Chapter 7 - THE ARRANGEMENT
When the doors slammed shut behind Arthur, the house fell deathly silent.
Griffin turned to Sloan, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. He looked exhausted.
“What did you mean, you filed paperwork?” Sloan asked, her voice trembling.
“I meant what I said,” Griffin replied, crouching down to eye-level with the twins. “Hazel, Iris, why don’t you go ask Maria for some ice cream?”
Once the girls scampered off, Griffin stood, closing the distance between him and Sloan. “My father won’t stop. He operates on leverage. The only way to remove his leverage is to make you untouchable.”
“How?”
“By marrying me.”
Sloan let out a breathy, bitter laugh. “A fake marriage? Really, Griffin? This isn't a soap opera.”
“There is nothing fake about this,” he said, his hand reaching out to gently cup her jaw. His thumb traced her cheekbone, avoiding the fading surgical scar near her hairline. “I lost you once because I was blind to the monster living in my own family. I am not losing you again. I want the girls. And, God help me, Sloan, I still want you.”
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The air between them crackled, heavy with a decade of unspoken words, heartbreak, and an undeniable, burning chemistry that hadn't faded a single day.
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