Coldhearted King (Empty Kingdom, #1)

by L.M. Dalgleish

“There is no us, Cole.” Exhaustion leaches through my veins, and I need him to go. He ducks his head so he can meet my gaze with unwavering eyes. “There’ll be an us in my heart forever, Delilah. Even if there isn’t in yours anymore. I’m not leaving until I’ve done everything in my power to convince you that you’ll never have to give anyone else a second chance again. I’ll be the last chance you’ll ever need to take.”

“It’s your mother’s,” Cole says. “You bought it for her.” It’s a statement, not a question, because of course he did.

“He also bought a plot of land,” Mom says calmly. My gaze ping-pongs between her and Cole. “What?” “For my dream house that you’re apparently designing for me.” Her smile is soft. “I’d like to see the plan sometime.”

“I didn’t believe in much of anything until I met you,” I admit. “You showed me what love looks like, how it feels. There’s no going back now.” “Did I show you how to hold on to it?” Her question hangs in the air, uncertainty threaded through it. I know what she’s asking, and I trace her lower lip with my thumb. “Delilah, I will never let you go again. It’s not an option for me. Before you, my life was empty—I was empty—and I didn’t even know it. I can’t go back to that. I won’t. And I’m not just saying that because I need you to forgive me and love me again. I mean it. I will always mean it. I won’t let anything come between us. Not money, not my company, nothing. You are the most important thing to me. You’ve changed everything, and I can’t imagine going back to the way I was before, thinking wealth and power were enough to make me happy. It’s you, Delilah. You’re what makes me happy.”