Chapter 5

JADE

When I got home, I didn't even take off my shoes.

I dropped my handbag beside the sofa and sat down, staring at the wall.

That morning, I'd left my apartment feeling like I had a life worth being proud of. I had work to do, people who respected me, and a boyfriend I'd believed I would marry one day.

Now I felt useless.

I had given Julian so much of myself that I didn't know what was left for me.

I picked up my phone and opened the news.

The engagement announcement was everywhere.

There were photographs of Julian and Vanessa smiling together on stage. One publication had even called them the perfect business couple.

I read the article until the words began to blur, then I threw my phone onto the sofa.

I cried for a long time.

I cried because I had trusted him. I cried because I'd introduced him to the woman who had helped him replace me. I cried because I'd spent years putting his dreams before my own, believing that one day we'd enjoy the life we'd worked so hard to build.

And I cried because I had been foolish enough to trust his promises without protecting myself.

I had no proper agreement that gave me a share of the company. I had no legal document that guaranteed the future he'd talked about so often. Most of what I'd done for him had been done because I loved him. I had never imagined that love would be the reason I ended up with almost nothing.

At some point, my crying stopped and I sat up and wiped my face.

I didn't want to spend the rest of my life crying over Julian Sterling. I wanted him to regret what he'd done.

I wanted him to lose the company he was so proud of. I wanted him to find out what it felt like to have people turn their backs on him. I wanted him to look at everything he'd built and realize that the woman he'd thrown away had helped him get there. But I didn't know how to make any of that happen.

I had no money to compete with him. I couldn't afford a team of lawyers to drag his business through the courts, and I wasn't sure I could prove how much I'd contributed to the company.

Julian had made sure I was part of his life. He'd never made sure I was protected if that life ended.

I opened my laptop and searched for people who had the power to challenge Sterling International. One name kept coming up. Dominic Cross.

I'd met him at business meetings over the years. He owned a company that competed with Julian's, and everyone in our industry knew they hated each other.

I remembered the way Julian's face changed whenever Dominic's name came up. He'd once walked out of a meeting after Damien challenged one of his proposals. Another time, a deal Julian had expected to win went to Cross Industries instead.

I didn't know the full story between them, but I knew Dominic wanted to beat Julian. And I knew he had the money and power to do it.

I searched for his company's contact details and found an email address for his office.

I began writing a message, then stopped. What was I supposed to say? That I'd been betrayed and wanted revenge? That I was desperate enough to offer my help to a man I'd barely spoken to?

I almost closed the laptop.

Then I remembered Julian's face when he told me to leave his apartment. He hadn't looked sorry. He hadn't even seemed worried about what would happen to me.

He'd simply wanted me gone before Vanessa arrived.

I began typing again.

I told Dominic that I had information about Sterling International that might interest him. I said I wanted a private meeting and that I was willing to discuss a possible arrangement.

I read the message twice before sending it.

My hands were still shaking.

I didn't know whether he'd answer. I didn't know what he would ask for, or whether I'd regret contacting him, but for the first time since Julian had humiliated me, I felt that I was doing something instead of simply waiting for the pain to pass.

I closed the laptop and leaned back against the sofa.

"Let's see how you like losing something, Julian." I whispered into the darkness.

I wasn't ready to forgive him. I wasn't ready to forget him, either. But I was done begging him to choose me.