Chapter Seven: "The Two-Billion-Dollar Muse"

Clover’s question hung in the air, sharp and heavy as a guillotine blade. I offered no answer; I simply couldn't.

“I told you, Clover. I’m not with anyone. I am very single, and you know that.”

I sidestepped her, my heels striking a frantic, uneven rhythm against the floor until I reached the refuge of my office and slammed the door shut. But the walls were glass they were always glass and it felt as though the entire office was peering in, watching me unravel.

I sat at my desk, tucking my trembling hands beneath my thighs to steady them. I reached for the mouse, desperate to bury myself in work, but a notification on my personal laptop diverted my attention: a ping from a local corporate gossip blog I followed for industry updates.

The $2 Billion Muse? Inside the Carter Brothers' Hostile Takeover of Ferguson & Co.

My heart stopped. I clicked the link.

It wasn't a text post, but a grainy photo, snapped twenty minutes ago in the lobby. Killian was captured in high definition, leaning into my personal space with that predatory smirk, while Kade stood behind me like a dark, possessive shadow. Someone in the company had leaked this I was surrounded by traitors.

The comment section was already a cesspool:

"Is that Mia Perez? I went to school with her. Guess we know how she made M.D. so fast.

*"Identical twins? She's living the dream or a nightmare."

"Definitely a nightmare. Incest-adjacent shit."

"$2 billion for a mid-sized firm? That's a big dowry."

The room began to spin. The "savior" I had spent five years fantasizing about was actively dismantling my reputation, and the man I had accidentally slept with was holding the matches to burn me down.

I bolted.

Not home. Not again. I sprinted for the back stairwell and ducked into the fourth-floor shared restroom, praying I hadn't been followed. I dove into the end stall, locked the door, and collapsed onto the closed seat. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in my hands.

I usually avoided this restroom not because it was dirty, but because the shared nature of it didn't sit right with me. Now, however, it was my only refuge. The intellectual Mia Perez the woman who commanded boardrooms full of aging lions had vanished. In her place was a terrified nineteen-year-old caught in a crossfire she didn't understand.

*Why are they doing this?* If Kade was my savior, why was he silent while Killian turned me into a punchline? And Killian was his ego so fragile that he had to purchase my company simply because I walked out on a one-night stand? It was meant to be one night for a reason

A sob hitched in my throat, but I choked it back. I couldn't even weep in peace; I was too busy calculating the damage. My career was my life the only tangible thing I had left after that night five years ago. Now, the Carters had turned my sanctuary into a cage. I was no longer in control of my job, my image, or even my own history. I was just a "side project." A trophy.

I wiped away a few stray tears and steadied my breathing. I was a strong woman. Two men would not break me. It only hurt more knowing that Kade was participating in this charade; their twin rivalry clearly ran deeper than his decency. But he was still my knight in shining armor... wasn't he?

The main door swung open.

I froze, holding my breath. Two sets of footsteps entered heavy, synchronized, and undeniably male. In the women’s bathroom. My heart hammered against my ribs, surely loud enough for them to hear.

"I knew you were in here," Killian said. His face was so dark he and Kade finally felt indistinguishable. His voice wasn't playful or flirtatious; it was demanding. "Hiding in the bathroom is beneath you."

"Give her a moment, Killian," Kade’s voice followed lower, more grounded, yet somehow more terrifying. He sounded like a man waiting for a wild animal to exhaust itself.

I was the wild animal.

They had followed me to another floor and marched into a women's restroom. The sheer audacity of their entitlement turned my panic into a cold, sharp spark of fury. I stood up, smoothed my blazer, and faced them.

"You can't be in here," I whispered, my voice trembling. "This is harassment. I can file a report. I can"

"With whom?" Killian stepped forward, closing the distance until I was pinned against the stall door. "The board? We *are* the board. The HR department? We signed their paychecks this morning. Stop fighting the inevitable, Mia. You’re stressed. Come have lunch. Let us take care of it."

Take care of it?" I let out a jagged, hysterical laugh. "You *are* the problem, Killian! You’re the reason people are calling me a corporate whore online!"

I turned to Kade, my eyes burning. "And you. Tell him to stop. Both of you, leave. This is bizarre behavior!"

Kade’s gaze darkened, and he stepped closer, effectively flanking me with his brother. It seemed this was a situation I would be forced to endure repeatedly. I despised it. Kade reached out, his thumb brushing my jawline a gesture so gentle it felt like a threat.

Killian snatched his hand away. "You don’t need to touch her."

"Neither do you," Kade snapped.

The air in the small room thinned. They were both so close, so furious, that I could feel the heat radiating off them fire and ice, converging on me.

The pressure shattered.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, the sound tearing through the sterile quiet. I shoved Kade’s chest and ducked under Killian’s arm. "Both of you! Stay away from my office, stay away from my life, and stay the hell away from me!"

I didn't look back. I sprinted for the door, my vision blurred by a fresh wave of hot, unstoppable tears. I didn't know where I was going, but I realized one thing: the twins weren't just fighting each other anymore.

They were fighting for me.