Emma's POV

I hurried around my boss’s office, gathering the travel documents he had texted me to pick up and bring to the private wing of the airport. My heart fluttered just thinking about it. I couldn’t wait to board his private jet and be alone with him in the cabin.

We were flying to Dallas for a business meeting, and as his PA, I had to go with him. These trips were always electrifying; business during the day and steamy sex at night… he would make me feel like I was the only woman in his world.

I was about to shut the drawer when something caught my eyes. I was in a hurry, and I should have ignored it, but curiosity pushed my hand. I pulled out the large envelope.

As Lucas Sterlin’s personal assistant and his woman, I knew everything in this office. But this? This was new. A neat stack of elegant, luxury envelopes of special invitation cards. I picked one, flipped it open, and my heart simply stopped.

Written in shiny, perfect letters:

Lucas Sterlin weds Cynthia Ashford

Saturday, September 17th, 7:00 PM

The Grand Monarch Hotel Ballroom, Manhattan

What? I couldn’t breathe. Lucas is getting married?

To who? Who the hell is Cynthia?

My legs trembled, and I dropped into his chair. I stared at the card again, hoping I was hallucinating. Maybe I had read it wrong. Maybe it was some business event.

But no. It was real. Lucas, my boss was getting married after promising me forever? After using my body and my heart for two solid years?

This is sick.

I had given him everything. My time, my loyalty and my body. And this is how he paid me back? Planning a luxury wedding behind my back? I exhaled shakily.

“This trip is special, Emma. We’re going to talk,” he said yesterday.

So that was the talk? He was going to take me to Dallas, fuck me all night and then confess he was marrying someone else?

I got up and paced the office, still holding the envelope, anger and heartbreak burning through me.

What was I supposed to do now? Pretend I didn’t see it?

Board the jet and smile? Act like a fool while he ruined my life?

Or walk away right now and end everything?

I took a deep breath, slid the invitation card into my handbag, closed the drawer, and walked out of Lucas’s office, determined that this would be my last time there.

I made it to the airport on time, dragging my suitcase with hands that still felt shaky. When I boarded the jet, Lucas wasn’t there. Only his crew waited, preparing for takeoff like everything was normal.

I took my usual seat in the large cabin, our seat. The same spot where he laughed with me, touched me and kissed me…

Now I sat there feeling nothing but a tight, cold ache in my chest.

Where was Lucas?

A few minutes later, through the window, I saw his Phantom Rolls Royce pull up beside the jet. My heartbeat jumped even though I didn’t want it to.

Then Lucas Sterlin stepped out. Looking charming, breathtaking, tall and confident. Looking exactly like the man I used to lose my mind over. Normally, this was the moment I would start tripping over myself; getting horny and moist. But today, watching him climb the stairs, all I felt was coldness slowly freezing me from the inside.

He entered the cabin and flashed me a cocky smile, the smile that always melted me. I didn’t return it. I only inhaled quietly and forced myself to stay steady.

He frowned slightly, noticing my stiff posture. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, his phone rang sharply.

Without a word, he answered it, stood up, and walked into the inner cabin to take the call. That was new. Lucas always took his calls beside me; business, family, everything. We were always open, transparent and connected.

Now he was hiding things. Again, I sat quietly, pretending to be calm while my stomach twisted with fear and anger.

He was still inside talking when the jet began to taxi. Still talking when we lifted into the air. Still talking while I sat there wondering when he became a stranger. And why I still wanted answers from him.

Lucas finally returned to the cabin and dropped into the seat beside me. Before I could breathe, he reached for me, pulled me close, and crushed his mouth on mine like he’d been starving for days.

His kiss was hungry and desperate, the kind that used to melt my bones.

“God, I missed this,” he murmured against my lips. “It’s been too long.”

His eyes burned with desire and shameless lust. The same look that always dragged me under.

We had sex everywhere. On his office desk. In hotel suites. In his penthouse, this jet, mid-air, and it always drove him nuts.

But never in his house. Never in the prestigious Sterlin mansion.

The place reserved for family… and for his real life. He had never taken me there. I used to think it was just a matter of time. Now I knew why.

He deepened the kiss, sliding his hand between my thighs to pull down my pantis and ready to take me right there like he always did.

But this time, something inside me snapped. I grabbed his wrist and pushed his hand away.

“Lucas, stop,” I said sharply.

He froze, shocked. No one ever told Lucas Sterlin no. His eyes lifted to mine, confused and frustrated. “Emma… what’s wrong?”

My chest tightened painfully as I stared at the man who had just shattered me without even knowing it. I opened my mouth, my voice shaking with anger, heartbreak… and fear.

“Lucas,” I whispered, “when were you planning to tell me you’re getting married?”

His entire body went still.