For the sake of burning love

s she needed signed, her heart racing with every second that passed. Across the room, seated behind a massive mahogany desk, was her husband, Alaric Vincent Renard, the man who had be

a glance. Instead, he was absorbed in the piles of paperwork in front of him, his eyes scanning the documents, his fingers occasio

e. "When are you going to sign as my guardian? I need it for my university

ough he hadn't heard her at all. Melisa's nerves tightened. She hated how

ing to sign it or not?" Her voice was louder now, edged with t

The tension in the room wa

?" she shouted, her fear barely masked beneath her outburst. She k

h hitch, her pulse quickening not just out of fear but from something else, something she didn't want to acknow

His voice was low, velvety, but with a

" she asked, confused by the sudden shif

on. "Yes," he replied smoothly, his gaze still piercing into her. "I'd like to see how well you can

ead slightly, as if trying to shake off the unnerving f

't reach his eyes. "My signature, hmm?" He rose from his chair, towering over her as h

her throat dry. "What

hat made her feel small, fragile. He reached out, his fingers brushing under her chin, tilting her face up so she ha

said quietly, "then you must be wi

er. "What do you want?" she asked

mb lightly grazing her jawline, a subt

ed everything without giving anything in return. He was like ice and fire at once, a contradiction that le

in the face of his cold authority, she felt powerless, trapped. Taking

le smirk crossing his features. "Good," he said

he watched him pick up the pen from his desk and begin signing the documents she had brought. He d

in the folder and handed them to her. "Her

k him. Her heart was pounding too loudly in her chest, her mind too full of the tension that had buil

, Alaric's voice stopp

hand on the do

t his words carried the weight of absol

had entered this marriage to repay a debt, to save herself from a life of torment. B

a way that both frightened and confused her. She hated him for how he treated her, for how he controlled her life. Yet, at the same ti

only the