LOGINOne night. One mistake. One secret that could destroy everything. Sandra Nicholson thought the worst day of her life was catching her boyfriend in bed with her best friend. She was wrong. The worst day was the morning after when she discovered the stranger she'd spent the night with was Kelvin Clayton: her ex-boyfriend's father, a ruthless billionaire, and the only investor who can save her father's failing business. Kelvin should be off-limits. Too old. Too powerful. Too dangerous. But he doesn't treat their night as a mistake and neither does she. What starts as a secret becomes an obsession. Stolen moments turn into stolen nights. And as Austin grows suspicious and both families draw closer, the truth becomes impossible to hide. When everything falls apart, Sandra faces an impossible choice: walk away from the man she was never supposed to want, or risk destroying both families for a love that began as betrayal. Some secrets are meant to stay buried. But some cravings are too powerful to resist.
View MoreSANDRA’S POV
“So this is what you’ve been doing?” My voice shakes no matter how hard I try to steady it. “F*cking my best friend behind my back?”
Pamela grabs the blanket fast, pulling it against her chest with trembling hands like covering herself changes anything.
Austin barely reacts. That’s the worst part. No panic. No guilt. No rushing to explain himself. He just drags his shirt over his head slowly, calm as hell, like I’m overreacting already and we haven’t even started talking yet.
I stare at him, disbelief mixing with humiliation so sharp it almost makes me nauseous. “Say something,” I whisper harshly, wiping angrily at my face. “Go on. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I didn’t just walk in and see exactly what I think I saw.”
Pamela shakes her head quickly. “Sandra, please…… it’s not…..”
“Don’t.” The word slices out of me instantly. “Don’t fucking lie to me right now. Not when I’m standing here looking at both of you like this.”
Austin exhales slowly through his nose, already irritated. Like this conversation is exhausting for him. And damn, that hurts worse than the cheating.
Because he’s supposed to love me. Instead I feel like the unwanted third person in their room. “What are you doing here?” he asks finally.
I blink at him. Once. Then again. “What am I doing here?” A laugh escapes me, broken and sharp. “Are you serious right now? That’s your question? Not sorry? Not holy shit, Sandra, I fucked up? Just…… what am I doing here?”
I wipe at my face again before another tear can fall. I’m not crying in front of him. I refuse. Austin looks at me like I’m being difficult. “Babe, you’re turning this into something bigger than it is.”
My stare locks onto his face. “What?”
“You know how you get when you’re upset.” His tone stays calm, almost patronizing. “You blow things out of proportion instead of thinking clearly. Just calm down so we can actually talk about this.”
For a second I genuinely can’t speak. Did he really just say that? I walk in on him naked with my best friend and somehow I’m still the problem. “Out of proportion?” I repeat quietly, staring at him in disbelief before my voice cracks louder. “Austin, I caught you in bed with her!”
“It didn’t mean anything.” The words hit me harder than I expect. Not because they hurt. Because they make me feel stupid.
My lips part slowly as I stare at him, searching his face desperately for something human. Regret. Shame. Anything.
“It didn’t mean anything,” I repeat softly. “So what does that make me?” Austin says nothing. And somehow that silence answers everything. Pamela finally speaks again, her voice trembling harder now. “Sandra……. I swear, I never wanted this to happen like this.”
A bitter laugh leaves me instantly. “Like this?” I shake my head slowly. “Pamela, you don’t accidentally end up naked in bed with your best friend’s boyfriend. This wasn’t some little mistake. You both made a fucking choice.”
Her eyes drop immediately. “God…….” My voice cracks softer this time as I step back toward the door. “I trusted both of you.”
Austin sighs again, frustrated now. “Can you stop being dramatic and think about this properly for once?”
Something inside me goes completely still. “Think about it properly?” My voice rises before I can stop it. “What exactly do you want me to think about, Austin? Huh? That maybe I interrupted you at a bad time? That maybe seeing my best friend under you somehow has another explanation?”
“You’re emotional right now.”
“No shit!”
“You’re acting crazy.”
I stare at him for a long second. Then suddenly the hurt starts disappearing. Not completely. But enough for something colder to take its place. Because this man is never going to admit what he did. “Damn you,” I whisper, shaking my head slowly. “Seriously……. damn you.”
I turn toward the door. “Sandra, wait….,.” I stop when Pamela’s voice cracks behind me. Against my better judgment, I turn back.
She’s clutching the blanket tightly now, tears running down her face. “You don’t understand what’s been happening.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” she says shakily. “We didn’t plan—”
“If you say ‘it just happened,’ I swear to God…..”
“We care about each other!”
The room falls silent. Austin’s head snaps toward her immediately. “Pam.”
“What?” she asks desperately, looking between both of us. “It’s true!”
Austin’s jaw tightens hard enough for me to see it. But he still doesn’t deny it. And suddenly I almost feel sorry for her. I look at Pamela carefully, really look at her, and realize she actually thinks he’ll choose her.
“He’s not going to pick you,” I say quietly. Her face falls instantly. “You’re convenient right now,” I continue, my voice colder than I’ve ever heard it. “That’s all. The second this stops being fun for him, he’ll do the exact same thing to you too.”
“That’s not true,” she whispers weakly. I look directly at Austin. “Tell her I’m wrong.” He says nothing.
Pamela’s expression crumbles. And that’s the final confirmation I need. I shake my head slowly and step backward toward the hallway again. “Good luck, Pam,” I say quietly. “You’re gonna need it.” Then I walk out before either of them can stop me this time.
KELVIN'S POVOne year later…...Rachel walks into my office without knocking.She drops three folders onto my desk before stealing the coffee I haven't touched yet."Good morning to you too."She takes a sip."It was.""That was my coffee.""It was your coffee."I stare at her."You've become fearless.""You got married.""So?""You stopped being intimidating.""I was intimidating?""You used to scare entire boardrooms.""And now?""Now you send heart emojis during meetings."I nearly choke."I did that once.""You sent it to the board chat.""It was an accident.""It was hilarious."Before I can defend myself, my phone vibrates.*Wife ❤️*Rachel notices immediately."There it is.""What?""That smile.""I don't have a smile.""You have the smile."I answer the call anyway."Morning."Sandra's voice makes the office feel smaller somehow."Busy?""I was being bullied."Rachel places a hand dramatically against her chest."I heard that."Sandra laughs through the phone."Hi, Rachel.""T
SANDRA'S POVClayton Global's annual charity reception looks exactly the way wealthy people think hope should look.Crystal chandeliers, live string music and Champagne flowing like water.Politicians chatting with investors. Business executives pretending they aren't secretly watching one another.Tonight, they're watching us instead.Kelvin offers me his arm before we enter the ballroom."You still have time to run."I glance at him."Is that your idea of romance?""It's my idea of an emergency exit."I slip my hand through his arm."Too late.""You've decided?""I decided a long time ago."His smile reaches his eyes."Good."The ballroom doors open.Conversations pause. Not all of them, just enough.People look.Some smile politely and some don't bother hiding their curiosity.A few months ago, I would've shrunk beneath those stares.Tonight, I smile back.Rachel appears almost immediately, carrying a champagne flute she clearly has no intention of drinking."There you are."Kelvin
KELVIN'S POVThe boardroom is already full when I walk in, with shareholders, senior executives, legal advisers, and board members filling every seat, and not a single person bothering to pretend this is just another ordinary meeting.Rachel slides into step beside me carrying a tablet."You've got this.""You sound unconvinced.""I am unconvinced."I glance at her. "That's not encouraging.""I believe in honesty.""You could've chosen optimism.""I tried." She shrugs. "It didn't suit me."Despite everything, I smile.The room notices.Whispers immediately begin.Rachel clears her throat."Ladies and gentlemen, unless anyone intends to solve the global economy before breakfast, shall we begin?"A few nervous laughs ripple through the room, the tension eases slightly.I take my seat at the head of the table.Mr. Hanley, one of the older shareholders, wastes no time."We'll speak plainly.""I'd prefer that.""Your personal life has become a corporate liability."Across the table, Direct
SANDRA'S POVWalking across campus doesn't feel like walking into a courtroom anymore. It finally feels like a campus again, where not everyone stares, though some still do, some still whisper, and others pretend they aren't whispering at all. It's progress, and for now, I can live with that.Lena catches up beside me carrying two iced coffees and an expression that promises trouble."I bought you caffeine.""You also bought yourself caffeine.""I'm generous.""You're addicted.""I can be both."She hands me a cup."You look lighter.""I slept.""With eight pillows and anxiety?""Seven pillows."She nods."That's growth."I laugh, and a group of classmates passing us glance over.One of them smiles."Hey, Sandra. Good luck on your presentation."I blink. "Thanks."They keep walking.Lena nudges my shoulder. "See?""I almost forgot what normal people sound like.""They're overrated."Our marketing lecture begins ten minutes later. Professor Mitchell walks in carrying his laptop."Pre
SANDRA'S POVThe problem with questions is that once they get inside your head, they don't leave.They multiply, one becomes ten,ten becomes a hundred.And eventually you're lying awake at three in the morning staring at the ceiling while your entire future tears itself apart in a dozen different d
KELVIN'S POVMarcus Webb doesn't strike me as the type of man who enjoys golf.The realization arrives halfway through lunch while he stands beside a putting green overlooking one of the most expensive country clubs in Los Angeles, smiling politely at investors and executives while pretending this
SANDRA'S POVI know exactly how prisoners feel.The thought arrives the moment I step into the ballroom and immediately makes me feel guilty because nobody dragged me here, nobody locked any doors, and nobody forced me into the expensive dress hanging perfectly against my body, yet as congratulatio
KELVIN'S POVThe acquisition should be consuming every second of my attention.Eight months of negotiations, hundreds of millions of dollars, three companies waiting for final approval, and a boardroom full of executives expecting me to lead them through the most important deal Clayton Global has h






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