PrologueThe Billionaire's Forbidden DesireThe amber glow of the chandelier bathed the ballroom in a golden haze, casting soft shadows on the polished marble floor. The crowd buzzed with laughter and clinking glasses, but Alexander Vaughn heard none of it. His sharp eyes were fixed on her—the woman who shouldn’t have been there. The woman he couldn’t forget.She stood near the balcony, her slender fingers brushing against the rim of her champagne flute. The silk of her ivory dress clung to her curves, flowing like water with her every movement. She shouldn’t have looked his way. She shouldn’t have let her eyes linger. Yet, she did.His grip tightened around his glass as memories stirred—of stolen kisses in hidden corners and whispered promises that could never be kept. She was a secret he once vowed to protect, a desire he buried beneath layers of power and wealth. But tonight, she was back. And so was the fire he had no right to feel."Mr. Vaughn?" A voice pulled him from his trance, but he didn't turn. His focus was still on her—the woman who belonged to someone else.And when her gaze finally met his, the room faded. The noise, the crowd, the consequences—they all vanished. All that remained was the forbidden desire that neither time nor distance could extinguish.But he knew—tonight was only the beginning.