of the road waving at passing cabs, when a sleek black luxury sedan pulled right up in front of her.

The window rolled down, revealing Leonidas’s razor-sharp, handsome jaw. "Get in."

"No way in hell," Clementine shot back immediately, stepping back to get out of his path.

The car door flew open. Leonidas swung his long legs out, scooped her up, and hauled her right into the backseat before she could even struggle. He leaned over, his mouth crashing into hers— a kiss thick with pent-up longing and raw hunger.

The privacy screens slid up silent and smooth around them, cutting them off from the whole world.

Clementine kicked and hit him, but Leonidas didn’t even flinch.

As streetlights flickered past the Bentley’s rear window, Mckenna stood on the curb, her glasses glinting in the glow, and caught a glimpse of the two of them tangled together up front.

The car pulled up to the villa at Emerald Bay. Leonidas carried Clementine inside, his mouth never leaving hers the whole way in.

By the time he laid her down on the bed, her clothes were a mess. Her blouse was rucked up halfway, baring her smooth soft skin. Her body was exquisite—Leonidas knew every curve of it, as her husband. He knew exactly where all her sensitive spots were, too, and he lit her desire on fire without even trying.

"Leonidas!" Clementine gasped out in anger, but her voice came out soft and breathy, almost a coquettish purr. It made him think of how casually she’d talked to Raphael earlier—something she never did with Mckenna.

There was no logical reason to be jealous of a man she’d just met, but that possessive beast inside him gnawed at his ribs, turning his hunger up tenfold. She was his. Only his.

Just as his fingers brushed the lace of her lingerie, his phone started ringing.

Leonidas ignored it.

But it kept ringing, over and over—stopped, then started right back up, demanding he answer it.

He stretched a long arm out, grabbed the phone, and snarled, "What?"

As he spoke, he started to push himself up off Clementine— but the woman who’d been fighting him this whole time suddenly tangled her arms around his neck, pulling him back down.

Leonidas ground his teeth, a low, guttural growl rumbling in his chest.

Clementine caught snatches of the voice on the other end: "I dreamed of your brother… he’s covered in blood, his whole face is all bloody…"

Leonidas shot her a warning glare. Clementine arched an eyebrow provocatively, and purred loud enough for the caller to hear every word: "Honey, slow down, you’re hurting me~"

Her voice was sweet and sultry, enough to turn a man’s bones to mush. And it carried perfectly over the line.

Once, Clementine had felt sorry for Samara. She’d told herself over and over that it was fine when Leonidas left her over and over again to go to her. She’d even felt a twist of guilt when she learned Leonidas might have been involved in his brother’s death. She’d been stupid enough to think she should just let Leonidas go to Samara, so he wouldn’t have to be torn between them.

But the second that endless ringing cut through the room, all that softness turned to a sharp, hungry need for revenge. Clementine couldn’t tell if it was just human nature, or if she’d always been this rotten, this selfish at her core.

Leonidas’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard. The knuckles of the hand holding his phone stood out white and sharp.

The voice on the line hesitated, then went on: "Leonidas, your brother said he’s cold. So, so cold…"

"It was just a dream…" Leonidas answered, his jaw clamped tight. He stood up and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door half behind him.

It was a rare softness in his voice. A tenderness Clementine had never once heard him use with her.

She stared up at the ceiling, the hot fire inside her slowly fizzling out.

A few minutes later, Clementine sat up and straightened her clothes, then looked around the room. It was exactly the same as it had been before she moved out. Even the Thanksgiving decorations were still up. It was like she’d never left at all.

The door wasn’t completely latched, and Leonidas’s voice drifted through the crack: "You need to stop stressing yourself out over the baby…"

Hearing those words, Clementine’s gaze drifted to their wedding photo on the nightstand. It had been smashed and stained when Leonidas threw it after their fight, the glass shattered into a hundred pieces. But now it was perfectly fixed, good as new—like nothing bad had ever happened.

Did Leonidas really think that if he just let things sit for a few days, then said a few soft words, everything could just go back to the way it was?

Irritation exploded in her chest like wildfire, out of control and rising fast. Clementine grabbed a heavy metal ornament off the bedside table and swung it as hard as she could right at the giant framed wedding portrait hanging above the bed.

Crash!

Wood frame and shards of glass went flying all across the covers.

Hearing the noise, Leonidas burst through the door. His eyes were instantly bloodshot red.

"CLEMENTINE!"

Clementine's eyes burned with frustration. "You only ever fixate on your brother's widow. Do you even have a clue what I've been through?"

Her voice was raw with rage, but it got drowned out by Samara's soft, honeyed drawl over the phone. "Leonidas, is something wrong?"

"It's nothing. We're done here," Leonidas replied coldly, and hung up.

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife—one spark, and the whole thing would blow. After a long, heavy silence, Clementine crossed the messy room with a blank face and walked out. When she brushed past him in the doorway, Leonidas's fingers twitched, but he never reached for her.

Clementine hurried down the stairs, wiping stinging tears away with the back of her hand. She hated the person she became whenever those two were involved—all sharp, reactive chaos, like cold water dumped straight into a pan of sizzling hot oil.

The next morning, on the train to Amazon headquarters, Clementine stumbled on a news article while scrolling her phone.

*"The Lopez Couple: Stronger Than Ever, Rumors Put to Rest."*

The article ran with a photo: moonlight spilling over glass windows, framing the two of them in a romantic silhouette. Clementine slammed her phone screen dark, resentment boiling hot in her chest.

Of course. Leonidas had orchestrated the whole thing. He'd cornered her, manipulated her into coming crawling to him, then arranged for a photographer to catch them together. Once, he'd bought her gifts to win her over. Now he was pulling cheap, manipulative tricks like this. Maybe this was the real Leonidas Lopez all along. All that old kindness? It felt like nothing more than the passing whim of a man toying with a caged canary.

At Amazon's executive office, Clementine met with Raphael Garza. Their talk stretched an hour, and Raphael even pushed back an important meeting to fit her in. By the end, the faint disdain he'd started with had shifted to genuine admiration.

He walked her through onboarding personally, and Clementine officially joined the Amazon research team. Then Raphael mentioned he wanted to introduce her to someone.

Clementine was walking on cloud nine on the way over—until she stepped into the private dining room and saw Leonidas sitting there, and her mood plummeted straight through the floor.

"We all already know each other, don't we? No need for formal introductions," Raphael said, following her into the room and pulling out her chair like the gentleman he was.

Leonidas's gaze burned into her. "You really joined Amazon?"

Seeing the tight tension carved into his face, a sharp spark of satisfaction curled in Clementine's gut as she sat down, cool and confident. "That's right. I did."

Leonidas's jaw went tight, the veins in his neck standing out sharp. "You'd rather work for him than come work for me?"

"Work for him?" Raphael smirked, like he knew exactly what game this was. "Classic Mr. Lopez move. Let me properly introduce our new research hire—Miss Clementine Stephens."

Surprise flickered across Leonidas's face, but he kept his stony composure. The two exes were polar opposites right then: one glowing with quiet triumph, the other carved from solid ice.

"Let's order, shall we?" Raphael said, waving the server over and passing the menu to Clementine, acting like he didn't even notice the thick tension cluttering the room.

While they waited for their food, the two men dove into talking business. Clementine snuck glances at Leonidas, secretly impressed by how he'd pulled himself together. One minute he'd looked seconds away from exploding; the next he was calm, focused, giving nothing away.

They were rivals, sure, but Leonidas and Raphael were working on a joint project—bound by mutual profit, not friendship. They'd met a handful of times already, but never locked in a deal.

When Leonidas got hung up on a tiny, missed detail, Clementine smirked. "Wasn't the SkyWing project your brother's brainchild?"

"Seeing how you go out of your way to take care of your brother's widow," she added, "I figured you'd care more about keeping his legacy intact. But today you're ready to throw the whole project away just to please your soon-to-be mistress?"

"Turns out all that caring for your brother's widow is just a cover. It's always been about Samara."

Her words turned Leonidas's cold indifference into a glacial glare. Right on cue, Samara glided into the room, elegant as ever in a white Victorian-style dress. "Leonidas, I heard you were here, so I thought I'd pop in."

She turned to Raphael, smiling sweetly. "Hello, Mr. Garza."

Raphael just lifted his wine glass in a lazy acknowledgment. The clatter of Clementine's knife and fork hitting her plate cut through the awkward silence. "Mr. Garza booked this private room. How'd you even track us down, Miss Samara?"

Leonidas's brow furrowed. "Clementine!"

Samara acted like she'd just noticed Clementine standing there. "You're here too, sister-in-law?"

Clementine, determined not to make a scene in front of Raphael, switched tactics. She'd push Leonidas hard enough to make him finally file for divorce.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up. "Mr. Garza, why don't we give Mr. Lopez and Miss Samara some privacy, huh?"

Raphael chuckled. "My apologies, I should have been more thoughtful."

He made a show of standing to leave, but Leonidas snatched Clementine's wrist hard. "Does it really have to be like this?"

Clementine wrenched her hand out of his grip. "Why don't you tell me, Mr. Lopez? How do you sleep at night, staying so close to the person that killed my baby, while still pretending we have a marriage?"

Her words hit like a bolt of lightning, wiping all amusement clean off Raphael's face.

Clementine didn't care anymore about ripping old wounds open. Didn't care about her pride. If Leonidas had just taken her to the hospital that night, their baby might have lived. But he'd thought she was just being dramatic and jealous, and left with Samara. He left her for the police to pick up and bring to the ER.

They were murderers. They'd killed her unborn child.

Leonidas blinked, thrown completely off his game. "What child?"

Samara stepped closer. "Sister-in-law, children are such precious gifts. No matter how angry you are, you shouldn't say awful things like that. You don't want to curse your own chance at having one later, do you?"

Clementine's heart ached so bad it hurt to breathe. She knew she'd never get another chance.

She looked up at Leonidas, begging him with her eyes to just have mercy, for the sake of the baby they'd lost.

But he stared at her tear-streaked face, and even though a flicker of something twisted in his chest, his words came out cold, logical, unforgiving. "The Lopez family does annual full physicals. You had your last one just last month."

Clementine felt like the ground had crumbled under her feet. In all her despair, he thought she was lying. But when Samara opened her mouth, every word was gospel to him. Of course it was. They were childhood sweethearts. If Samara hadn't married his brother, their kid would probably be starting elementary school by now. Next to her, Clementine had always been the outsider.

Nothing she said could ever compare.

Clementine stormed out, and Leonidas shoved his chair back hard to chase her—only for Samara's soft hand to curl around his sleeve.

"Please, Leonidas," she whispered, "my baby's not feeling well. I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for today. Will you come with me?"

Raphael watched the whole thing, a sharp smirk playing on his lips as he stood to leave. "Looks like the sister-in-law is closer to Mr. Lopez than even the legendary old lovers!"

"Send the driver to take you," Leonidas replied, gently pushing Samara out of his way and hurrying after Clementine.

Clementine Stephens hurried toward the hotel entrance, drawing in a shaky breath as soft rain misted all around her.

"Hold on a second, I’ll send someone for an umbrella," a soft voice called from behind her.

Clementine spun around, caught off guard. "Mckenna? What are you doing here?"

"Business dinner," Mckenna Lopez answered. His eyes locked on the wet streaks of tears tracking down her cheeks. "Wait—have you been crying?"

Clementine shook her head, not about to dump her messy, chaotic life on him. But a teasing male voice cut in before she could speak, "Looks like someone’s off their game today, huh?"

"Mr. Garza?"

Mckenna froze in surprise. After quick greetings with Raphael Garza, the three of them settled into the hotel lounge, making empty small talk while their eyes kept drifting back to Clementine. She sank into the deep emerald velvet sofa, watching the rain streak the big windows, blurring the street outside until the dark silhouettes melted right into the lobby’s warm glow.

Leonidas Lopez reached the revolving door just as three black umbrellas popped open outside. Through the sheets of rain, he watched Raphael subtly tilt his umbrella to cover Clementine’s shoulder, while Mckenna kept a protective hand hovering inches from her waist.

Leonidas’s grip on the cold metal door frame was so tight it left a bright red welt. How… delightful. His own niece, his business rival—both huddled under umbrellas with his wife.

Clementine politely turned down Raphael’s offer and climbed into Mckenna’s car. The second the engine roared to life, the passenger door was wrenched open.

"Get out," Leonidas’s voice was as icy as the cold spring rain beating down around them.

Frustration bubbled over, and Clementine shot back, "Get out of my way."

Mckenna bit down on a smile.

Leonidas’s eyes went dark. He drew a slow breath. "Mom’s back, and she’s not feeling well—"

Before he could finish, Clementine’s phone rang. It was Sophia Lopez, Leonidas’s mother. After Benjamin Lopez’s first wife—Mckenna’s grandmother—passed away, he married Sophia, and they had two sons: Leonidas and his older brother.

A month ago, a car accident took her eldest son. After that, Sophia left for a quiet retreat to try and piece herself back together. Unlike Benjamin, Sophia had always been genuinely kind to Clementine. In the two years Clementine had been married to Leonidas, she’d treated her better than she treated her own son. Every fight between Clementine and Leonidas ended with Leonidas getting chewed out for starting it.

After the call ended, Clementine grabbed an umbrella and stepped out of Mckenna’s car. Leonidas tried to share his umbrella with her, but his ridiculous height made it impossible. He ended up sprinting ahead to his own car, yanking the back door open and holding it for her.

Clementine kept her gaze straight ahead and slid into the front passenger seat instead. The driver, Uriel Scott, stared blankly in the rearview mirror, too nervous to say a word.

Leonidas’s expression was darker than the stormy sky outside. Maybe it was just the pouring rain, but he didn’t say a single word as he slid into the back seat.

Watching Leonidas’s car pull out of the open-air lot, Mckenna’s grip tightened on his own steering wheel until his knuckles whitened.

The ride was dead silent, thick with tension. Uriel didn’t even dare shift gears too abruptly. Finally, they pulled up to a quiet, tree-lined apartment complex. Uriel got out and let out a deep, relieved sigh.

Sophia had moved out here five years earlier, after she and Benjamin separated over their constantly strained relationship. She’d chosen to live alone.

When they walked in, Sophia was lighting memorial candles for her eldest son. She set the last candle in its holder when she heard them, turning with a warm smile that immediately pulled Clementine toward the sofa. "Look how thin you’ve gotten! I had Carla make your favorite beef stew. Come sit, have a bowl, won’t you?"

Leonidas was completely invisible to her.

Once Clementine was settled on the sofa, Sophia leaned in and whispered, "Honey, is that brat giving you trouble again?"

She’d only cut her retreat short after seeing the gossip about Clementine and Leonidas in the tabloids yesterday.

"Mom, Leonidas and I…"

Clementine started to speak, but Sophia cut her right off. "If that good-for-nothing gives you one more bit of trouble, you just sit right in front of him and eat that whole stew! If there’s any left, we’ll give it to the dog—he doesn’t get a single bite!"

Sophia deliberately didn’t mention Samara, she didn’t want to upset Clementine any more than she already was.

"Mom~" Clementine sighed.

Sophia gently brushed the leftover tear tracks from the corner of Clementine’s eyes. "If he gives you any more grief, you just tell me. I’ve got a million tricks to put him in his place."

Carla walked in with a pot of herbal tea. "Ma’am, you need to take it easy. You still haven’t fully gotten your strength back."

Sophia never recovered from her eldest son’s sudden death—it had left her heart heavy and broken.

All thought of divorce melted right out of Clementine’s head.

Sophia kept her word. At dinner, she didn’t let Leonidas touch a single spoonful of stew. When he reached for the serving bowl, Sophia smacked his hand hard with her fork. "You think you’re so big and capable, why do you even need food?"

Leonidas: "..."

The mighty CEO Lopez, the untouchable public icon of success, was stuck eating plain dry bread for dinner.

That night, the light drizzle turned into a full-blown downpour, so Clementine had no choice but to stay over. After her shower, she climbed into bed and forced herself to close her eyes, trying to block out the sound of the shower running in the connected bathroom.

Thankfully, she was usually a heavy sleeper.

But somewhere between asleep and awake, she felt someone roll her over and press her against a solid, warm chest. Leonidas leaned down and kissed her deep.

It came out of nowhere.

Clementine was completely caught off guard, until she heard him murmur against her lips, "It’s been days. Are you still mad at me?"

She didn’t know what to say.

He still thought this was just her throwing a little tantrum.

Her words never got taken seriously. Her feelings always got brushed off like they didn’t matter.

Leonidas kept kissing her, hot and desperate. When she stayed silent, he asked rough and low, "It’s been a while. Don’t you miss this?"

After his brother’s accident, they’d only been intimate once before he left for that business trip.

Clementine closed her eyes quietly. "Any hole would work for you, right?"

Leonidas’s fist slammed into the mattress. All his desire vanished in an instant.

He sat up straight as Clementine adjusted her nightgown, ready to move away from him.

But Leonidas wrapped an arm around her waist and wrenched her right back against him.

He drew a deep breath, trying to choke down his frustration, and looked down at her. "Can we just stop this? Let’s have a good life together, just like before."

Just like before—when she was nothing but a shadow hanging around the edges of his life.

Clementine couldn’t help but laugh, sharp and bitter. "Your idea of a good life is giving me the cold shoulder and leaving me alone over and over and over again?"

Leonidas’s eyes turned icy. "I admit I’ve been busy lately. But surely you get that some things have to take priority."

He ignored her jab about being neglected, only latched onto the last part of her sentence.

Tired and worn down from his endless dodging, Clementine shot back, "Right. I’m just the one who doesn’t understand how priorities work."

Leonidas hauled her onto his lap. His voice was low and rough in the dim bedroom light. "Tell me what I need to do to make this stop."

Clementine tilted her head and looked right at him. "Does stopping this mean I get to be trained like a dog, sitting obediently waiting for whatever you command?"