Vivienne chose a simple black strapless dress for dinner—a dress that hugged her curves just enough to make her feel confident. She wanted to enjoy the evening, unaware of the stir she was causing back at the mansion.
Julian arrived to pick her up, and they spent the night laughing, talking, and enjoying a world far removed from the mansion's cold walls. Vivienne felt alive in a way she hadn't in months.
Back home, Grayson watched from the window, frozen. The sight of Vivienne moving gracefully, laughing freely, struck him with a force he hadn't felt in over a year.
For the first time, he realized: Vivienne was not just a contract. She was something he wanted. And the idea of her in another man's arms made his chest tighten with a fire he couldn't contain.