The Billionaire’s Temptation

Three Months Away

Three months had passed since the hill, the heartbreak, and the silence that followed.

Ava had buried herself in routine. The flower shop had become her sanctuary- its soft blooms and earthy scents offering a strange kind of healing. For a while, she had lost herself in the ache. Mornings were the hardest, waking up with her heart heavy and her mind running toward a man she had only known for a breath of time- yet who had carved himself into her memory like he had always belonged there.

But eventually, she rose.

Beatrice had dragged her out of bed on days when she could barely stand. She pushed her to laugh again, to smile even when her heart wasn’t in it. And slowly, the weight began to lift. Ava still remembered the way Julian had looked at her, how his words had burned- how they had comforted and betrayed her in the same breath. But she was learning to live with that memory like a scar. Not open anymore. Just there.

The bell above the shop door chimed, and she glanced up from the bouquet she was assembling.

And there he was.

Julian St. Clair stood just inside the threshold, tall and still as ever, his coat dusted with the soft remnants of rain. His hair was slightly longer, his face tired but sharper somehow- like something had been burning inside him for months and was only now starting to settle.

Ava's breath caught.

For a moment, she didn’t move. Neither did he.

Their eyes locked across the room, and the air shifted- thick with memory, with tension, with something unspoken that neither of them could name.

Julian stepped forward slowly. “Hi.”

Ava blinked. “Julian.”

He gave a small smile- one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You look... beautiful.”

She hesitated, placing the tulip in her hand gently down on the table. “What are you doing here?”

“I came back,” he said softly. “For you.”

The words struck something in her, fragile and fierce all at once.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know.”

She crossed her arms, her voice tight. “It’s been three months.”

“I counted every day.”

The silence that followed was sharp and tender at once.

Julian moved closer, cautiously. “I left because I had to. But not a single day went by that I didn’t think about you. I tried to forget you, Ava. God knows I tried. But I haven’t been myself since I left.”

Her jaw tensed, and she looked down at her hands. “You were engaged.”

“I’m leaving her.”

That made her look at him. “What?”

“I should have ended things the moment I met you. I thought what I had with Victoria was... safe. Familiar. But it wasn’t love. It wasn’t even real. Not like what I felt with you in those three days. I can’t spend the rest of my life with someone just because it strengthens my empire”

“You don’t even know me,” she said, her voice a whisper.

“I know enough to want to spend the rest of my life figuring you out.”

He was closer now- barely a breath away. His hand reached out, hesitant, until his fingers grazed the side of her arm. She flinched, but didn’t pull away.

His voice dropped, thick with something raw. “She doesn’t make my blood stir by just being in the same room. She doesn’t make me forget how to breathe. You do.”

Ava’s heart pounded against her ribs.

“You think saying these things will fix it?” she asked, blinking back the tears that threatened to rise. “You think I can just... pick up where we left off?”

“No,” Julian said quietly. “I don’t expect that. I just needed to say it. I needed you to know I’m not running anymore. I’ll fight whatever I have to fight- my mother, the board, the press- anyone. But I won’t walk away from this again.”

Ava turned, her back to him as she pressed a hand against the counter for support. Her voice came out hoarse. “I need time. I need to think.”

He nodded, even though the words clearly pained him.

“Okay,” he said softly. “Think. Take as long as you need.”

And with one last lingering glance- full of all the words he hadn’t said yet- Julian turned and walked out the door, leaving the soft chime of the bell and the weight of his confession behind him.

…

The estate was quiet when Julian’s suv pulled in, the evening light casting long shadows over the marble floors and high-arched windows. But as he stepped inside, he wasn’t surprised to find his mother waiting for him in the grand hallway, arms folded, her expression a cocktail of disbelief and disappointment.

“You’re unbelievable,” Katherine said without preamble. “Three months away. Three months to clear your head. And you come back and run straight to that flower girl?”

Julian dropped his keys on the console, jaw tightening. “Her name is Ava. And she’s not just some flower girl.”

Katherine’s nostrils flared. “Whatever she is, she doesn’t belong in your world. We moved your wedding forward, Julian. Three weeks. That’s all the time left before you become a married man.”

He let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Then go ahead and plan the whole thing. But I won’t be there.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Do you think this is a game? That you can toss aside decades of alliance and planning because you’re enamored with some girl who caught your eye?”

“I’m not enamored,” he snapped. “I’m in love with her. And no amount of boardroom dinners or charity galas is going to make me feel that way about Victoria.”

Katherine’s voice lowered, icier now. “Victoria is moving into this house tomorrow. She’ll stay here until the wedding. Maybe seeing her every day will help you remember who you are- and what you owe your father’s legacy.”

Julian stepped closer, his voice a low threat. “You can parade her in front of me all you want, Mother. It won’t change anything.”

And with that, he walked past her, leaving only silence. He felt an ache in his heart. He didn’t like having altercations with his mother- especially now that it involved a woman he loved.

But it was inevitable. There would be chaos, and there was nothing he could do about it.