17

17

Luke didn't walk out of Shawn Tech. He strutted.

The moment the guards let go of his arms, the tears dried up. The shaking stopped. He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve, adjusted his wrinkled collar, and walked through the lobby like he owned it again.

“Why is he back here?”

“I thought he had been sacked, wasn’t he?”

The staff whispered.

He didn't care.

He got into his old Mercedes — the one they hadn't been able to repossess yet because it was in his mother's name — and slammed the door.

He sat there for a second, breathing hard. Then a smirk crawled across his face. Slow. Ugly. Familiar.

He started the engine and peeled out of Imani's parking lot, tires screeching against the marble floor.

"Stupid girl, Imani…You really think I don’t know you?" he muttered to himself, eyes on the rearview mirror where Shawn Tech Tower was getting smaller. "You think you're so smart. So powerful."

He laughed, a dry, cracked laugh.

"I know you more than anyone, Imani. We were married for three years, Imani. I know what makes you tick. I know what makes you succumb."

He tapped his phone on the dashboard. It connected to an unknown number which picked after a few rings, “Get information about Shareholders with Imani’s Company, bribe them if you have to, make them succumb to whatever Imani says tomorrow,” Luke said over the phone.

“Yes boss,” The voice coaxed. He ended the call and smirked.

"You'll give me back everything. And more. I will start to win you over now, Imani. You can’t possibly not still have feelings for me. I will always be your first love.” He remarked.

---

At 8:47 PM, Imani clocked out of work and was finally heading home. The drive to her house was a quiet one, The city lights blurred past her window. She was exhausted, but her brain wouldn't shut off.

And then Killian's voice snapped into her head, uninvited. ‘Four dates. That's all I'm asking.’

‘Don't let pride sink a good company, Imani.”Another sipped in.

She shook her head hard, like she could physically shake him out of it.

"Ugh!" she groaned, pressing her forehead against the cold window. "Idiot. Why are you thinking about his dumb proposal?” Imani scolded herself.

Emily, sitting beside her in the backseat, raised an eyebrow. "Ma'am? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Emily hesitated. She had been with Imani since she started Shawn Tech. She was more than an assistant. She was the only one who could ask the question.

"Ma'am, can I ask you something? Off the record?"

Imani didn't open her eyes. "What?"

"Why did you choose Luke over Mr. Morgan?" Emily asked slowly.

Imani's eyes snapped open.

"What?"

"Back there," Emily said softly. "Mr. Morgan offered you a real, proven strategy. A partnership that could save us. You said no. But Luke... Luke comes in with a vague reason, begging on his knees, and you... you entertained it. Why?"

Imani was silent for a long time. The car stopped at a red light. Horns blared outside.

"Because Luke has won shareholders over repeatedly," Imani finally said, her voice low and tired. "Don't you remember? Three years ago, when Anderson Holdings was crashing, he was the one who stood in front of 200 angry shareholders and made them clap. He made them invest again. He knows how they think. He speaks their language."

She looked at Emily.

"And... I trusted him on that. More than I ever trusted Killian.” She simply answered

Emily nodded slowly, but she didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure you trust him? Let’s just go with Killan, ma’am,” Emily tried to persuade her but Imani didn't answer. She turned back to the window.

“Don’t worry. I’m not wrong,”

---

The house was quiet when she got in, she searched around the house hoping her son would jump out of a corner to receive her with a big hug.

Then, his nanny appeared from the hallway. “You’re back ma’am?” She asked and Imani nodded.

"Where’s Jaden?" she asked softly, dropping her bag.

"He fell asleep an hour ago after having dinner, ma'am. He waited for you, but... you know."

Guilt. There it was again, stabbing her chest. She has been so occupied with work that she barely had time with her son.

Imani nodded and walked softly to her son's room.

Jaden curled up in his little race-car bed, his chubby cheeks squished against the pillow, his little mouth open. He looked so much like Imani when he slept.

Imani's heart melted. All the board meetings, all the trouble from work vanished in Jaden’s room after watching him sleep so beautifully.

She leaned down and kissed him gently on his forehead. “I love you, baby," she whispered. "Mommy's sorry I'm late."

She was about to leave, to let him sleep, when her eyes caught something on his little study desk.

A wristwatch, Imani furrowed her eyebrows, “When did he get this? I—” she took it and examined it like a detective.

The engraving on the back was faded, but somehow she could still read it.

“K.R. — 2021”

The name sent shivers down her spine. She knew this watch.

She had seen it five years ago. On a night she had tried desperately to forget.

“What is this doing in Jaden’s room?”