Marcus's POV
I played chess with my father, but my focus drifted more specifically, to Anna Shaw and the red half-moons her nails had raked across my back. I moved a piece without thinking, earning a sharp frown from across the board.
Thwack!
His walking stick struck my shoulder not enough to hurt, just enough to yank me back to reality.
"If you're not going to take this seriously, leave," he growled, though a flicker of amusement softened the warning.
I winced in mock pain. "Just some scratches," I murmured, lips twitching into a smile. "A rather fierce kitten."
His expression shifted. After decades at the helm of the Murphy empire, little escaped him. "A kitten?" he echoed knowingly. "So you've found someone."
I didn't respond, but I didn't need to. He read the truth in my silence.
"Who is she?" he pressed, leaning forward, eyes gleaming. "It's about time you settled down. The Murphy name needs heirs."
"I have a meeting," I said smoothly, rising. "We'll play again soon."
His laughter chased me down the hall. "You can't dodge this forever, Marcus!"
The bar where Joseph waited was deliberately unremarkable dim lighting, scuffed floors, watered-down drinks. A far cry from the opulence of Olympus, my usual haunt. He raised a brow when I approached.
"The great Marcus Murphy, slumming it?" he teased. "Why not Olympus tonight?"
"Didn't feel like going back," I said curtly, signaling the bartender. I didn't elaborate. The real reason was simple: Olympus reeked of Anna. Her perfume still lingered in the shadows of that private suite, and I wasn't ready to breathe it in again.
Joseph swirled his drink, watching me. "I got the intel you wanted about the mansion auction. Turns out Jack Simpson wasn't just being spiteful. That whole district's slated for redevelopment."
Guilt flickered in my chest. I'd assumed Jack was just trying to hurt Anna, bidding to spite her. That assumption had led me to outbid them both two hundred million, a price that made headlines even in Skyview.
"The property's yours now," Joseph continued. "What are you planning to do with it?"
I didn't answer right away. That house wasn't just real estate it was Anna's childhood, her memories, her grief. I'd bought it to protect her from Jack, but now…
"It belongs to its rightful owner," I said finally. I didn't add that she'd get it back just not yet. Not until she remembered that night. Not until she remembered me.
Anna's POV
"I can get my own place for the night," I said, exasperated, from the backseat of Marcus's car. He didn't respond. Just kept driving through the winding streets of Skyview, calm and unreadable.
We stopped outside my family's gates, the iron archway looming like a relic from another lifetime. Before the car even fully halted, my grandmother appeared, followed by my mother both dressed as if attending a gala. Of course. A Murphy visits and suddenly we're royalty.
As I moved to exit, a sharp ache shot through my thighs, making me wince. I hadn't realized how sore I was until now. I shifted carefully, hoping no one noticed.
"Marcus Murphy!" Grandmother beamed, clasping his hands warmly. "Ten years, has it been? Your insight impressed Anna's father so much back then. He couldn't stop talking about you."
I tried to sneak past them into the house, desperate to ditch my club dress. But then—"
"I ran into Annie in the city," Marcus said casually.
I froze. Annie.
No one had called me that in years not outside the family. He'd used it deliberately.
My mother's brows lifted ever so slightly.
"Anna, come with me," she said sharply, her fingers wrapping around my arm as she whisked me upstairs. "That dress is not suitable for company."
By the time I came down again, dressed in something much more... mother-approved, Marcus was seated in our living room, coffee in hand, engaged in polite conversation with my family.
"Recreation's perfectly normal for someone managing a major corporation," he was saying, in what sounded oddly like a defense of my lifestyle.
"She does take on too much," my mother sighed. "Sometimes I wish she'd relax more... but..."
"She can always come to me," Marcus said, calm and firm. "If she needs anything."
My mother and grandmother exchanged a surprised glance.
I managed a smile. "That's kind of you, but you're rarely in the country. If I needed help, you'd be hard to find."
His gaze locked with mine. "If you look for me, Annie, you'll find me."
There was something in his voice something possessive, something familiar and I didn't like the way it made my heart flutter.
He stood and offered his farewells. We all walked him out to the car, as politeness dictated.
Once the taillights vanished, my mother turned to me.
"Anna," she asked, "how well do you know Marcus Murphy?"
"This is only the second time we've met," I answered honestly.
She frowned. "Really? He seemed so... familiar. And that nickname…"
"Oh, that?" I shrugged. "William probably mentioned it."
But I knew better. Marcus hadn't needed anyone to remind him who I was. And he definitely hadn't forgotten that night