Chapter 5

Days had blurred past since the evening I unveiled my true self to the world. Every television broadcast beamed my face and name across the news networks, the anchor voices droning over high-resolution photos of my grand reveal. Talk shows inundated my office with invitations for exclusive sit-down interviews, yet I left every message unreturned.

I simply basked in the quiet intoxication of taking what belonged to Samantha.

​My thumb traced the velvet edges of the jewelry casing containing the necklace she had pined over, the item I had outbid her for without batting an eye. Opening the latch, I let my gaze drink in the piece before running a single fingertip across its intricate details. The pendant curved into a perfect heart, its facets catching the sunlight and casting fractured beams across the room, demanding the devotion of anyone who dared to look upon it.

​A rapid, heavy pounding against my office door shattered the stillness. The heavy wood swung open, revealing Scarlet, her eyes wide with unsaid urgency.

​"Scarlet, what is it? Why do you look like that?"

​"Miss Lora," she began, but before she could finish, a familiar, booming voice echoed from the corridor outside.

​Scarlet’s shoulders drooped in defeat as her warning was rendered obsolete. Closing the velvet box, I pushed it to the edge of the desk, leaning in to absorb every vibration of the commotion brewing outside.

​"I am not here to cause trouble! I just want to speak with the CEO of La Lora!" Carson's voice boomed, heavy and ragged like a winded beast.

​"Mr. Hemswood, Miss Lora is unavailable! You cannot cause a scene here!"

​"I told you I am not causing trouble! I just need to speak with her! I demand to speak with her!" Carson bellowed.

​My pulse surged with a thrilling rhythm, a visceral reaction to watching him swallow my bait so completely. This was the precise outcome I had crafted, orchestrating a single, unforgettable moment where he would be forced to look at me again after serving me divorce papers and discarding me like garbage.

​"Lora! Lora, I know you are in there. I need to talk to you!"

​"Miss Lora," Scarlet whispered softly, "just say the word and I will call extra security to throw him out of the building."

​A slow smile curved my lips as I shook my head. "There is no need for that, Scarlet. Let him make his noise outside my office. After all, I spent years dreaming of the day he would beg for a moment of my time, and I am enjoying every second of this." Standing up, I walked toward the entrance and pulled the door open myself.

​"Do not stand in my way unless you want me to forget my manners!"

​As the door swung wide, the scene unraveled before me. Carson had his left hand bunched into my security guard's collar, his right fist pulled back, ready to strike.

​"Well, look who decided to grace my office with his presence," I said softly.

​Carson froze, slowly releasing his grip on the guard's collar. He squared his shoulders, trying desperately to regain his composure. He swallowed hard, a flash of humiliation washing over his features as my cold, dismissive gaze pinned him to the spot.

​"You seem to have lost your way, Mr. Hemswood."

​"Miss Lora," the guard panted, adjusting his uniform, "I tried to explain that you was unavailable, just as you instructed, but he refused to listen. He forced his way up here."

​"It is quite alright. Return to your post," I said, keeping my eyes locked onto Carson. "And as for you, Mr. Hemswood, since you went through such dramatic lengths to secure a meeting, I shall grant you a moment. Step into my office."

​Scarlet hovered at the threshold. "Miss Lora, call me immediately if he steps out of line."

​I offered her a reassuring smile before turning back. I crossed into the room first, with Carson following close behind. The heavy click of the door closing signaled the quiet reality of the room, locking me inside with the man who was once my sanctuary, my trusted partner, and my deepest love, but who had ultimately left me with the rawest wounds of my life.

​"What can I do for you, Carson? Would you care for a drink? Coffee? Juice? Perhaps something stronger so we can toast to our reunion after all these years?"

​"I did not come here to play games with you, Lora!"

​"Careful, Carson. Remember that you are the beggar in this equation, so adjust your tone accordingly. If I decide I do not like the sound of your voice, I will have my security drag you out to the pavement."

​He drew in a deep, shuddering breath, every muscle in his jaw straining as he fought to suppress his temper. I hummed a light tune, pivoting slowly on my heel to face him. While his face remained rigid and dark, mine radiated a calm, venomous amusement.

​"I never imagined a man like you, refined and powerful in the corporate world, throwing a hysterical tantrum outside my private door."

​"Give me the necklace, Lora. I will reimburse every single penny you spent to win it."

​My brows pulled together slightly. His words laid bare the raw truth beneath his anger, revealing a bruised ego burning from the defeat he suffered at the auction hall.

​"I have zero incentive to sell the Golden Heart of Paradise to you, Carson. In fact, I prefer that no one ever lays eyes on it again besides me."

​"I will add another billion on top of it, Lora. Just name your price and hand it over."

​A sharp, mocking laugh escaped my throat.

​"You are truly pathetic, Carson. Imagine spending days working yourself into a frenzy, barking like a mad dog outside my door, all over a piece of jewelry."

​"Lora!"

​"What is the matter, Carson? You took so long to come here. Is money getting a bit tight for a man of your stature these days? If you are struggling financially, you need only ask and I might consider offering you a loan."

​"It's all about the necklace, Lora! So stop mumbling other things! That is why I am here, Lora! I need that necklace! It is crucial that I get it!" he pressed, his composure cracking further.

​"No matter what theatrical display you put on, that necklace remains mine. It is exclusive to me."

​"Two billion, Lora. Sell it to me."

​His persistent whining was becoming tiresome. I had never seen this pathetic side of him before, acting impulsively without a shred of strategy.

​"You could offer three, four, or five billion, Carson, and the answer would remain identical. It is not for sale."

​"Sam is sick, Lora! Her heart is failing! A—And I need to give her the necklace."

​If I were still the fragile, devotion-blinded wife he had abandoned, those words might have broken my heart and drawn tears from my eyes. But that version of Lora was dead. Time and betrayal had remade me entirely.

​"That sounds like a personal tragedy, Carson," I said, turning my back on him. "When your fiancée finally succumbs to her condition, send the cemetery address to my secretary. I will be sure to send a candle for her grave. But the necklace stays with me."

​"Have you really grown this cruel, Lora?"

​For a brief second, the statement lingered in the air. The hypocrisy was almost poetic. When they trampled on my dignity and shattered my existence, it was simply the way of the world, but the moment I turned the blade back toward them, I became the villain.

​"This is not the woman I used to know!"

​That single phrase ignited a fire deep within my chest. I whipped around to face him, a sudden surge of wrath boiling up from the depths of my soul. A single, hot tear escaped my left eye, tracing a solitary path down my cheek while the rest of my face remained an unreadable mask of stone.

​"I suggest you recall the final words I spoke to you the day you threw me out of your mansion, Carson."

​"Please," he rasped, his voice breaking as his hands trembled. "Please, just give me the necklace."

​"Leave now while I still choose to respect the sanctity of my workplace, Carson. Because if I lose my patience in this room, you will not survive the consequences."

​"Lora Vance!"

​"We are finished here, Mr. Hemswood. And when your fiancée dies of her illness, I will personally pray her soul goes straight to hell."

​I watched the last remnants of his spirit shatter behind his eyes, his pride crumbling into dust right before he turned and stumbled out of my office. He deserved every bit of the ruin.