It wasn't that she couldn't bear to part with him—she was simply confused.
Dominic stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and stated the facts coldly. "I'm getting married next month. Take this money and disappear from my life."
"Married?"
Claudia felt nothing at this news. If anything, she found it amusing. "I figured you already had a wife and kids! Well, congratulations!"
"..." A shadow passed through the man's eyes, barely perceptible, as he fixed her with an unblinking stare.
Claudia thought about that ten million dollars. Terrified he might change his mind if she wasted even a second, she threw on her clothes as fast as humanly possible.
She bounced over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his handsome face. "Then I'll gladly take this money. Thank you, Mr. Quinn—you're so good to me!"
Meeting the calculating gleam in her eyes, Dominic felt his disgust deepen. He shoved her away.
"You can go now. Remember what I said—disappear completely." His voice was low and hard.
"OK!"
Claudia pulled out her phone and, right under his nose, blocked his number without a moment's hesitation, then deleted him from her contacts. "There. Now there's absolutely no way to reach you. Happy?"
As she spoke, she rummaged through the sheets for her bra, stuffed it under her shirt, and bent forward to adjust herself. Then she turned her back to him. "Here—help me out."
His expression darkened, but he held his temper and deftly hooked the clasp for her with practiced hands.
"Alright, I'm off. I've got a date with some young guy for late-night snacks, so let's not waste each other's time."
She leaned in close to his ear one last time, a teasing smile on her lips. "Goodbye, sugar daddy!"
With that, ignoring his thunderous glare, Claudia grabbed her things and flew down the stairs.
She pulled on her riding gear, swung one long leg over her motorcycle, and roared out of the villa in a cloud of exhaust.
In the pitch-black night, wind howling past her, she accelerated relentlessly—throttle nearly maxed out. She leaned into several sharp curves with reckless grace, then weaved through traffic like it was nothing.
The aggressive roar of her engine turned heads in every car she passed.
But she lived for moments like this—pure, unrestrained release. It was the ultimate stress relief. Every worry scattered in the wind.
Besides motorcycles, she was obsessed with surfing, skydiving, rock climbing, racing... basically anything that could kill her fast.
She loved extreme sports with life-or-death stakes. She loved simple, uncomplicated relationships with men.
Wild and uninhibited, she never let herself get tangled up in petty romantic feelings.
But that night, lying in bed after getting home...
Claudia couldn't stop seeing that man's face. She kept replaying their year together—all the different places, and tonight's final goodbye. She couldn't fall asleep.
Then she remembered that ten million dollars and decided her insomnia was probably just from excitement...
Over the following month, Claudia had completely forgotten about Mr. Quinn.
Her days were filled with adventure trips with her extreme sports crew, hangouts with her girlfriends—living exactly as she pleased.
Of course, she also had a legitimate career.
Her love for animals had led her to study veterinary medicine abroad for several years. After returning home, she'd started her own pet hospital.
She had a natural gift for the work. The business was thriving—she'd already opened three locations.
One afternoon, she'd just finished dealing with a pile of administrative headaches when her phone rang.
The name on the screen made her heart sink.
She answered with obvious irritation. "What do you want?"
