LOGIN~~ Hazel's POV ~~The silence in the boardroom was absolute, heavy with a tension so thick it felt physical.I sat at the head of the polished glass table, my posture straight and my hands folded neatly over my tablet. I looked at the people sitting opposite me—the people who had once held my entire world in their hands and crushed it without a second thought."Alright Ms Saint Claire," Damon began, his voice smooth, lingering on my new name with a familiarity that made my skin crawl. "I’m glad you could make it. We’ve already laid out the terms of our original fifty-fifty proposal. E&H injects fifty million dollars, and in return, you get half the profits of our new luxury apartment complex. It’s a win-win."I let the silence stretch for a long, agonizing moment, letting them sweat. I didn't look at the proposal on my screen. I just looked directly at Damon."Fifty million is a joke," I said flatly.Melissa’s smile faltered instantly. Damon blinked, his confident expression freezing.
After the raw vulnerability of last night—of confessing my lie and melting into Kai’s absolute, protective embrace—I had expected to feel lighter. Instead, the phantom weight of that late-night text from the unknown number sat like lead in my chest.How was your day, Hazel? I believe you were thinking about me all day...don't worry I can't wait to see you tomorrow as well. I hadn't shown Kai the text. Not because I wanted to keep secrets again, I had promised him I wouldn't but because he had looked so incredibly tired, and the peaceful look on his face when he slept was something I couldn’t bear to ruin. I had resolved to handle it today, l was going to deal with Damon myself today. I arrived at my office at a normal hour, my heels clicking a sharp rhythm against the polished marble floors of the E&H Investment Company executive suite. E&H was a global giant now, and today was the day I had been waiting for. The day I finally held the absolute power of life and death over the peop
After spending time with Sophia, I felt calmer. Clearer. The suffocating fog that had been clouding my mind all day was finally starting to lift, leaving behind a sharp, undeniable truth: I couldn't keep lying to Kai.I couldn't go home and pretend everything was fine. I couldn't wake up tomorrow morning, look him in the eye, and act like my day had been completely normal. I had fought too hard to escape a marriage built on neglect and deception; I was not going to build my new life with Kai on a foundation of omission.I left Sophia’s apartment and drove straight to Kai’s mansion.It was past midnight. It was the kind of late where the streets were entirely empty, the city wrapped in a quiet, sleeping stillness. The kind of late where the rest of the world had already surrendered to the dark, leaving only the overthinkers awake.When I finally pulled up the long, winding driveway of the mansion, the warm glow of the entrance lights was still on, casting long shadows across the stone.
"First, you need to calm down," Sophia said firmly, her hands coming to rest on my shoulders, anchoring me. "You're getting all worked up, Hazel, and this is getting serious. Just breathe. Look at me and breathe."I nodded, inhaling the familiar, calming scent of her apartment, trying to quiet the erratic pounding in my chest."Second," she continued, "you need to text Kai. He is going to get incredibly frustrated if you keep ignoring him. He's already called three times, and you know him—he respects your space, but he doesn't handle silence well when he thinks something might be wrong.""I know," I muttered, staring at the dark screen. "But my head is a mess. I don't even know what to say to him.""Then let me handle it," Sophia said, holding out her hand. "Give me your phone. I'll text him for you so you can just focus on taking a breath."I unlocked the device and handed it over. She tapped her chin, her eyes scanning the screen. "What should I say? That you're in an unscheduled boa
I couldn’t concentrate after Damon left.For thirty straight minutes, I stared at the same financial document, the numbers blurring together into meaningless shapes. His voice kept replaying in my head on an endless loop — that quiet, unshakable certainty when he said, “I’ll do whatever it takes.” The way his eyes had locked onto mine, like he truly believed every word.I finally slammed my laptop shut with more force than necessary, grabbed my bag, and left the office early. My assistant gave me a surprised look as I passed her desk, but I didn’t stop to explain. I couldn’t.I drove straight to Sophia’s apartment, my hands gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly the entire way.The moment she opened the door, her face lit up with genuine delight. “Hazel!” She pulled me into one of her signature tight hugs. “It’s been forever! What brings you here today? Is everything okay?”I stepped inside, trying my best to keep my expression neutral, but Sophia knew me far too well. Her s
~~ Hazel's POV ~~I was reviewing the latest financial projections when a sharp knock sounded on my office door.“Come in,” I called, not looking up right away.Lisa stepped inside, her expression a mix of hesitation and mild confusion.“Miss Saint Claire, you have a visitor,” she said carefully. “He doesn’t have an appointment, but he’s insisting on seeing you.”I finally looked up from my screen, brows furrowed. “Who is it? I don’t have anything scheduled today.”Lisa shifted her weight. “It’s Damon Moretti. He came alone. He’s very persistent about needing a private meeting with you.”I set my pen down slowly, the name landing like an unexpected weight in my stomach. Damon showing up unannounced was unusual. Since we started working together on this project, he had always been meticulous about protocol — keeping things strictly professional. It had been a relief, honestly. I didn’t know how to handle Damon any other way.I exhaled slowly. “Let him in.”Lisa nodded and disappeared.
The emergency room was chaos.Doctors and nurses rushed past us in a blur of white coats and urgent voices. Melissa was already being taken deeper into the hospital, away from us, and Damon was following her, his hand on her shoulder, his expression a mixture of rage and desperation.I came through
I stood at the top of the stairs, completely frozen, unable to move, unable to process what had just happened."No," I whispered. "No, no, no. Melissa!"I hadn't pushed her.I hadn't meant for this to happen.It was an accident.But she was lying at the bottom of the stairs, not moving, and Miss Mia
Damon left early in the morning.He didn't tell me where he was going or when he would be back. He just kissed Melissa goodbye at the kitchen table while I was making breakfast, and then he was gone. Gone to handle the Moretti family business. Gone to do whatever it was that men like him did when th
I couldn't sleep.I lay in the guest bedroom for hours, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the house. At some point around 2am, I gave up pretending and went downstairs to the living room. I curled up on one of the couches with a blanket, my mind racing with everything I had heard at







