I'll ruin Her

Ethan's pov 

I stepped out of the private elevator and into my corner office, slamming the heavy double doors shut behind me.

The silence of the room was oppressive, but it did nothing to quiet the chaotic storm raging in my mind. 

Opening the top drawer of my desk, I bypassed the whiskey bottle and reached straight for the pill, shaking out two distinct navy-blue capsules into my palm. I didn't bother with water; I just swallowed them whole, pushing down the familiar, bitter taste that had followed me since my early twenties.

Just a precaution, I reminded myself, grimacing as I closed the drawer. The stress from the Australia expansion was already pushing my levels. I don't need a flare-up now.

I leaned against the massive glass desk, unbuttoning my collar with a harsh, impatient tug, and stared out over the sprawling city skyline.  

I couldn't believe what had happened last night. After moving to Australia to avoid the torture of them being together in guise of expanding the family business, I still messed up.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my jaw clenching so tight the muscle leaped. How could I let that happen? I thought it was years ago when she had worked as my junior secretary.

I had wanted her then but she was off limits. I was her boss, I couldn't let that happen. And right under my nose, that bastard snapped her up in a cold contract marriage.

But it was years ago, what happened now? Do I still want her? 

A knock came on the door and shattered my thoughts.

"Enter," I barked coldly.

The door opened, and my father’s personal assistant bowed low. "Mr. Ethan… Your father requires your immediate presence in his private study."

My stomach hardened into ice. I straightened my charcoal suit jacket, masked every trace of emotion and walked down the executive corridor.

When I pushed open the heavy oak doors of my father's study, my father was standing by the fireplace. He didn't offer a greeting. He didn't ask me to sit.

He simply picked up a thick manila folder from his desk and hurled it violently across the room. It slapped against my chest and fell to the floor, spreading glossy photographs across the polished hardwood.

I looked down.

My heart completely stopped.

There, in high-definition clarity, were pictures of me dragging a drunken Olivia inside my room last night. My hand was wrapped tightly around her waist; her face was buried in my neck.

"Look at you,"He spat, his voice dropping into a low growl that echoed off the walls. "You disgraceful, pathetic fool. You come back from Australia acting like a king, and the first thing you do is sleep with your own brother's wife?"

"Father—"

"Silence!" the old man roared, his gray eyes flashing with absolute disdain. "I brought you back to lead this empire, Ethan! I built this conglomerate on power, authority, and an immaculate reputation. And you trade it all away for a night with a barren, useless orphan?!"

"You are weak," He sneered, stepping closer and pointing a harsh, accusing finger at my chest. "You are stripped of all morals. You are completely unfit to be the overall CEO of this company. I am stripping you of the nomination. I will hand the entire Conglomerate to Kelvin by the end of the week."

My gaze met his glare. 

Father—”

“You brought this up on yourself.” He growled.

A cold, suffocating rage paralyzed my chest. Everything I had worked for, everything I had sacrificed in Australia…gone. I was right, I thought bitterly, my fists clenching until my nails bit into my palms. It was a frame-up. She set me up. 

Before I say anything else, the heavy double doors of the study were shoved open.

Olivia stood in the doorway.

She looked pale, disheveled, and breathless, her eyes wide with frantic, fake distress as she clutched her phone in her hand.

"Father," she rasped, her voice trembling. "Please. Kelvin released a fake video of me... I have the real proof right here—"

I stepped back into the adjoining glass office, staring at her through the partition with pure, murderous hatred burning in my veins.

This was how she did last night. Played the victim and I had fallen for it and now she's here to finish the job. 

She wasn't clear but I knew that she had said something against me. I didn't hear the rest of what my father said to her. I didn't care.

She thought she could play me. She thought she could destroy my life and walk away untouched.

I watched her back out of the study in fake horror, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she retreated into the hallway.

I smoothed down my cuffs, my expression turning into terror. I was going to ruin her.