Ch. paid to leave pregnant with the vampire king heirs 5 paid to leave pregnant with the vampire king heirs 5

Chapter 5 

Chapter 5 

In a year of marriage, I had never once heard Dorian Vale sound unsteady. 

+45 Coins 

“Your Highness,” I said, using the title I’d used the night we met. “I’m not required to tell you anything.” 

“We’re not severed.” The words came fast, stacked on each other. “The filing was forged. I never signed it. I’m having it voided-” 

“You can’t. I countersigned.” 

“Then I’ll challenge your signature.” 

“On what grounds? That I was too willing?” I sat on the terrace railing and watched the sun on the water. “Dorian, I read that email in a parking lot and I said finally. Do you understand? Not how could he. Not 

please, no. Finally.” 

The silence on the line had weight. 

“I did receive fifty million dollars,” I added. “Is that why you’re calling? Do you want it back?” 

“Keep it.” Rough. Immediate. “Keep all of it. Sloane, just come home.” 

“That’s the thing.” I kept my voice gentle, which I think hurt him more. “I never had one there.” 

“Then I’ll come to you.” 

“You can’t. I live in the sun now.” I almost smiled. “Trading my freedom for fifty million dollars was the best deal I ever made. Honestly, I should thank you.” 

I hung up. I blocked the number. 

Felix raised his glass. “Beautifully done. Slightly chilling. I’m proud.” 

I assumed that was the end. A prince of the Eastern Court, publicly refused by a human? He’d retreat behind three hundred lawyers and never say my name again. 

I was wrong the way you’re wrong about weather. 

Four days later, at exactly noon, Felix and I were on the terrace sketching a necklace when a black. Rolls-Royce with mirrored windows came up my quiet road and stopped at my gate. 

Chapter 5 

Felix lowered his sunglasses. “Oh, no.” 

At noon. In Montecito. Under a sky without a single cloud. 

The door opened, and Dorian Vale stepped out into the sun. 

Charcoal suit. Black hair perfect. Jaw like a locked vault. A velvet box in one hand. 

+45 Coins 

And smoke. Thin gray smoke curling off the backs of his hands, off his neck, off his cheekbones, as the light hit his skin. 

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Every instinct in my body screamed at him to get back in the car. 

He walked up my path like he couldn’t feel it. 

Even through the tonic, my whole body turned toward him like a flower toward light. I hated that. 

Up close, I saw everything. The shadows under his eyes. The weight gone from his face. The faint red blistering along his jaw. The tremor in the hand holding the box. 

“Sloane.” 

He held it out. I didn’t take it. 

“Are you insane?” My voice came out sharper than meant. “You’re burning.” 

“I know.” He didn’t even glance at his hands. “It’s fine.” 

“This is private property. We have trespassing laws in California.” 

“I’m not trespassing.” For one second, the most feared vampire on the continent looked almost sheepish. “I bought the house next door.” 

I stared at him. 

“It came on the market Tuesday.” 

Only a billionaire could make stalking sound like a real estate opportunity. 

“What do you want, Dorian?” 

Chapter 5 

He squared his shoulders like a man walking into a boardroom he expected to lose. 

“I want to court you,” he said. “Properly. From the beginning.” 

I choked. 

+45 Coins 

“Court me? Your seal is on my severance” 

“I know whose hand put it there.” His jaw tightened, and the skin along it hissed. “Celeste Moreau. My 

office, my seal, my absence. I’ve already canceled every Moreau contract and turned my entire trading desk against their company. Her father called me at four in the morning, weeping.” 

“Congratulations. That doesn’t unsign anything.” 

“Give me one chance.” 

“No.” 

The air went so tight the gulls went silent. 

Felix stood, stepped between us, and became a linen shield. 

“Your Highness,” he said pleasantly. “Sloane is now Creative Director of Maison Aurelle. She has no time for a wealthy man’s redemption arc. My assistant handles appointments. Do go inside before you catch fire.” 

And he slid the glass door shut in Dorian Vale’s face. 

Dorian stood in the blazing sun for one long moment, smoke rising off his shoulders. 

Then he turned and walked back to his car. 

I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. 

The next morning, at 6:12, the exact minute of sunrise, the doorbell rang again.