Page 123 of Billionaire’s Ruin

That used to be my superpower.

Sensing the moment their guard dropped, the second their walls softened.

And that was when I always pulled back.

Walked away.

Before it meant something.

But with June…

I never wanted to pull back.

I wanted to dive in.

Sink.

Drown.

And now, watching her fuss over him, watching those fingertips glide over Dannie’s skin with a tenderness… I couldn’t tell if I’d misread her entirely.

Or if she’d found a way to turn off what I still couldn’t stop feeling.

I wanted to hate Dannie.

For standing in the place where I wanted to stand.

For taking care of June the way I wished I’d been able to.

For catching her heart in the seconds where mine had slipped.

But the emotion refused to come.

Not after what he’d done.

Not after what we’d lived through.

Not after what he’d risked—for her, for me.

How do you hate the man who saved your life… even when he might be stealing everything else?

“So… you’re the famous Dannie Wu?” Lincoln finally said, breaking the tense silence.

His voice had that edge—sharp, assessing, dangerous.

The edge he used when he was deciding whether someone needed to be negotiated with… or eliminated.

Lincoln wasn’t just curious.

He was calculating.

And I suddenly realized, his next questions wouldn’t be about Dannie.

They would be about June.

About me.

About what the hell happened between us—and whether he had to burn the world down to find out.