[Italian power broker vs. a coy, seemingly sweet but spoiled young heiress]
[Foreign setting + unhinged power broker + intense push and pull + faux siblings + coercive possessiveness + sweet romance + exclusive one-on-one relationship] (The heroine’s revenge story is woven in)
Cen Xia first met Winston when she was five.
At a glittering auction, he pointed at the gilt cage she was locked in and said, “I want her.”
But sixteen years later, after one reckless drunken night, she was the one who dragged that arrogant, ruthless power broker from his pedestal and turned him into a madman with nothing left to hold him back.
Then she ran.
Half a year later, Cen Xia sneaked back to Italy for her best friend’s wedding. She had barely stepped into the suite when the door opened from the outside.
The man stood with his back to the bathroom, eyes lowered, a freshly lit cigar turning between his fingers.
Blue-gray smoke slowly rose, veiling his cool, sculpted features, but making his golden-green eyes look even colder.
“Caught you, Xiaxia.”
“You said you’d take responsibility, so why did you sneak abroad the very next day?”
*
Her willingness to win the bet at any cost made Cen Xia realize she had crossed Winston’s line.
“You said it yourself: a pampered, beautiful, ambitious fox has never cared who lives or dies.”
A drop of icy water struck her face without warning.
She hadn’t cried.
Cen Xia’s eyes flew open. Her amber gaze reflected a pair of obsessive, tear-bright golden-green eyes.
“Do you know? If I don’t do something, I think I’m going to lose my mind.”
“Forgive me, Xiaxia.”
“If people fall in love amid sin, they should love each other until their bones crack with every movement.”
