Mag-log inThe next morning, I woke up before dawn not because I wanted to, but because sleep refused to come. My entire room still held the ruins of last night’s rage. Shattered perfume bottles glittered like broken stars on the floor. A toppled lamp lay against the wall. One of my heels had snapped in half from how hard I threw it.All because of her .Alice.The name throbbed in my skull like a curse, like poison crawling through my veins.And today, Vincent was supposed to visit.A thin smile curled at the corner of my lips as I sat in front of my vanity, brushing my hair slowly. Carefully. Precisely. Not a strand out of place. My makeup immaculate, my outfit elegant, my expression soft and docile — everything he expected to see.Everything I had perfected for years.He may not have chosen me before,but now… finally…I had the upper hand.The engagement ring glimmering on my finger proved it.He had no idea how close everything was to falling perfectly into place.Except for one threat.One
The moment I stepped out of the elevator,the weight of the entire day pressed on my shoulders like stone. My temples throbbed from lack of sleep, the endless thinking burrowing into my bones. I could barely remember the last time I genuinely rested. Meetings, shareholders, overseas calls, reports, and now — this constant haunting presence of Alice’s name in every corner of my mind.Snowy stood by the car immediately, pulling the door open for me. The cold breeze brushed my face, stinging my skin as if urging me to wake the hell up. I lowered myself into the backseat, exhaling sharply. Snowy shut the door firmly and walked around to the driver’s seat.The moment the car rolled out of the company’s underground garage, silence surrounded me. Heavy, suffocating silence. My head fell back against the headrest.Then — ping.A single notification. Sharp enough to snap me out of that drowning haze.I blinked slowly and reached for my phone. The screen lit up with a message from an unsaved num
The thoughts of thinking all these days had really taken a toll on me.My temples throbbed painfully as I rubbed my aching head, leaning back against the cool leather of my office chair. The soreness in my body felt deeper than physical—like a fatigue burrowed into my bones. Last night was another sleepless night, one in a long chain of them. I couldn’t take even a minute of rest. I spent the entire night video-calling shareholders from different countries, negotiating, managing crises, trying to keep the company’s international branches stable. By the time midnight came and went, I was still staring at a glowing screen, my voice hoarse, my eyes burning.And now… now I had to face this trouble of Lilian Pestering.I closed my eyes briefly as if that alone could erase her earlier tantrum, her dramatic plea about the engagement party, her father returning, the gossip, the pressure she insisted we were under. But it all clung to me like static, making my headache worse.Just when I thoug
The morning had barely started when my office door swung open without warning.Noah barged in—again—his breath uneven, his tablet clutched in one hand as though the world was ending. My jaw tightened instantly. The one thing I hated more than incompetence was interruption.Especially before I’d even finished my first coffee.I didn’t bother looking up from the documents spread across my desk. “Noah,” I said coldly, “I swear, if you’re here to waste my time—”He swallowed. “S-Sir… Ms. Lillian is here to see you.”I paused mid-signature, exhaled, then continued signing as if he hadn’t spoken. “Tell her I am busy.”Noah shifted, clearly anxious. “Sir—she said it’s urgent.”“I don’t care,” I said, voice low, firm, slicing. “You can tell her exactly that. I am busy.”He nodded quickly and rushed out.Good. I went back to work. Meetings, reports, restructuring. Everything was endless, chaotic, demanding—and I preferred it this way. Work didn’t ask emotional questions. Work didn’t betray. Wo
After dinner, the house hummed with that soft, familiar calm that only comes after a full meal and a lot of laughter. The kids’ energy slowly fizzled out, replaced by sleepy yawns and drooping eyelids. My boys leaned into me on either side as we cleared the table, their steps sluggish, their voices quieter than usual.“Mom… I’m sleepy,” my Darling murmured, rubbing his eyes with the back of his small hand.“I know, baby,” I whispered, smoothing his hair. “Let’s go rest.”Adrian was helping his daughter wash her hands at the sink, her tiny body sagging against him. Her head rested on his shoulder before he even finished rinsing the soap away.She was asleep within minutes.The boys clung to me as we walked down the hallway toward their room. Their warm little palms pressed into mine, and I felt my heart soften all over again. Even after long days, they always cuddled closer when I returned home—as if afraid I’d disappear again.I tucked them into bed, one by one.Dillion curled on his
The hot shower felt like heaven running down my skin. Every drop seemed to rinse away the exhaustion of the flight, the meetings, the mall, and the endless whirlwind that defined my life in Paris. I stood under the steaming water longer than I needed to, letting my mind drift back to the soft arms that had wrapped around my waist just a few minutes ago—the eager, warm, little bodies of my sons clinging to me, and the tiny weight of Adrian’s daughter launching herself into my embrace.My heart tightened with a familiar ache. No matter how strong I was in front of the world—CEO of La Paret, international designer, the name fashion houses whispered with envy—nothing compared to the moment I walked into that home and felt four small arms holding onto me like I was their entire universe.And Adrian…Standing behind them, quiet but smiling, those deep eyes of his softening in a way they rarely had years ago.I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out, still thinking about the way he sa







