CHAPTER 1

 Celeste pov

 “Your blood’s staining the contract, Celeste.”

I didn’t even feel the cut until he said it.

There was too much adrenaline. Too much pressure on me. Blood filled my mouth as I smiled through the pain, pretending the betrayal of my own body wasn’t happening—just like I pretended the betrayal of the man I loved hadn’t already begun.

I slid the folder across the glass conference table, with my fingers slick with blood. Six months of hell, twelve backstabbed competitors, and one million sleepless nights was now wrapped in a pitch-perfect proposal that would expand Carter Global into Europe.

My voice cracked as I whispered, “We did it.”

But Ethan didn’t look at the folder.

Instead, he flipped open the leather case in front of him and slid a crisp toward me, it was a cold stack of legal documents my way.

 The gold-embossed title burned like acid in my brain as I read through it:

Petition for Divorce.

I blinked repeatedly. The lights were blurring my sight. Maybe it was the concussion. Maybe it was a heartbreak.

“What...what is this?” I staggered.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, his face a mask of marble looking so calm, so practiced, like he’d rehearsed this. “It’s over, Celeste. Sign it.”

I turned my head slowly—and there she was.

Brielle Langford. Her chanel-red lips. Crossed legs. Diamond-cut smirk.

She is the daughter of Gregory Langford, CEO of Langford & Holt—the conglomerate Ethan had been trying to merge with for two years.

Brielle used to spill champagne on me at galas and call it a “poor girl accident.” Now she was seated at my conference table like she owned the empire I built.

“You’re marrying her?” I asked, the taste of blood rising again. I didn't want to believe it. I just wanted to confirm that my instinct was right.

Brielle held up her left hand—three carats of cruelty sparkled on her finger. “Already engaged. Didn’t you hear?”

I looked down at the contract I had nearly died putting together. The same contract that would have made Carter Global untouchable.

My jaw trembled as I tried speaking. “This deal would’ve changed your life.”

Ethan stood up, fastening his Armani jacket like the conversation bored him.

“It has changed my life,” he said. “Thanks to you, I finally had the leverage to close the Langford merger. Your job’s done.”

He turned his back to me.

“You were just...a convenient stepping stone, Celeste.” he snapped. My eyes couldn't get off his hand wrapping around that bitch as he walked out of the door.

The door opened behind me.

Two men in dark suits stepped in—security.

“Miss Alvarez,” one said, not meeting my eyes. “You’ll need to come with us.”

I froze, trying to catch up with what was happening. “You’re firing me?”

“It’s standard protocol,and it needs to be followed,” Ethan said, not bothering to look at me. “You no longer represent Carter Global.”

“You’re erasing me?” I asked him in disbelief. My lips were trembling as I shook my head not wanting to believe it but it was happening already.

His hand reached for the folder I gave him.

Then—rrrr iiii pp.

He slid my contract into the shredder, slow and deliberate. I watched the paper fly around the room and slowly each piece of it dropped on the cold floor.

Strip by strip.

Word by word.

He destroyed me.

Flashback:

 I remembered staying up with him during those all-nighters, drawing up strategy while hiding my miscarriage pain. I remembered selling my artwork to fund his launch because I loved him. I remembered watching my parents die in a car crash the night before our first pitch meeting—and still showing up to present with tear-stained cheeks and a borrowed blazer.

He didn't remember.

He didn’t care.

He never cared.

The miscarriage was all his fault yet it doesn't matter to him.

Slowly I moved my frozen feet out of the office, I was dumbfounded. Lost. And trying to get myself to understand what was happening.

The cold outside was unbearable as it poured down on me restlessly.

 The thought I was going to die flashed through me, folding my hand around my chest.

Rain poured like punishment from above but it also helped in covering my tears. 

Each step I took away from the office made my heart swallow. I couldn't believe Ethan would throw away 5 years of our togetherness.

 The hardship, the pain and all the restless nightmares just because of Brielle langford.

“Celeste! Is it true Ethan dumped you for the heiress?” a voice cut me off from my thoughts.

Immediately I turned to see who it could be when the next word lashed through me.

 “Did he leave because you couldn’t give him a child?”

 “Are you bitter that the woman who spilled champagne on you now wears your ring?”

Flashes. Shouts. Some people spit. I could hear the laughter. 

 I couldn't take it any longer. I couldn't stand to answer those questions.

My heels cracked on the marble like gunshots. I ran.

An email hit my phone as I stumbled into the street. I was off from the reporter's sight.

 Relieved flashed through me.

Piercing my eyes on the phone, my heart skipped as I stared at the message.

CONFIDENTIAL: Carter Global x Langford PR Launch – Narrative Strategy

"Frame Celeste as unstable. Emphasize infertility rumors. Use Brielle’s media leverage for emotional optics."

It was from Ethan’s publicist.

He planned this. Every headline. Every question. Every fucking camera angle.

I collapsed onto a bench as the storm soaked me to the bone. I couldn't believe Ethan was doing this to me. 

Mascara bled down my cheeks like war paint, and my chest was bleeding uncontrollable. I stared at my trembling hands, unsure what was mine anymore.

Job: Gone.

 Marriage: Gone.

 Name: About to be shredded like the contract.

Then, my phone buzzed, I hesitated for a while but summoned the courage to pick it up.

Unknown number? 

One message dropped.

“You’re not the only one he ruined. Let’s burn him to the ground—together.”

 I stared at the message as headlights as it cut through the storm.

A black car pulled up to the curb. Back window rolled down.

Inside sat a woman in a red coat with a scar on her face.

  The car was opened and he!

The last person I intended to see walked down the car.

Damien Sinclair!

 What is he doing here!

“ What if I picked you and gave you all you wanted?” His words dropped like bombshells in my ears.

 I turned slowly , my gaze meeting him and for a while I stared at him.

 His expression was unreadable and for a second I wondered what he wanted.

 To humiliate me. To cause me more pain. To remind me I was foolishly in love with someone who doesn't care. Or to make a mockery of me.

 Whatever was his plan, I wasn't going to fall for it.

“I never asked for your favour so can you leave? “ I tried saying , my voice shaking and my fingers trembling. 

 I was holding back the tears which were almost circulating across my eyes and would drop soon. He must see the tears. 

“I am here to change you, this opportunity is rare so it is left for you to decide” he paused.

I stood up slowly where I sat, the cold air flashed through my face.

 I smirked and made to speak but he cut me short.

“If you want a perfect revenge, follow me”..

 He walked down to his car, leaving me standing a

nd my eyes fixed at every movement he took.

 What is he up to and how did he know I needed revenge?