Page 95 of Kisses and Paperclips

“If you want to keep your title, your reputation, your future, then stay the fuck away from my son.”

“He’s a grown-ass man—”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”

Her voice rose like a whip crack, sharp and sudden, turning the room electric. Her chest heaved. Eyes wide. Breaths are coming too fast. She looked ready to pounce, like an animal backed into a corner.

I didn’t flinch.

“Maybe you should leave before things escalate,” I said, calm and cold, “and your son finds out who you really are.”

Her eyes narrowed; jaw clenched so tight I almost heard her teeth grind.

“You think I won’t kill you and leave that boy to fend for himself?”

Kill me? What the actual fuck? How did we get here?

One second we’re having a conversation, the next she’s threatening my life as casually as firing me. The woman is unhinged, and I don’t mean dramatic or overprotective, but dangerous. There was something in her eyes, wild and distant like she wasn’t entirely here. Like she was speaking from some place deeper and darker than I’d ever seen.

I’ve known this woman for years; I sat across from her in meetings, traveled with her, and celebrated company wins. But this? This wasn’t the woman I’ve worked beside. This was someone else, and she didn’t just want me gone.

She wanted me erased.

I stepped forward, matching her heat. “You threaten me or my brother again,” I said, voice low and steady, “and I’ll kill you first.”

She was on her feet before the last syllable left my lips, flipping the coffee table between us, glass shattering, water spilling, the centerpiece exploding against the floor.

I didn’t move.

I was already in front of her, squared up, shoulders back.

“We’ve worked side by side for years. Built this company from scratch. But you do not get to walk into my house and threaten me. Yes, he’s attracted to me—and I’m attracted to him. But you’re here like I’ve got a gun to his head.”

She stepped into my space, tilting her chin up, daring me to back down. I didn’t.

“Since you left with him,” she hissed, “he’s been off. He’s not the same. You’ve done something to him. And you think I’m gonna sit back and watch you.”

She let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

“No one fucks with mine.”

Her eyes were wild, and that’s when I knew…this wasn’t about me.

This wasn’t even about Julien.

This was about a woman unraveling in real time, and I was just the closest thing to strike.

“I can see you love him,” I said, quieter now. “But this? This isn’t love, Evelyn. You don’t protect someone by controlling everything around them.”

She blinked, just once, a flicker of something human in her eyes, before it vanished.

“He’s too good for you.”

It landed like a slap to my face.

“I told you I have eyes everywhere, Serena. And I’ve had them on you for a long time.” She moved in again. Too close. I had to step back. “Stay the fuck away from my son,” she whispered, “if you want to keep breathing.”

I said nothing.

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