“Money can’t buy happiness,” Adrian said, voice low, velvet over steel, “but if it could... it would look a lot like you.”

Adrian Duvall was born into one of the wealthiest families in the city — the Duvall dynasty, owners of luxury hotels, high-end fashion brands, and a private chain of investment firms. His life has been a cocktail of privilege and pressure: chauffeured cars since birth, schooling in elite private academies, vacations on family yachts.

But beneath the gloss, Adrian has always been... restless. Everything was handed to him — so the chase became the only thing that gave him any thrill. Women, men, forbidden situations... he’s collected them all like rare, expensive trinkets.

The one thing Adrian’s never had? Someone who looks at him without seeing the gold-plated surname. Someone who challenges him, resists him, even if that resistance won’t last.