Chapter 2 The intruder

The honeymoon house.

After I got married to Dave, we were supposed to travel the world, but Autumn had kept us on a short leash. So, we stayed here.

I came to this place whenever the big mansion felt too empty or when Dave was “traveling.”

I slammed the door behind me, kicked off my heels, and dumped my bag onto the bed. The divorce papers fluttered out, the signature taunting me.

Thirty days, I told myself. Just thirty days and you’re Violet Lawson again.

I stripped off my clothes, the silence of the house ringing in my ears. I spent twenty minutes under a scalding shower, trying to wash away the smell of Dave’s office from my skin. When I got out, wrapping myself in a thick robe, I felt a tiny bit more human.

I walked into the bedroom, rubbing lotion into my shoulders, already planning my escape to a new city. As I reached for my nightgown, the robe slipped a bit, and then I caught sight of the mirror.

There was a man sitting up in my bed.

I screamed and clutched the robe shut. “Who the hell are you? Get out!”

I grabbed a heavy jar of body cream from the vanity and hurled it at him. He ducked, and it shattered against the headboard.

“Whoa! Calm down!” he shouted, lunging off the bed, his voice deep and groggy.

Before I could grab a lamp, he was on me, pinning my arms. His chest was warm and solid against mine, and he was barely clothed. The scent of expensive bourbon and cedar surrounded me.

I looked up, ready to retaliate, but froze.

“Lucien?”

The “Black Sheep” of the Belmont Family. Dave’s half-brother. I’d only seen him three times in three years, the last time was at my wedding, where he’d toasted us with pity in his eyes before disappearing before the first dance. He didn’t even seem happy to be in our wedding that day.

I had thought he hated me. But it was just Lucien Belmont thing. He acts the way he likes.

“What are you doing in my house?” I gasped, my heart racing against his chest.

He smirked, that wild, arrogant glint in his eyes that Dave lacked. “This is my house, Violet. Dave’s been ‘borrowing’ it for three years. I guess he forgot to mention I was moving back in today.”

My brain stalled. Dave had told me this was his property. Just another lie added to the pile.

“I’ll leave,” I said, trying to pull away.

“You don’t have to.” His gaze drifted to where my robe had loosened. “Technically, we’re still family. For now.”

“That sounds like a threat.”

“Does it?” He reached past me and snatched the divorce paper off the bed.

“Give me that!”

I lunged for it, but he laughed, holding it high above me. “Divorce? Already? I thought the Belmonts were ‘forever.’”

“It’s none of your business, Lucien!”

I threw my weight into him, trying to grab the paper, but my foot caught the edge of the rug, and I stumbled, taking him down with me.

We hit the mattress hard. I landed on top of him, my legs tangled with his. My robe flared open, my skin pressed against his sculpted torso.

The room fell silent.

Lucien’s smirk vanished. His hands, which had been light a moment ago, tightened around my waist. His breath hit my neck, hot and ragged.

I should’ve moved. I should’ve screamed again. But for the first time in years, a man looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered in t

he world.

“Violet,” he rasped.

Neither of us moved.