LOGIN"Yeah… a maid’s daughter.” Maricris sneered, attempting subtlety, though the malice in her tone betrayed her.
“How fortunate she was to land herself a wealthy husband.” She spoke just enough for the ears of the small circle around them to hear.Unaware that she had already captured Ashton’s full attention.“Such luck,” Tanya added in a mocking whisper, casting Cassie a discreet but pointed glance, one brow lifting in quiet assessment.“As if fortune simplyThe weight of his gaze hit her like a physical force.Cold. Sharp. Intimidating.Cassie instinctively stepped back, her breath catching in her throat. For a fleeting moment, panic surged through her. Every instinct screamed at her to turn around, to run, to escape whatever storm she had just walked into.But she couldn’t move.Her feet felt rooted to the ground, as if the very air around her had hardened, trapping her in place.Seconds stretched—And just when she thought she might break under the pressure—He turned away. As if she wasn’t worth even a second glance. The dismissal struck harder than his stare.“No—”The word almost slipped out, but she caught herself. Panic flared again, sharper this time.If he walked away now… it would be over. Everything would be over.“Please—!”Her voice rang out, louder than she intended, desperation bleeding through despite her effort to contain it.“CEO Wright!”The entourage slowed—but did not stop.Cassie forced her trembling hands into fists
"You’ll need to secure an appointment first, Madame Greene,” the receptionist said with a polite, practiced smile. “The CEO’s earliest availability is in a week—for a twenty-minute meeting.”“A week?” Cassie repeated, her brows drawing together.That was too long—far too long for a mere twenty-minute meeting.She didn’t have the luxury of waiting. Not now. Not when everything had already been set into motion.In a week, it wouldn’t just be negotiations on the line. It would be everything.Her company. Her name. The empire she had painstakingly built from nothing. All of it could be torn apart before she even got the chance to sit across that man.Her fingers curled slightly at her side, her mind racing through alternatives, calculations forming and dissolving just as quickly.“We can’t wait that long,” she said, her tone still composed, but firmer now. “Is there any way to move us to the nearest available slot? This is urgent.”Beside her, Zandrie stepped forward, offering the recep
"It seems the Pierces won’t be ruling Bay City for much longer.”Roel Danes’ voice cut through the noise, sharp and dripping with malice as he positioned himself right in front of Ashton—perfectly framed for the swarm of cameras crowding the entrance of Pierce Corporation’s main building.Flashes exploded like lightning. Microphones were thrust forward.The entire scene felt like a feeding frenzy.“This morning doesn’t seem to be going well for you, CEO Pierce,” Roel added with a sneer, clearly savoring every second of the spectacle.Around them, reporters surged closer, their voices overlapping in a chaotic wave of questions.“CEO Pierce! What is your response to the allegations against Pierce Corporation and Malakai Group?”“Is it true that your company engaged in illegal negotiations?”“Where is Chairman Cassidy Greene?”“Is she avoiding the issue?”“How do you plan to address these accusations?”“Is Malakai Group involved in intellectual theft?”The questions came one after anothe
"It should be Malakai Pierce,” Ashton said quietly, his fingers threading gently through Cassie’s hair.The earlier storm between them had settled into a warm, lingering calm.Cassie lay against his chest, her eyes closing as she leaned into his touch, a soft, contented smile forming on her lips. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her cheek grounded her, a quiet contrast to the chaos they had just finished.“Malakai…” Ashton murmured again, more thoughtfully this time. “You built an empire with our son's name.”There was no accusation in his voice—only realization.Cassie shifted slightly, tilting her head to look at him. There was something softer in her gaze now, something unguarded.“I didn’t just build it,” she said gently.“I protected it… and carried it to the top—for him.”Her fingers traced slow, absent patterns against his chest as her voice softened with memory.“When I had nothing—no name, no place, no power…” she continued quietly, “I had him.”A faint, bitterswee
"I should be punishing you for hiding so much from me, Cassidy Greene." Ashton muttered under his breath, his voice low and strained.His chest rose and fell heavily, the control he had maintained all night now hanging by a fragile thread.A slow, sweet smile curved Cassidy’s lips, a direct contrast to the storm in his eyes. "Then punish me, Babe..." she whispered, her voice a silken challenge. She leaned forward, her mouth brushing a feather-light kiss against the taut, flexing muscle of his washboard abs.A rough, helpless sound—half-growl, half-plea—rumbled from his chest. "Cass…” A rough, almost helpless growl escaped him, echoing within the quiet luxury of the presidential suite.Her lips traced a deliberate path downward, skimming over the plains of his stomach. "This is the most influential man in Bay City," she murmured against his heated skin, her breath a ghost of a touch just above the trail of dark hair that led to his "mighty treasure." "And now he's utterly at my mer
"Cassidy… is the chairman of Malakai?” Red Knowles murmured, his voice barely audible, as if saying it any louder would make it real.“Dad…?” Mirriam turned to him, her face pale, her head shaking in frantic denial. “How can this be? This isn’t right… this doesn’t make any sense.”Her eyes darted back to the stage, locking onto Cassidy as if trying to reconcile the woman she had always belittled with the revelation now forced upon her.“That pathetic loser cannot be the chairman,” she insisted, her voice rising despite herself. “She’s just a maid’s daughter—someone who grew up on scraps. Where would she even get the power to build a multi-billion-dollar empire?”Her words, though sharp, carried an edge of desperation.But Roel Danes let out a low, disbelieving snort, stepping forward once more—unwilling to let the moment slip from his grasp.“If Cassidy Greene truly is the chairman of Malakai Group,” he said,
"Won’t we go bankrupt with all of this?” Zandrie asked, staring at the stack of documents in his hands.“Free housing projects. Free education for their children. Free hospitalization. Food allowances…”He looked up at Cassidy, eyes wide with disbelief. “Are you serious?”Cassidy lifted her gaze fr
"Marry me.”The words left my mouth exactly as I intended—steady, deliberate, stripped of even the faintest hesitation.What I received in return was silence.His eyes narrowed, sharp and assessing, as though he were deciding whether I had finally lost my mind—or had simply grown reckless enough to
Distant voices reached me, blurred and echoing, as if coming from the end of a long, collapsing tunnel. Darkness clung to me, heavy and insistent, pulling me deeper into its grasp.It would have been so easy to let go.But I couldn’t.There was an innocent life depending on me—on my strength, on my
"Where is my little pumpkin?” Zabrina Wallace asked the moment she stepped inside, both arms laden with paper bags from a well-known baby boutique.“Mom, why are you here again?” Zandrie said irritably, shooting her a glare as she marched straight toward the crib like she owned the place.“I’m not







