The Diamond In Her Crosshair.
One minute, we were set to close the quarter’s biggest deal. Next, he’s sitting in my boardroom smiling like a coward, talking about “finding a better fit.”
Bullshit.
He didn’t find a better fit, he found an excuse, and I knew exactly what it was.
The media.
The press.
The f**king headlines.
Zyrah’s face plastered across every blog and ticker after her miraculous, overnight release. Her name buzzing like a loose wire around the Lancaster brand, they didn’t know her, didn’t know she was nothing, a damn ghost in designer shoes, but now the bloodsuckers were circling like I was leaking out in public.
They saw a scandal, and suddenly my name wasn’t the safest bet anymore, but they were wrong. I always clean mess, and anyone who bets against me pays the price.
up
the
I took the final turn toward Seline’s place, pulling up behind the gates with a low growl of the engine. As the gates slid open, I barely waited for the full clearance before parking and killing the ignition.
I was done talking to lawyers and spin doctors.
I needed one goddamn moment where I wasn’t being watched, questioned, or undermined, and if Seline was any- thing, she was consistent.
Soft voice, no questions, and fight, just someone who made it look like things were fine.
The door opened before I knocked, she stood in the threshold in a white cashmere robe, hair flawless, skin glowing like she hadn’t just woken up halfway into the afternoon.
She always looked like she’d been waiting for me, even when she hadn’t because I called to inform her.
“Ronan,” she said, smiling faintly. “I wasn’t expecting you but, come in.”
I brushed past her without responding, straight into her living room. My shoes echoed hard against the marble as I
0.0 %
15:46
The Diamond In Her Grossnair,
paced, trying to stop the steam building under my skin from boiling over again.
She shut the door gently and followed me like a shadow.
“You didn’t sound great on the phone,” she said softly. “What happened?”
I turned to her, jaw tight. “Calloway pulled the f**king deal.”
She blinked. “What?”
“He’s out, gone, the bastard took the damn contract and walked like I was offering him scraps.”
Her eyes widened as she sat down slowly. “But… how? You’ve been working on that deal for weeks, that was practi- cally signed.”
“Yeah, it was.” I barked, throwing my hands up. “Apparently someone gave him a better offer, he said he couldn’t pass it up, and gave me some lines about reputation risk, and public optics.”
Seline frowned.
“Because of the press?” she asked carefully.
I bit my lower lip.
“Because of the goddamn circus surrounding me, that story about Zyrah getting out, the second it hit the news, I could feel the shift, like they smelled blood, and now the sharks are moving in.”
Seline kept her expression still, not a flicker of judgment was written on her, she was calm as ever.
“How do you know it’s not personal?” she asked gently. “That it’s not someone coming after you?”
I scoffed. “Please, Zyrah couldn’t organize a lunch order, let alone a takedown, this loss isn’t personal, this is corpo- rate. It’s some snake-ass competitor trying to use the scandal to kick me while I’m off-balance.”
She leaned in, crossing one leg over the other, elegant, and controlled. The way she always looked when she wanted me to believe she wasn’t afraid of anything.
“So what now?”
I dropped onto her couch, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’ve got Cole on it, I told him to trace the contract, find out who Calloway signed with. I want names, and while he’s at it, I told him to find out who’s been whispering be- hind my back.”
She nodded. “And Zyrah?”
I waved my hand like she was an afterthought. “He’s looking into that too, but that’s just cleanup, she’s not the threat. Zyrah is the smokescreen and genesis of my mess, fuck, I hate that fucking bitch! The real problem is the a**hole hiding behind her headlines.”
Seline stood slowly and walked toward me, she knelt beside the couch, and placed a hand gently on my knee.
9.2%
15:46
Her voice was low, steady.
“You’ll fix it, you always do.”
I looked down at her, this woman so calm, so poised, so goddamn predictable, always where I needed her, never ask- ing too many questions, and even though I was seconds from breaking apart, I didn’t say thank you.
I didn’t soften.
I just nodded once because I needed her right where she was, quiet, loyal, and mine.
The rage had burned low by the time I sank into her couch, but the embers were still there, glowing, waiting. My world had been spiraling all f**king day, Calloway’s betrayal, the press eating me alive, silence from the board.
But now, it was just Seline, her stillness, scent which was something floral, warm, and familiar.
There was something sacred in her quiet.
She didn’t question every word that came out of my mouth, didn’t try to fix what I hadn’t asked to be fixed. She sim- ply was present, soft-spoken, poised like the world hadn’t just tried to rip me to pieces.
I looked at her, really looked this time.
Her hair fell around her shoulders in soft.waves, catching the afternoon sun through the window. That white cashmere robe clung to her curves, hinting at the silk beneath. Her legs were folded elegantly, and her lips, painted a muted wine red, were parted just slightly as she studied me.
“You’re something else,” I murmured, the words slipping out before I could think twice.
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing playfully. “What do you mean?”
I reached up, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, fingers trailing along her jaw. “You’re calm when I’m fired, you speak like you don’t feel the weight pressing on me.”
She smiled, slow, genuine. “Because I know you, Ronan, I know how loud it gets in your head, and I know how to quiet it.”
The air between us thickened.
I leaned closer towards her and kissed her.
Her lips were soft and steady, like kissing her was the only thing that made sense. Her fingers slipped into my hair, pulling me closer without urgency, like she knew I needed more than passion, I needed peace.
She didn’t just kiss me, she anchored me.
When we pulled apart, she didn’t leave my space. I watched as Seline climbed gently into my lap, straddling me with practiced grace. Her body settled against mine like she’d always belonged there, and maybe she had.
Her hands rested lightly on my shoulders, her eyes locked to mine.
20.4 %
15:46
“I know how hard you fight to stay in control,” she said, her voice a low hum against my skin. “But you don’t have to fight me.”
I swallowed, my throat was dry.
“I hate this f**king feeling,” I said. “Losing ground, the press on my back, the board going off, Martin’s a goddamn coward and I let him slip through my fingers.”
She shook her head gently. “No, he ran scared, that’s all. But you’re still the one they fear, and when it’s over, they’ll remember why.”
“And if Zyrah becomes a problem… ” I started.
She cut me off with a quiet kiss to my jaw, then whispered, “Then we’ll take her out again, together, like we did be- fore.”
The confidence in her voice, It was almost seductive.
Like this was all part of some long game she’d already won.
I looked at her, and for once, I didn’t see her as the woman I kept close because she was convenient. I saw the steel behind the softness, the quiet fire behind her pretty words.
“What would I do without you?” I whispered, wrapping my arms around her waist.
She smiled, eyes sparkling. “Crash, burn, and rebuild badly.”
I laughed under my breath. “Exactly.”
She shifted closer, pressing her lips to my neck. Her fingers tangled in my collar as her perfume filled my lungs, soothing and sinful all at once.
“You’re the only one who calms me down,” I said honestly. “The only reason I came here today instead of blowing y reason I came here today instead of blowing the office to hell.”
She pulled back just enough to meet my eyes.
“That’s because you mean everything to me,” she said softly. “And I’ll always be right here, no matter what.”
That hit somewhere deep, somewhere real.
I reached down and took her hand in mine. Her fingers fit between mine like they were designed that way.
“I’m going to make you happy, Seline,” I said quietly. “When all this sh*it is over, when the press shuts up and I’ve
buried whoever tried to take me down, I’ll give you one thing, anyth. Sh*;
Seline eyes widened in surprise and I could feel her breath catch.
“Anythi4
e whispered.
you want. Just name it and it is yours.”
32.2 %
15:46
“Anything,” I repeated. “No limits, say it now.” and in that moment, the light shifted, there was a flicker in her eyes,
not a surprise look but that of preparation like she’d been waiting for me to ask.
And I realized that whatever her wish was, she already knew it.
“I want us to get engaged.”
The words dropped like a live wire between us, no tremble in her voice, no hesitation in her eyes.
I didn’t move nor did I blink.
Inside, something shifted, a crack in the armor I wore so well. I hadn’t expected that, not yet and so direct.
My soft expression didn’t change, just the same quiet, unreadable stare I gave boardroom traitors before I pulled the floor out from beneath them.
Seline didn’t flinch under it.
She only smiled, slow, sure, like she had just made a winning move in a game I didn’t know we were playing.
“I want to be your wife, Ronan,” she said again, softer this time, like the softness would make it romantic instead of strategic. “I want to beat your last name, wear your ring. I want to be yours in papers, official, and permanent.”
I held her gaze, silent.
She leaned closer, arms wrapping around my neck, her body still perched on my lap like a queen claiming her throne. Her perfume wrapped around me, something sweet, something expensive, and far too calculated.
“You don’t have to say yes now,” she continued, lips brushing my cheek. “We don’t even have to announce it imme- diately, but think about what it would mean.” her eyes glittered as she spoke.
“The press would shift overnight,” she whispered. “Your scandal
Would become a love story. ‘Billionaire CEO finds peace in the arms of a strong, capable woman after a messy divorce.’ It gives people something new to talk about, something clean.”
I didn’t speak.
I just watched her, my hand sliding slowly along her thigh, absentminded, deliberate.
Seline knew.
She knew the story wasn’t about love, it was about power, optics, and control. She was giving me a shield, and asking me to crown her with it.
“Ronan.” She called out softly as she cupped my face in her hands.
“I’ve helped restructure companies, clean up boardroom disasters. I know the game, Ronan. I’ve been playing it since I was sixteen,” she said, her voice tightening with quiet pride. “I’m not some girl who folded laundry and waited at home with a smile.”
42.3 %
15:46
She was right.
I hadn’t, and I couldn’t, not when I was this close to unraveling, and she made the chaos feel quiet.
I slid my hand behind her thighs and lifted her effortlessly into my arms. She let out a soft breath, her eyes never leav- ing mine, her arms tightening around my shoulders as I carried her toward the bedroom.
“I want to make love to you, Seline.” I said to her,
She giggled as we walked down the hallway.
The air in the bedroom was still and heavy, the soft amber light from the hallway casting us in shadows and gold.
I set her down gently on the edge of the bed, her robe falling just enough to reveal one bare shoulder. Her lips parted, her eyes watching me, and for a long moment, neither of us moved.
Everything about her in that moment felt curated, intentional, but underneath that polish, I could feel it.
A hunger, and a need.
I stepped forward and sank to my knees in front of her, spreading her knees apart gently as I gripped her thighs.
“You always know exactly what to say,” I muttered, voice low and ragged. “Exactly how to keep me from slipping.”
Seline reached for me, her fingers threading into my hair. “Because I’m the only one who sees you,” she whispered. “All of you.”
I leaned up and kissed her.
This time it wasn’t slow.
It was urgent, deep, our tongues
pulled me in with a kind of despeng,
breath fusing, a mix of frustration and want crashing into lust. Her hands
It was raw, and real.
she never showed in public.
I pushed her gently back onto the bed, her robe sliding open under my hands, revealing skin I already knew but need- ed to rediscover. My mouth followed the path of her collarbone down to her chest, tracing every curve, every breath- less gasp she gave me as if claiming them one by one.
Clothes came off in tangled, impatient waves, hers first, then mine.
When I entered her, it was with a groan that ripped from my chest. She clutched at my shoulders, gasped into my
mouth, and moved with me like we were tethered, like we knew this wasn’t just about sex.
It was about power, submission, and control.
Hone
牡
“Please don’t stop, Ronan, keep going.” Seline whispered in between moans and I kissed her harder.
We moved slowly at first, measuring, tasting, and breathing, but it didn’t stay that way.
65.1 %
15:46
It turned desperate, and possessive.
She clung to me like she needed this more than air, and I gave it to her until the only sound in the room was skin against skin, moans swallowed by kisses, the headboard hitting the wall in rhythm with our breaking.
And still, I didn’t promise her anything, not out loud, but I gave her everything at that moment, because for now, she made the fire feel like warmth, and for one dangerous hour, I let her believe she’d already won.
The morning hit harder than expected.
I’d barely slept, just drifted in and out of something between exhaustion and awareness, Seline’s body curled against mine like silk-tied comfort. It was strange how easily she wrapped herself around me, how her scent still lingered on my skin even after the heat had passed.
I sat on the edge of her bed now, shirt half-buttoned, tie hanging loose around my neck. My watch ticked quietly be- side me on the nightstand, it was 6:42 AM.
Another day to get to the office as I have missed out a lot by spending half of yesterday with Seline.
Behind me, she stirred, her voice soft and sweet, too sweet for the storm inside my chest.
“You’re not leaving without eating,” she said.
I turned slightly.
Seline was sitting up in bed now, robe tied, hair in that soft, deliberate disarray that women like her somehow made look natural.
“I’m already late,” I muttered, standing to finish dressing.
“I made breakfast an hour ago, I can just microwave it for you.” she said.
That made me pause in surprise.
I turned to look at her fully, brows raised. “You cooked?”
A slow, knowing smile spread across her lips. “Yes.”
My silence spoke volumes.
In eight years of knowing her, not once had Seline stepped foot in a kitchen for me. Chefs, reservations, catered brunches on rooftops, sure. But her in the kitchen, It was laughable.
“Are you trying to shock me into marrying you?” I asked dryly, grabbing my jacket.
“Maybe,” she said, rising from the bed. “Or maybe I just want to do something nice for the man I love.”
She walked up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist, resting her head against my back. “Let me take care of you, Ronan, just this once.”
76.5 %
15:46
For a second, the silence between us wasn’t so heavy, but it didn’t last.
“I can’t,” I said, voice firm. “I’ve got a meeting at nine. Sh*t, it’s already moving fast.”
She pulled back, but not with anger, just that same smile, patient, and composed. “Then let me know when you’re ready for me to start doing more.”
I turned to her, kissed her softly on the forehead. “I’ll make it up to you.”
With a smile, I walked out of the room and out of her house.
The drive to the office was a slow burn. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my f**king teeth. That tight, hum- ming pressure behind my ribs hadn’t let up since I opened my eyes.
The moment the elevator doors slid open to my floor, I felt it slam into me like a wave.
There was silence in the room, the kind that lives in corporate hallways when people have seen bad news but haven’t told the boss yet.
Elise was outside my office, standing stiff with her tablet gripped too tight.
“Mr. Lancaster,” she said.
I stopped cold. “What?”
She swallowed, stepped forward, and handed me the tablet like it was a grenade with the pin halfway pulled.
I looked down.
And to my shock, the charts were bright red.
My company’s f**king blood in digital ink.
“What the hell is this?”
Her voice was tight, careful. “Lancaster Industries stock is down twelve percent since markets opened. The finance team is saying we’ve triggered a watch alert for institutional investors. There’s…”
I pushed past her without a word, stormed into my office, and slammed the door so hard the glass panels rattled.
I tossed the tablet onto the desk and pulled up the full report from my system. My eyes scanned the numbers, fast, ruthless, not believing what they were telling me.
Drop in investor confidence.
Two strategic partners reviewing merger agreements.
Private equity exit chatter.
87.4%
15:46
My mouth went dry as my pulse roared in my ears.
“What the f**k is this?” I muttered.
I stood up so fast the chair screeched against the floor and toppled over. I kicked it out of the way, grabbed the edge of the desk, and stared at the screen like it had lied to me personally.
Twelve percent down?
Twelve!
I’d survived worse, but not with this kind of pattern.
This wasn’t volatility, it was an attack.
“Who the f**k is doing this to me?!” I bellowed, slamming my fist down on the desk so hard the glass cracked be- neath the blow.
I paced like a caged animal, jaw tight, teeth grinding, running a hand through my hair.
Elise knocked on the door again and this time I didn’t let h
