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Chapter 7: Public Humiliation
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2026-01-12 09:51:33
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Billion Dollar Regrets: 21 Nights of Payback Chapter 7: Public Humiliation
The Mandarin Oriental ballroom is exactly the kind of place where Manhattan's elite come to pretend they care about charity.Crystal chandeliers. Champagne towers. Women in gowns that cost more than most people's annual salary. Men in tuxedos discussing deals that'll make or break companies before dessert is served.I'm wearing Valentino. Red. The kind of red that makes people look twice. The kind that says I belong here, that I've always belonged here, that I wasn't serving these same people appetizers two weeks ago.Damien's wearing Armani. Black tuxedo, crisp white shirt, looking every inch the billionaire he's pretending to still be.Except tonight, he's not here as a guest.He's here as my assistant."Stay close," I tell him as we walk through the entrance. "When I need something, you get it. When I'm talking to someone, you stand two steps behind me and don't speak unless spoken to. Understand?"His jaw tightens. "Yes.""Yes, what?"A pause. I can see the war happening behind th
Billion Dollar Regrets: 21 Nights of Payback Chapter 6: Night One - Submission
My bedroom is exactly what you'd expect from a man who has everything and feels nothing.Minimalist. Expensive. Cold.King-sized bed with Italian sheets. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. Abstract art that cost six figures and means nothing to me. Everything in shades of gray and black, because apparently that's what successful men are supposed to want.Aria stands in the doorway, taking it all in. I watch her face, trying to read what she's thinking."It's exactly like I imagined," she finally says. "Empty."The word hits harder than it should.She walks to the window. Looks out at the view that's supposed to make me feel powerful. "You know what's funny? I used to fantasize about this. About seeing where you lived. Meeting your friends. Being part of your real life." She turns back to me. "You never let me in. Not once. We spent six months together and I never saw your home."Because this was never meant to be shared. Because letting her in would've made it real. Wo
Billion Dollar Regrets: 21 Nights of Payback Chapter 5: Damien's Dilemma
I don't sleep.Can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see her—not the cold, powerful woman from the office, but the girl from three years ago. The one who laughed at my terrible jokes. The one who'd curl into me after we made love and trace patterns on my chest while telling me about her dreams.The one I destroyed.It's 3 AM and I'm in my study, laptop open, going through every document in the digital copies Aria's assistant emailed me. "A preview," Maya Chen's message said. "So you know Ms. Sterling isn't bluffing."She's not bluffing.Jesus Christ, she's not bluffing.Every transaction I thought was buried. Every bribe I thought was untraceable. Every corner I cut, every law I bent, every ethical line I crossed—it's all here. Documented with the kind of thoroughness that could only come from someone with unlimited resources and unlimited motivation.My father taught me how to hide money. How to create shell companies and offshore accounts. How to make illegal deals look legitim
Billion Dollar Regrets: 21 Nights of Payback Chapter 4: The Proposal
He's late.Not by much—only three minutes—but it tells me what I need to know. He's nervous. Probably circled the block twice, working up the courage to walk through that door.Good.I'm sitting behind my grandfather's desk—my desk now—in the corner office of Stellar Holdings. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Manhattan. The sun's setting, painting the city in shades of gold and blood. Poetic, really.The desk is clear except for three things: a crystal decanter of whiskey, two glasses, and a single manila folder.The folder that's going to change everything.Maya buzzes me on the intercom. "Ms. Sterling? Mr. Cross is here."I take a breath. Smooth my hands over my skirt. I'm wearing Armani tonight—black suit, red silk blouse, the kind of outfit that costs more than I used to make in a month. My hair's pulled back in a severe bun. Makeup perfect. Armor in place.I'm not the girl he destroyed. I'm someone else entirely."Send him in."The door opens.And there's Damien Cross, looking l
Billion Dollar Regrets: 21 Nights of Payback Chapter 3: His Empire Crumbles
I can't get her face out of my head.It's been three days since the engagement party. Three days since Aria Kane—correction, Aria fucking Kane—appeared like a ghost and dumped champagne all over Victoria before vanishing into the night. Three days of Victoria's hysterics, the wedding planner's panicked calls, and my own mind spinning in circles trying to understand what the hell just happened.She was supposed to be gone. Broken. Disappeared into whatever hole people fall into when you destroy their lives.Instead, she looked... God, I don't even know how to describe it. Different. Harder. There was something in her eyes that wasn't there before—something cold and sharp and dangerous.Something that scared the shit out of me."Are you even listening?" Victoria's voice cuts through my thoughts. We're in my office—my corner office on the 75th floor that I'm probably going to lose in the next quarter if things don't turn around. She's perched on the edge of my desk, perfectly manicured n
Billion Dollar Regrets: 21 Nights of Payback Chapter 2: Three Years of Ashes
I make it two blocks before my hands start shaking.Not fear. Not regret. Just adrenaline finally catching up with the fact that I just crashed Damien Cross's engagement party and dumped champagne all over his future wife. The catering company is probably firing me right now. Adding me to some blacklist. Whatever. I've been fired from better jobs for worse reasons.The November air bites through my thin jacket as I walk toward the subway. My phone's already buzzing—probably my supervisor, probably furious. I silence it. Let them be angry. Let them all be angry.I saw his face. That's all that matters.I saw the exact moment Damien realized who I was, and I watched three years of carefully constructed denial crumble. He thought he'd never have to face me. Thought I'd just... disappeared. Faded away like I never mattered.Guess again, asshole.My apartment is forty minutes away in Queens—a studio that's probably smaller than Damien's walk-in closet. The building smells like someone's co
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