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The Magic
publish date:
2026-09-02 10:21:44**Tiffany’s pov**
**Present Day and Time**
The magic of the masquerade lasted exactly twenty three minutes. That was how long it
took me to get from the Blue and Gold Hotel to my apartment before reality came crashing
back into my life.
I tossed my heels beside the front door and leaned against it with a sigh. For one
incredible night, I hadn’t been Tiffany Bennett, the woman desperately trying to save a failing
company.
I had simply been… me No deadlines, no debt, and no expectations, just laughter. And a
stranger whose name I would never know, a smile tugged at my lips before I caught myself.
“Don’t romanticize it,
” I muttered.
“It was one night.
”
Well one unforgettable night. I walked toward my bedroom and caught my reflection in
the mirror, my hair was hopelessly messy, and my lipstick had long disappeared. There was
a softness in my eyes I hadn’t seen in months, maybe years. I reached up to remove my
sapphire earrings, my fingers froze.
“
…Where’s the other one?”
I searched my purse, nothing. My dress, nothing. The bathroom, still nothing. I groaned.
“It had to be the expensive pair.
”
For a second I considered calling the hotel. Then I laughed.
“And tell them what?”
Hi, I think I left my earring in the hotel suite of the stranger I spent the night with.
Absolutely not, I’d simply buy another pair, eventually. If Bennett Interiors ever stopped
bleeding money, the thought erased my smile… work. I glanced at the clock, it was eight
thirty.
If I hurried, I could still make it to the office before everyone else. After a quick shower
and an even quicker change into a cream blouse and navy pencil skirt, I tied my hair into a
neat ponytail and headed out.
By the time I reached Bennett Interiors, the building already felt… different, and quieter.
Employees who normally greeted one another with cheerful smiles now spoke in whispers,
conversations stopped whenever someone walked by. Fear hung in the air like a storm
cloud, I hated it.
Molly appeared beside me carrying two coffees.
I accepted one.
“I work here.
”
“I was wondering if you’d show up.
”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d be too busy thinking about Mr. Mysterious.
”
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.
”
“Oh?”
She grinned wickedly.
“I lost track of time.
”
“So you didn’t disappear for almost five hours last night?”
“You certainly did.
”
“Molly.
”
brain.
”
“You came back looking like someone had kissed every rational thought right out of your
I looked away.
“It wasn’t like that.
”
“No?”
“
…Maybe a little.
”
She gasped dramatically.
“I knew it!”
Several designers looked over.
I lowered my voice.
“Will you stop shouting?”
“I will the moment you tell me everything.
”
“There isn’t much to tell.
”
“You met someone.
”
“Yes.
”
“You danced.
”
“Yes.
”
“You left together.
”
“
…Yes.
”
Her eyes widened.
“You left together?”
“I thought you already knew.
”
“I guessed!”
She nearly spilled her coffee.
“Tiffany Bennett had a one night stand.
”
I covered her mouth before another word escaped.
“Keep your voice down!”
She laughed against my hand. After I finally let go, she smiled knowingly.
“So what?”
“So?”
“Was he handsome?”
I thought about the man in the silver mask, the warmth in his voice, and his quiet
confidence. The way he’d looked at me as though every word I spoke deserved his full
attention.
“
…Yes.
”
“Did he make you laugh?”
I smiled before I could stop myself.
“A little?”
“A little.
”
“Fine.
”
I laughed softly.
“He made me laugh a lot.
”
“And?”
“He listened.
”
She tilted her head.
“That’s your favorite thing about him?”
“You’d understand if you met him.
”
“No flirting?”
“There was flirting.
”
“No sparks?”
I looked down into my coffee.
“There were sparks.
”
She leaned closer.
“Then why are you not smiling like someone just stole your puppy?”
“Because I’ll never see him again.
”
The words felt strangely heavier than they should have. She reached over and squeezed
my arm.
“Maybe that’s okay.
”
“Is it?”
“Some people come into our lives for one beautiful chapter.
”
I smiled sadly.
“I don’t even know his name.
”
Before either of us could say another word, my father’s office door opened.
“Tiffany.
”
His voice was unusually serious.
“Can I see you?”
I exchanged a quick glance with Molly before walking into his office. The moment the
door closed, I knew something was wrong, my father wasn’t sitting behind his desk. He
stood by the window instead, staring out at the city, with his shoulders looked heavier than
they had yesterday.
“Dad?”
He turned around slowly.
“I had another meeting with the bank.
”
I already knew from his expression how it had gone.
“They refused again.
”
My stomach sank.
“They’re demanding immediate repayment on part of the loan.
”
“How much?”
He named the figure.
I gripped the back of the nearest chair.
“That’s impossible.
”
“I know.
”
“They can’t seriously expect us to…
”
“They can.
”
Silence stretched between us.
Finally he walked over and handed me a thick folder.
“A proposal.
”
I frowned.
“From who?”
“What’s this?”
“I received it this morning.
”
The company logo embossed across the front made my breath catch.
HOLDINGS”
“ASHFORD GLOBAL
I looked up.
“The Ashfords?”
“They’ve been following Bennett Interiors for years.
”
Hope flickered inside me.
“They want to invest?”
My father didn’t answer immediately, instead, he looked away.
“Dad?”
“It’s… complicated.
”
My pulse quickened.
“What do you mean complicated?”
“They’re willing to erase our debts.
”
I stared at him.
“They are?”
“Yes.
”
Relief flooded through me so quickly I nearly laughed.
“Oh, thank God.
”
“But…
”
The single word stole every ounce of relief.
“There are conditions.
”
My smile faded.
He swallowed.
“What kind of conditions?”
“I don’t know all the details yet.
”
“Then what do you know?”
“The head of the Ashford family requested a private meeting.
”
“When?”
“This afternoon.
”
“With you?”
He hesitated.
“With both of us.
”
A strange feeling settled in my stomach.
“Why me?”
“I asked the same question.
”
“And?”
“They insisted. ”
I looked down at the folder again, the Ashfords. The richest families in New York. Why
would they care about a struggling interior design company? More importantly… Why did
they specifically want me there?
I had no answers. Only a growing feeling that my life was about to change,
And somewhere else in Manhattan… A man I believed I would never see again had no
idea that our paths were already leading us toward the same meeting. Neither of us knew it yet, but fate had already signed the first page of our story.
Latest chapter
Signed, Sealed, Seduced? The Screen
TIFFANYI stared at the screen. The image was blurry, but I knew that silhouette. I knew the way she stood. I knew the way she held herself. And the moment Ethan enhanced the image again, there was no room left for doubt.“Ashley.”The name barely left my lips.Damian looked at me.“You’re sure?”I nodded slowly.“I know her.”Ethan zoomed in further. The woman’s face became clearer.It was Ashley.She was sitting in the corner of the hotel room, partially hidden behind the glass partition. Watching. Listening. Waiting.My stomach twisted.“But she left the country with Victor,” I whispered.“This footage was recorded months ago,” Ethan reminded me.I stared at the screen.“So she was there before Damian signed the document.”“Yes.”“And Richard knew.”“Apparently.”I looked at Damian.He hadn’t said a word. His eyes remained fixed on the screen.“Damian.”He finally looked at me.“I don’t remember her being there.”I swallowed.“But she was.”“I know.”“You said you didn’t know Ashle
Signed, Sealed, Seduced? No!
TIFFANY“No.”The word left my mouth before I could stop it.The video was frozen on Damian. His hand was holding a pen. The document lay in front of him. Richard sat across from him. Victor was beside them.I turned toward Damian.“You signed it.”His eyes remained fixed on the screen.“I don’t remember.”“How can you not remember signing something?”“I don’t know.”“You were there.”“I know.”“You heard them talking about me.”“I know.”“You knew the marriage would activate the agreement.”“No.”His voice was immediate.“I didn’t know.”“But you signed something.”“Yes.”“What?”“I don’t know.”I stepped away from him. My chest hurt.“Then what did you sign?”“I don’t know.”“Damian!”“I don’t know!”His voice echoed through the room. He looked as shaken as I felt.“I remember meeting them,” he said. “I remember Richard giving me a document. I remember signing something because he told me it was a corporate authorization.”My eyes burned.“And you didn’t read it?”“I did.”“Then how
Signed, Sealed, Seduced? Look Away
TIFFANYI could not look away from the page.My signature.On a document I had never seen.On an agreement I had never signed.And a message asking me to find out where Damian had been three months before our wedding.Slowly, I lifted my eyes.Damian was staring at the same page.His face had gone completely still.“Where were you?” I asked.He didn’t answer immediately.“Three months before our wedding,” I repeated.“Tiffany.”“Where were you?”His jaw tightened.“I don’t remember.”I laughed once.It wasn’t funny.“You don’t remember?”“It was months ago.”“You remember everything.”His eyes met mine.“You remember business meetings from years ago. You remember contracts, dates, numbers, people’s names.”I pointed at the document.“And now you don’t remember where you were when someone forged my signature?”“I said I don’t remember.”The words hit harder than they should have.I stepped back.“Did you know about this?”“No.”“Did you know Bennett Interiors was being transferred?”“N
Signed, Sealed, Seduced? Spoke My
TIFFANYNobody spoke.My name.On the file.Not Bennett Interiors.Not Ashford Group.Not the merger.Me.I stared at Ethan.“Why would an agreement involving a company be filed under my name?”“I don’t know.”Damian took a step forward.“Where is it?”“Richard’s private archive.”“Take me there.”Ethan hesitated.“It’s secured.”Damian’s expression hardened.“Then open it.”“Damian—”“Now.”Ethan nodded.I followed them.The archive was in a private section of the penthouse I had never seen before.A hidden door opened behind one of the bookshelves.I stopped.“You have a secret archive?”Damian glanced at me.“My grandfather does.”“That’s worse.”He almost smiled.Almost.But the tension in the room swallowed it.We walked inside.There were rows of locked cabinets, folders, boxes and documents.Ethan moved toward one of the cabinets.“Here.”He pulled out a thick file.The label was simple.TIFFANY BENNETT.My stomach turned.Damian reached for it.I grabbed his wrist.“Wait.”He
Signed, Sealed, Seduced? Several Seconds
TIFFANYFor several seconds, I couldn’t move. I stared at the message on my phone until the words blurred.Your father didn’t sell Bennett Interiors to Victor.He sold it to Ashley.My fingers tightened around the phone.Ashley.The woman who had spent weeks trying to destroy my marriage.The woman who had attacked Bennett Interiors.The woman who had somehow known things about my family that even I hadn’t known.The woman who had been watching me.The woman who had appeared beside my father.I looked at Damian. He was standing a few feet away, his expression unreadable as he stared at the photograph Ethan had pulled up on the computer.My father.Victor Hale.Richard.Ashley.All standing together.Six months before my wedding.Six months before Richard ever approached me with the marriage proposal.My stomach twisted.“How could Ashley own any part of Bennett Interiors?” I whispered.Ethan looked at me.“We don’t know that she does.”“But someone just told me she does.”“That doesn’
Signed, Sealed, Seduced? Stop Staring
TIFFANYI couldn’t stop staring at the photograph.“Who is that?”Damian zoomed in.“I don’t know.”“Ethan might.”He immediately called him.“Who is the man in the photograph?”There was a pause.Damian’s expression changed.“You’re sure?”Another pause.“Send me everything you have.”He ended the call.“Who is he?”Damian looked at me.“His name is Victor Hale.”My stomach tightened.“The same Victor Hale from the earlier photograph?”“Yes.”The man who had been connected to Ashford Group.The man whose photograph had appeared during the first scandal.“What does he have to do with Bennett Interiors?”“We’re about to find out.”We drove back to Bennett Interiors.This time, I barely noticed the journey.My mind was stuck on Richard’s letter.Six months before the marriage.A third party.Victor Hale.Ashley.My father.There was something connecting all of them.Something I’d never known about.When we arrived, Ethan was already waiting outside.He approached Damian immediately.“I
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