Anita found that the days after the tense evening at Nathan's estate flew by. The subtle undertone of antagonism from Harry, Nathan's controlled indifference, and the house’s suffocating silence made her feel like a ghost passing through a world she no longer recognised.Her function, while evident, was more ambiguous than ever. She had joined this marriage expecting it to be straightforward.A contract. A business transaction. But now, every moment felt like a perilous balancing act, like if the ground beneath her feet may collapse at any time.Nathan had mostly kept his distance.Their interactions were brief and transactional, centered on home affairs, with occasional frigid nod of assent or tacit agreement to maintain apprearances in public. There was no warmth or comfort. Only the impending burden of their chosen life together.She'd tried to concentrate on the details.On survival? Her mother's operation, the never-ending meetings with lawyers, and the mysterious individual th
Anita felt suffocated by the demands in Nathan's household. Despite the mansion's wealth and size, every room felt cold and menacing. Eleanor's frosty glares, Stacy's covert barbs, and Harry's overt manipulations were regular reminders that she was not genuinely welcome in this environment.For the most part, Nathan kept his distance. He was still present, but their chats were brief and their exchanges mechanical. A contract. A business arrangement. That was what he had promised her, yet the space between them felt like an abyss. She couldn't help but wonder: was there more beneath the surface? Was Nathan's indifference a shield, or did it reflect his actual feelings?Her days were filled with the humdrum responsibilities that come with being the wife of a billionaire: attending galas, pretending to be interested in charity events, and dealing with Nathan's family's continual judgement. It was taxing, but Anita had learnt to excel in her profession. She appeared to be the ideal wife,
Nathan's warning was still audible to Anita, but she refused to ignore it. As she learnt more about his business, she realised how entwined their lives were in a web of lies, treachery, and power conflicts. She was unable to simply watch what was taking place. Not any more.Days went by, and although Nathan had begun to relax, just a little, the tension between her and him remained high. There were times when he would ask her opinion on something or give a brief overview of his work, and their interactions seemed nearly normal. However, such times were infrequent, and each one left her yearning for more. She was beginning to long for a more profound relationship with him, one that went beyond their transactional, icy relationship.Anita had a new perspective on him one evening when they went to a gala together. A force of nature, Nathan was a stoic billionaire. The visitors around him seemed to pay close attention to whatever he said because of his captivating charisma. Anita
The ensuing days were a jumble of frigid silences and fleeting meetings. The tension between Anita and Nathan was obvious, heavy as a storm about to break. Each time their paths met, the weight of unspoken words hung heavy between them, and Anita's need for more—more from him, more from their marriage—grew stronger, chewing away. She had attempted to understand and adapt to his world, but now there was a sense of dread that made it difficult to breathe.But she wasn't only concerned about Nathan. Anita's thoughts concerning Harry got increasingly uncomfortable. He was a continuous thorn in her side, mocking her with innuendos and unrelenting attempts to influence her. He had made it apparent that he did not consider her a true member of the family, and the way he tried to irritate her put her on edge. What was his endgame?A week after the event, the first indication of anything very alarming appeared. Anita sat in her own study, reviewing some documents Nathan had given her c
As Nathan approached the door, his shadow against the hallway light, Anita stood in the darkened living room, breathing heavily. Her heart pounded more loudly, thumping with uncertainty, but the harsh sound of the doorbell continued to reverberate in her mind. Who might it be? There had been a delicate quiet between them, and who ventured to break it? However, Nathan seemed unsurprised. He wore a strained expression and clenched his jaw in a rigid line. He arched his shoulders slightly, as if he was bracing for something dreadful. Anita felt a flutter of worry that she couldn't identify. Perhaps it was because he hadn't appeared this stiff in a long time. It's probable she was aware of the instability in their relationship. With his back to her, Nathan whispered, "Stay here," and went for the door. His voice bore the weight of an unstated order despite being clipped, just above a whisper. He grabbed the door doorknob and yanked it open before Anita could react. She had hoped she wi
Once Harry was gone, the room was a stifling hush. His sarcastic words kept echoing in Anita's ears, progressively poisoning her thoughts with each phrase. Nathan stood there, his jaw so hard, his hands balled into fists, and she could feel the muscles beneath his skin tensing up. He hadn't moved much since Harry left, but Anita sensed the storm brewing within of him. She should have become accustomed to the hushed words that lingered and the icy tension between them. But this night was different. Harry had started something tonight that neither of them had expected.Anita's throat was dry as she swallowed. What did he mean, Nathan? How much does he know about my dad? With a harsh, inscrutable look, Nathan's eyes met hers. She briefly believed that he would not respond and would continue to keep her in the dark, as he always did. Then, though, his eyes softened a little. Nathan said in a calm, low voice, "I don't know how much he's found out." However, it indicates that H
As Anita's automobile raced through the streets, her head aflutter with a flurry of ideas, the city lights became blurry. Harry's words clung to her like unbreakable chains, reverberating in her mind like a menacing whisper. "I want you to help me take Nathan down." Her fingers whitened as she gripped the driving wheel more tightly. He had skilfully set up his trap, dangling the one thing she had been frantically seeking—answers regarding her father. However, the amount he asked for was excessive. Betray Nathan.The notion ought to have been absurd. She wasn't a blindly loyal wife to a husband who hardly gave her a second thought. Their marriage was based on a commercial agreement, a contract, and feelings had no place there. Nevertheless, the idea of siding with Harry made her stomach turn. Nathan had been cold, aloof, and cunning. However, he had also shielded her from harm—from Eleanor's humiliation to Stacy's attempts to discredit her and Harry's mockery of her backgrou
Anita woke up the following morning with a strong feeling of dread. She had been replaying Nathan's comments in her head for the whole of the night. "We play the game better than him." The game did not frighten her. No more. She was aware, however, that Harry wasn't playing by himself. Harry had allies, but Nathan had the authority. She also needed to know exactly who she was up against if she wanted to live. It was not long before she received a response.It was a tense breakfast. Anita hardly touched her lunch while the housekeeping crew walked in silence, setting dishes in front of them and refilling cups. With an enigmatic expression, Nathan sat across from her, browsing through his phone. Then the room was filled with the sound of a gentle chime. Nathan put the phone down after taking a quick look at his screen. He said in a casual tone, "Tonight, Eleanor is hosting a private event." "She anticipates our presence." Anita froze. Eleanor. In the confusion caused by
In sharp contrast to the pandemonium within, the penthouse had never felt colder than it did now. Despite the storm inside, the city lights outside flickered. As he took in what Anita had just disclosed, Nathan stood by the window with his back to her. The weight of whispered facts hung over them like a dense cloud of stillness. With her heart thumping in her chest, Anita stayed motionless. She had anticipated resentment, possibly even treachery. However, she had not anticipated the utter quiet that now pervaded the space. Although there had always been a gap between them, it felt much wider today. The ground seemed to have moved under their feet, and she was afraid it would swallow them both whole"It's unbelievable that you withheld this from me." Despite being low, Nathan's voice held a rawness that Anita hadn't expected. "You were aware of your father's actions, yet you chose not to inform me? You didn't anticipate how it would impact us? Anita winced, but she kept her
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