The next morning brought a storm Anita hadn’t seen coming—not from the frontlines, but from within the walls of the fortress she had so carefully built.Anita entered the boardroom at Grant Holdings, expecting support, strategy, and a unified front. Instead, she walked into silence and stiff backs. The tension was visceral, as if the air itself was laced with suspicion.Nathan sat at the head of the table, jaw tight. Across from him, Reva Langston, the very woman who had shaken Anita’s hand just hours ago, now stared at her with cold detachment.“What happened?” Anita asked, setting her tablet down.Reva didn’t blink. “Dominic Pierce filed an injunction against you, Anita. He claims your press conference was a smear campaign backed by falsified documents.”“That’s absurd. We verified everything.”Nathan spoke then, voice clipped. “Pierce is claiming the documents you presented were stolen from a secure database in Switzerland—and that Grant Holdings was complicit in cybercrime.”A chi
On the morning following the scandal, Anita stood in the centre of her penthouse, gazing at the city skyline that she had once thought was her stronghold. Normally a source of pride, the vista now felt like a mocking reminder of the mayhem she had let loose. On the sofa table, her phone was constantly buzzing. For the time being, she disregarded it. The world could wait. With her head still reeling from the events of the previous few hours—Pierce's premeditated blow, Stacy's treachery, and her choice to turn the tables on them both—her fingers caressed the edge of the marble counter. The cost had only just started to become apparent, and the satisfaction was bittersweet.Max had performed his duties with surgical accuracy. Pierce had to deal with the damage right away because the leaks had struck hard. Anita was aware, however, that the billionaire businessman was not the kind to back down for very long. Retaliation would occur, and it would affect all parties. Even those wh
The weight of choices taken, vows made, and threats that now loomed like a storm on the horizon made the air in the apartment feel heavier with every second that went by. Nathan stood by the wide window, watching the city below pulse, its lights a blur of movement, as though everything was changing all the time. For a brief time, he wanted he could be somewhere else instead of here, confronting the truth he had been avoiding, as the enormity of it appeared to engulf him whole.Anita paced tensely and quickly behind him. There were many unspoken statements in the deafening quiet between them, but neither of them felt willing or able to break it. Even though they had experienced a lot together, it seemed like the tipping moment. Their marriage was now on the verge of breaking due to the strain that had been building for weeks and months beneath the surface. He sensed it, like a tense wire about to break. "Why didn’t you tell me, Nathan?" At last, the quiet was broken by Anita's
It was my third anniversary with my boyfriend. I was busy preparing to get to his place and surprise him. Harry had grown somewhat distant because of how busy his work was keeping him. He'd had to cancel our plans for the evening last minute because he'd be working really late.So I decided to bring our plans to him. I got a taxi and drove to the rich side of town. I had a key to his apartment and I went in. He wasn't home yet so I busied myself with cooking and setting up his surprise. A few hours later, I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. He was a bit earlier than I'd expected. I quickly tidied up and rushed into his bathroom to freshen up. Soon, I heard him enter the room. I smiled, preparing to go out to meet him, when I heard something else and my hand paused on the doorknob. A giggle. It was loud and piercing at the same time and it was followed by kissing sounds and soft moaning. My hand tightened around the know and I opened it slightly, giving me a view o
The air was thick, heavy with silence. I turned back slowly. The man already had a robe on, but he was closer to me than I'd anticipated and our faces were only inches apart. “W-what?” I stutter “I need a wife and I think you'll be perfect for the job” He said simply like he went around asking all the women he slept with to marry him. “I don't know who you think you are but I'm not that kind of woman. This was a one time thing and I was drunk” He steps back from me and goes to the intercom on his bedside. While I'm busy standing there, in shock of his ‘proposition’ the man calls room service for his breakfast. “Is this some kind of joke to you?” “Here…” He returns to me with his business card but I barely glance at it. “Call me when you've reconsidered” He said, his words closely mirror Harry's and it angers me. “Why? Because you think I'm some cheap slut who you can use and command as you please? I don't know who you are mister, but this was a mistake and I never want to see
I picked the card off the ground and stared at it. Several thoughts came to mind as I looked at it. I turned it over but his name wasn't on it. It was just his number. For the rest of the way I pondered over the man and what he'd said. Suddenly his offer seemed like something I had to consider. He was clearly rich. If I married him, he'd help me pay for my muns surgery. I felt conflicted. I wouldn't just be agreeing to a contract. I'd be selling myself out. Sacrificing my morals and my dignity. Especially after I'd told the man I'd never call him. My room felt cold and empty that night. It seemed to feel my own inner emptiness and the thoughts battling within me. I turned and turned, unable to sleep. Around midnight, I got up for a glass of water and I ended up picking up the card again. I knew I had to make a choice. My self pride or my mother's life. My grip on the card tightened and I looked down at it. I bit my inner lip and closed my eyes before picking up my phone. I diale
After days of trying to reach him he'd finally showed up at my door to save me. “Are you hurt?” His rich voice cleared my thoughts as I stared at him, totally transfixed. I could muster up any words yet so I simply shook my head. “Come. These men will be taken care of” o didn't protest as he carried me in his arms and took me to his car. He set me down in the passenger seat and fixed my seat belt. I was still in shock. Still processing. The man drove for about a half hour and stopped in front of a grand mansion. He helped me out of the car and led me inside. I kept looking around. I'd thought Harry was rich but this man redefined the word. A small flicker of hope sparked within me. Maybe, just maybe I still had a chance to pay for mums surgery. The man took me to the living room and dropped me on the couch. A maid came soon after and offered me a glass of water. My throat was a but parched from all the yelling, so I took the water gratefully.All the while, the man observed me s
Anita's breath caught. the world around her shrank until she could only see Harry's arrogant expression. His arrogant smirk made her shiver with disgust .Her stomach churned at the irony- of all people, why did her past have to be linked to Nathan's family?Standing beside a tall tree, gorgeous woman, Harry titled his head, sweeping his look over her. “ Well, this is…. unexpected”, he remarked, amusement flashing through his eyes. “ Uncle, I had no idea you were bringing a guest. And a very familiar one at that.The subtle stress in his tone caused Anita's fingers to crul into fist. She forced herself to stand upright, her heart racing in ears. Nathan, who had remained quiet until now, spoke calmly but with authority.“She's my wife.”The world appeared to pause. A hush settled over the guest nearby, curious glance darting in their direction. Anita's throat felt drier. The word “ wife” sounded foreign and unreal, like a script she hasn't yet memorized.The woman standing next H
The weight of choices taken, vows made, and threats that now loomed like a storm on the horizon made the air in the apartment feel heavier with every second that went by. Nathan stood by the wide window, watching the city below pulse, its lights a blur of movement, as though everything was changing all the time. For a brief time, he wanted he could be somewhere else instead of here, confronting the truth he had been avoiding, as the enormity of it appeared to engulf him whole.Anita paced tensely and quickly behind him. There were many unspoken statements in the deafening quiet between them, but neither of them felt willing or able to break it. Even though they had experienced a lot together, it seemed like the tipping moment. Their marriage was now on the verge of breaking due to the strain that had been building for weeks and months beneath the surface. He sensed it, like a tense wire about to break. "Why didn’t you tell me, Nathan?" At last, the quiet was broken by Anita's
On the morning following the scandal, Anita stood in the centre of her penthouse, gazing at the city skyline that she had once thought was her stronghold. Normally a source of pride, the vista now felt like a mocking reminder of the mayhem she had let loose. On the sofa table, her phone was constantly buzzing. For the time being, she disregarded it. The world could wait. With her head still reeling from the events of the previous few hours—Pierce's premeditated blow, Stacy's treachery, and her choice to turn the tables on them both—her fingers caressed the edge of the marble counter. The cost had only just started to become apparent, and the satisfaction was bittersweet.Max had performed his duties with surgical accuracy. Pierce had to deal with the damage right away because the leaks had struck hard. Anita was aware, however, that the billionaire businessman was not the kind to back down for very long. Retaliation would occur, and it would affect all parties. Even those wh
The next morning brought a storm Anita hadn’t seen coming—not from the frontlines, but from within the walls of the fortress she had so carefully built.Anita entered the boardroom at Grant Holdings, expecting support, strategy, and a unified front. Instead, she walked into silence and stiff backs. The tension was visceral, as if the air itself was laced with suspicion.Nathan sat at the head of the table, jaw tight. Across from him, Reva Langston, the very woman who had shaken Anita’s hand just hours ago, now stared at her with cold detachment.“What happened?” Anita asked, setting her tablet down.Reva didn’t blink. “Dominic Pierce filed an injunction against you, Anita. He claims your press conference was a smear campaign backed by falsified documents.”“That’s absurd. We verified everything.”Nathan spoke then, voice clipped. “Pierce is claiming the documents you presented were stolen from a secure database in Switzerland—and that Grant Holdings was complicit in cybercrime.”A chi
Dominic Pierce thought he’d rattled her.He’d sent the orchid as a warning, veiled in civility. But Anita wasn’t the girl she’d been when she first walked into Nathan’s world. She’d been made, broken, burned, and reborn.She knew now that in games of power, silence was never safety—it was strategy.Anita stood before the mirror in her office, buttoning a crisp ivory blouse. Her reflection stared back with poise and purpose. Behind her, Patricia’s photograph smiled faintly on the bookshelf. That reminder was all she needed.Nathan appeared in the doorway, his frame a towering presence. “The press conference is set. Noon.”She turned, slipping gold hoops into her ears. “Are the files ready?”“They are.” He stepped closer. “Are you?”She met his gaze. “You’re not the only one who keeps leverage, Nathan.”He raised a brow. “You’ve been building something?”“I learned from the best.” Her voice was calm, but there was steel beneath. “Remember when I asked you to assign me as your proxy on t
Anita didn’t speak during the drive home.She sat in the back of the armored black Maybach, eyes fixed on the lights bleeding through the city skyline, replaying every word Dominic Pierce had said. The man didn’t blink. Didn’t threaten. He didn’t need to. His offer wasn’t just power—it was a declaration.He didn’t want to destroy Nathan. He wanted to replace him. With her.And that made this war far more personal.When the car pulled into the private elevator bay at the Grant penthouse, she stepped out, shoulders straight, heels echoing like declarations of defiance. The moment the elevator doors opened, Nathan was already there—jacket off, tie undone, eyes stormy with anticipation.“Well?” he asked.Anita let out a slow breath. “He wants to recruit me.”Nathan’s brow twitched. “Recruit?”“Full takeover. My own firm. Resources. Autonomy. And I’d never need you again.”Silence settled thickly between them.He crossed the room slowly, eyes scanning her face. “And?”“I told him to go to
The Calm Before the WarThe rain had stopped, but the tension hadn’t.Nathan stood at the balcony of the penthouse, shirt sleeves rolled up, the city sprawled beneath him like a conquered battlefield. Yet victory felt heavy, laced with exhaustion. His mind replayed every detail from the boardroom, every reaction—Delacorte’s twitching eye, Chen’s collapse, and Anita’s unflinching resolve.She’d been magnificent.Behind him, Anita moved through the living room, barefoot, still in the suit she hadn’t changed out of since the night before. Her hair was slightly tousled, and fatigue clung to her frame like a second skin, but her eyes… they were alive. Sharp. Focused.She approached him quietly, holding two mugs of black coffee. No celebration. No champagne. Just coffee. Because they weren’t done yet.“You’re not sleeping,” she said, offering the cup.He took it, brushing her fingers with his. “Neither are you.”She leaned on the railing beside him. “We just humiliated one of the most corru
Shortly after midnight, the storm broke out. Rain battered the penthouse windows as lightning illuminated the skyline and thunder cracked over the metropolis. Everything was moving in Nathan's battle room, which used to be his office. Anita leaned over a computer table showing the activities of shareholders, Gregor yelled orders into a secure queue, and Nathan Nathan observed her. Something about her had changed. Once standing unsurely at the edge of wolf-infested boardrooms, the woman now stood in the middle, unwavering. Making calculations. Sharp.While looking over the information on the encrypted server that Nathan had previously concealed from even his own legal advisor, Anita remarked, "We're going to need proof." "The board's plan cannot be overturned without concrete proof of wrongdoing or manipulation." "Misconduct always occurs," Gregor mumbled. "These men didn't reach the summit without stepping on people." "Then we discover the corpses," she answered in a firm
As Anita's remarks reverberated across the room, silence descended once more, this time more profoundly. It's time to invite those they never thought to invite. It's time to reverse the situation. At first, Nathan remained silent. He looked her, truly studied her, and his eyes narrowed, calculating. He was constantly aware of Anita's intelligence and fortitude. However, this? This was a very different matter. Instead of cowering in the shadows behind him, she was stepping into her own and daring to confront the machine that had moulded their world. "Who are they?" With care in his voice, Gregor asked in a low murmur. "We need details if we're going to take action. Right now.Anita averted her gaze from both of them and looked up at the glistening skyline. In addition to her face, the mirror in the glass depicted the woman she had grown into, one who had withstood manipulation, treachery, and a web of power struggles that would have destroyed anybody else. She whirled aro
The air was packed with unspoken words as they locked the doors of Nathan's private office. The slight bustle of the metropolis beyond the glass walls felt distant, replaced by an oppressive silence that hung between them. Nathan stood at the far end of the room, his back to her, hands clasped behind his neck, gazing out into the darkness. His figure was black against the lighted skyline, with the weight of leadership—and everything they had worked for—weighing heavily on him.Anita took a deep breath, feeling the chilly air on her skin as she stepped into the chamber, her shoes' heels clicking quietly on the polished marble floors. Despite the opulence of the setting and the vista, everything about this moment felt off. The tension between them was real, like an invisible thread about to snap. She had never seen him this remote, closed-off.She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died on her lips as Nathan turned around, his face determined. His gaze met hers, his face op