로그인Liam's POV"You put your card in my bag."No greeting. No preamble. Just that, delivered with the kind of directness that made most people scramble to catch up.I leaned back in my chair."I did.""Why?""Seemed like the right thing to do at the time."A brief pause. The kind that meant she was deciding something."I want to meet," she said."Alright.""Tonight. Somewhere neutral. I'll send the address."The call ended.I sat there with the phone in my hand for a moment. Marco was at his desk on the other side of the studio pretending to review fabric orders. He was doing it badly."Business contact," I said, before he could ask.He nodded without looking up. "Of course."Avery appeared in the doorway twenty minutes later. She came in the way she always did. With no announcement, like the room adjusted itself for her. She dropped her bag on the chair by the door and came to look at what I was working on."You're doing that thing," she said."What thing?""Where you're looking at somet
Ian's POV"Can I get you anything else, sir?""No."He left.I turned back to the window.My phone screen lit up when I checked it. 9:01.I set it face down on the table.The entrance across the street had a doorman and two people leaving. A courier dropping something at the desk inside.9:03.A black SUV rolled to a stop at the kerb.I sat forward slightly.The door opened and Camila stepped out. Slate grey coat, folder under one arm, already moving before the driver had fully stopped. She said something to the two people behind her and they stayed by the car.She went in alone.I leaned back.The coffee in front of me had stopped steaming at some point. I don't remember when.My concern was with Camila. I'd asked about her Thursday morning and she'd said she had something for the brand then kept it vague the way she kept things vague when she didn't want questions. I hadn't pushed. I almost never pushed with Camila because pushing with Camila meant a conversation I didn't have the
Elara's POV"Ms. Vale's assistant confirmed," Ivy said. "Nine o'clock. She'll have two people with her.""She comes in alone."Ivy didn't blink. "I'll handle it."She set the morning brief on my desk and left without another word. I picked up my coffee and looked out at the city. Manhattan on a Thursday morning had a particular quality — purposeful, indifferent and already three hours into itself before most people arrived.I've been here since seven meanwhile Camila arrived at nine exactly.I heard the elevator before Ivy appeared in the doorway, followed by the brief exchange of voices in the corridor, Ivy's tone carrying that particular warmth that meant the person on the receiving end wouldn't realise they were being managed."Ms. Vale."I stood when she entered. Not out of deference. I simply preferred to be standing when Camila walked into a room I owned.She looked exactly as she always had. Polished and dressed in a way that took considerable effort to make look effortless. Sh
Ian's POV "The gap is four months." Greyson's voice was the same as it always was, flat, unhurried and stripped of everything except information. I'd paid enough over the years to know that tone wasn't indifference. It was precision. "What kind of gap?" I asked. "The kind somebody made." A pause, followed by the sound of paper. "Elara Rhodes didn't exist before March of the year SM Group was registered. No university records, no tax history, no prior employment, no digital footprint. She arrives on paper exactly three months before the company files. Everything before that — nothing." I didn't respond. "The seed investment came from a David Sullivan. Australian Billionaire. He comes from old money and is legitimate. With a clean record too. He's been her primary backer since the beginning and from what I can tell the relationship predates the company by at least a year." Another pause. "Whoever built her background knew what they were doing. But they were building forward, no
Elara's POV The coffee was still hot when I sat down. That almost never happened. I wrapped both hands around the mug and looked at the morning through the kitchen window. The California sky was doing that thing it did in June, pale at the edges, gold collecting slowly in the middle, like the sun was taking its time deciding. Sydney mornings were louder and more insistent. This felt considered. I had forty minutes before Ivy arrived. And here I was using twenty minutes to do nothing. My phone lit up at half past eight. Noah's name on the screen. I picked up before the second ring. "You're up early," I said. "Couldn't sleep." His voice sounded restless. Four years old and already carrying the kind of quiet that made people underestimate him. "Emily kept the light on." "I did not." Emily's voice in the background, indignant. "You did." "That was Claire's side—" "It was my side—" "Both of you," I said. Silence. Then Noah, reluctantly, "She had the light on
Liam's POVThe fabric samples had been spread across the worktable since seven.By eleven I'd moved three of them and left the rest exactly where they were.Marco, my head designer, stood on the other side of the table waiting for me to say something useful. I could feel him waiting. He had that particular stillness of a man who'd learned not to rush me — arms folded, one finger tapping once against his sleeve before stopping himself."The ivory," I said."Which ivory?""The one on the left."He picked it up and held it toward the light. "It photographs cold.""Then we shoot it warm."He set it down without arguing. That was the thing about Marco — he pushed exactly once and then let it go. I'd hired him for that specifically."The Milano shipment clears customs Friday," he said, moving on. "And Petra from Vale Group called again about the collaboration proposal."I looked up."What did you tell her?""That you'd respond by the end of the week.""Tell her Wednesday."He made a note an
Ian's POVThe drive home was quiet.My driver said nothing. The city lights bled past the window in slow streaks of amber and white. I sat with one arm against the door, two fingers pressed to my mouth, staring at nothing in particular.You remind me of someone.I'd said that out loud. And to a wom
Elara's POV My fingers trembled so hard I could barely unlock my phone. One deep breath. One last ounce of courage. Then I hit send — the recording, Ian’s confession, every single shred of betrayal he had thrown at me. I attached it all with a note that burned like poison on my tongue.> “Let’s se
Elara's POV The streetlight above me flickered, throwing broken shadows across the driveway as I stood there, gripping the divorce papers like they were the only thing keeping me from falling apart. My hands were shaking so badly the pages rustled in the night air. I don’t even remember the dri
Elara's POV Where the fuck is he? I muttered to myself as I searched the Grand Hall for Ian, my diamond stilettos clicking sharply against the marble floor. Tonight was supposed to be special—our third anniversary and my twenty-fifth birthday. Ian had promised to make it a night I’d never forget







