The ten-million-dollar check lay on the polished marble coffee table like a declaration of war. It was a stark, sterile white against the deep black of the stone, a silent insult that screamed louder than any words. Natalie stared at it, her heart, which had been soaring only moments before, now plummeting into an icy abyss. She was still wrapped in Julian’s soft cashmere robe, the scent of him clinging to her skin, a tender reminder of the passion and promises whispered in the dark. The woman across from her, Madam Vance, was the epitome of cold, aristocratic elegance. Not a single silver hair was out of place, her posture was ramrod straight, and her eyes, the same piercing dark grey as Julian’s, held none of his warmth. They were chips of ice, assessing Natalie and finding her utterly, irrevocably wanting. “I believe the amount is more than generous,” Madam Vance said, her voice a low, cultured murmur that carried a brutal sting. “It should be enough to set you up comfortably, far away from here. Consider it a severance package for your… services.” Natalie’s breath hitched. *Services.* The word was meant to cheapen everything. To reduce the breathtaking, soul-deep connection she had just discovered with Julian into a sordid transaction. The warmth of his body against hers, the way he’d held her and whispered her name as if it were a prayer, the revelation that he had been searching for *her* for a decade—this woman was trying to erase it all with a slip of paper. A fire ignited in Natalie’s chest, a fierce, protective flame she hadn’t known she possessed. This wasn’t like when Vivian and Ethan had betrayed her. This time, she wasn’t just fighting for her own dignity. She was fighting for Julian. She was fighting for *them*. She lifted her chin, her gaze meeting the older woman’s without flinching. “I don’t want your money, Madam Vance.” Madam Vance’s perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched in disbelief. “Don’t be foolish, child. Everyone has a price. Yours just happens to be ten million dollars. I’m being practical. A girl like you—from a family embroiled in scandal, jilted by her fiancé for her own sister—you should be grateful for this opportunity.” Each word was a carefully aimed dart, designed to pierce Natalie’s confidence and remind her of her past shame. But the shame was gone, burned away by the truth of Julian’s love. He hadn’t seen a pitiful, discarded bride. He had seen the girl who saved him, the woman he wanted to spend his life with. “You’re mistaken,” Natalie said, her voice quiet but firm, resonating with a newfound strength. She slowly pushed the check across the table until it rested in front of Julian’s mother. “My relationship with your son is not a business transaction. It’s not something you can buy or sell or… sever.” “Oh, please,” Madam Vance scoffed, a flicker of irritation crossing her serene features. “Do you truly believe you are special? Julian has… amusements. You are merely the latest. You cannot possibly think you are a suitable match for the heir to the Vance empire. You are not one of us. You never will be.” The air crackled with tension. Natalie could feel her hands trembling slightly, so she clasped them in her lap. “What Julian and I have is not about empires or social standing. I love him. And he…” she took a deep breath, the memory of his confession giving her courage, “…he loves me.” A dry, mirthless laugh escaped Madam Vance’s lips. “Love? How sentimental. Love doesn’t run a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Love doesn’t secure a legacy. I will not allow my son’s future to be jeopardized by a fleeting infatuation with a nobody. Take the money, Miss Miller, or I will make you regret it. I can ensure your little design career is over before it even begins. I can make your life so difficult you’ll wish you had never laid eyes on my son.” The threat hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. For a moment, the old fear crept back in, the feeling of being small and powerless. But then she pictured Julian’s face, the raw vulnerability in his eyes when he told her he’d finally found her. He had fought through a decade of darkness to find his light. She would not let that light be extinguished by this cold, proud woman. “I’m not afraid of you,” Natalie whispered, the words feeling truer than anything she had ever said. “You should be,” his mother replied, her voice dropping to a venomous hush. “She has no reason to be.” The voice came from the doorway to the master suite. It was deep, quiet, and laced with a terrifying calm that promised a storm. Julian. He stood there, a formidable silhouette against the light. He wore only a pair of dark grey suit trousers, his sculpted chest and shoulders bare. His hair was slightly disheveled from sleep, but his eyes were wide awake, blazing with a fury so intense it seemed to suck the very air from the room. His gaze swept over the scene—the check on the table, Natalie’s defiant posture, his mother’s imperious expression. He saw everything in an instant. His eyes met Natalie’s first, and in their depths, she saw a thousand apologies, a world of reassurance, and a possessive fire that made her heart leap. *Are you okay?* his look screamed. She gave the slightest nod, a silent message passing between them. Then, his gaze shifted to his mother. The temperature in the penthouse dropped twenty degrees. Madam Vance, for the first time, looked unsettled. Julian moved with the predatory grace of a panther. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t rush. Every deliberate step he took toward the coffee table was a silent promise of retribution. He completely ignored his mother, his focus as sharp as a shard of glass. He reached down and plucked the ten-million-dollar check from the table, holding it between two fingers as if it were something distasteful. He finally turned to face the woman who had given him life, his expression an unreadable mask of ice. He extended his hand, offering the check back to her. “Take it, Mother,” he said, his voice a low, lethal rumble. “Because I have already signed my entire fifty-billion-dollar fortune over to Natalie. She is the real tycoon now.”

Chapter 13: The $10 Million Test