Chapter Three

Liora sat in her office, going through the files as she tried to remember everything that had happened in her past life. She needed to be ready to take her revenge, to teach them a lesson. She walked out of the office at 4pm sharp, the same time the company closed; everyone stared at her in surprise.

“That's the first time I've ever seen Department Head Morgan closing early,” someone whispered.

“She must have an event to attend.”

“I think so too.”

Liora pretended not to hear them as she walked out of the office. She scrolled through her phone, a smug smile on her lips as she read the news about the crises of the Morgan Group. One move from her and they were already scattered and spiralling everywhere.

She didn’t even look up until she bumped into someone. The latter was rock solid because although Liora was the one who bumped into him, she was the one who was sent metres backwards. She staggered and then raised her head, a familiar face greeting her. 

Tall. Sharp jawline. Brilliant, Dangerous, Ruthless and a foe. 

Damien Frost. CEO of Frost Corporation. 

The Frosts and The Morgans’ were mortal enemies since she could remember. The story was old and ancient and she could barely remember it but she knew that they hated each other in both private and public but sometimes managed to keep up appearances in public.

They had many clashes in private, stealing each other’s projects, partners and so on. In her last life, she didn’t even remember running into Damien even once but now things were changing their course.

“I heard Morgan Group is in a crisis,” Damien said lazily, yet his eyes were sharp.

Liora smiled. “You could say that.”

“Are you supposed to have that kind of smug smile when your family’s group is in trouble?” he asked and Liora chuckled.

“I’m adopted” she grinned at him and Damien looked genuinely taken aback.

He had heard a lot about Liora Morgan, how smart and brilliant she was. How she was made for business or how rather business was made for her, he had seen pictures of her and her sister and boyfriend plastered all over social media but none of them had indicated that Liora Morgan was smug.

Liora watched Damien with a smile on her lips. He was too handsome, too handsome for his own good, only if he wasn’t a foe to the Morgans.

Wait! A foe to the Morgans but an ally to her. 

She suddenly had a light bulb moment, her smile growing wider. She knew that the Morgan Group won’t collapse because of one lost investment; it was built for centuries, and they were going to bounce back, she alone wasn’t enough to fight them; she needed help and unfortunately even in the Morgan Group, she didn’t have her people, even though her father and Leonard had advised her to. She had believed that it wasn’t necessary. She had been really stupid back then.

"You do realise that I am getting goosebumps from the way you are smiling at me." Damien finally spoke and Liora chuckled.

“Well, I have a proposition for you,” she said and Damien folded his arms.

“Oh? My ears are yours then," he responded calmly and Liora bit down on her lower lip, muttering the most outrageous words she couldn’t imagine she would ever say in her life.

“Damien Frost”, she said calmly, “Marry me.”

Damien’s brows froze for a moment and then chuckled, ‘You are joking.’

Liora’s eyes gleamed. “If you ever want to see your dream of crushing the Morgan group come to fruition, I am your best bet,” she declared and Damien smirked.

"Liora Morgan, I have underestimated you," he declared and Liora grinned at him.

“It's okay; everyone makes that mistake."

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Damien’s office was as cold and unfeeling as he was. Cold, mahogany-coloured chairs and shelves filled with books that Liora already had a headache staring at. 

Liora sat across from Damien, her back straight, her gaze unwavering.

“Why do you think it’s my dream to crush the Morgan Group?” he asked and Liora tilted her head.

“It isn’t?” she asked but Damien didn’t respond; he just stared at her.

“They raised you for the last 21 years, clothed you, gave you the best and made you who you are, and you want to ruin them?” he finally asked and Liora burst into laughter, a bitter taste in her mouth.

“President Frost, allow me to remind you again that I’m your best shot at even getting near the Morgan group. I know everything – the dirty deals, hidden and offshore accounts and even the ones you can’t dare to imagine; I know them all, so I’ll ask only once, do we have a deal?” she asked; her voice was sharp and lethal.

“What do you want in return?” Damien asked calmly.

“Revenge!” Liora snarled, “I want revenge,” she spat.

Damien leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Nobody added dangerous to the kind of woman you are, Liora Morgan,” he muttered and Liora chuckled, getting to her feet.

“I am a lot of things, President Frost, and it seems to me that you don’t want this deal,” she muttered and then turned and started walking out. Damien had indeed been her best bet, her best shot but if he was unwilling, she was going to walk away. She knew that her request was maddening and shocking, and someone like Damien would almost never agree, he had questions; questions that she had no answers to, questions that the answers would not make sense to anyone no matter how hard she tried to explain or even to him and worse she wasn’t even interested in explaining to anyone. Her previous life experiences were still fresh in her head. It had broken her heart and left her stone cold; she trusted no one, only herself.

“Alright, Liora Morgan. You want a marriage alliance? You’ll get one. But from this moment on, your life no longer belongs to you.” Damien’s voice brought Liora’s steps to a stop and she froze.

He agreed?

She turned slowly to him, meeting Damien’s cold eyes. “My life never belonged to me in the first place.” 

He studied her for a long moment before he spoke. “We have a deal, Mrs Frost.”