My fiancé cheated with my sister at our engagement party, so I flipped the table and married his uncle

By midnight, the gala was a distant memory, but the war was only beginning.

We returned to the Pacific Heights estate in silence, the air between us thick with an unresolved, crackling electricity. Julian poured two glasses of twenty-year-old scotch in his study, handing one to me as I kicked off my emerald heels and sank into the deep leather armchair.

"Tomorrow morning, the city zoning board meets to approve the rail spur easement," Julian said, loosening his black bow tie and unbuttoning the top two buttons of his collar. "With your signature on the Whitaker trust deeds, we have a clear majority. Leo’s faction is completely neutralized."

"And Chloe?" I asked, taking a sip of the smoky liquor, feeling it burn a path down to my stomach.

"Chloe’s boutique is facing foreclosure," Julian said smoothly, leaning against the edge of the mahogany desk. "Her investors pulled out the moment the embezzlement report hit the family trust. Within forty-eight hours, she won't have enough credit to buy a cup of coffee."

I looked down at the massive sapphire on my finger, watching the firelight dance across its deep blue facets. I had wanted revenge. I had wanted to make them bleed for the humiliation, for the cruel laughter in that vineyard tent.

Yet sitting here in the quiet sanctuary of Julian’s study, looking at this terrifying, brilliant man who had shielded me with his entire empire, a strange ache settled in my chest.

"Why me, Julian?" I asked softly. "You could have bought that parcel from the bank if Leo defaulted. You could have crushed them without tying your name to mine."

Julian set his glass down. He walked over to my chair, reached down, and took both of my hands, pulling me effortlessly to my feet. He stood so close I could feel the radiant heat of his body through the thin silk of my dress.

"Because, June," he whispered, his hands sliding up my bare arms to cup my neck, his thumbs tracing my jawline, "for nine years, I watched you shrink yourself to fit into Leo’s pathetic little world. I watched you dim your mind, bite your tongue, and let your mother treat you like a second-class citizen while your useless sister took everything you earned."

His eyes were dark, burning with a fierce, possessive intensity that made my knees weak.

"I didn't marry you for the land," he said, his voice raw. "I bought the land so I’d have an excuse to marry you."

My heart pounded violently against my ribs. I looked up at him—at the sharp planes of his face, the dark stubble along his jaw, the sheer, uncompromising strength of the man—and for the first time since the table flipped, I didn't want to run.