Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Eight
Malachi's POV
The moment Zhao stepped through the door, everything in me went cold and sharp.
He had eight men with him. All armed. All professionals by the way they moved. They fanned out immediately, covering exits, scanning for threats.
But Zhao's eyes were only on Alicia.
"You look well," he said. Like we were at a dinner party. Like he hadn't just broken into her home with an armed team. "Pregnancy suits you."
I shifted, putting myself more fully between them. "You need to leave. Now."
"Or what? You'll kill me in front of all these witnesses? In front of her?" He smiled. "You won't. Because you're trying to prove you're not a monster. Trying to be the kind of man she can love without fear."
He was right. And we both knew it.
"This doesn't have to end badly," I said. "You can still walk away."
"I gave you the same offer in Paris. You didn't take it. Why should I?"
"Because I'm giving you one more chance. More than you deserve."
