Meadow’s POV:

I nursed my cup of coffee, my mind spinning, thoughts unraveling faster than I could piece them back

together.

ric hadn’te back downstairs since he’d so sternly shut down my request ito /irelease Juniper. Like I

was a child asking for candy during bedtime.

I scoffed.

I couldn’t stop reying it–the way he’d said no without any hesitation. As if it was final. As if my

opinion didn’t matter. Juniper had made me feel that exact same way more times than I could count.

The truth was, it wasn’t that I didn’t want her to suffer the consequences of her actions. I didb. /bJuniper deserved to be punished for all the vile things that she had done to me over the years.

I just couldn’t stomach the thought of her in that facility. Alone. Scared. Or maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she

was exactly where she deserved to be.

But all I could hear was her voice, echoing in the corners of my skull.

‘It’s all your fault,‘ she kept saying repeatedly.

‘If I die, it’ll be your fault, you know? You killed mom. And you’ll kill me too.‘

That was her favorite line. The one she used every single time I tried to get away, focus on my own life, or

breathe without her in my lungs. Every time I packed a bag and tried to make something of myself,

Juniper would find a way to pull me back in.

Tears burned the back of my eyes, and I tilted my head backward, blinking them away.

No. I wasn’t doing this. Not right nowb. /b

I reached for my cup of coffee, but before I could lift it, a sharp m cracked across the counter.

bMy /bbody jolted as I registered ric standing across from me, dressed impably in a suit, his expression unreadable, eyes darker than ever.

And then my eyes dropped ito /ithe folder on the counter.

He didn’t say a word at first. Just let me stare at it like it might bite me.

“What is this?” I asked, my voice thick. I already knew the answer to that question, but I wanted him to

confirm that it was exactly what I thought it was.

“Read it, sign it. Or don’t,” he finally muttered as his gaze pierced through me. “But don’t ask me to take

+15 bBONUS /b

mercy on the people who never took mercy on you.”

I looked away from the folder. The contract.

“You think this is just about mercyb?/bb” /bI sputtered, letting out a mirthlessugh.

b“/bI think,” he replied, his voice going deeper as he stepped around the counter, “that you have a habit of making excuses for people who hurt you. Most especially, byour /bsister.”

He came to ba /bstop beside me. He was too close. Way too close. His woodyb, /bmusky scent assaulted my senses and jumbled my thoughts as I tried to figure out what to say in response.

ric’s voice softened. “You dropped out of college,” he murmured. “Whyb?/bb” /b

I froze.

He didn’t ask that question because he wanted to know, he asked because he already bknew /bthe reason and he was just trying to prove ba /bpoint.

But how did he knowb? /b

How did ric Ashford, a man whom I’d never met before in my life, know so much about me even before

I met him? What else did he knowb? /b

“That’s none of your business, ric,”I snapped, hating the way my voice cracked toward the end.

b“/bbIt /bwill be, Meadow.” bric /bkept his ink–blue eyes trained on me, narrowed, like he was trying to figure

bout /bhow someone could be so stupid. So soft.

This was his game. He wanted me to admit that Juniper was the reason I dropped out.

bBut /bI wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Because how do byou /bexin years of being psychologically chained to someone you loved? bHow /bdo byou /bexin constantly being woken up by a phone call, sobbing sounds on the other end?

b‘/bI’ll do bit /bright now, Meadow.‘

How do you exin that your own sister manipted other people into thinking she was you? The professors that she-

Juniper made sure that I knew exactly how much of her life was my responsibility. Made sure I carried

the weight of her chaos like a second skin. And the worst partb? /b

I believed her. I let her do what she wanted. Because she was right. I was guilty.

It was my fault our mother was dead.

I looked down at the folder and flipped it open with shaking hands. Skimmed over legal jargon, skipped

+15 bBONUS /b

the part I didn’t care to process. Until I got to the numbers.

The numbers I had no idea were involved.

A hundred million dors.

That was how much ric was putting on the table for me. For a contract marriage. For bmy /bown revenge.

“ric, this is a lot of moneyb,/bb” /bI stuttered. “bI/b–I can’t take this!b” /b

His mouth twitched. “I promise you, Meadow,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “A hundred million doesn’t hurt a single hair on my head. I want you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.” And then he lowered his voice. “Don’t pretend you don’t want it, Meadow.”

I swallowed thickly. What on earth was I going to do with this amount of moneyb? /bGoing back to school was not even an option I was ready to consider, but that had to be whyb… /bwhy he was giving me this much.

b“/bbYou /breally think I’m worth this much?b” /bI asked quietly.

b“/bbNo/bb, /bMeadow. That’s what I’m giving you for staying,” he replied, voice lower and deeper now. “What byou’re /bworth? I haven’t even scratched the surface.”

A shiver ran down my spine, and heat creeped up my neck. I looked away from him, letting the silence hang for a second before grabbing the pen.

And I signed.

One page. Then another. And another, while ric hovered.

And when I was done, I closed the folder, pushed it toward him, and finally met his gaze.

I may have been fine with signing my life away to a man I barely knew, but I wasn’t fine with the fact that

he already knew bso /bmuch about me, especially when I knew nothing about him.

bI /braised my chin. “I don’t know how long you’ve been watching me, ric,” I said, “or how you seem to bknow /bevery single thing about me.”

I stood, bmy /bvoice sharper now. Steadier. “But this ends now. I don’t want you digging. I don’t want you dragging things out of the dirt just because you can. You want my revenge? Fine. You want my name on bthat /bbcontract/b? bYou /bgot bit/b.”

ric’s mouth twitched as he looked down at me, but that was the only sign that he’d heard what I said.

He even seemed… amused.

“And Juniper?b” /bI added, quieter now. “Leave her there. I don’t care anymore.”

I hated that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, meanwhile, my face was apletely open book. He knew so much. Too much.

But he didn’t know the whole story. I was sure of that.

Because if he did, if he knew my family’s history, he wouldn’t be asking me to keep his ring on my finger.

Not the daughter of Clint Russell.

ric hummed, stepping away from me. “Wee to the family, Mrs. Ashford.”