Chapter 9 - SACRIFICE AND STORM
I didn't wait for the meeting to finish. I packed my office in ten minutes, grabbed my purse, and left the building.
I was a liability. Julian Vance was right. As long as I was married to Adrian, his empire was at risk. The board would never trust him, and his reputation would be dragged through the mud because of my past mistakes. I loved him too much to let that happen.
I went back to the penthouse, my heart breaking with every step. Mia was at school. I had an hour to pack our bags and leave before Adrian came home. I left the four-carat diamond ring on the marble kitchen island, next to a note that simply read: I'm sorry. I love you enough to let you go.
I picked up Mia from school, lying and saying we were going on a surprise vacation. I booked a cheap motel in New Jersey, determined to figure out a plan, to disappear so completely that Russo and Julian Vance could never use us against Adrian again.
It took Adrian exactly four hours to find me.
The door to the dingy motel room splintered off its hinges, crashing against the wall. I screamed, pulling Mia behind me, terrified that Russo had finally tracked us down.
But it wasn't Russo.
It was Adrian.
He stood in the doorway, looking like an avenging angel. His tie was gone, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, and he was breathing hard, his eyes wild and desperate. Marcus and two other massive security guards stood behind him.
"Did you honestly think," Adrian roared, stepping into the tiny room and taking up all the oxygen, "that you could just walk away from me? That a note and a ring were going to stop me?"
"Adrian, you have to leave," I cried, tears streaming down my face. "I ruined everything! The board, the chairmanship—Julian won!"
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"Screw the board!" Adrian yelled, closing the distance between us and grabbing my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "Screw Julian Vance, and screw the chairmanship! Do you think I care about a title? Do you think I care about optics?"
He pulled me flush against his chest, burying his face in my neck, his voice cracking. "I care about you. I care about Mia. You are my family, Lily. My real family. I am not letting you go."
