Shadows Between UsTracing the rim of her coffee mug, she asked in a low voice, "Did you ever miss me?" Glancing up from the spreadsheet he’d been half-studying, Jerry said, “Miss what?”“The war. The chaos. That... edge.”Leaning back on the chair, considering. “I miss the clarity it forced. The way everything felt urgent. Like every breath mattered.”Aria nodded slowly. “Yeah. That part.”The city pulsed with distant light which could be seen from outside the window as silence stretched between them, heavy but not uncomfortable.“Does that make us broken?” she asked.“No,” Jerry said. “It makes us aware. There’s a difference.”There was something unreadable in her eyes as she looked at him. “Sometimes I feel like we’re pretending to be normal people now.”He smiled faintly. “You think normal people build empires on the ashes of betrayal?”She laughed, short and sharp. “Fair point.”He stood, walked over to her, and brushed her hair from her cheek. “Pretending, I'm not sure you are
What We Don't Say“Why are you looking at me like that?” Aria asked, cutting into her pancakes with exaggerated focus.Leaning back on the chair, Jerry with a lazy grin playing at the corners of his mouth. “Because you said yes.”“Don't be full of yourself, I haven’t signed a contract yet.”He chuckled. “Should I draw one up?”Aria's smirk betrays her amusement, as she shot him sideways glance. “Don’t tempt me. I’ve written scarier terms than most prenups.”“Now that’s the woman I fell for.”As the early morning sun rose, giving off a light, their laughter, loud and smooth, drifted across the rooftop, as the breeze teased Aria’s curls loose from her messy bun.Jerry raised his head, while sipping his coffee. “You’re not nervous?”She paused. “Should I be?”“I don’t know. You’ve fought wars bigger than most people can imagine. I thought maybe love would be the one battlefield you’d avoid.”Her fork hovered in the air. “I did avoid it. For a long time.”Jerry’s gaze softened. “So what
The Echo of AshesThe aftermath of victory didn’t taste like champagne. It tasted like silence, the kind that filled the empty corners of Aria’s life now that her greatest war was over.Two days had passed since Regina’s public disgrace. News outlets continued to analyze every second of the footage. Aria had become a reluctant symbol, of strength, of rebirth, of calculated revenge.In the places no cameras could see, just behind the scenes, she stood in front of her mother’s gravestone. All alone.The morning breeze blew the strand of hair that had escaped her scarf. She held a bouquet of white lilies in her hand and knelt down slowly.“I did it, Mom,” she said barely audible. “I broke the chains. I ended the story the way I should have started it. But why does it still feel like something’s missing?”The wind offered no answer. Only quiet acceptance.---Jerry sat across from his board members, the final signatures confirming the full merger. The Westford-Caden Alliance was now the l
Deal is done.The morning sun rose, as hot as a burning furnace, piercing through the mist clinging to the skyline. In the penthouse war room of Westford Enterprises, silence reigned, not from fear, but more accuracy, the calm before the final blow.Aria holding her tablet in hand, as she stood at the head of the head of the glass conference table,her eyes locked on the screen. The final draft of their official press statement blinked at her in silence.Jerry entered moments later, phone pressed to his ear. “Push the board meeting forward an hour,” he said, voice firm. “And make sure legal has Regina’s ledger on standby.”He ended the call, gaze meeting hers."Everything’s in place."Aria nodded. “Then let’s strike."With one tap, the press statement went live.Within minutes, the media exploded.Westford CEO Speaks Out: Aria Caden Breaks Silence on Vane Scandal.In the video, Aria appeared calm, articulate, and unapologetic. She didn’t slander Regina by name. She didn’t have to. Inst
Collateral Hearts.Dark gray, the colour of the sky, cloudy with heavy unshed rain, as if the city itself felt the great tension happening between the power corridors of Westford Enterprises. Aria stood by the glass wall of her office, crossing her arms, watching the skyline blur with heavy clouds. The press had grown louder, hungrier. Every move she made was a headline waiting to twist her story.But she was ready for them. Almost.Jerry entered silently behind her, holding two files, one marked confidential, the other unsealed. His eyes met hers in the reflection."They've started circling again," he said.Aria turned. "The press or the board?""Both. The board's unofficially reviewing our merger documents. Regina’s people are fanning the flames online, and Daniel..."Aria arched her brow. "Daniel what?"Jerry hesitated. "He asked for a private meeting. Just you."Her breath caught."Did he say why?"Jerry shook his head. "No. But he looked... off. Like someone told him just enough
Unmasking the SerpentThe sun barely crept over the city’s skyline when Aria’s team began to gather in the Westford boardroom. Security had been doubled. Background checks run twice. And Jerry had personally locked down every terminal within the media department.This time, there would be no leaks.This time, it would be her voice—their truth.But the exposé wasn’t being launched today. Today, they were preparing.Aria stood at the end of the sleek black table, clad in a deep navy suit. Power shimmered in her stillness. At her side, Jerry reviewed strategy files with Isabelle.“We need to hit hard,” Isabelle said. “One clean strike. No second chances.”“We’re almost there,” Jerry murmured. “But it has to be airtight.”“We can’t afford a misstep,” Aria added. “Regina’s waiting. Watching.”And she was.~~*~~Across the city, in a poorly lit rooftop bar where silence wrapped around every glass of whiskey, Regina sat across from Daniel.He looked tired. His beard had grown out slightly, a