The car door opened with a soft, expensiveclick.
Anissa st epped out onto the asphalt of Fifth Avenue The sound of her highheels hitting the pavement was sharp and definitive. She stood tall, the white of her suit a stark contrast to the black Maybachs and the dark, simmeringrage of the two men.
Connor stared at her. The woman in front of him was a stranger. The expensivesuit, the cold confidence, the massive sapphirenecklace at her throat that he now recognizedas a Roy family heirloom he thought was lost-it was all alien. This was not his Anissa.
“Anissa please,’ he tried again, his voice cracking as he took a st ep toward her. "Let's just talk." He reached for her hand.
A low growl rumbled in Harding's chest. Alex and his men moved forward, ready to form a human wall
Anissa raised a single elegant hand, and they stopped. This was her battle
She looked directly into Connor's eyes, her own gaze flat and merciless. “Stop playing the victim, Connor It's pathetic.
He was stunned by her venom "Im trying to help you!" he insisted, his voice rising "Can't you see that? Stop this act!”
A cold, humorless smile touched her lips. "The act? You mean the part where I'm supposedto be a good little girl who comes runningback when Jou snap yourfingers? The part where! should be grateful yours willing to take me back after you publicly humiliated me for a C-list actress?" “That was a mistake!" he pleaded, his desperation making him clumsy. “Seraphinais just a friend”
Anissa had heard enough She was done with his lies, done with this pathetic, circular argument. She turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting Harding's over the roof of the car. There was a silent communication a flicker of understanding
Harding moved. He came around the car and stood beside her, his presence a solid, unshakeable wall. He slid his arm around her waist, pullingher against his side ina gesture of clear, indisputable ownership 0.0% 09.32 el
SCARS, $3 +120 Points at most He looked at Connor his eyes like chipsof ice.
“Address her correctly,” Harding commanded, his voice low and lethal Connorstared, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
Harding's grip on Anissa's waist tightened. His voice dropped, becoming ablade. ‘By rank By family protocol. You will address your aunt with the respect she is owed."
Aunt.
The word detonated in Connor's brain. It was the ultimate humiliation The final, irrevocable confirmation of his demotion. His face flushed a dark, mottled red. He started to tremble, his fists clenching and unclenchingat his sides.
“You... you old bastard," he finally choked out, lungingforward, his face a mask of pure hatred. 'You stole my fiancée! You're a goddamn predator!" Hardingsbody tensed, ready to strike. But Anissawas faster She placed hand on his chest, stoppinghim.
She turned her gaze back to the raging Connor, and the smile that spread across her face was terrifying. It was pure predatory satisfaction.
“It seems,” she said, her voice drippingwith condescendingpity, that you need to be taught a lesson in manners... n ephew.”
That final word, ‘n ephew was the spark that lít the fuse.
Connorlost what little control he had left, With a wild roar, he lunged. not at Harding but at her, His hands reached for her, trying to physically ripher away from his uncle's side.
His fingers had barely brushed the fabric of her sieeve when his world turned upsidedown.
The moment Connor lunged a switch flipped in Anissa's mind. A cold, detached part of her took over, a part forged in the brutal self-defense training her past life had forced upon her. It was a muscle memory she thought she had buried the instinct of a surgeonwho knows the precise pointof weakness. Her body moved before her mind could even process the fear, executingthe counter-move with chilingprecision She didn't try to match his strength; she sidest epped his clumsy lunge her heart hammering against her ribs. As he stumbled forward, off-balance, she grabbed his outstretched wrist with both hands and used every ounce of his forward momentum to slam his arm down against the razor-sharp edge of the Maybachs door frame. A síckeningcrack echoed in the air, followed by Connor's scream of agony. Without givinghim a second to 305% 0922 N8)
Š Choxertềi #5 +120 Points at most recover, she shoved him hard in the chest. He crashed to the pavement, landing hard on oneknee, clutchinghis broken wrist, entirely at hermercy. Gasps rippled through the crowd of onlookers that had gathered on the sidewalk. They stared, mouths agape, at the impeccably dressed woman who had just effortlessly subdueda man a head taller than her. Harding watched, his expression unreadable, but a flicker of something hot and appreciative ignited in the d epths of his eyes. He made no move to interfere. This was her victory.
Anissa leaned down, her lips close to Connor's ear. Her voice was a venomous whisper
“This is your last warning Touch me again, and | will not just break your wrist. | will end you."
She released him with a contemptuous shove, sending him sprawling onto the dirty asphalt
He lay there, pathetic and broken staring up at the sharp, cruel point of her designer heel. The eyes that looked down on him were filed with a terrifying mixture of disgustand utter indifference.
Without another glance, Anissa tumed and slid back into the cool, quiet sanctuary of the Maybach. Harding followed, closing the door behind them. The partition slid up, sealing them in silence as the car pulled smoothly into traffic . The adrenaline began to fade, leaving a tremor in Anissas hands. She stared out the window, her own reflection a cold, unfamiliar mask
Harding didn't speak for a long moment. He simply watched her, his gaze intense Finally, he broke the silence, his voice a low rumble. That wrist lock," he said, his tone more curious than accusatory. ‘Where did you learn it?"
Anissa’s fingers tightened on her clutch. She didn't tum to face him ke epingher eyes on the blur of the city. 'Self defense classes," she said, thelie smooth and well-rehearsed. * woman livingin New Yorkhas to be careful"
She could feel his sk epticism a palpable force in the small space, He didn't push but a new, unspokenquestion now hung in the air between them. The motorcade pulled away from the curb as smoothly as it had arrived, leaving Connor Snow alone inthe middle of Fifth Avenue a piece of human wreckage inthe dust.
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