Chapter 004: WAR!!

One second, I was standing there staring at Bianca's smug little smile. The next, I was storming down the hallway with Christian calling my name behind me.

“Hilary!”

I didn't stop.

“Hilary, wait!”

I kept walking.

“Would you slow down?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm angry.”

“I noticed.”

I pushed through the front doors. The cool evening air hit my face. It didn't help. Nothing helped. Not the fact that Miles had cheated on me. Nor the fact that my father had apparently decided to replace my dead mother with a woman six years older than me.

And certainly not the fact that everyone seemed determined to ruin my life within the same twenty-four hours.

Christian finally caught up with me.

“Okay.”

He grabbed my arm gently and turned me around.

“Talk to me.”

“I don't want to talk.”

“You've been saying that since we were kids. It has never worked.”

I glared at him.

He sighed.

“What happened with Miles?”

I looked away.

Christian's expression changed.

“Hilary.”

“It's nothing.”

“You don't walk out of Dad's study looking like you're about to declare war on an entire country because of nothing.”

I crossed my arms.

“It's complicated.”

“Then explain it.”

I hesitated.

Christian waited.

I finally sighed.

“Miles cheated on me.”

His expression immediately hardened.

“He what?”

“With another woman.”

“When?”

“Today.”

“Today?”

“Yes.”

Christian stared at me in disbelief.

“And you were going to marry him?”

“I was.”

“Jesus.”

“Don't.”

He ran a hand through his hair.

“Who is he?”

“Miles Morales.”

Christian went completely still which made me worry for a sec.

“What?”

“Wait.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You mean Miles Morales?”

“Yes.”

“The same Miles Morales that has been at war with us for years?”

I looked away.

“Yes.”

Christian let out a humorless laugh.

“Hilary.”

“What?”

“Dad has been warning you about that man for years.”

“I know.”

“He told you Miles was trying to get close to you because of Banks Unlimited.”

“I know.”

“He told you the engagement wasn't about love.”

“I know!”

My voice echoed across the driveway.

Christian stared at me.

I lowered my voice.

“I thought Dad was just being Dad.”

He nodded slowly.

“Apparently, he wasn't.”

I swallowed.

The anger I'd been holding onto suddenly felt heavier.

Christian stepped closer.

“You okay?”

I laughed.

“No.”

He pulled me into a hug.

For once, I didn't fight it.

I buried my face against his shoulder.

“Everything is falling apart.”

He rubbed my back.

“It isn't.”

“It is.”

“No.”

He pulled away.

“You're just seeing the ugly parts all at once.”

I wiped beneath my eyes.

“Was that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Not really.”

I almost smiled. Then my phone rang. I looked at the screen.

It was Geoffrey. I answered. “Hello?”

“Where are you?”

I glanced at Christian. “Coming to you.” There was a pause. “What happened?”

“Everything.”

His voice softened.

“Come over.”

I hung up. Christian looked at me. “Who was that?”

“It’s Geoffrey.”

“You're going to him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to come?”

“No. It’s fine, I’ll be fine.”

He looked unconvinced. To everyone Geoffrey was just my chauffeur but to me he was Christian’s replacement as my confidante, back when Christian was in rehab.

“Hilary… ”

“I promise.”

He sighed.

“Call me when you get there.”

I nodded.

Then I walked toward my car.

This time, I didn't look back.

**********

Geoffrey's loft was only a short drive from the Banks Manor, tucked inside the private section of the Banks estate. It was nothing like the enormous manor my father had built. It was smaller. Warmer. More lived-in. The kind of place where you could actually breathe. Geoffrey opened the door before I could knock twice.

One look at my face and his expression changed.

“Oh, Hilary.”

That was all it took.

I walked inside.

The moment the door closed behind me, I broke down. Geoffrey pulled me into his arms. I cried. I actually cried. The kind of crying I had spent the entire day refusing to do. He didn't ask questions. He simply held me. When I finally pulled away, I wiped my cheeks angrily.

“I hate crying.”

“I know.”

“It makes me look weak.”

“It makes you human.”

“I don't want to be human today.”

He smiled faintly.

“Unfortunately, that's not negotiable.”

I sat on the couch.

Geoffrey disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water.

I took it.

“Thank you.”

He sat opposite me.

“Now tell me.”

I stared at the glass.

“Miles cheated on me.”

His expression hardened.

“I know.”

I looked up.

“You know?”

“I've heard things.”

“What things?”

He hesitated.

“Hilary…”

“No.”

I put the glass down.

“What things?”

Geoffrey sighed.

“I've been looking into Miles for a while.”

My stomach tightened.

“Why?”

“Because your father asked me to.”

I stared at him.

“Of course he did.”

“He was worried.”

“He was right.”

Geoffrey nodded.

“Very.”

I waited.

He leaned forward.

“Miles hasn't been building his company independently.”

“What do you mean?”

“He's been using your relationship as leverage.”

My eyebrows pulled together.

“Explain.”

“Over the past several months, Morales Enterprises has been acquiring companies connected to Banks Unlimited.”

My breathing slowed.

“What?”

“Small subsidiaries. Distribution companies. Technology firms. Investment groups.”

He reached for a folder on the table.

He handed it to me.

I opened it. Documents, acquisition reports, financial records, company structures.

My eyes moved rapidly across the pages.

“No.”

“He's been positioning himself.”

“For what?”

Geoffrey looked directly at me.

“Control.”

My heart dropped.

“He wanted your shares.”

I stared at him.

“My shares?”

“Your shares in Banks Unlimited.”

I shook my head.

“He wouldn't.”

“He would.”

“But why?”

“Because your shares aren't insignificant.”

I looked down at the documents.

My father had given me a substantial stake in Banks Unlimited the moment I turned eighteen. It had always been presented as my inheritance. My security. My future.

Geoffrey continued.

“Miles wanted you to sign your shares into the marriage as joint assets.”

I froze.

The prenup.

Suddenly, I remembered the conversations.

Miles insisting that our financial arrangements needed to be “fair.” He was constantly talking about building a future together, encouraging me to transfer certain assets into shared holdings. I had thought he was planning our future but instead he was planning a heist, an acquisition.

My hands began to shake.

“Oh my God.”

Geoffrey nodded.

“And if the marriage had gone through?”

I looked at him.

“What would have happened?”

“He would've had access to your stake, which in turn would bring down your father’s company which has been his main goal.”

My eyes burned.

“He was using me.”

“Yes.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

I stood.

I walked toward the window. Las Vegas glittered beyond the glass. All those lights. All that money. All that power and somewhere in the middle of it, Miles Morales had been planning to take mine.

I wiped away another tear.

“He really thought I was stupid.”

Geoffrey stood behind me.

“He underestimated you.”

I turned.

“No.”

My voice was quiet.

“He underestimated the wrong woman.”

Geoffrey studied me.

“What are you thinking?”

I looked back through the window.

For the first time all evening, I stopped thinking about the woman in Miles's shirt.

I stopped thinking about my father's secretary.

I stopped thinking about crying. Instead, I thought about numbers, companies, shares, acquisitions, control.

Then I smiled.

Geoffrey frowned.

“That smile usually means trouble.”

“Miles wanted my company.”

I turned toward him.

“He wanted to use our marriage to take Banks Unlimited from my father.”

Geoffrey nodded.

“So I'll use mine to take Morales Enterprises from him.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“Hilary.”

I smiled.

Geoffrey stared at me.

I picked up the folder again. Miles thinks he's going to marry me, convince me to combine our assets, and slowly gain control over everything my father built, but he doesn’t know I’m gonna pull an uno reverse on him and steal his company right from under his nose.

I laughed softly, walking toward the door with Geoffrey following.

Geoffrey's expression changed.

“What exactly is your plan?”

I stopped.

“My original plan was simple.”

I turned around.

“Make Miles jealous.”

Geoffrey nodded.

“But now?”

I smiled.

“Now I'm going to make him bankrupt.”

***********

By the time I left Geoffrey's loft, I had stopped crying.

I had a plan. A dangerous one. But a plan nonetheless. William wasn't going to be my rebound. He wasn't going to be some prop I paraded around to make Miles jealous.

He was going to be a huge piece in my game. My legal husband. And if Miles wanted to use marriage as a weapon against me, then I would show him what happens when the weapon ends up in the wrong hands.

I pulled out my phone.

I called William.

He answered almost immediately.

“Hilary?”

“We need to meet.”

A pause.

“Is everything okay?”

“No.”

He went quiet.

“But I'm about to make it very interesting.”