Eight

I stood frozen as James’s piercing blue eyes bore into mine. It felt like the world had stilled around me, the tension in the room so thick it was suffocating. I couldn’t look away, even though everything about this moment—the coldness in his gaze, the heavy weight of the past pressing against my chest—made me want to run.

His hair was no longer the soft brown I remembered from their childhood. It was now a polished blond, slicked back with precision. His features had sharpened over the years, his jawline more defined, his cheekbones more prominent. But it was his eyes that sent a shiver down my spine. The warmth I had once adored was gone, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze that seemed to strip me bare.

He was as stunning as he was intimidating, a man who had grown into power and wore it like a second skin. But there was no trace of the boy I had once secretly admired, no hint of the person who had been my childhood crush. This man standing before me was a stranger.

“Ella Montrose,” James said again, his voice low and measured as if testing the weight of my name on his tongue. “It’s been a long time.”

I blinked, struggling to find my voice. “James… I—” I stopped myself, shaking my head as if to clear my thoughts. “Mr. Lancaster,” I corrected, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “James is fine,” he said, taking a step closer. “No need for formalities between old… acquaintances.”

The last time I had seen him was after the accident—the day his sister Cecilia drowned. The memory threatened to resurface, but I pushed it back, locking it away. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past.

His voice broke through my thoughts. “Take a seat,” he said, gesturing to the sleek leather chair in front of his desk.

I hesitated for a moment before lowering myself onto the chair. My fingers fidgeted with the hem of my cardigan as I tried to steady my breathing. The room, with its high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, felt too vast, too intimidating. I felt small, out of place, and utterly powerless.

James moved around the desk and sat down, his movements graceful yet purposeful. His eyes never left mine, studying me like I was an insect under a microscope.

“So,” he began, leaning back in his chair, “you’re here about your brother.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Yes. Theo didn’t do it,” I said quickly, my voice trembling. “There must be some mistake. He told me his boss pressured him into signing those documents. He would never—”

James held up a hand, cutting me off. “Miss Montrose,” he said, his tone clipped, “this isn’t a misunderstanding. Your brother embezzled money from my company. The evidence is irrefutable.”

My heart sank. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “That’s not true. Theo wouldn’t—”

“Your brother personally opened an offshore account,” James interrupted, his voice growing colder with each word. “The funds were transferred there under his name. Everything is in black and white.”

My breath hitched as I stared at him, my mind racing. “It’s not true,” I said, my voice rising in desperation. “It can’t be true. Theo wouldn’t do something like this. He’s not a thief.”

James leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk as his piercing gaze pinned me in place. “Whether or not you believe it doesn’t change the facts,” he said. “Your brother is guilty. And unless you can provide me with a very good reason to believe he is innocent, he’s going to prison for a very long time.”

My chest tightened, my lungs struggling to take in air. This couldn’t be happening. Theo was innocent—I knew it in my bones. But the way James spoke, so matter-of-factly, so unwavering, made my stomach churn with doubt.

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “But he didn’t know what he was signing! He’s being set up, and I know you have the power to help him.”

James raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “And why would I do that?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” I said, desperation creeping into my voice. “Because you’re not the kind of person who would let an innocent man suffer.”

He let out a bitter laugh, the sound cold and hollow. “You don’t know the kind of person I am, Ella,” he said. “Not anymore.”

My stomach twisted at his words, but I refused to back down. “Maybe I don’t,” I said quietly. “But I know the kind of person you used to be.”

James’s eyes darkened, a flicker of something unreadable passing through them. For a moment, he said nothing, his gaze boring into mine as if searching for something.

“Your brother stole from me,” he said, his voice calm but sharp as a blade. “He didn’t just skim a few dollars here and there. This was deliberate, systematic embezzlement. Millions, Ella. Do you even grasp the gravity of the situation?”

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag, my knuckles white. “Theo wouldn’t—he couldn’t—do something like that. He’s not that kind of person. Please believe me.”

James raised an eyebrow, the hint of a smirk playing on his lips. “Is that what he told you?”

“It’s the truth,” I said quickly. “Like I said his boss pressured him into signing papers he didn’t fully understand. He thought it was just routine paperwork.”

“Routine paperwork doesn’t open an offshore account in his name. It doesn’t funnel money out of my company in a trail so obvious it might as well have been gift-wrapped for the authorities. Your brother isn’t innocent, Ella. He’s a criminal.”

I flinched at the way he said criminal “Please,” I begged, my voice cracking. “There has to be another way. I’ll do anything.”

James’s eyes darkened, and for a moment, he said nothing, simply studying me with an intensity that made me squirm. The silence stretched on, heavy and suffocating, until he finally spoke.

“Anything?” he asked, his voice low, almost a whisper.

I nodded, tears brimming in my eyes. “Yes,” I said. “Anything. Just… please don’t send Theo to prison.”

James leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable.

“Marry me.”

He said after what felt like an eternity, and my world felt like it tilted on its axis.