In the dim room, the man’s hand moved over her waist, slow and unhurried.

"Miss Mercer, you really are gorgeous."

His voice was low and rough, a little hoarse, his eyes faintly reddened. Those sharp phoenix eyes tilted up at the corners, carrying both heat and a trace of restrained anger.

Leah Mercer curved her red lips. In her misty eyes was a teasing spark that could hook a person’s soul clean away.

Her soft hand pressed lightly against his chest, stopping him, yet her fingertips circled there on purpose. "Young Mr. Voss, satisfied?"

He suddenly gripped her slim waist and pinned her down harder. In his reddened eyes was the reflection of her flushed, breathless look, intimate and tangled, enough to make the air go soft.

He lowered his head a little, and the burning kiss melted between their lips and teeth.

From her lips,

to her shoulder,

then down to her waist.

Leah couldn’t help letting out a soft sound. His thin lips covered hers again at once, swallowing every broken whimper.

"Of course I’m satisfied."

When the floor-to-ceiling window reflected their overlapping shadows, Leah heard the man ask between breaths, "So what, you’re using me to vent?"

Leah glanced at him, smiling but not really smiling. "Young Mr. Voss has more women than anyone can count. The whole city knows you’re a playboy tycoon. Getting involved with you is my honor."

"Tch." Adrian Voss pulled her back into his arms. His rough fingers rubbed slowly over her delicate shoulder. "You mean that?"

"Mhm. You tell me." Leah lifted a brow and pushed him away.

The storm had just passed, and marks were left all over her body.

Leah casually threw on a bathrobe and leaned lazily against the sofa.

Her long hair fell over her shoulders. Her features were delicate, pretty, and coolly effortless. Her red lips pressed together lightly, and those lazy peach-blossom eyes caught the warm indoor light.

With her head tilted just a little, she looked like some innocent-looking siren who knew exactly what she was doing.

The man narrowed his eyes, grabbed a towel from the side, and wrapped it around his waist. Beads of sweat still clung faintly to his pale, lean chest.

The second Leah unlocked her phone, a large hand clamped around her waist and pulled her straight back into a warm embrace.

"What are you looking at?"

The man followed Leah Mercer’s gaze to her phone screen. It was a message from Serena Whitmore.

Just one photo.

Once she tapped it open, there it was—Serena leaning against Quinn Ashford, smiling like she was drowning in sugar and romance.

Leah even zoomed in on purpose, then let out a light little laugh at the man beside her. "Just checking out how exactly you and I got cheated on."

She and Quinn had been together forever, basically childhood sweethearts. As for Adrian Voss and Serena, they’d only gotten engaged last month.

If Leah hadn’t run into them at the bar that night, she and Adrian probably would’ve stayed like two clueless idiots, wearing their giant green betrayal hats without even knowing it.

Maybe she was just too disappointed in Quinn. So disappointed that after Adrian hinted at it, she agreed way too fast.

At that thought, Leah locked her phone screen.

Something seemed to lift away from her neck. She turned and looked back. "What are you doing?"

The man was holding the necklace Quinn had given her.

"I don’t like looking at dirty stuff."

Adrian tossed it aside casually, then leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I’ll get you a better one."

"Sure." Leah didn’t care at all. She just lazily leaned there, looking at him with a half-smile. "So, Young Master Voss, first time getting cheated on. How’s the mood?"

Her long hair spilled over her pale shoulders. When his eyes dropped, it felt like they’d fallen into a place too deep to climb back out of.

Her figure showed faintly through the bathrobe, hidden and revealed at once, while those scattered marks on her skin made the whole scene way too suggestive.

The man’s eyes darkened. He bent down, scooped Leah into his arms, and said, "Amazing."

...

Evening was settling in outside. Leah had just finished a draft when a knock at the door cut through the quiet.

She got up and opened it.

The first thing she saw was a blindingly deep cleavage.

The woman at the door was showing off her perfect figure on purpose, all charm and curves, heavy makeup on her face. She looked a little stunned as she blurted out, "Who are you? And why the hell are you in here?"

Leah Mercer looked straight at her and asked, slow and unhurried, "This is my home. Why exactly can’t I be here?"

"My home, your ass. Don’t think I don’t know what kind of cheap tricks you used to hook up with Young Mr. Voss!" the woman snapped, then shoved her way inside like she owned the place.

Leah narrowed her eyes, leaned against the wall, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.

The call connected almost at once. "What?"

"Come get your woman, Young Mr. Voss. She’s making herself at home in my place."

The second she finished, the door next door opened.

Adrian Voss had always been a notorious playboy, and he never bothered hiding whatever was going on between him and Leah.

The upper-class circle in the capital was only so big. News made a few rounds, then, surprise surprise, reached the ears of her snobbish father and stepmother, and from there it went straight to Old Mr. Voss.

The old man had been close with Leah’s grandmother for years. Once he heard about it, he flat-out settled the engagement between Leah and Adrian.

Leah was sick of all the nagging, so she bought an apartment here.

What she didn’t expect was that less than three days later, the place across from hers got a new neighbor.

And, like the universe was clearly messing with her, it was her "unofficial, titleless" fiancé.

Leah curled her lips, pointed at the woman wandering around her apartment and looking everywhere, then gave a cool little laugh. "What’s this, Young Mr. Voss? Ever since you got cheated on, do you just want to sleep with anyone you see?"

The woman had heard the movement too. The moment she saw Adrian, she instantly started swaying her waist, walking over with enough flirtation to make it painful. "Young Mr. Voss, I thought you were hiding some woman from me behind my back!"

Adrian wrapped an arm around her slim waist. His phoenix eyes carried that teasing, lazy look as he sized Leah up from head to toe. His tone was casual, wild, and shameless. "What, Leah? You jealous?"

Leah almost laughed. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a man walking this way, and her smile deepened. "Me? I’m just worried about your health, Young Mr. Voss. Judging from that day... not that impressive."

As soon as she said it, a warm male voice drifted over from not far away. "Leah, did I come at a bad time?"

The man carried two bags of snacks. He wore light casual clothes, looking gentle and refined, the whole polished-boyfriend-material package. As he walked closer, soft warmth showed through behind his glasses.

"New guy?" Adrian asked lightly.

"Doesn’t look like much."

Leah Mercer was speechless. "No matter what, he’s still better than Mr. Voss."

She shifted to the side and let the man in, then quickly shut the door behind him.

"That your new fiancé?" Hugo Allison asked softly.

Leah nodded, poured him a cup of coffee, and handed it over. "That Xincheng project, can we lock it down?"

Hugo was her boss, but also a friend.

Leah hated showing up at social events, so most of the time, Hugo handled that stuff for her.

Hugo pulled a file out of his bag. The move came a little too suddenly. Leah wasn’t paying attention, and coffee splashed right onto her pajamas.

"Sorry." Hugo gave a light cough and turned his eyes away like a proper gentleman.

"It’s fine." Leah turned and went back to her room, took off the pajama top, and hung it out on the balcony to dry.

While clipping it up, she just happened to catch the silhouette reflected against the curtain on the balcony next door.

The moment she turned around, she heard the sound of a window being pulled open behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall figure standing on the neighboring balcony.

Leah went back to the living room and sat down, picking up the file to read through it.

A moment later, someone knocked on the door.

She got up and opened it. "What is it?"

Adrian Voss stood outside in that lazy, casual way of his. Two buttons of his white dress shirt were undone, exposing a small stretch of lean chest.

The man’s gaze swept over what she was wearing. The tight frown between his brows slowly eased, and his thin lips curved into a smug little smile. "My shower head’s busted, fiancée. Mind lending me your bathroom?"

Leah looked him up and down. "That’s it?"

"Got three minutes?"