Loving him is a sin I can't escape

I hadn't seen Dominic Russo in five years. Not since the night everything fell apart. Not since the night he looked at me like I was a stranger.

Like I was the enemy. And yet there he was-standing at the head of the conference table like he owned the world. Because he did.

The glass walls of the boardroom overlooked the skyline of New York City, all steel and ambition and glittering power. The city suited him now. Hard. Unforgiving. Untouchable. Dominic Russo wasn't the reckless, passionate man I once loved. He was controlled. Precise. Dangerous. His tailored black suit fit him like armor. His dark hair was shorter, sharper. His jaw tighter. His eyes- his eyes no longer softened when they found mine. They hardened.

"Ms. Moretti." My name rolled off his tongue like a challenge. I froze at the doorway of the boardroom, aware that every executive at the table had turned to look at me. "You're late," he said calmly, flipping through a file without glancing up. I wasn't late. I was exactly on time.

He just wanted control. "Traffic," I replied evenly.

A few awkward shifts around the table. Everyone knew who he was. CEO of Russo Enterprises. The man who rebuilt his father's collapsing empire before he turned thirty.

The man who blamed me for its collapse in the first place. His eyes finally lifted. And locked onto mine. Five years vanished in an instant. I remembered his hands tangled in mine. His quiet promises. The way he once said he would burn the world before letting anyone hurt me. Now he looked like he would burn me himself.

"I wasn't aware you still worked in this city," he said.

"I wasn't aware you bought the company I work for," I shot back.

A flicker of irritation crossed his face. Brief. Controlled.

"I acquire what benefits me," he said smoothly. "This firm has potential."

His gaze lingered deliberately.

"Some assets more than others."

Heat crept up my spine.

The meeting continued, numbers and projections bouncing around the room, but I barely heard a word. Dominic's presence consumed the space. Every breath felt heavier. Every second stretched tight. Then he spoke again. "I'll be restructuring management."

My stomach tightened. "And I'll need a personal project lead." The room quieted. His eyes settled on me without hesitation. "I've already selected her." No. Absolutely not. "I decline," I said immediately. The word dropped like glass. Dominic leaned back slightly, studying me with faint amusement.

"You don't get to decline."

"I'm not interested in working under you."

"You signed a contract with this firm," he reminded me. "Which now belongs to me."

There it was.

The power move.

"I'll quit."

A sharp silence fell. Dominic rose slowly from his chair. The air shifted. Heavy. "You'll walk away again," he said softly. "Just like last time."

The accusation hit harder than I expected. "You don't know what happened," I snapped. His jaw flexed. "I know you chose money over me."