Se connecterEthan's POV
Battle found its way through the estate gates. They stood cracked open, once solid now split by force.
Fans of the camera snapped at the edges, a crowd pushing close, lenses blinking fast, mics jabbed ahead, shouts tearing through dawn light. Still, guards stood firm - yet the noise climbed, louder each moment. That paper slipping out made what we kept quiet now loud everywhere, seen by everyone who wanted more than truth.
Inside the gate I stayed, Sam beside
Sam's POVFighting back was the only path left open.Out in the open now, that stolen agreement made our personal moments feel like a show. Not wanting people to think we were just two strangers ready to split after some kind of silent deal, Ethan and I chose instead to stand together - planned it carefully, showed up side by side where everyone could see.Fingers laced during fundraisersA glance held a moment too long when laughter slipped out. Smiles passed between them while questions hung in the airSnaps of tender moments fill the frames whenever lenses appear. Quiet closeness finds its way into photos without asking. Warm contact slips naturally into view through patient observing. Soft brushes between people linger where shutters click.Performance kicked it off.Stillness between us, filled only by run-throughs of glances, gestures, how close our bodies should stand. "Easy," they said. Not forced. Just right. My grin stayed light
Ethan's POVBattle found its way through the estate gates. They stood cracked open, once solid now split by force.Fans of the camera snapped at the edges, a crowd pushing close, lenses blinking fast, mics jabbed ahead, shouts tearing through dawn light. Still, guards stood firm - yet the noise climbed, louder each moment. That paper slipping out made what we kept quiet now loud everywhere, seen by everyone who wanted more than truth.Inside the gate I stayed, Sam beside me, our hands joined. Not a word passed between us, yet her stillness spoke volumes. Poised she looked, dressed sharp, carrying herself like someone unshaken. Yet under that calm ran something else entirely. A faint shake traveled through her grip. Her back stiffened almost unseen. Watchful, her gaze moved across faces - slow, careful, never settling.I messed up. It fell on me to fix it.Out here, time slipped by without me noticing. Gwen stayed longer than she should have, and th
Sam's POVI stood where everyone could see me.Out of nowhere, that contract spread everywhere online. Still, I refused to let Gwen decide what people thought. Never again. Back then, I hid through endless dark hours while everyone else named who I was. Now? The telling belongs to me.Before sunrise, I reached out to Ethan’s public relations group. Less than sixty minutes later, we found ourselves inside the large meeting space of the property, devices powered up, hot drinks filling the air with steam. Next to me, Ethan stayed close, fingers sometimes grazing my hand beneath the surface - small moments passing without words. Pride simmered in his gaze, sharp and steady, while I guided the conversation forward.“We’re not denying the contract,” I said firmly, addressing the three senior PR executives. “That would make us look like we’re hiding something. We acknowledge it, reframe it, and redirect the conversation to str
Sam's POVA beep broke the silence just before six. The screen flashed with news at an hour most people sleep.Awake again, perched near the window in the living area, fingers curled around a mug of tea turned chilly. Rest doesn’t visit much these days, not after the stabbing. Each dim corner now carries weight, each silence hums with something waiting just out of sight.That headline on my tablet hit hard, right in the gut.“Billionaire’s One-Year Marriage Deal Exposed: Sterling Wife Set to Cash Out and Leave”Shaky hands hit the screen when I clicked it. Every big site carried the story now - news desks, rumor blogs, endless scrolling streams. There they were, copies of the deal spread wide: both names signed low on the page, twelve months underlined bright, payout numbers made impossible to miss. Some unnamed source whispered I’d boxed Ethan into something sharp and planned all along to walk away just as time expire
Gwen's POVA corner of the city held a quiet fight inside four walls. The place where I stayed turned into something else entirely.Along the minibar, empty bottles stood in rows. Trash spilled out, filled with takeout boxes stacked too high. In the big mirror across the room, a woman stared back - sunken cheeks, untamed gaze, strands of hair breaking free around features that used to define me. That look once opened every door. Now it does nothing. Strength has drained away. What people listened to before now fades, moment by moment.What remained behind was just the need to even the score.There I was, parked at the desk, lid up, light spilling across my face from the machine. That file waited - my last move - the signed copy of our deal, crisp scan, each line sharp enough to cut. Twelve months spelled out clear, not a word blurred, names inked at the bottom like receipts. Passages stood out now, bolded by me earlier: time limit stamped upfront, money t
Sam's POVAt first, the holdups barely showed. Hardly worth noticing - just red tape doing its thing.That stack of divorce papers vanished somewhere inside Legal. An extra week requested just to pin down the worth of some assets. Every time I pushed Ethan’s people on wrapping up specific sections, replies came back fuzzy. Early on, I figured it was standard delay stuff - big companies dragging feet, more so after those messy public incidents and shaky leadership upstairs.Yet something inside me, built from years of staying alive, kept pulling back.That quiet glow filled the room as I stayed behind after work. A hush settled when the attorney spoke through encrypted lines.“Everything is dragging without clear explanation,” Mr. Harlan said, his voice cautious. “Requests that should take days are taking weeks. Some filings have been returned for ‘additional clarification’ on points that were already crystal clear. It doesn’t feel like standard pro







