LOGINJulian’s POVThe clock hit 21:00, and I was already insane. I wanted to see her. I wanted to explain everything. I did not know how much she knew, but one thing I was certain about was that she already knew I was the man from seven years ago. She probably knew everything by now.I sat in the presidential suite at the Aman, staring at the city lights through the big windows. The room felt too big and too empty. I had not eaten anything all day. Food did not matter. Nothing mattered except getting back to Katia and fixing this mess I had created.There was a knock at the door. I had not ordered anything.“Who is it?” I growled.“Room service,” a voice answered.I did not order shit. I walked to the door anyway and opened it.Katia stood there. She wore a red wide-brim felt fedora Chanel hat, red lipstick, a long red Chanel coat, and red Christian Louboutin heels. Fuck. She looked lethal. I stood there frozen, just looking at my wife.She walked past me into the room without saying a wor
Katia's POVSam walked into my office right as the clock struck noon, her presence cutting through the stagnant air like a knife. She dropped into the chair opposite my desk with the grace of a woman who enjoyed the chaos she was about to report. She didn't wait for me to prompt her; she just dove straight in, her eyes gleaming with that familiar, predatory delight.“You were right,” Sam started, clicking her tongue. “The man is absolutely miserable. He didn't even bother showing up to the office today, which, knowing his obsession with appearances, is a massive red flag. Our sources checked his logs; he hasn’t touched a single file and hasn't taken a single meeting, and honestly, I doubt he’s even managed to choke down a piece of toast. He’s completely spiraling.”I leaned back, swirling my pen between my fingers, a cold satisfaction settling in my gut. “And where is he sulking? If he’s not busy pretending to be a CEO, where does a man like Julian hide when his pride is shredded?”“T
Katia’s POVI got to the office early the next day. The place felt quieter than usual even though people were already at their desks working. I sat down at my desk and tried to go through some reports, but my mind kept drifting. Last night still sat heavy on me. Kicking Julian out of the house had been one of the hardest things I had done in a while. I kept thinking about the look on his face when I told him to leave. Part of me regretted it. Another part of me felt it was necessary after everything I had learned.I stared at the screen, but the numbers were just dancing lines. I was the boss, the one who held the reins of this entire operation, yet I felt like a novice trying to balance a spinning plate. I needed to act like I wasn't falling apart. I needed to look like a woman who had never known a single doubt.Sam walked in a little while later carrying her tablet and a coffee. She closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair across from my desk. She looked at me with that
Delia's POVThe morning sun hit my face, but I felt no warmth. I sat up in the stiff sheets of my childhood bed, my head throbbing with the memories of the night before. I did not bother with coffee or breakfast. I walked downstairs to find Martha and David sitting at the breakfast table, their faces tight with concern and pity."Delia, sit and have something to eat," Martha said, her voice soft."I need to go back," I cut her off. I did not listen to their protests. I grabbed the keys to Martha’s car from the hook by the door and walked out into the biting morning air. I drove toward Manhattan, my knuckles white against the steering wheel. Every mile brought more fury, more desperation. I had to fix this. I had to reclaim what was mine.When I arrived at the mansion, my stomach dropped. Workers were hauling bags out of the front door, tossing them onto the lawn like trash. They were my things. Every silk dress, every pair of heels, every piece of jewelry I had carefully curated for t
~ Delia POV ~The taxi stopped outside my parents' house at four minutes past midnight, and I sat in the back seat staring at the lit windows of the front room like a woman who had run out of every other option and arrived here last, which was exactly what I was.I had nothing with me.Not a bag, not a change of clothes, not even my phone charger, because I hadn't been given the time to pack any of it. Katia had told us both to leave, standing in the middle of that house like she owned it, like two years of my life in those rooms meant absolutely nothing, and Julian had looked at her and then looked at me and then picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and walked out the front door without a single word. No argument. No fight. Not even a backwards glance in my direction.He just left.And I had stood there watching the door close behind him, and something in me refused to accept it, refused to pick up my things and follow him out like a woman who had already decided she had l
JulianI drove across the city in a daze, the neon lights of Manhattan blurring into long streaks of color against my windshield. My mind kept returning to the look on Katia’s face in the dining room, the ice, the way she had stood there with her hand on her stomach, and the finality in her voice when she ordered me out. I pulled into Zane’s driveway and slammed my car door, my legs feeling heavy as I walked up to his front door. I pounded on the wood until he finally cracked it open, blinking sleepily at me with a half-empty glass in his hand."I’ve been kicked out," I said, my voice sounding rough to my own ears.Zane leaned against the doorframe, not even blinking at the sight of me standing on his porch at nearly midnight. "Kicked out where? It’s your mansion, Julian. The deed has your name on it, unless the city decided to rezone it as a public park while I was sleeping. Did you get into a fight with the staff?""My own house," I repeated, ignoring the sarcasm. "Katia showed up
~Delia~The investigator sent the report on a Thursday morning.I read it at the kitchen table with coffee I didn't touch.He had found nothing on the financial history. Katia's money trail before IG Technologies went public was a wall — clean, sealed, professionally maintained. He had hit it from
~Julian~I put the Halo Systems file on the table in front of Zane at eight AM and watched him read it.He read fast. Zane always read fast — he processed information the way he did everything, efficiently and without drama. But halfway through the second page he stopped. He went back. He read some
~Katia~I saw Delia before she saw me.She was at the edge of the VIP lounge at nine AM, already positioned for maximum visibility. Dressed sharply. Composed. Smiling at anyone with a camera. She had committed to this fully, and she was going to ride it as far as it would take her.She had no idea
~Katia~I was back in my suite by three AM.The race suit went into the bag immediately. False lining down, everything flat, nothing visible. I had done this routine so many times it took under two minutes. Then I stood in the shower for ten minutes and let the hot water do what hot water does afte







