41

Zach’s POV

The silence in my study was loud enough to suffocate the living. I stood by the window, my hand braced against the cold glass, staring out at nothing. 

The city stretched endlessly before me, but all I could see, all I could hear was her voice, Bella. 

Mocking, laughing, twisting the knife deeper with every word.

"Maybe if you were half the man Hayden is, she wouldn’t look at you like that." She had said that, which made my jaw tighten.

“Shut up…” I muttered under my breath, dragging a hand through my hair, but it didn’t stop.

"You saw it, didn’t you? The way she chooses him without even saying it."

“Enough!” I snapped, slamming my fist against the glass.

The sharp sound echoed through the room, but it did nothing to quiet the storm in my head.

I exhaled slowly, forcing control back into my veins. This wasn’t about Hayden.

It couldn’t be because if I let it be… if I let myself dwell on the way Livia looked at him, I would lose focus, and right now, focus was the only thing keeping me from tearing this entire city apart.

My eyes darkened. “This is Bella,” I said firmly, grounding myself. “This reeks of her.”

The accusations against Livia weren’t random. They were too precise, too well-timed, and too crafted.

Bella didn’t just lash out, she orchestrated it and if I was right. Then Livia wasn’t just in danger; she was being hunted.

I turned sharply toward my desk. “Perry.”

The name left my lips like a command, even though he wasn’t in the room yet, but right on cue, there was a knock.

“Enter,” I said calmly.

The door creaked open, and Perry stepped in, already watching me like he knew what kind of storm he was walking into.

“Zach,” he said cautiously. “You called…”

“I want a full investigation,” I said immediately as I didn’t even let him finish. I didn’t give him the chance to.

His brows furrowed slightly. “Into what exactly?” he asked.

I walked around the desk slowly, my gaze locking onto his. “Bella.” I let out.

The word dropped between us like a loaded weapon. Perry became still, not shocked, not confused but just still.

And that was enough to make something cold coil in my chest.

“You heard me,” I continued, my voice dropping into something sharper. “I want every movement she’s made in the past few weeks, including every call, meeting, and whisper.”

Perry hesitated, and that alone was enough to snap the last thread of my patience.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, my tone deadly quiet.

He exhaled slowly, running a hand across the back of his neck. “Zach, digging into Bella like that, it’s not simple. She’s your wife, Luna and this could…”

“Complicate things?” I cut in, a humorless smile tugging at my lips. “Good, I’m counting on it.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Perry replied.

“I know exactly what you meant,” I said.

I stepped closer, my presence pressing down on him like a weight.

“And I don’t care,” I added.

Perry’s jaw tightened. “You should,” he said.

“No,” I said coldly. “What I should have done was this a long time ago.”

Silence stretched between us, thick, heavy, and uncomfortable. Then I tilted my head slightly, studying him more carefully.

“Why are you hesitating, Perry?” I asked, drawing all my attention towards him.

His eyes flickered, just for a second, but I caught it and I didn’t like it.

“Nothing,” he said too quickly.

I let out a low, dangerous chuckle. “Nothing?” I repeated. “You expect me to believe that?” I asked.

“Zach…” he called, but I cut him short.

“You know something.” I snapped.

The words landed with precision and Perry’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“That’s not…” 

“Don’t lie to me,” I warned, my voice dropping, colder, sharper, and commanding. The kind that didn’t invite defiance.

“I have known you long enough to recognize that look,” I continued, my gaze narrowing. “You are holding something back.”

A pause followed and for a moment I thought he might actually say it. Whatever it was, he shook his head.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about right now,” he said calmly.

My expression darkened instantly. “Right now?” I echoed.

That was the wrong thing to say, the worst thing, because it meant there was something.

Something he didn’t think I was ready for, something he was deliberately keeping from me and my jaw clenched.

I took a slow step back, exhaling through my nose as I forced the anger down. “Fine,” I said finally, my tone eerily calm.

Perry frowned slightly. “Zach…”

“I said fine.” I snapped.

I turned away from him, walking back toward the desk.

“But don’t mistake that for trust,” I added coldly. “You will tell me when I decide you will.”

There was silence and then.

“Understood,” he said reluctantly.

Good, because right now, whatever he was hiding didn’t matter. There were bigger problems.

I leaned against the desk, crossing my arms.

“The priority is Livia.” I said.

Perry’s gaze sharpened slightly at that.

“You don’t think she’s involved?” he asked carefully.

A scoff left my lips. “No.”

Not even a second of hesitation, not even a fraction of doubt.

“She’s not stupid.” I said.

Unlike Bella, the thought came unfiltered, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“If Livia were involved in something like this,” I continued, my voice steady, “it wouldn’t look like this. It wouldn’t be sloppy, It wouldn’t leave trails pointing back to her.”

Perry nodded slowly. “So you think she’s being set up,” he asked.

“I know she is,” I replied.

“And Bella is behind it,” he asked softly.

“Yes.” I replied.

No hesitation, no uncertainty, just cold, hard conviction.

Perry studied me for a moment before speaking again.

“And Hayden?” he asked. “Where does he fit into all this?”

My expression hardened instantly, there it was. The name, and I pushed off the desk, pacing slowly.

“He’s playing hero,” I said flatly. “Running his little ‘investigation.’ Positioning himself as her protector.”

My hands curled into fists. “I hate it.”

The admission came out quieter than I expected but heavier.

“Because he’s actually helping her,” Perry pointed out.

That made me stop, slowly, I turned to look at him.

“You think I can’t do that?” I asked, my voice dangerously low.

“That’s not what I said.” he said almost immediately. 

“It’s what you implied,” I said.

Perry held my gaze. “Then prove me wrong,” he said.

The challenge hung in the air, and something inside me shifted because the truth was, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

I couldn’t win Livia back the way I used to, not with pressure, not with control and not with intimidation.

She had changed and if I tried to force her,

I would lose her completely.

My jaw tightened.

“I don’t need to prove anything,” I said after a moment, though the edge in my voice had dulled slightly.

“Then what’s your plan?” Perry asked and I went quiet, thinking and calculating.

Then slowly, a smirk tugged at the corner of my lips.

“There’s a multi-pack luncheon coming up,” I said.

Perry’s brows lifted. “You hate those,” he said.

“I do,” I replied.

“So why?” he asked.

“Because Hayden will be there.” I replied with a grin on my face.

Understanding dawned in his eyes.

“And Livia,” he added.

“Yes.” I replied.

I straightened, adjusting my cuffs with deliberate precision.

“This isn’t about alliances,” I continued. “Or politics, or whatever nonsense they pretend those gatherings are for.”

“It’s about her,” he asked.

“Exactly.” I replied.

Perry folded his arms. “And what exactly are you planning to do?” he asked.

I met his gaze fully now, cold, focused and certain.

“I’m taking her out of his shadow.” I replied, determined and there was a pause.

Then, more quietly, “And into mine.”

Perry didn’t respond immediately, probably because he could hear it. The shift, and I perceived this wasn't an obsession anymore, this was a strategy.

“And Bella?” he asked after a moment.

My expression darkened again.

“Dig,” I said simply. “I want everything.”

“And if you are right?” he asked.

I smiled but there was nothing warm about it.

“If I’m right…” I said softly, “Then I don’t just clear Livia’s name.”

My eyes hardened. “I destroy Bella’s game.”

Silence settled over the room once more.

But this time, It wasn’t suffocating, it was sharp, focused like the calm before something inevitable.

I turned back toward the window, my reflection staring back at me, unrecognizable, colder, sharper and more aware.

Livia wasn’t mine anymore, not the way she used to be, and I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could just take her back, but that didn’t mean I would let Hayden keep her.

No, If there was a game being played, then I would play it better.

Win it cleaner and end it decisively. My lips curved slightly.

“The luncheon,” I murmured. “That’s where it begins.”

And this time, I wouldn’t lose.