Chapter 364

Vincent went rigid, his entire frame taut as he spun around abruptly.

Hannah had already "woken up." Her lashes lifted just enough for a sliver of her gaze to catch him through the dim light,"drowsy" yet edged with faint irritation. A tiny furrow creased her brow as she muttered, her voice low and hoarse with sleep,"How long are you planning to hover there? Are you lying down or not?"

The words were muffled, almost swallowed by her exhaustion,but the tone carried a domestic sort of scolding-familiar,unguarded, and strangely intimate.

"Did I disturb you?" he inquired, his voice slipping into an unsteady murmur.

"Yeah. Just woke me up," she mumbled, vague and unfocused.Yet, her fingers stayed curled around his wrist, refusing to release him. Instead, she tugged lightly, coaxing him toward the bed with sleepy insistence.

"| will take my leave," he remarked, giving her hand the slightest resistance-half an excuse, half a test of whether she'd actualy let him go.

"Don't go." Her voice was still low and lazy, but it rooted him in place more effectively than her hand ever could. She tugged the blanket aside and shifted over, leaving just enough room for him. "Just sleep here." The words struck him like a blow. Was that really an invitation to her bed? A rush of euphoria tore through him, scattering every last shred of hesitation, fear, or doubt. He had to fight to last shred of hesitation, fear, or doubt. He had to fight to keep his face neutral, to smother the raw excitement threatening to spill out

He had braced himself for rejection-for her to turn away as she always did, to pretend he wasn't there, to meet his presence with that familiar wall of cold indifference. Yet, she hadn't. She had reached out to him, asking him to stay by her side. Wasn't it a sign? That some part of her walls was softening? That perhaps she didn't despise him with the same absolute force anymore? Maybe-just maybe-she was starting,inch by inch, to accept him.

He didn't pause for a second thought. Sliding beneath the blanket, he settled beside her, the cocoon of shared warmth drawing him in-the faint fragrance of her skin, the steady heat of his own body. It felt disarmingly natural, as if the space had always been meant for him.

Hannah kept her back turned, her posture cool, almost dismissive, as though letting him stay carried no weight at all-mere convenience, nothing more.

Her low voice drifted through the quiet, but the meaning hit him with striking sharpness. "Enough with creeping in at night-you disturb my sleep every time. If you're going to sleep here, then come earlier. It makes things better for us both. Got it?"

"Alright," he murmured, his voice rough, the single word overflowing with emotions he couldn't contain-relief, aching devotion, quiet joy.

He had ached for this-for the chance to share a night like this -for longer than he could remember. At last, he let his eyes fall shut. After what felt like eternity, every fiber of tension in him gave way. The gnawing restlessness, the constant unease,the sharp edge of panic-all gave way to a strange, steady calm.With her quiet breathing beside him, sleep drifted over him like a tide. Yet, in the darkness, unseen by him, Hannah kept her eyes wide awake. This was the seed of trust. And from that seed,freedom could finally grow.

...

From that night onward, Hannah and Vincent truly shared the same suite.

By day, she devoted herself to the affairs of Luminara Group.Every so often, she would call Vincent with a question-always framed around some complicated acquisition or a deliberately tangled financial model. Even when buried in his own work, he would set everything aside to untangle her supposed dilemmas.

Of course, those questions of hers were rarely genuine. They were excuses, carefully spun threads meant only to draw him in.

One day, she called him and murmured into the phone,"Vincent, I'm not too certain about how the tax structure works for this acquisition."

Almost at once, he silenced his executives with a raised hand,paused the video conference, and answered in that steady,low timbre of his, "Send the file over. I'll go through it."

Interruptions never bothered Vincent. If anything, they gratified him; her reliance made him feel indispensable. His team could only sit there in silence, forced to wait while their boss quietly took a call he would never explain.

At dawn one morning, Vincent stood before the mirror, already dressed in crisp slacks and a pressed shirt, fastening his cufflinks with practiced ease. Hannah padded over, still heavy with sleep, a navy-blue tie dangling from her hand.

"Lower your head," she murmured, her words roughened by lingering sleep.

He stilled for the briefest moment before complying without a He stilled for the briefest moment before complying without a word.

She slipped the tie around his collar, her fingers deft and deliberate, the motions smooth as though she'd done it countless times.

The nearness unsettled him. A man accustomed to control, to keeping others at a distance, now found himself disarmed by her simple act. Her fragrance brushed against his senses, faint yet intoxicating, and his breath faltered in his chest.

"Let me handle it," he muttered, retreating half a step as if to regain ground.

Yet, Hannah's hands never faltered. With one deft tug, she tightened the knot and smoothed the tie flat. "There. Perfect."

The ease between them carried a strange weight, as though this routine had been etched into their lives long ago.

She leaned in, eyes narrowing in playful scrutiny. "So tell me,what had you looking so jittery just now?"

Vincent gave no reply. A low, rough "I'm heading out" slipped from his lips as he turned away, the faintest smile tugging at his mouth despite himself.

Later that afternoon, the boardroom lights bore down on him during an emergency meeting. Barely ten minutes passed before his gaze drifted to the clock again and again.

Picking up on it, one of the senior directors called out, "Mr.Jones? Concerning our risk exposure in the Southern Peninsula,do you have any objections?"

Vincent lifted a hand, cutting the director off before the latter could go further. "I've already got the core risk points. Proceed exactly as outlined in Contingency Plan C. Lock down the specifics on your side and put a report on my desk by ten tomorrow." The words came clipped and final, shutting down any attempt

at follow-up.

While Vincent rose, swept his files into his briefcase, and strode to the door, another executive looked up, puzzled."Heading out in a hurry, Mr. Jones?"

Vincent kept moving, not breaking stride. "Yep." Hannah was waiting for his return.

But just then, a message from his bodyguard buzzed through.