6: Losing his temper

Ronan POV

My mouth went dry, and I could barely breathe the moment my eyes locked on her, my mind refusing to believe what I was seeing. It was her—Destiny, my Destiny—standing there in front of everyone, declaring herself the rich heiress and new CEO of this entire law firm.

It couldn’t be. It didn’t make sense. But there she was, her once-long dark hair that used to cascade freely down her back now cut into a sleek bob at her neck. She was slimmer, taller—maybe because of the heels—more commanding.

Her wine-red lipstick was striking, her eyes sharp, her head held high. She’d always been beautiful, but now, she looked like the most stunning woman in the world.

“Looks like my plan to seduce the CEO is officially canceled, huh,” Jules said beside me.

“What…?” I mumbled, still too shocked for his words to register in my head.

Destiny was speaking, talking about what an honor it was to take this position, how excited she was to start work, how she wanted to honor her family’s legacy, and how she hoped everyone would cooperate. But her voice sounded distant, like it was underwater. I was breathing through my mouth, hyperventilating.

What the hell was going on? Was this a trick? Some kind of prank? Because I knew Destiny—knew her better than anyone—and she was never this woman standing in front of us all. What was this, really? I needed answers.

“Excuse me,” I asked to some random lawyer beside me, pushing through to make my way toward her. I had to reach Destiny and demand she explain what was happening.

But Jules grabbed my arm. “What are you doing?”

“I… I need to talk to her,” I said, my voice frantic.

“You’ll get your chance, but not now,” he said, glancing at the security guards behind her. “If you go up to her like that out of nowhere, it could end badly for you.

I don’t know what’s going on either, but it looks like your ex-wife hid the fact that she’s a damn important person. And given how you two ended, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t hesitate to destroy you if you do something stupid right now.”

I gasped, knowing my friend was right, but I couldn’t help it. Two years had passed, and this was the first time I’d seen her since then. She was right there, so close to me—I had to reach her.

“I’ll be meeting with each department individually to get to know you better and catch up on your work,” Destiny said, nodding with a small smile.

“There’s your chance to talk to her,” Jules said. “When your department gets called to meet with her, you can ask for a moment alone.”

What Jules said made sense, but not to me. I mean, this was Destiny standing there—my Destiny! I’d been married to that woman for five damn years, and I needed to touch her one more time.

My heart pounded frantically in my chest, my ears ringing, my hands sweaty. I was losing it, overwhelmed by too much to process. I shoved Jules aside. “Get your hands off me!” I pushed through the crowd of lawyers and ran toward her.

“Destiny!” I called out desperately, rushing to reach her. This place didn’t belong to her—I felt like she needed me, like I had to protect her and take her somewhere safe. “Please, Dest!” The room buzzed with commotion now, people murmuring, confused about what was happening.

Her face looked faintly startled, but she didn’t move or flinch. My hands were inches from her, but then one of her mountain-sized security guards hit me with a punch so hard I crashed to the floor in a grotesque heap. People screamed, Destiny was whisked away, and everything around me blurred and darkened. Then I blacked out.

…

“What a pathetic move that was!” Jules said, hands stuffed in his pockets.

I was sitting at my desk, an ice pack pressed against the left side of my face where the brute of a security guard for my ex-wife had clocked me. When I came to in the firm’s infirmary, the nurse said I was lucky the hit wasn’t strong enough to crack my skull, but I needed to avoid using my jaw for a few hours.

“I really don’t know what you were thinking, lunging at her like that in front of everyone,” Jules went on. “Don’t tell me you thought she’d throw her arms around you, and you’d both cry and reminisce like some sappy reconciliation scene? Man, are you crazy or what? You realize she hates you now, right? If I were you, I’d stay in my lane, because she might’ve come back just to destroy you.”

I thought about his words. I was embarrassed, yeah, for acting like that, but it’s not like I could’ve stopped myself. She was there—Destiny, right in front of me after two damn years. The woman I’d spent all this time dreaming about, crying over, searching for—she was there. I couldn’t have done anything but try to reach her, even if she hated me now.

“Alright, I hear you. I’ll stay put and wait for any scrap of a chance she gives me to see her,” I said, my words slurred from trying not to strain my jaw.

“And you’d better behave, because as you’ve probably noticed, in terms of power, Destiny Morgan could crush you with a snap of her fingers. You’ve worked too hard for your place here to let your ex-wife, who’s out for revenge, ruin it all,” he warned. Jules had been my friend for years, always there watching everything unfold, and he knew how much my career meant to me.

So I waited, clearly unable to focus on any work anymore. It was almost inhuman to expect me to concentrate with all this going on. All I could do was picture Destiny every freaking moment—she was suffocating me with this desperate need to see her.

The workday was winding down, and Destiny still hadn’t called my department for the so-called meeting. Sure, there were plenty of other departments, but I knew damn well she was doing this to punish me. She knew how desperate I was to talk to her, and I had a sinking feeling she was loving toying with me like this.

By the end of the day, a side of me I rarely saw came alive, nearly overwhelming me. I was in that elevator, like a predator lying in wait, people coming and going, the elevator rising and falling, and me just standing there, waiting for the right moment. I knew that sooner or later, the CEO would have to use the elevator to leave the building.

When it happened, I was alone in the elevator. The doors opened, and there she was, standing right in front of me, surrounded by her security and entourage as always. Her mouth parted slightly, surprised, about to say something, but I knew I had to act fast.

Before anyone could react, I slammed the button to close the doors and grabbed her arm, pulling her inside so quickly that the doors shut behind her, leaving everyone else outside and just the two of us in the elevator.

“What…?” she stammered.

But I pressed her against the wall, my arms caging her in on either side of her head, keeping her from escaping. “You’re going to talk to me. Right here, right now,” I demanded.