Damian Cross had been awake since dawn. The mansion was silent no footsteps, no noise, just the faint hum of the air conditioning and the quiet war playing out in his mind.

He sat at the edge of his bed, staring at nothing in particular, his thoughts circling like vultures.

“She thinks she can behave any how under my roof?”

His jaw tightened. Aria had always been unpredictable  but lately, she’d become impossible.

The way she smiled when she annoyed him. The way she dismissed his rules like they were background noise.

She was a storm  beautiful, infuriating, unstoppable.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand, dragging him out of his...