Chapter 3

Levi admitted without a shred of guilt, "Madison is terrified of the water. She has some kind of deep-sea phobia.

"Since you're the best therapist I know, you're going to stay here and manage her anxiety for the next few days."

He wanted me to play therapist to his mistress. The sheer narcissism of it was staggering.

I turned to head back to the gangway, but he called out after me. "The ship has already left the dock, Ivy. Don't be ungrateful.

"If you play your cards right this week, I might reconsider the engagement."

The ship had indeed pulled away. By sunset, the weather turned violent.

The vessel began to pitch and roll as a storm swept in.

The captain's voice blared over the intercom, ordering all passengers to return to their cabins.

In the chaos of the panicked crowd, I was shoved toward the edge of the deck.

My foot slipped on the wet wood and I tumbled over the side, catching the railing at the last second. I hung there, suspended over the churning, dark sea.

Not far away, Levi was holding Madison.

She screamed, burying her face in his chest. "Levi! I'm scared! Help me!"

Levi didn't even look in my direction.

He scooped Madison up and sprinted toward the nearest emergency exit. "I've got you, Madison. I'm getting you inside!"

He didn't hesitate for a single second.

The scene was a twisted mirror of three years ago.

Back then, Levi's company was on the verge of bankruptcy and he had spiraled into a breakdown.

On a stormy night just like this, he had stood on the ledge of a thirty-story rooftop.

I was the one who grabbed him.

I stayed out in the freezing wind all night, using every psychological technique I knew to pull him back from the edge.

That night, he had knelt at my feet and sobbed into my lap, promising he would only ever love me.

My strength was fading. The railing was slick, and my fingers were completely numb.

Just as I felt my grip giving way, a pair of warm, powerful hands clamped around my waist.

It was Logan Hayes. The titan of the venture capital world and Levi's most dangerous rival.

He was drenched to the bone, his eyes burning with a murderous intensity as he watched Levi's retreating back.

Then he looked down at me. Those cold, calculating eyes were suddenly filled with a tenderness I'd never seen before.

"Ivy," he said, his voice steady against the roar of the gale. "Hold on to me. I've got you."

Logan led me to the private penthouse suite on the top deck.

I sat on the edge of a plush leather sofa, my trembling hands wrapped around a mug of hot coffee he'd pressed into them.

Only now did it hit me.

Logan didn't just have a cabin on this ship; he owned the entire fleet.

Levi's arrogant claims about "chartering half the vessel" were a joke. He was just a guest playing in a corner of the world Logan truly controlled.

Logan returned with a medical kit and dropped to one knee before me.

"This might sting. Just breathe," he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly rasp.

Those long, elegant fingers—the kind that signed billion-dollar deals—moved with agonizing care. He dabbed an antiseptic swab over the raw scrapes on my palms where I'd white-knuckled the railing.

I watched him. This man was known in the corporate world as a ruthless shark, yet here he was, as devoted as a protective guardian.

The ice that had spent years hardening around my heart finally began to crack.

The moment was shattered by a frantic pounding on the door, followed by Levi's ragged, entitled shouting. "Open up!

"I know someone's in there. This is the only suite with a full medical setup. Open the damn door! Madison collapsed!"

My heart skipped a beat, but Logan didn't even flinch.

His movements remained precise, though his eyes turned to flint.

He glanced up at me, a silent question in his gaze, waiting for my lead.

I set the mug down and stood up. "I'll handle it."

Logan arched a dark brow and rose in one fluid motion.

He grabbed a silk robe and draped it over my shoulders, then stepped back into the shadows behind me without a word.

I swung the door open.

Levi stood there, drenched to the bone, hair plastered to his forehead and his pride in tatters.

He was cradling Madison; she was pale, eyes tightly shut, playing the tragic heroine perfectly.

When Levi realized it was me, his face twisted from shock to instant fury.

His eyes darted from my dry robe to the warm, amber glow of the suite.

"Ivy? What the hell are you doing in here?" he spat. "People are out there struggling, and you're tucked away in luxury? Do you even have a soul?"

I leaned against the doorframe, my expression cold. "This is a private suite, Levi. Get lost."

"Private my ass! You're a doctor. Look at Madison, she fainted from the shock. She's having a breakdown!" He tried to shove his way past me.

I blocked the entrance with a stiff arm.