Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

Rain pours. Sudden. Heavy. Drenching. Like the sky broke the moment cameras captured our kiss. Like nature itself is crying for us. Or warning us. Or punishing us.


We run from the paparazzi. Through gardens. Past fountains. Away from flashing cameras. Away from witnesses. Away from everything about to explode across every news outlet and gossip site.


Chase pulls me toward the parking structure. Empty. Dark. Private. We collapse against concrete wall. Breathing hard. Soaked. Dress ruined. Suit destroyed. Everything falling apart.


"That was stupid," Chase says. "Kissing you. In public. Where cameras could find us. Where everyone could see. Where both our engagements just imploded on camera."


"You kissed me. I kissed you back. We're both stupid."


Chapter 63 - Chase Follows