The lock on the front door buzzed, followed by the heavy metallic click of the deadbolt sliding back.

"Shit," I whispered, my heart slamming into my throat. "He has the code?"

"He's my brother," Adrian said, his voice flat and unbothered. "He thinks everything I own belongs to him."

"Adrian, he can't see me here." I grabbed the front of the oversized silk shirt, my knuckles white against the fabric. "If he finds me in your penthouse wearing your clothes, he'll know."

"Let him know."

"No!" I hissed, panic surging through my veins. "My father will burn my life to the ground. You heard him. He'll destroy me."

Heavy footsteps echoed across the marble foyer, accompanied by the rustle of a garment bag and Nolan’s sharp, irritated whistle.

"Adrian?" Nolan shouted from the living room. "Where the hell are you? The wedding coordinator is blowing up my phone, and the media already has reporters camped outside the church!"

I darted toward the master closet, a wide walk-in lined with dark smoked glass and walnut cabinetry. I yanked the door open and stepped inside, tucking myself between rows of tailored suits.

"Get in here and shut it," I urged in a frantic whisper, waving him away.

Adrian didn't shut it.

He stood in the frame, his bare chest broad and unmoving, a dark, mocking gleam lighting his gray eyes. He didn't even pull the handle toward the latch. The door stayed open a good six inches.

"Adrian!" I choked out, pressing my back against the wall of cashmere coats. "Close it!"

"Why should I hide you in my own home?" he countered, loud enough to make my blood run cold.

"Keep your voice down!"

Footsteps crossed from the living room directly into the master bedroom. The floorboards creaked right outside the threshold.

"Adrian?" Nolan’s voice sounded right in the bedroom. "Why are the curtains drawn? Don't tell me you're still sleeping."

Adrian didn't budge from the doorway.

A sharp chuckle drifted from the bed area. "Wait. Is that a woman's slip on the rug?" Nolan whistled low, an amused drawl coating his words. "No way. The great, untouchable Adrian actually brought someone home last night? Who is she? Are you hiding a girl in there?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my lungs completely still. Every nerve in my body screamed to vanish into the wall.

Suddenly, Adrian reached out.

His hand clamped around my wrist, his grip hard and unyielding.

"What are you doing?" I gasped under my breath.

He didn't answer. He jerked his arm back, hauling me right out from between the suits. My bare feet skidded across the hardwood as he pulled me flush against his chest, slamming my back flat against the interior side of the closet door.

"Adrian, stop—"

His mouth crashed down on mine before the sentence left my lips.

The kiss was hard, bruising, and completely ruthless. He caught my lower lip between his teeth, biting down just enough to make me gasp, using the opening to slide his tongue deep into my mouth.

I panicked. I slammed both hands against his biceps, my nails digging through his skin, desperately trying to push him away. He didn't move an inch. He trapped my waist with his free arm, lifting me until only the tips of my toes grazed the floor.

He kissed me like he was claiming territory, his hips pressing heavy and warm against mine, reminding me of every single thing we had done hours before.

Outside the thin door, Nolan stopped pacing.

"Adrian?" Nolan called out, his tone shifting from amusement to irritation. "What the hell are you doing in there? I'm talking to you."

Adrian broke the seal of our lips by a fraction of an inch, his mouth hovering against mine, his breath hot and ragged against my skin.

"Morning kiss," Adrian called out over his shoulder, his voice completely level.

My eyes widened in pure terror. I stared at him, my chest heaving against his bare torso. He looked down at me with half-lidded, reckless amusement, waiting for my reaction.

"Seriously?" Nolan scoffed through the wood. "Right now? Clara hasn't shown up at the bridal suite yet. Her phone is off, and Arthur is losing his mind. I need your driver to swing by her favorite spots."

Hearing Nolan say my name while his brother held me pinned against a door made my stomach twist violently.

I thrashed against Adrian’s chest, trying to yank my wrist free from his iron grip. In my frantic bid to tear away, my elbow swung back, striking a metal coat rack.

*Clang.*

A heavy brass hanger knocked against three others, the metallic chime ringing out sharp and loud in the quiet closet.

The room outside went dead silent.

The sound seemed to hang in the air between the walls. My lungs locked up. I froze, my hand suspended in midair, my fingers trembling against the dark silk of Adrian’s shirt.

Adrian didn't move either. He kept his arm hooked around my waist, his gray eyes fixed entirely on my face, watching the color drain from my cheeks.

One second passed.

Then two.

"Wait," Nolan said. His voice was no longer casual. The arrogance was gone, replaced by a strange, sudden tension.

The floorboards creaked right outside the closet door. Nolan had taken two steps closer.

"Liora?" Nolan asked tentatively.

The name dropped like lead into the space between us.

*Liora?*

The question bounced inside my skull, sharp and confusing. Who was Liora?

Eva had been the woman in his suite last night. Eva had been the one with her hands tangled in his hair while he told me our marriage was just business.

Who the hell was Liora?

Adrian's eyebrows rose slightly. A mocking, knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. He leaned his head down, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear.

"Well?" Adrian whispered, so low only the two of us could hear. "Is that you, Liora?"

I shook my head violently, tears of pure humiliation stinging the backs of my eyes. How many women were there? How many lies had I swallowed over the last two years?

Adrian tilted his head toward the door, his eyes challenging mine. He didn't speak. He just waited, offering me the floor, daring me to open my mouth and tear the whole facade apart right here, right now.

*Answer him,* his gaze demanded. *Tell him you're here.*

I bit down on the inside of my cheek until the sharp iron taste filled my mouth again. I couldn't do it. The memory of my father's heavy palm, the promise of utter ruin, the debts hanging over our heads—the chains locked tight around my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, burying my face into the crook of Adrian's neck, choosing silence.

Outside, the silence stretched thin and brittle.

"Liora, if you're in there with him, I swear to God..." Nolan muttered, his tone turning sharp and possessive.

The brass doorknob gave a quiet rattle.

Then, slowly, the metal mechanism turned.