His Biggest Regret: Letting Her Go

Sebastian Blackwood remained seated, watching her with a calculated control. The initial, raw shock of seeing her had passed, replaced by the familiar stillness of a predator who knows his prey has nowhere to run."A trap, Sebastian?" she said, her voice dripping with a contempt she had earned over five years of rebuilding. “After all this time, this is your grand move? Luring me into a boardroom under false pretenses?”“The pretenses were not false, Liliana,” he replied, rising from his chair. The movement was fluid, graceful, and utterly dominant. He began to walk slowly around the vast table, not toward her, but circling, his presence consuming the space between them. “Blackwood Corporation is launching a new global initiative. And they do need the best event planner to orchestrate the launch gala.”He stopped at the head of the table, opposite her, putting the entire length between them. “The only detail that was omitted from their initial brief,” he continued, a faint, humorless

The next morning, Liliana walked into the headquarters of Grandland Holdings feeling like a general entering enemy territory after signing an unwanted truce. She had been awake all night, Sebastian’s words, his touch, his almost-kiss, replaying in her mind like a storm. She hated him for trapping her. She hated herself even more for the traitorous shiver she’d felt when he was so close.Sebastian's assistant, a nervous-looking young woman named Clara, greeted her. “Good morning, Ms. Dawnson. Mr. Blackwood is waiting for you in his office.”Sebastian’s office was a reflection of the man himself: vast, minimalist, and commanding. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls offered a stunning, dominant view of the city, as if he owned everything the eye could see. The furniture was all dark chrome and black leather, expensive and uncompromising. There were no photos. No personal touches. Just power.He was standing by the window, his back to her, just as he had been on the first day. A deliberate power

Liliana was in her element. She moved through the pre-event chaos with a serene, unshakable authority, a clipboard held like a royal scepter.“No,” she said calmly to a flustered lighting technician. “The uplighting on the west columns should be a soft champagne, not that ghastly yellow. We’re creating an atmosphere of timeless elegance, not a crime scene.”“And you,” she said, turning to a catering manager, “the canapés will be served on silver trays, not wood. This is a billion-dollar launch, not a rustic barn wedding. Please correct it.”Her team moved around her with a quiet, focused energy. They worshipped her. She was demanding, yes, but she was also brilliant, and she never asked for anything she couldn't do herself. For the first time in days, since Sebastian had re-entered her life, she felt completely in control. This was her kingdom.“Impressive.”The low, familiar voice behind her sent a jolt straight through her. She didn't have to turn. She could feel his presence, a mag

The minimalist calm of Liliana’s office felt like a violation. She sat behind her sleek, white desk, staring blankly at a complex lighting schematic on her monitor, but she saw none of it.Her mind was a chaotic storm of Prada suits and poisoned words. The encounter with Eleanor, followed by the tense, charged confrontation with Sebastian, had ripped open scars she had foolishly believed were healed.She had spent five years meticulously building a fortress around her heart, brick by painful brick. In the space of a single afternoon, Eleanor had strolled up to the gates with a battering ram, and Sebastian had simply walked through the breach.Her hand trembled as she reached for her phone. Her finger hovered over her lawyer’s number. Breach of contract. So what? The thought was a wild, desperate scream in her mind. I’ll pay the penalty. I’ll declare bankruptcy. I’ll start over again, in a different city, a different country. Anywhere but here. Anywhere but near them.The financial rui

The silence that followed after Liliana left felt suffocating. The door closed with a soft click, leaving Sebastian and Delilah alone in the room.Sebastian didn’t move. He remained standing where he was, his eyes fixed on the door through which Liliana had just disappeared, as if he could still see the woman’s back retreating from view.Unable to bear it any longer, Delilah was the first to break the silence. She tried hard to sound gentle and casual, yet what slipped from her lips was nothing but a veiled jab.“Hm. She’s exactly like your mother described.”At last, Sebastian tore his gaze away from the door and turned to Delilah. All the warmth and patience that had been visible earlier vanished from his face, replaced by a cold, impatient expression.“What do you want, Delilah?” he asked flatly, without emotion. It wasn’t a question that should have been spoken by a lover to his partner. Instead, it sounded like the voice of a CEO whose time was being wasted.Delilah’s once-bright