AVERY'S POV
Julian kissed me.
Julian finally kissed me.
And I kissed him back like I'd been starving for six years—because I had been.
His hands cupped my face, his mouth moved against mine with desperate hunger, and every cell in my body screamed yes, finally, this.
When we broke apart, both breathing hard, reality crashed back in.
"We just—" I started.
"I know." His thumb traced my swollen lips. "I know."
"The blackmailer. Your wife. The deadline—"
"I don't care." He kissed me again, softer this time. "Let them come. You're worth losing everything."
My heart shattered and rebuilt itself in the same moment. "Julian—"
His phone rang. We both flinched.
He checked the screen and swore. "It's Marcus."
"Don't answer—"
But he already had, stepping away from me, running a hand through his hair. "Marcus. It's late."
I could hear Marcus's voice, urgent and worried, through the speaker.
"Where the hell are you? I went to your house. You're not there. Avery's not there. What's going on?"
Julian's jaw clenched. "I'm handling something. A personal emergency."
"Personal emergency? Julian, someone sent an anonymous tip to the law firm. About you and Avery. Photos of you two looking... inappropriate. The partners are asking questions."
My stomach dropped.
Julian went very still. "What did the photos show?"
"Enough. Dinner. You staring at her. Her touching your chest in your study." Marcus's voice dropped. "Tell me it's not what it looks like. Please tell me you haven't—"
"I haven't touched her." The lie came smooth and practiced. "Someone's trying to destroy my reputation. Probably Robert Chen. I'm handling it."
"Robert Chen? Diane's crazy ex from years ago?"
"He's been watching us. Blackmailing us. I'm taking Avery somewhere safe until I can shut him down legally."
Silence on the other end. Then: "You're lying to me."
"Marcus—"
"I've known you for twenty years. You're lying." Marcus's voice turned cold. "Did you sleep with your stepdaughter?"
"No." That much was true. "But—"
"But you want to. Jesus Christ, Julian. She's twenty-three. She's Diane's daughter."
"I know what she is!" Julian's control finally cracked. "I know, Marcus. I've spent six years hating myself for wanting her. Six years fighting it. But someone's using our... connection against us. And I need to protect her."
"By running away together to a lake house?" Marcus laughed bitterly. "That's not protection. That's giving them exactly what they want—proof you're inappropriate with her."
He was right. I knew he was right.
But I also didn't care.
"I'll handle the firm," Julian said coldly. "You handle keeping this quiet until I fix it."
"I can't protect you from this. Not if it's true."
"Then don't." Julian hung up.
He stood there, phone in hand, breathing hard.
"They know," I whispered. "Everyone's going to know."
"Not everyone. Just the firm. We can contain it."
"Can we?" I wrapped my arms around myself. "Your best friend thinks you're sleeping with me. The blackmailer has photos. Your wife's cheating but she'll still destroy you to save face. We're trapped, Julian."
He turned to me, and the look in his eyes was fierce. "Then we stop hiding."
"What?"
"You said we had two choices—keep pretending or face it." He crossed to me, taking my hands. "I'm done pretending. If the world's going to judge us anyway, we might as well be guilty of what they're accusing us of."
My heart hammered. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I love you. I've loved you for six years." His grip tightened. "And I'm tired of apologizing for it. We're both adults. Your mother's having an affair. My marriage is dead. The only thing stopping us is guilt over rules that don't apply anymore."
"People will call you a predator."
"Let them."
"They'll say I'm a homewrecker. That I seduced you."
"Then we'll tell them the truth—that we fell in love despite every reason not to." He pulled me close. "Or we can run. Leave Vancouver. Start over somewhere no one knows us."
"Leave everything?"
"For you? Yes."
The offer hung between us, impossible and tempting.
My phone buzzed. Another message.
I pulled it out with shaking hands.
Unknown: Sweet kiss. Did it taste like victory or destruction? You have 48 hours now. The price just went up to $750,000. Pay by Friday noon or the whole world sees what you really are.
Below it was a video file.
I clicked play with a sense of doom.
It showed us. Just now. In the lake house. Kissing. His hands in my hair. My body pressed against his. Undeniable proof of everything they were accusing us of.
"No," I breathed. "No, no, no—"
Julian took the phone, watched the video, and his face went hard. "They have cameras inside the house."
"How?"
"I don't know. But they're watching us right now." He looked around the living room, at corners where cameras could hide. "We need to leave. Now."
"Where? They know about your house. They know about this place. Where else is there?"
Before he could answer, headlights swept through the windows. A car in the driveway.
We both froze.
"Did you hear that?" Julian whispered.
Then we heard it—footsteps on the porch. Slow. Deliberate.
Someone was here.
Julian grabbed my hand, pulled me toward the back door. "Go. Now."
"What about you?"
"I'll handle this. You run—"
The front door exploded inward with a crash of splintering wood.
A man stood in the doorway, backlit by his car's headlights. I couldn't see his face clearly, but his voice was familiar in a wrong, twisted way.
"Hello, Julian." The man stepped into the light.
Robert Chen. Diane's ex. Older than I expected, with cold eyes and a smile that made my skin crawl.
"Surprised? You shouldn't be. I've been watching you for a very long time." His gaze slid to me. "Both of you."
Julian moved in front of me, protective. "What do you want?"
"What I've always wanted. Diane. My life back. Everything you stole from me." Robert pulled out a gun.
My blood went cold.
"You took everything from me six years ago, Julian. My business. My reputation. The woman I loved." He pointed the gun at Julian's chest. "Now I'm going to take everything from you. Starting with her."
The gun swung toward me.
"No!" Julian lunged.
A gunshot cracked through the night.