LOGINHi, readers 🫶 I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. I’d love to know your thoughts on everything that’s happened up to this point, so don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think. And if you’re enjoying the story, please don’t forget to vote. Thank you so much for reading.❤️
MILES’ POV “Hello,” a male voice called out just as the three of us were making our way toward the exit, close enough to the doors that I’d already started thinking about nothing but getting home and getting my hand properly looked at. I stopped and turned slightly, assuming it was probably a waiter chasing us down about some forgotten coat-check ticket, or maybe one of the gala staff wanting to confirm something before we left. But when I actually turned to face him, it clearly wasn’t either of those things. “Hi,” he said again, his attention shifting past me entirely, landing squarely on Grandfather instead. “How may I help you?” Arthur asked, his tone polite and curious, the same easy warmth he extended to nearly everyone he encountered at events like this. “My name is Roman,” the man said, straightening slightly, an eager kind of energy radiating off him. “I’m a very big fan of Wilson Corporation. In fact, sir, you were the one who inspired me to start my own business, the on
CIERRA’S POV I grabbed a hand towel off the nearest table and immediately wrapped it around Miles’s bleeding palm, working quickly, my fingers moving faster than my thoughts could actually keep pace with. God, I felt like such an idiot. I kept replaying the last ten minutes over and over in my head as I wound the fabric tighter around his hand. I’d known, going into tonight, that there was a real chance the chairman of Ambercaz might actually show up in person for once. I’d heard the rumors myself just days ago. So why, knowing that, had I still gone on some reckless spree insulting a complete stranger, never once stopping to consider whether the man standing in front of me might actually be somebody important? This wasn’t remotely how I’d expected this evening to unfold. How had Anabel, of all people, managed to land someone like that? Someone so far outside her league it was almost laughable, someone with that kind of wealth and standing? And now I couldn’t even meet her eyes acro
MILES’ POVDmitri climbed the steps to the stage with the same unhurried, easy confidence he’d carried all night, and the entire hall erupted into applause around him, a wall of sound that seemed to press directly against my chest. I stood frozen, my mind struggling to catch up with what my eyes were telling me, the pieces refusing to settle into any shape that made sense.The chairman of Ambercaz. The man Cierra and I had spent the last several minutes tearing apart, mocking, calling broke, calling nothing, an empty barrel with all talk and no substance. And he’d stood there, taking every single insult without a single flicker of retaliation, without once revealing the truth that would have silenced us instantly.He’d had the perfect opportunity, right there in front of us, to shut us both down with a single sentence. Instead, he’d let us keep talking, kept letting us dig ourselves deeper, and now, standing on that stage in front of the entire room, he’d found an infinitely more deva
MILES’ POVThe announcer was clearly about to call up another representative from Ambercaz, the same way they had every single year for as long as I could remember, nearly a decade of the same predictable pattern playing out at this exact gala.But there had been whispers circulating earlier tonight, quiet murmurs I’d caught fragments of while making my rounds through the crowd, something about the chairman of Ambercaz finally stepping forward himself this year, breaking whatever tradition of anonymity he’d maintained for as long as the company had existed. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was true or simply another baseless rumor, the kind that always seemed to circulate at events like this, everyone hungry for some fresh piece of gossip to chew on between courses.My eyes swept slowly across the crowd, searching for any obvious cluster of security, any tight formation of bodyguards positioned protectively around a single figure, the kind of arrangement I’d grown up watching surround Gra
DMITRI’S POVI watched both their faces as realization slowly kicked in over what I’d just said. This was what happened when someone operated entirely on confidence and absolutely no actual thought behind it. If they’d paused even for a moment to consider things properly before walking over here, they wouldn’t have ended up looking quite this foolish in front of me.“Or are you going to say I rented my way in here too?” I said, sarcasm dripping from every word.They both fell silent, the truth of it settling heavily over them, the realization that their entire assumption had been built on nothing but careless arrogance. And I wasn’t finished yet.“Arthur really needs to sit the two of you down properly,” I added. “Does he even know what’s going on between you both?”Their expressions hardened instantly, anger and surprise tangled together.“How do you know Grandfather?” Miles demanded, then, without waiting for an answer, spun toward Anabel instead. “And you, have you been going aroun
DMITRI'S POV “You know, your voice is really starting to get on my nerves,” the woman said, her tone sharpening further, venom bleeding into every syllable now, her manicured fingers tightening slightly around the stem of her champagne glass. “Just because I said you might have decent looks doesn’t mean you should let it go straight to your head.” She turned her attention back toward Anabel, her expression shifting into something almost pitying, the kind of look reserved for someone she considered beneath actual sympathy. “We might not have been the closest of friends, or co-wives, whatever you want to call it, but I honestly thought you were better than this.” “Hold on,” Anabel started, her voice tight, clearly trying to salvage the situation before it spiraled any further out of her control. “Firstly, this is all just a misunderstanding. The two of us aren’t..." “What’s the misunderstanding, babe?” I said, the words sliding off my tongue smoothly enough that anyone listening woul
ANABEL’S POV~ Four Days Later ~The atmosphere inside the church felt heavy the moment I stepped in.Soft instrumental music drifted through the speakers while low whispers spread across the room, as though people were afraid to speak too loudly around death.Everyone was dressed in black, their f
ANABEL’S POVMy fingers trembled over the laptop as I looked at the screen, still trying to convince myself there had to be another explanation for what I was seeing. Maybe I misunderstood something. Maybe my mind was twisting everything because of what happened last night. But the more I went th
ANABEL’S POVA low groan pulled me out of sleep.At first, I thought I was dreaming. My eyes stayed closed while I turned on the bed, reaching for Miles out of habit.The sheets beside me were cold.I frowned and opened my eyes. The other side of the bed was empty.The digital clock beside me read
ANABEL'S POV I took a small breath, steadying my emotions and finally pushing away all the tears I'd been crying for the past few minutes. Every now and then, I could still feel the heaviness lingering in my chest, but I couldn't keep breaking down forever. There was no room for tears anymore. Y







