LOGINAmelia’s irritation deepened the moment Ricardo let out that low, unhurried chuckle. The sound, calm and almost amused, only made the tension in her chest tighten further. It felt as though he was deliberately provoking her, as though he found her reaction entertaining rather than serious.Her brows furrowed slightly, her gaze sharpening as she looked at him.“You think this is funny?” she asked, her voice controlled but edged with annoyance.Ricardo didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he studied her, his eyes lingering on her face as though he was taking in every detail of her expression—the slight tightening of her jaw, the way her fingers curled faintly at her sides, the flicker of emotion she was trying so hard to suppress.“So that’s why you’re going,” he said calmly, as though he had come to some quiet conclusion.Amelia frowned. “What are you talking about?”Ricardo tilted his head slightly, his lips still curved in that faint, knowing smile. “Ever since we met again, you’ve be
For a few seconds, Amelia simply stared at her phone as it continued to ring, her thoughts tangled between hesitation and restraint. Her fingers hovered slightly above the screen, her expression calm but her heart betraying her with its uneven rhythm. She had told herself countless times that if she ever saw Ricardo again, she would remain indifferent, unaffected, untouched by the past. But now, with his name flashing across her screen, she realized it was not as simple as she had believed.The call continued.Persistent.Unyielding.Amelia exhaled slowly, her grip tightening just a little before she finally made her decision. Without allowing herself another moment to hesitate, she tapped the screen and lifted the phone to her ear.“Hello.”Her voice was steady, controlled, giving nothing away.—At Amelia’s mansion, a sleek black car pulled up smoothly in front of the grand entrance. The gates had already been opened, and the guards stood respectfully at a distance as the car came t
Amelia sat still for a long moment after Gabriel’s words settled in her mind, the weight of them pressing down on her thoughts like something she could not easily shake off. She had expected many things when she came to the United States for this deal—new opportunities, difficult negotiations, perhaps even unexpected challenges—but she had not expected this. She had not expected Ricardo to reappear so suddenly in her life, and she certainly had not expected him to position himself in a way that would force their paths to cross again and again.Her fingers tightened slightly around the file she had been holding before she slowly placed it down on Gabriel’s desk. Her expression remained calm, composed, almost unreadable, but beneath that calm surface, her thoughts were anything but steady.Was this intentional?The question echoed quietly in her mind.She knew Ricardo well enough to understand the kind of man he was. He was not impulsive, nor was he petty. He was strategic, controlled,
Amelia smiled faintly, her expression calm despite the storm of thoughts quietly stirring within her. She turned her head slightly toward Gabriel, who was still watching her with that same observant gaze.“I don’t want to talk about it now,” she said softly. “Maybe later… when I’m ready.”Her tone was gentle, but firm enough to leave no room for further questioning.Gabriel studied her for a moment, as if weighing whether to press further or let it go. In the end, he simply nodded.“Alright,” he replied.He didn’t ask anything else.The car ride continued in silence after that, but it was no longer tense. Instead, it carried a quiet understanding. Amelia appreciated that about him—he knew when to stop.Not long after, the car slowed as it approached a large, elegant mansion.Amelia’s mansion.The gates opened smoothly, and the car drove in before coming to a stop in front of the house. The soft glow of the exterior lights illuminated the grand structure, making it look even more seren
Amelia’s eyes widened in surprise the moment she saw who had taken the glass from her hand.The man standing beside her was tall, composed, and carried an unmistakable authority that seemed to command the entire space without effort. His presence alone shifted the atmosphere at the table, and even before he spoke, it was clear that everything had just changed.It was Gabriel.Her boss.The CEO of the company.For a brief second, Amelia simply stared at him, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. She had known he would arrive eventually, but not like this—not at the exact moment she needed an escape from the uncomfortable situation she had been trying so hard to manage.A small smile slowly formed on her lips.Gabriel didn’t say a word at first. Instead, he lifted the glass of wine—the same one Mr. Moses had been persistently pushing toward Amelia—and drank from it in one smooth motion without stopping.Amelia’s smile deepened slightly as she watched.Across the table, Mr. Moses’s
Ricardo remained seated long after Amelia had walked away.His eyes stayed fixed on the direction she had disappeared, his expression frozen in shock. The words she had left behind echoed endlessly in his mind, refusing to fade no matter how hard he tried to suppress them.I never loved you.Those words replayed over and over again, each time cutting deeper than before.For years, he had convinced himself that what they shared, no matter how complicated or undefined, had meant something. Even if he had been too blind to understand it then, he had believed—at the very least—that her feelings had been real.But now…Now she had denied everything.And the worst part was not just what she said—but how she said it.So calm.So certain.As if there had never been anything between them at all.Ricardo slowly leaned back in his chair, his fingers tightening slightly against the edge of the table. The untouched food sat in front of him, now cold and forgotten.He had imagined their reunion so







