Chapter One Hundred and Sixty
The thick Manchester fog did not lift for two days. It clung to the brick buildings, turned the streetlamps into blurry yellow halos, and matched the cold, heavy dread that had settled deep inside my chest. Ever since Khalid’s massive black SUV had vanished into the rainy night, leaving those terrifying, beautiful, and ruthless vows echoing in the quiet street, I had been living on a razor's edge. Every sudden sound made me jump. Every time a heavy car slowed down near our apartment building, my heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I kept expecting him to throw open my front door, to use his massive wealth and his terrifying, unyielding power to simply demand his way into our lives. He was the Beast, after all. He was an Al-Mansour, a billionai
