Mine to claim

MINE TO CLAIM

I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, swirling a glass of chilled white wine as the city lights stretched out below me like a glittering playground. The view was beautiful, expensive, earned through years of careful moves and sharper ambition. I was rich, very rich by most people’s standards but I knew it was nothing compared to the Harrison empire. That was the kind of wealth that didn’t just buy things. It bought power. Legacy. And the man who carried it.

Adrian.

My lips curved into a slow smile. He thought he was so smart. So controlled. So above it all. He believed no one truly deserved him, not really. Not the way I did. Evelyn had tried, poor thing. She had played the dutiful wife for five long years, shrinking herself smaller and smaller until she finally disappeared. But she never understood him the way I do. She never saw the fire beneath that ice-cold exterior. She never earned the right to stand beside him.

No one has. No one ever will.

I took a sip of wine, letting the crisp taste linger. He could play tough all he wanted. He could sign those divorce papers and tell himself he was doing the right thing. He could bury himself in work and pretend Sophia Bennett was just a convenient ally, a pregnant friend he had promised to protect. But I knew better. I had always known better.

He was mine.

I would do anything to make sure of it. I had already done so much. The rumors. The careful leaks. The quiet calls to investors. The way I had positioned myself as the only one who truly understood the weight he carried. Evelyn thought she could walk away and start fresh. How cute. How naïve. She had no idea how deep my reach went.

I turned away from the window and walked over to the sleek marble island in my kitchen. My reflection stared back at me from the polished surface, beautiful, composed, the kind of woman who belonged on the arm of a man like Adrian Harrison. Not some quiet, self-sacrificing shadow like Evelyn.

I set the glass down and ran a manicured finger along the edge of the counter. The plan was working perfectly. Adrian was distracted, angry, searching for answers he would never find. He still didn’t know the full extent of what I had done. He still believed I was simply the woman carrying his best friend’s child,someone to protect out of loyalty. He had no idea how long I had waited. How carefully I had orchestrated every step and this child is his and will always be his

He could fight it. He could tell himself he was honoring promises and focusing on the company. But I knew the truth. Deep down, he needed someone who could match his ambition. Someone who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Someone who saw the Harrison legacy as something worth claiming.

That someone was me.

I would get him. I always got what I wanted eventually. A few more well-placed rumors. A few more quiet sabotages. A few more nights where I reminded him how good it felt to have someone who actually understood him. Evelyn was out of the picture now. She had run away like the coward she was. And soon, Adrian would see that I was the only one left who could stand beside him.

The sound of my phone ringing cut through the quiet. I glanced at the unknown number on the screen, as expected. I answered with a calm, satisfied smile.

“Yes?” I said.

The voice on the other end was low and professional. I listened carefully, nodding once or twice.

“Good,” I replied smoothly. “Make sure the next set of calls goes through as planned. Evelyn will start believing now that Adrian is the one sabotaging her. Let her think he’s the monster who can’t let her go even after the divorce. It’ll keep her distracted and off-balance.”

I paused, listening to the confirmation.

“And remember,” I added, my voice dropping slightly, “nobody will ever find out. Not Adrian. Not Evelyn. Not anyone. Keep it clean.”

I ended the call and set the phone down on the counter. A quiet thrill ran through me. Everything was falling into place exactly as I had designed it. Adrian might think he was in control, but he wasn’t. He never had been. Not when it came to me.

I picked up my wine again and raised it in a silent toast to the empty room.

Soon, I thought. Very soon, you’ll see that I’m the only one who deserves you.

And no one not Evelyn, not the ghosts of his past, not even his own stubborn pride would stand in my way.