The CEO's Rainstorm Surrender

The heavy oak door slammed shut, the gust of wind snapping against the tip of my nose.

It was two in the morning. I had just dragged myself home from the club, and my newly minted husband had actually locked me out.

I pounded my fists against the solid wood. Open this door! I'm older than you! Who the hell gave you the right to ground me?

Pierce let out a low, dark chuckle from the other side. "Because the Patek Philippe on your wrist and the fully-loaded Aston Martin you drive were paid for with my no-limit black card."

I swallowed hard, my knuckles hovering over the door. God, he was just so damn filthy rich.

Chapter 1

"Don't drag me out for drinks anymore." I gripped the phone, my knuckles white. "Yeah, I have a curfew. I need to be home by ten"

Under a certain someone's heavy stare, I reluctantly called my drinking buddies one by one to deliver the humiliating news.

"Babe, don't tell me Pierce is forcing this on you?" My friend's laughter crackled through the speaker.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I shot a quick glance at Pierce, who stood there looking effortlessly composed, and muttered weakly, "I set the rule for myself."

"Oh my God," she scoffed. "You're like a grounded little doll in Beverly Hills. Your Alpha husband's control freak tendencies are insanely twisted."

I swallowed a mouthful of ash. I jabbed the end call button.

Pierce swept his cold gaze over me. "Don't let it happen again," he ordered, his voice like cracking ice.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Staring at his broad back as he walked away, I felt like I had boarded a pirate shipterrified of jumping off, yet entirely too obsessed to leave.

The irony was thick enough to choke on. I used to be Pierce's senior in college. Back when we first met, he was just a sophomore.

Knowing what I wanted, I went straight in for the kill. "I don't do regrets. I like you. Be my boyfriend." I had cornered him on the path back to his frat house, utterly fearless.

Pierce barely spared me a glance. "You can keep your regrets," he stated coldly.

My teeth snapped shut, a harsh ring echoing in my ears. The temperature around us instantly dropped below freezing.

If I couldn't bag him, I'd move on. There were plenty of hot guys on campus. But I never expected that my next relationship would drag my reputation through the mud.

When my toxic ex and I broke up, he spread nasty rumors about me everywhere. He even had the nerve to trash-talk me for going after Pierce, calling me a pathetic stage-five clinger.

"Pierce, man, tell us. Was she desperately throwing herself at you?" Some idiot actually chased Pierce down to ask him.

Pierce just adjusted his glasses. "Hitting on me isn't embarrassing," he casually replied. "What's embarrassing is how rapidly her taste in men has downgraded."

A hot flush of humiliation crawled up my neck, burning my skin. The entire campus decoded that immediately: Fallon's ex wasn't even fit to shine Pierce's shoes, and Fallon's standards had officially hit rock bottom.

God knows how it happened, but the gossip quickly shifted. The forums blew up with comparisons of Pierce and my ex's assetstheir trust funds, the number of sports cars in their garages, and some people even made dirty jokes comparing a certain unmentionable size

By the end of the debate, my ex was completely humiliated. But he didn't dare actually cross Pierce, even though he kept muttering that Pierce was just some arrogant underclassman.

After that, Pierce and I barely crossed paths. That is, until my bestie claimed she was setting me up with her "little brother."

I thought she was messing with mebringing some high school kid expecting me to buy him a Happy Meal. But when Pierce walked through the restaurant doors, I nearly choked on my drink.

The world really was that suffocatingly small. My bestie just grinned. "My brother goes to the same university as you, just a different major."

My mind flatlined. He hit every single one of my sweet spots all over again. He wore a crisp dress shirt, but the vibe was entirely different nowdangerous and mature. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a devastatingly tailored fit that made it impossible to look away from his long, powerful legs.

"Hot, right?" My bestie wiggled her eyebrows, looking overly smug.

My throat clamped shut. Pierce had already slid into the booth right across from me.

When his eyes locked onto mine, he paused for a fraction of a second. His gaze was an absolute void, freezing and detached.

"Hello."

I dug my fingernails into my palms.

Chapter 2

Maybe it was his infuriatingly dismissive attitude. I went straight home and told my bestie I wanted Pierce, ordering her to figure out a way for me to bag him.

Her brilliant solution? A fake marriage.

Absolutely absurd.

But Pierce agreed without a second of hesitation. I was confused, secretly hoping he actually harbored some twisted feelings for me. Reality check: he was just desperate to get his overbearing family off his back.

The realization burned. I tossed and turned for nights, grinding my teeth. What exactly about me was so repulsive to him?

It pissed me off. In my head, I had already conquered him standing victorious with a metaphorical whip, taming the arrogant beast. But fantasy and reality were two very different zip codes.

The marriage was a sham, but the certificate was legally binding. We were husband and wife on paper, yet Pierce had zero intention of fulfilling his marital duties. Instead, he just used his obscene wealth to dictate my every move. At first, I played along, figuring he was younger and his trust fund would eventually run dry.

But the longer I played along, the more I realized he was filthy, disgustingly richway richer than the campus rumors ever suggested.

He was obsessed with expanding his empire. It was past two in the morning, and he was still working. He often worked so late he just slept in his home office.

I dug my fingernails into my palms, forcing my facial muscles into a relaxed, blank mask. I refused to look like a desperate stage-five clinger.

After pacing my room a few times, I took a quick shower and slipped into my most dangerous silk nightgown. Time to play the doting wife. I grabbed a glass of warm milk and headed to his office.

The moment I pushed the door open, Pierce tilted his jaw, silently ordering me out.

I feigned innocence, pointing at the glass of milk, and walked right up to his desk. Rapid, foreign voices spilled from his laptop speakersa high-stakes international conference call.

Maybe it was the dim lighting of the office. The shadows clung to his sharp jawline, and his intense focus was absolutely lethal.

A wicked impulse flared in my chest. I extended my bare leg under the mahogany desk and lightly dragged my toes up his calf.

Pierce held the glass, his peripheral vision sweeping coldly over my face. His Adam's apple gave a slow, deliberate bob as he took a sip of the milk.

The foreign chatter continued on the screen.

I stared back at him with wide, innocent eyes until he drained the glass. His lips pressed into a harsh, unyielding line.

Click.

With one tap of his finger, he muted the conference.

A triumphant smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. I was just about to push my luck when his heavy dress shoe slammed down, pinning my slipper to the floor.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I gasped, my toes curling in embarrassment.

Pierce leveled a deadly stare at me. "Why are you rubbing your foot against my leg?"

My brain short-circuited. I gripped the edge of his desk. Instead of seducing him, his freezing glare made a hot flush of humiliation crawl up my neck.

"You"

"Hmm?" Pierce raised an eyebrow, his expression entirely too serious, waiting for a logical explanation.

"My. Foot. Cramped."

Pierce's dark gaze swept over my bare calf with a heavy, physical weight. The temperature in the room instantly spiked. He suddenly leaned forward, his massive hand clamping directly over my ankle like an iron vice. His rough thumb dragged hard across my sensitive skin, a deliberate, punishing friction.

My lips parted, but no sound came out. God, he's such an infuriating, oblivious wall of muscle. "Can I have my slipper back?" I ground out through my teeth.

The next second, Pierce flicked his foot, cleanly kicking the slipper right back to my toes. "It's late. Go to sleep."

Fire scorched my veins. Without another word, I shoved my foot into the slipper and spun on my heel. But as my hand hit the doorknob, I couldn't stop myself from glancing back over my shoulder.

Chapter 3

"Fallon."

"Yeah?" I forced a bright smile, turning back to Pierce.

He rested his knuckles against his temple, his eyes locked onto his monitor. "The master bedroom is yours. The office is mine. Next time, don't step foot in here without my explicit permission."

My jaw tightened.

My fingers dug into the cold brass of the doorknob. The freezing weight of his dismissal pressed against my chest. "Got it. Loud and clear," I chirped, keeping my smile perfectly glued in place.

Click.

The second the heavy oak door shut, the smile wiped clean off my face. Another massive, humiliating failure.

My last catastrophic attempt was when Pierce was in the shower. I tried to push open that damn frosted glass door.

Instead, his heavily muscled arm shot out.

With a rough pant, he slammed his weight against the door, pinning it shut. Heavy water droplets rolled down his thick veins, splashing directly onto the back of my hand.

"Fallon. Watch yourself," Pierce's voice dropped to a dangerously low, gravelly warning.

"Oh, please. You don't actually think I wanted to peek, do you?" I lied straight through my teeth. "My bad. I just thought I left the exhaust fan on."

Pierce didn't say another word. But when he finally stepped out, he had the thick terrycloth robe tied so tight you'd think he was guarding state secrets from a predator.

After that little stunt, he had the guest bathroom repaired and completely abandoned the master suite.

If they handed out trophies for extreme chastity, I'd bolt a solid gold one right to his chest. But I wasn't a quitter. I refused to let a single opportunity to break his defenses slip away.

Take breakfast, for example. Since our marriage was a pure business transaction, we only ate together if our schedules magically aligned. Otherwise, it was every man for himself.

So far, the score was an absolute zero.

Determined to win, I set six different alarms, swearing I would drag myself out of bed and force a shared morning coffee.

Reality check: I rolled around my massive king-sized mattress, blindly smashing the snooze button over and over until my phone nearly shattered.

Men came and went. Beauty sleep was eternal.

It was past eleven when I finally dragged myself downstairs, yawning. Knowing Pierce was already dominating some high-rise boardroom, I didn't even bother running a brush through my hair.

I froze on the bottom step.

Pierce's mother sat perfectly poised on the custom velvet sofa. She took a slow, deliberate sip from her bone china teacup, staring pointedly toward the kitchen, completely pretending I didn't exist.

My spine stiffened. I followed her gaze.

Pierce was standing at the marble island, his head bowed as he aggressively prepped vegetables, laser-focused.

"What exactly has you so bewitched?" His mother's crisp voice sliced through the air. "Those Ivy League socialites I picked out for you, the senator's daughterswhich one of them wasn't leagues above this pathetic girl from the slums?"

"She does nothing but burn through your money. She can't even manage to prepare you a decent sandwich!"

She finally turned to me, a manicured hand flying to her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh! You're awake. I have a nasty habit of being painfully honest, darling. Try not to take it personally."

My fingernails bit into my palms. Considering she birthed my Alpha husband, I swallowed the toxic comeback burning on my tongue.

When she first found out Pierce was marrying me, she threw a catastrophic, tear-stained tantrum that shook their entire estate. Pierce and I ended up skipping the lavish wedding entirely just to shut the drama down.

"You talk too much, Mother." Pierce didn't even look up. He stated it like a cold, clinical fact.

A spike of surprise hit me. Pierce was a freezing glacier to everyoneeven his own flesh and blood.

"I am protecting your interests!" She snapped, losing her aristocratic cool. "If you don't put her in her place now, you'll be acting as her servant for the rest of your life."

My jaw locked tight. She shot me a glare so venomous it could strip paint.

Chapter 4

The tension in the room spiked instantly.

Pierce set the soup bowl on the marble island. Without even glancing in my direction, he stated coldly, "I didn't marry her to have a personal chef."

His mother slammed her manicured hand on the counter. "Fine! Just fine! You know best!"

My shoulders flinched. I couldn't interject, and honestly, I didn't dare to. Her glacial glare swept over me, freezing the blood in my veins. It wasn't until her stilettos clicked out the front door that I finally exhaled, bracing my hands against the velvet sofa just to keep my knees from buckling.

"Apologies. Her temper is volatile, and she tends to project," Pierce suddenly spoke, his gravelly voice cutting through the silence.

I forced a smile and waved it off. "Uh, no need to apologize, I'm fine. Your mother's lung capacity is truly astounding. It's a real shame she isn't singing soprano on Broadway."

Pierce's hand paused over the silver cutlery. He turned to me, the morning sunlight catching the unreadable, dark depth of his eyes. Before I could decode his expression, he pulled out a dining chair.

"Take a seat, Fallon," he ordered softly.

God. Why did my pulse jump over something so basic?

"Uh" I blinked, instinctively taking a step toward the table. But then I looked at Pierce, impeccably dressed in his tailored dress shirt, looking like a flawless GQ cover model. I immediately hit the brakes and cleared my throat. "Can you give me ten minutes?"

Pierce frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I need to put on some makeup."

Pierce just stared at me.

Ten minutes later, I picked up my fork, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Wow, this is incredible," I grinned.

Pierce didn't look up from his plate. "No talking at the dinner table."

I rolled my eyes internally. "Right." I stabbed my eggs, suddenly annoyed.

A long silence stretched between us.

Then, Pierce's low, rough voice broke the quiet. "Thank you for the compliment."

A massive, stupid grin spread across my face.

News of the monster-in-law's visit reached my bestie at lightning speed. She rushed over immediately.

"Hey, did that wicked witch torture you? Are you okay?"

"I'm totally fine." I curled up on the oversized sofa, hugging a velvet throw pillow to my chest, practically beaming at her.

"Fine?" She furrowed her brow, shooting me a look of pure disgust. "Your grin is practically splitting your face in half."

I hid my mouth behind my hand, giggling.

She blinked, and then a wicked smirk spread across her face. "Wait a second. Did you actually bag Pierce?"

My smile froze.

It suddenly hit me how pathetic I was being. One tiny crumb of basic human decency from Pierce, and I was floating on cloud nine, completely ignoring the fact that our actual relationship status was still absolutely zero.

"I'll conquer him eventually," I declared, gripping the pillow tighter. But the second the words left my mouth, doubt gnawed at my stomach.

She saw right through me. "If it's a dead end, cut your losses and run before you actually get your heart crushed. That guy has literally never dated anyone in his entire life. He's an absolute iceberg." She paused, leveling a serious glare at me. "Friendly reminder: lust is a one-way ticket to a broken neck."

I laughed. "With a face and body like that, I can take the hit."

"You crazy bitch." She grabbed a pillow and chucked it at my head. "You're completely delusional!"

I dodged the pillow, laughing, but a tremor of fear vibrated in my chest. Still, I refused to back down. "Just hack his assistant's email and get me his schedule. I will break him."

My bestie just stared at me.

I couldn't help it. Pierce was an irresistible, walking red flag. Having all that prime Alpha muscle flaunted right in front of my face, completely untouchable, was driving me absolutely insane.

Chapter 5

Gu Corporation.

Wearing a striking crimson slip dress, I pushed my designer sunglasses up my nose. Just as I prepared to gracefully step into the private executive elevator, a hand blocked my path.

"Ahem. I'm looking for Pierce."

"I apologize, ma'am, but you need an appointment."

An appointment? My brain stalled. I wanted to call Pierce, but terrified of interrupting a multi-million dollar board meeting, I settled for a text.

Surprisingly, the second I hit send, my phone screen lit up with his incoming call.

I jumped, nearly fumbling my phone onto the marble floor. Swallowing my panic, I forced my voice into a sweet, melodic purr. "Hello~"

"I'll have Ellis come down to get you."

My chest fluttered with a spike of triumph. "Oh, perfect~ But going up there won't disturb your work, will it?"

Pierce's voice was a flatline. "If you disturb me, you know the consequences."

I clamped my mouth shut.

I bit the inside of my cheek, the playful heat draining from my veins. When Ellis stepped out of the elevator, I straightened my spine and followed him up. Since Pierce had strictly banned me from hitting the clubs, and my freelance design work was currently in a dry spell, I was suffocatingly bored. I was running on pure spite, just waiting for the day I finally conquered him and could rub it in his arrogant face.

I swear, right up until the moment I saw him, I was actually pissed.

But.

The second I pushed open the double doors to his corner office, a wave of his crisp, expensive cologne hit me, making my pulse stutter. My eyes immediately locked onto Pierce's devastatingly flawless, utterly apathetic face.

"Mr. Gu, please review this contract."

"Mr. Gu, the weekly project report."

"Mr. Gu"

The relentless parade of 'Mr. Gu's echoed in the massive room. I was bored to tears just listening to it, but Pierce ruthlessly and methodically crushed every single task. He didn't stop until the city lights flickered on outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Ugh." I had his heavy suit jacket draped over my shoulders. Rubbing my eyes, half-delirious from a nap on his leather sofa, I whined, "Hubby, I'm starving~ Feed me~"

"Speak English," Pierce ordered, his tone freezing.

I jolted awake, my eyes snapping open. "II'm hungry."

"What do you want?"

I bit my lip, actually trying to think, but my brain completely derailed.

He was standing so close. The top two buttons of his dress shirt were undone, giving me a direct, sinful view of his sharp collarbone and the harsh lines of his throat.

"Tell me when you've decided." Pierce shifted his gaze away. His long, knuckle-heavy fingers rose, swiftly and silently fastening the buttons all the way to his throat.

"Why are you buttoning up? The AC is barely running in here," I pushed, playing dumb.

Pierce grabbed his phone, a faint crease forming between his brows. "I am perfectly fine."

I fought back a wicked smirk, dropping into the chair directly across from his desk and resting my chin in my hands to stare at him.

Pierce accidentally flicked his eyes up, catching my gaze. He froze for a fraction of a second before looking back down at his screen. "What are we eating. I'm ordering now."

"I want the exclusive, three-Michelin-star tasting menu for two that only Mrs. Gu gets to eat!"

Pierce's jaw tightened. He shot me a heavy glare, his lips pressing into a thin line, but his thumbs started tapping rapidly on the screen to place the order.

By the time the food finally arrived, I was practically melting onto the mahogany desk from starvation. Suddenly, loud cheers erupted from the bullpen outside. I couldn't help but peek through the glass walls.

"Gather 'round, everyone! Dinner's on the boss! We crush this account, and the entire team gets a paid vacation!"

"Praise the boss!"

The heavy scent of expensive takeout drifted under the fluorescent lights. Honestly, I was starting to envy his employees.

Chapter 6

Honestly, right after graduation, I had seriously thought about tracking Pierce down, landing a job at Gu Corporation, and clawing my way up just to stand next to him.

But the salary and benefits they offered were so obscene that the applicant pool was an absolute bloodbath. Unfortunately, I got ruthlessly cut in the second round of interviews.

I was dead broke back then. Absolutely pathetic. After failing that interview, I had nothing left but a stack of useless portfolio mock-ups. My parents were constantly breathing down my neck, pressuring me to apply for grad school or snag some soul-crushing corporate drone job before my "fresh grad" status expired.

But my dream was design. And when dreams couldn't pay the bills, I was desperate, but I stubbornly refused to bend the knee. I was dodging my landlord's calls daily, drowning in late rent and utility threats.

Luckily, after all that chaos, fate still dragged me right back to him.

Just looking at his face sent a jolt of pure dopamine straight to my brain. It was like years of pent-up obsession finally found an outlet, and that terrifying, breathless crush I had on him was spiraling out of control all over again.

"I thought you were starving. Come here." Pierce cleared the glass coffee table as his assistant set out the heavy, expensive takeout boxes.

The assistant couldn't help but shoot me a curious glance.

I flashed him a bright smile. "Hi. I completely forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Fallon."

The assistant blinked, letting out a polite chuckle. "Hello. I'm Mr. Gu's executive assistant, Ellis."

Ellis?

I raised an eyebrow. The name clicked in my brain. Holy shit. Wasn't he the exact same HR director who ruthlessly eliminated me during that second-round interview?

I opened my mouth to call him out, but Ellis caught my eye and gave a subtle, frantic shake of his head. I bit back a laugh and snapped my mouth shut.

"How long do you two plan on staring at each other?" Pierce leaned back against the leather sofa, aggressively snapping a pair of wooden chopsticks apart.

"Uh, I have some matters to attend to. Enjoy your meal, Mr. Gu." Ellis practically sprinted out the door.

Thrilled by the sudden privacy, I slid onto the sofa right next to Pierce, ripping open a wet wipe to clean my hands before diving into the food.

"Why were you staring at Ellis?" Pierce demanded out of nowhere.

I paused with a piece of food halfway to my mouth and shot him a wicked grin. "Who else am I supposed to stare at? You?"

Pierce's brow furrowed. He looked dead serious. "Our marriage was rushed. I didn't have time to run a proper background check on you. I need to ensure you aren't a corporate spy."

I choked on air. The man was an absolute fortress.

A laugh bubbled up in my throat. I leaned in, batting my eyelashes. "You caught me. I am a spy."

Pierce stared at me.

"I'm here to steal your heart~" I purred.

Pierce froze. A faint line formed between his brows. "You're absurd."

I happily bit into my food, humming. "No, I'm just being brutally honest. I only have eyes for you~"

The muscle in Pierce's jaw ticked. He opened his mouth, closed it, and finally just ground out, "Eat your food."

I giggled, feeling dangerously brave. "Okay, whatever my hubby says~"

Pierce went entirely rigid.

I blinked innocently at him, cutting him off before he could protest. "We have a legally binding marriage certificate. Calling you 'hubby' isn't exactly a crime, is it? Feel free to call me 'wifey' anytime."

Pierce stared at me, looking like he wanted to hurl himself out the floor-to-ceiling window. Realizing he couldn't win this verbal spar, he clamped his mouth shut. My heart did a triumphant little victory lap, and I relentlessly dialed up the brat factor.

"Hubby, I want that piece of meat."

Pierce pushed the plate directly in front of me.

"Hubby, I'm freezing."

Pierce reached for the remote and dialed up the thermostat.

He was being shockingly tolerant today. My mind raced with the possibilities. I flashed him my most mischievous grin. "Hubby, I want a cocktail."

Pierce silently slid a glass of lukewarm tap water across the table.

I scowled at it.

"Hubby, I want a hug."

Chapter 7

Pierce's hand froze on the car door handle. He shot a sideways glance at me.

I balled my hands into fists and practically sprinted at him, aiming straight for his waist.

But before I could even make contact, his large palm clamped flat against my forehead, stopping me in my tracks. 6'3" versus 5'6". Total defeat.

"Just one hug," I bargained.

"Our marriage is a transaction." Pierce looked down at me, his dark eyes intense. His voice dropped to a low, rough murmurI couldn't tell if it was a warning for me, or a reminder to himself.

Still. I could feel the microscopic cracks forming in his iron defenses. Even if he didn't let me touch him this time.

As the Aston Martin pulled into the estate driveway, Pierce shifted the car into park. "Fallon. We're here. Get out."

Silence.

"Fallon?" His voice grew slightly sharper. "Wake up."

I remained slumped against the leather passenger seat, keeping my eyes squeezed shut. I fully expected him to carry me. Instead, the heavy thud of his door shutting echoed through the cabin, followed by the crunch of his dress shoes walking away.

Damn it.

A wave of disappointment hit me. I was just about to snap my eyes open when my door suddenly swung wide.

The cool night air rushed in, mixed with his crisp, expensive cologne.

Massive, heavy hands slid under my knees and around my waist. His warm breath brushed against the sensitive skin of my neck.

I fought ruthlessly to bite back a triumphant smirk. The second Pierce lifted me into his arms, I slumped heavily against his solid chest, instinctively looping my arms around his neck. I let him carry me all the way into the mansion and straight to the master suite.

But the moment my back hit the mattress, his deep voice shattered the illusion. "You can drop the act now."

I froze.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. Realizing my cover was totally blown, I cautiously cracked one eye open, meeting his piercing gaze with a guilty little grin.

Pierce looked down at me, his expression an absolute void. "It's late. Go to sleep."

"Pierce." Panic spiked in my chest. I shot my hand out and tightly gripped his silk tie.

The moment I pulled him closer, Pierce reacted like a predator whose territory had just been breached. He slammed both hands down onto the mattress right beside my ears, trapping me. An overwhelming, aggressively Alpha scent instantly suffocated my senses, locking down my escape routes. His breathing grew heavy and ragged, sounding like he wanted to devour me whole.

This proximity was lethal. It was exactly what I wanted. Every nerve in my body screamed to kiss him.

But terrified of pushing him past his breaking point, I compromised. I leaned up, hesitating just a fraction of an inch from his face. When he didn't pull away, I pressed a soft kiss to his jawline. I looked straight into his dark eyes and whispered, "Goodnight, hubby."

Pierce's knuckles turned white as his fingers dug into the bedsheets. It was like he suddenly snapped out of a trance.

In that split second, a harsh flush crept up the tips of his ears. He shot me one intense, unreadable look before abruptly tearing himself away. He practically stormed out of the room, shutting the heavy door behind him.

I collapsed back against the pillows. Staring up at the ceiling, I pressed my hands over my burning face, kicking my legs and letting out a muffled squeal into the comforter.

But the high didn't last.

Shortly after, Pierce left on a multi-day business trip. The massive estate instantly felt like an empty tomb. Even the wall of designer bags in my custom closet couldn't trigger a single hit of dopamine.

[Me: When are you coming back]

The text vanished into the void. Read, but completely ignored. A heavy, suffocating wave of rejection crushed my chest, hitting me just as hard as that brutal interview rejection.

A grueling week passed. My patience officially evaporated. I tracked down Pierce's hotel, fully prepared to ambush him. But I never expected the scene unfolding in the lobby.

From forty feet away, I watched a woman sobbing hysterically as she threw herself directly into Pierce's arms. When I closed the distance and finally recognized her face, a sickening jolt of electricity shot down my spine.

It was Kinsley.

She was the vicious snake who wrote the viral hit piece full of rumors for my toxic ex. Back then, I had caused an absolute scene, screaming in her face, demanding to know why she was trying to destroy me when we barely even knew each other.

The sky had been suffocatingly gray that day. She hid behind her sorority sisters, her chin tilted up in pure, aristocratic disdain as she delivered a completely unhinged answer.

Because I was a commoner without a trust fund. In her twisted mind, a broke girl like me who went to public schools and drowned in student loans belonged rotting in the slums. I had no right to ever lay a finger on a top-tier Alpha like Pierce.

Chapter 8

"Let go of me right now, or I'm calling security." Pierce's freezing voice snapped me out of my paralyzed state.

Kinsley choked on a sob, sounding entirely pathetic. "Pierce, what the hell is wrong with me? My pedigree, my family's wealthin what universe am I inferior to that trash? Are you completely blind!"

Ellis rushed into the lobby, immediately grabbing Kinsley's arm to pull her back.

Pierce violently shrugged off her grip. He smoothed his expensive suit jacket, his voice dropping to a lethal temperature. "If you aren't blind, you'd realize we're in the middle of a crowded lobby. And I am a married man."

Tears streamed down Kinsley's face as she stared desperately at Pierce. Then, her gaze inadvertently snapped to where I was standing. The heartbreak on her face instantly morphed into pure, venomous ice.

But before she could spit out a single insult, Ellis forcefully dragged her out the sliding glass doors and shoved her into a waiting town car. Before the door shut, Ellis cast an uneasy glance in my direction.

"What are you doing here?" Pierce finally noticed me, a flicker of genuine shock cracking his stoic mask.

Seeing the dark exhaustion lining his features, I didn't bounce over with my usual obnoxious teasing. I walked up to him slowly, keeping my voice soft. "I just wanted to see you."

Pierce stiffened. His dark eyes darted around the crowded lobby before his tone softened just a fraction. "We are in public. Don't speak like that."

A wicked little grin slipped out. I tilted my head up and lunged in for a hug. Once again, his massive hand clamped firmly against my forehead, halting my momentum entirely. Undeterred, I simply twisted and locked both my arms around his thick bicep.

Pierce didn't shove me away, but his entire body went rigid. He looked as paranoid as a high school kid caught sneaking around the bleachers, waiting for the principal to bust him.

Honestly, no wonder everyone trashed long-distance relationships. Being face-to-face with Pierce again, I could physically feel the heavy steel vault doors he had erected between us. His guard was higher than ever. All I could do was grit my teeth and wait for the ice to thaw.

Thank God the front desk concierge was a total MVP, informing us with a deeply sympathetic smile that the hotel was completely booked outexcept for his single penthouse suite.

For the very first time, Pierce and I were actually sleeping in the exact same room.

"No talking during dinner." The second room service wheeled in our food, Pierce issued his standard preemptive strike. He was clearly terrified I would verbally corner him like last time.

"Whatever you say, hubby."

Pierce's jaw locked tight.

I practically vibrated with excitement. Verbal teasing was child's play today anyway. The real main event I was waiting for was bedtime.

After my shower, I strategically hand-washed my lace lingerie and draped it prominently over the heated towel rack. When Pierce walked into the bathroom, he froze dead in his tracks for two solid seconds.

I pretended I didn't notice a thing, sprawling out on the massive king-sized bed, flipping mindlessly through channels on the flat screen.

Click.

The heavy bathroom door shut, immediately followed by the sharp sound of the deadbolt sliding into place.

"Coward," I muttered under my breath. But the second the heavy rush of the showerhead started, my eyes couldn't stop darting back to the frosted glass door.

Ever since the very first day I laid eyes on Pierce, I had mentally planned out our entire life togetherI probably even picked out the aesthetic for our matching tombstones.

And now, finally trapped in the same room with him, every single ounce of humiliation and rejection I suffered felt completely worth it. I had the penthouse, the cars, the unlimited credit cards, and most importantly, I had him. Hell, maybe in the future, we'd even have a little heir running around the estate.

Lost in my delusions, I hugged a feather pillow to my chest, letting out a stupidly happy giggle. I rolled over on the mattressand instantly locked eyes with Pierce, who had already stepped out of the bathroom.

The complimentary white terrycloth robe was ridiculously small on his massive frame, giving me a sinful, unfiltered view of his heavily muscled calves and powerful thighs.

"What exactly are you doing?" Pierce raised a dark eyebrow.

My eyes greedily drank in the sight before I quickly slid under the silk sheets. I patted the empty space right next to me. "Waiting for you to come to bed. Get in~"

Pierce leaned down, his face slowly inching closer to mine.

I blinked rapidly, my heart doing a chaotic drumroll against my ribs. But before I could even part my lips, he simply gripped the edge of the spare duvet, ripped it off the mattress, and marched straight over to the custom velvet sofa, laying down as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

My jaw dropped.

"Pierce" Frustration gnawed at my chest.

Pierce kept his eyes firmly shut. He didn't make a single sound.

Chapter 9

The lights clicked off, plunging the penthouse suite into complete darkness. I stared at the silhouette on the velvet sofa for a long moment before quietly closing my eyes.

After that trip, Pierce completely iced over again. Sometimes, the exhaustion sank straight into my bones. I felt like I was constantly running a marathon just to catch his shadow, but the stubborn part of me still believed that sleeping under the same roof gave me the ultimate home-court advantage.

Gradually, I secured full clearance to his corner office. I even pushed my luck by calling him "hubby" in broad daylight. He would deflect, but his silence was basically a surrender.

"Hubby, let's get dry-aged steak for dinner." I leaned over his mahogany desk, flashing him a bright smile.

Pierce didn't even look up from his tablet. "After my board meeting."

"Deal~" I chirped. I settled into the leather sofa for a grueling wait, nursing an iced matcha latte as my eyelids started to droop.

"Fallon."

Kinsley's sharp voice sliced through the quiet office.

I blinked, my brain taking a second to boot up. She wore the exact same aristocratic sneer from our college days. I didn't even bother acknowledging her existence.

Kinsley let out a harsh scoff. "I have no idea what manipulative trash you pulled to get Pierce to marry you, but there's something you desperately need to see."

I pressed my lips together. My mind instantly braced for some generic high-society dramamaybe a secret childhood sweetheart or an untouchable first love she was about to parade in my face.

But she didn't. Instead, she slammed a thick, slightly yellowed manila folder onto the glass coffee table.

Blame my obsessive reading habits, but my brain immediately scanned for some dark, generational family feud. Nope. My family was painfully middle-class and boring, and while Pierce's mother was a nightmare, our families definitely didn't have any historical blood debt.

I raised an eyebrow, leaning back into the leather sofa. "Sorry. Not interested."

Kinsley didn't flinch. She slowly flipped the folder open, tossing a printed spreadsheet into my lap.

I recognized the names immediately. They were the other candidates from my interview group at Gu Corporation.

We had even grabbed drinks after the final round to vent.

But the strangest part was the ranking column. Every single one of them had advanced to the final round, yet their scores were completely ranked below mine.

"Where the hell did you get this?" A cold knot formed in my stomach.

Kinsley smirked, a cruel glint in her eyes. "Are you blind? Look at the corporate seal at the bottom."

"This is classified Gu Corporation data. The custodian is Ellis, your HR director."

"Let me dumb this down for you. You ranked first. You secured the offer. But you were violently blacklisted."

"Pierce personally gave the kill order. Probably terrified a desperate stalker like you would harass him in the elevator."

A cold weight dropped in my stomach. I stared dead at the red corporate seal. A sharp tremor rattled my fingertips. "Why would I believe a single word coming out of your mouth?" I forced the words past the tight lump in my throat.

"Don't believe me, then. Go ask around," Kinsley taunted. "Ask the executives. Ask Pierce himself."

"Look at it, Fallon. Who else holds the absolute power to override a finalized hire list? Who else would even dare?"

My lungs seized.

"Oh, it makes total sense now," Kinsley practically purred, twisting the knife. "Pierce was drowning in pressure from the board to settle down. He just needed a warm body to shut his mother up."

"And honestly? Marrying someone he thoroughly despises is a brilliant power move. That way, when he treats you like absolute garbage, he doesn't have to feel a single ounce of guilt"

"Shut your mouth."

My fingers clamped down on the plastic cup.

Crunch.

The thick plastic violently caved in. Ice-cold matcha exploded over my knuckles, soaking into the pristine fabric of my dress, leaving me entirely humiliated and stained.

Chapter 10

"What? Did I hit a nerve?" Kinsley let out a sharp laugh.

She crossed her arms, exhaling slowly. "I heard Pierce bought you a closet full of designer bags. That's clearly his severance package. You should learn when to take the payout and walk away."

Kinsley kept talking, riding the high of her cruelty. My throat paralyzed. I couldn't fight back.

Every single piece of Pierce's freezing behavior over the last few months suddenly aligned. She was right. There was no flaw in her logic. I had just been drowning myself in a pathetic, delusional fantasy.

I refused to let Kinsley see me break. I turned and fled down the executive corridor.

Reaching the grand staircase, my feet stopped. I had nowhere to go. I numbly descended the marble steps.

My phone vibrated against my palm. A text from Pierce: [Something came up. Can't make it. Eat without me.]

I stared blankly at the glowing screen. The words blurred.

Vaguely, I heard someone calling my name. My bones felt hollowed out, drained of all strength.

"Fallon! I've called your name three times! Am I talking to a brick wall?" His mother's stilettos clicked furiously as she marched up to me in the lobby.

I stared at her. A heavy wave of nausea hit my stomach.

All the years of suffocating struggle and crushing rejections surged back to the surface. They mocked me. I had genuinely believed that reuniting with him was my ultimate reward for surviving all that hell.

The words rotted in my throat. Just like I could never look Pierce in the eye and ask the one question breaking my ribs.

Pierce.

Do you despise me that much? Enough to personally rip my entire future to shreds?

Dead of night. The penthouse was suffocatingly quiet. I tossed and turned on the massive mattress, the silk sheets feeling like sandpaper against my skin. Every single memory I thought we shared was now a jagged hunting knife twisting directly into my chest.

A cold tear slipped down my temple, soaking into the pillowcase. My throat burned. I dragged myself out of bed and headed down the dark hallway for a glass of water.

Approaching the kitchen island, sharp voices echoed from the living room. His mother paced the floor, delivering a ruthless lecture. Pierce sat on the sofa, offering nothing but detached, monosyllabic responses.

The tension was highly combustible. She planted her hands on her hips.

"What is so damn important? You are exactly like your father!"

"Can you not draw a single line between the boardroom and your own home? A corporation needs managing, but a marriage doesn't? Are you a human being or a sociopathic machine?"

"Tonight's agenda is critical." Pierce held a crystal tumbler in one hand, taking a slow, deliberate sip. His heavy knuckles wrapped around the glass, his gaze lowered, ignoring her fury.

"Is your multi-billion dollar merger honestly more important than your own legal wife?" his mother snapped, the crystal glass shaking in her grip.

The next second.

Pierce's jaw locked tight. His piercing blue eyes flicked up, radiating a suffocating, glacial cold. Like a ruthlessly programmed machine, he delivered his absolute verdict.

"Every. Thing."

Chapter 11

The words hung in the air. His mother froze.

I stood paralyzed in the hallway, my lungs seizing as if all the oxygen had been vacuumed from the room. Thank God the massive living room was completely pitched black.

"Get out. Fuck off!" his mother shrieked.

I shrank back against the cold marble wall, my chest heaving, terrified that if I took a single heavy step, the last shattered pieces of my dignity would scatter across the floor. I watched Pierce's tall silhouette vanish into the darkness. A heavy, suffocating weight crushed my ribs. I couldn't breathe.

After that night, a switch completely flipped.

I stopped chasing him. I methodically packed my emotional bags and built a concrete wall between us. He probably loved the silence. He didn't say a single word, and I silently began making my exit plans.

"Moving out?!" My best friend stared at me like I had grown a second head.

I kept my eyes glued to the apartment listings on my phone, crunching the rental numbers in my head. "Yeah. I leased out my old condo on a five-year contract, so I need to find a temporary place to crash."

She blinked, totally lost. "Why the hell are you moving? Did Pierce do something to you?"

"What? No." I forced my facial muscles into a relaxed, convincing smile, meeting her highly suspicious glare. "If anyone's doing the bullying, it's me. You really think I'd let a guy walk all over me?"

She scoffed. "Give me a break. Last time I saw you, you were practically drooling over him. You were so whipped you wouldn't even let a mosquito bite him, let alone bully him yourself."

I looked down, forcing the smile to stay glued to my face. My fingernails dug into my palms until the skin went white.

My pride was too bruised, too fragile to admit the humiliating truth.

If I looked like a pathetic, love-struck idiot to my best friend, what did I look like to him? Just a desperate clown who would do backflips the second he snapped his fingers.

"Did he actually hurt you?" She leaned in, literally rolling up her sleeves.

"No." I quickly grabbed her arm, shaking my head. "He didn't do anything. I just need some space to think. I want to live on my own for a bit."

She narrowed her eyes. "He better not have. Little brother or not, I'll destroy him."

When it rains, it pours.

The funds I poured into cryptocurrency were completely locked up, and I still had to make the payments on my parents' exorbitant medical bills and their heavy mortgage. Terrified of them finding out about my financial ruin, I just kept maxing out my credit cards until my bank accounts were practically hitting zero.

Desperate, my mind went straight to my wedding ring.

I had drained almost my entire savings to buy the matching set, but Pierce had never worn his for a single second.

I remembered asking him about it once, a bitter edge to my voice. "Why don't you wear it?"

"There is no legal mandate requiring me to wear it," Pierce had replied. Bulletproof logic.

It never crossed my naive mind that he didn't wear it because he was thoroughly disgusted by it. After all, the platinum band that cost me my life savings was basically loose pocket change to him.

It was like a brutal awakening. The universe kept forcing my eyes open to the cold, hard fact: Pierce felt absolutely nothing for Fallon.

"I apologize, ma'am, but quoting a price for a single band is quite difficult. We highly recommend you bring in the complete set to sell." The jeweler slid the velvet tray back across the glass counter, his tone painfully polite.

I stared blankly at the diamond band, rubbing my thumb over the cold metal.

I hadn't spoken a single word to Pierce in weeks. I didn't even know how to initiate a conversation with him anymore. I had completely lost the nerve. Looking back at all my desperate, flirty attempts to seduce him God, it was so incredibly pathetic.

"What are you buying?"

Pierce's deep, freezing voice suddenly dropped right behind me.

Chapter 12

My heart slammed against my ribs. I instinctively curled my hand over the velvet box to hide the ring, but the jeweler had already opened his mouth.

"This lady is here to sell her wedding band."

I froze.

Pierce's gaze darkened into an absolute void.

I forced air into my lungs, keeping my voice low. "Do you have your ring with you? Since we're already here, we get a better payout if we sell them as a matching set."

"Is this what you've been wasting your time doing?" Pierce stared down at me, looking as if I had just committed a federal crime.

My fingernails dug harshly into the velvet box. I kept my eyes fixed on the glass display, my voice scraping out. "You never wear it anyway. There's no point in keeping it around"

"Are you short on cash?" Pierce cut me off. "If you need money, all you have to do is open your mouth and ask."

I gripped the ring so hard the sharp diamond dug violently into my palm, sending a sharp sting up my arm. "Our marriage is just a business deal"

Clatter.

The jeweler fumbled his phone, dropping it directly onto the glass counter. Pierce shot him a single, freezing glare. The man immediately snatched up his phone and scrambled to the far side of the boutique, acting totally deaf.

"Just give me your ring. The designer bags and the Aston Martin you boughtI'm returning all of it. Calculate the depreciation, and I'll wire you the difference eventually."

At this point, I just wanted a clean break. No debts. No ties.

Pierce's chest expanded with a heavy breath. He locked his dark eyes onto mine. "Did I ever demand repayment?"

I looked away. "I'm paying you back."

"What exactly are you trying to say, Fallon."

A bone-deep exhaustion washed over me. I had planned to wait until I had enough liquid cash to disappear cleanly, but I couldn't hold the words back anymore.

"Let's get a divorce."

Pierce went completely rigid. He didn't make a single sound.

I tilted my head up, assuming the words simply hadn't registered in his brain. I repeated it. "I want a divorce."

Pierce searched my face, his voice dropping. "Is this because I missed the steak dinner? Are you throwing a tantrum?"

A bitter laugh scraped my throat. He asked it so seriously, almost as if he actually gave a damn about my feelings.

I was already burning the bridge anyway. I raised an eyebrow, flashing him an effortless smile. "No. I just want out."

The muscle in Pierce's jaw ticked violently. He stepped closer, dropping his voice to a dangerous gravel. "Give me a logical reason."

"Playing house is getting boring. My parents are getting older, and I actually want to marry someone for real."

I kept my posture completely relaxed, leaning into my usual flippant, reckless persona. "I want a baby. Is that a good enough reason for you?"

Pierce stared at me. Absolute, suffocating silence.

I grabbed my purse from the counter and turned on my heel. "Do me a favor and find your ring. When you find it, give it to me If you threw it out, just cut me a check for its value. I'll text you the market price."

I walked out, but the heavy pressure pressing against my ribs didn't fade. Weeks passed, and the ring never materialized. He probably tossed it in some random trash can the day I bought it.

Realizing the ring was gone for good, I finished packing my final suitcase. It was time to pull the plug and leave.

But before I could even wrap my fingers around the doorknob, the heavy front door violently swung open.

Pierce stood in the doorway. He was always impeccably tailored, but right now, his bespoke suit jacket was unbuttoned, and his silk tie was completely crooked.

He gripped the doorframe, his chest heaving with heavy pants. "Where exactly are you going?"

"The divorce papers are on the kitchen island. I already signed them. Look them over, and if the terms are fine, just sign it." I tightened my grip on the handle of my suitcase, completely ignoring his question.

The temperature in Pierce's eyes dropped to absolute zero. "I'm not signing."

A dark amusement flickered in my chest. I looked him dead in the eye and delivered the final blow.

"Don't tell me the great Mr. Gu is actually buying into his own act. Our marriage is a sham."

Chapter 13

For a fraction of a second, Pierce's expression fractured. A harsh crease formed between his brows.

"A divorce is too sudden. I need time to explain this to my mother. Until I make things clear to her, you are not leaving this estate."

I froze, the handle of my suitcase digging into my palm. "I can go explain it to her."

Pierce cut me off instantly. "Unnecessary."

I pressed my lips together, swallowing the bitter argument on my tongue.

Before I could process his next move, Pierce reached out, effortlessly ripping the suitcase from my grip. He shoved it aside. "You wanted your ring. Give me time to find it," he stated, his voice a freezing current.

I stared at him.

God only knew how long his little "search" would actually take. I desperately wanted to walk out that door, but my bank accounts were painfully dry.

After quickly weighing the brutal reality of my finances, I stayed. I threw myself into taking every freelance design commission I could find.

The irony was suffocating. I used to work this relentlessly just to get close to him. Now, I was working myself to the bone just to buy my escape.

[Yeah, ok, I can make those minor tweaks. I can expedite the final draft, but the rate is non-negotiable.]

[Today is Thursday. I'll have it in your inbox by next Friday.]

I grabbed a metal claw clip, blindly twisting my hair up. Dropping straight onto the living room rug, I pushed my blue-light glasses up my nose. I shoveled heavily spiced takeout noodles into my mouth while rapidly firing off texts.

Before I knew it, the hours bled together.

My entire freelance schedule for the month was completely maxed out. If I nailed every deadline, I'd have a solid pile of cash to fund my exit