Chapter six

Chapter 6

The door didn’t close.

That was what stopped Bella.

Her hand rested on the handle, fingers trembling, breath shallow. The hallway beyond the office stretched out in quiet luxury plush carpet, muted lighting, a world that didn’t care whether she existed or not. She could leave. She should leave.

But something twisted in her chest.

If she walked out now, this would follow her too. Another door slammed. Another place she wasn’t allowed to exist.

Her grip tightened.

Behind her, Darian shifted. The chair creaked softly.

“Don’t test my patience,” he said.

Bella swallowed.

Slowly and deliberately, she turned around.

Darian was standing now, tall behind the desk, his presence filling the room like pressure before a storm. His expression was carved from ice, eyes dark and assessing, already certain of the outcome.

Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs, but she lifted her chin anyway.

“No,” she said, her voice shaking despite her effort. “You don’t get to do this.”

The words surprised them both.

The room went still.

Darian’s brow twitched, just once. “Excuse me?”

Bella’s hands clenched at her sides. Her palms were damp, her knees weak, but she forced herself to stand upright. “You don’t get to throw me out because of… personal history. This is a workplace.”

For a split second, Darian only stared at her, as though trying to determine whether she was brave, or foolish. No one spoke to him this way. No one dared.

His lips curved, not in amusement, but disbelief. “You think this is a debate?”

“I earned this job,” she said quickly, before fear could steal her courage. “I applied months ago. I interviewed. HR approved me. Whatever you think you know about me has nothing to do with my qualifications.”

Darian took a step forward.

The air seemed to compress.

It irritated him, how she was still standing. How she hadn’t crumbled yet. How she met his gaze instead of lowering her eyes like everyone else did when they realized who he was.

“You dare,” he said quietly, “lecture me about professionalism?”

Her throat tightened, but she didn’t look away. “I’m not asking for favors. I’m asking to be treated fairly.”

A muscle jumped in his jaw.

Fair.

The word scraped against something ugly inside him.

“Fair?” he echoed. “You walk into my office after what you did and expect fairness?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she said, sharper now, the words ripping out of her before she could stop them. “I don’t even remember that night. I woke up alone. Confused. And my life was destroyed because of it.”

Her voice broke at the end, but she kept going, fueled now by weeks of swallowed pain.

“I lost my family. My fiancé. My friends. Everything. And you think I would deliberately walk into your office to play games?”

Silence slammed into the room.

Darian’s eyes darkened.

“That’s convenient,” he said. “Amnesia always is.”

Pain flared behind her eyes, but she refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him. “Believe whatever you want. But you don’t get to punish me for it.”

He laughed once, humorless. “Punish you? You think too highly of yourself. You are an inconvenience.”

Her chest rose sharply. “Then why are you so angry?”

The question hung there, dangerous and reckless.

For the first time, something real flickered across Darian’s face, not rage or disdain, but something far more volatile.

How dare she.

How dare she question him in his own office, under his roof, on his authority.

Darian’s gaze sharpened like a blade.

“Careful,” he warned. “You’re standing on very thin ice.”

Bella’s breath came faster. Her whole body trembled now, but she pushed through it, stepping closer to the desk instead of retreating.

“If this is about what you think I am,” she said, voice trembling but loud now, “then fire me properly. Put it in writing. Don’t humiliate me and throw me out like I don’t matter.”

She gestured weakly to the office. “This is a company. Not your personal court.”

For a moment, something unreadable crossed his face.

.

“You don’t belong here,” he said flatly. “And I won’t have my company associated with a scandal.”

Her stomach dropped. “So that’s it? Rumors decide who gets to survive?”

“Reality does,” he replied. “And reality says you’re a liability.”

She laughed, a broken, breathless sound that startled even her. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” he snapped. “Enough to know you bring chaos wherever you go.”

Her voice cracked. “I need this job.”

“That,” he said coldly, “is not my problem.”

She stared at him, stunned by the finality in his tone. Her defiance wavered, exhaustion flooding in all at once. God, she was so tired. Tired of fighting ghosts. Tired of being judged by things she couldn’t explain.

Still, she whispered, “You’re wrong.”

Darian’s eyes hardened.

Enough.

He would not allow this, this challenge, this disruption. Authority existed to be enforced, not questioned.

He pressed a button on his desk.

“Security.”

Bella’s heart dropped into her stomach.

The intercom crackled. “Yes, sir?”

“Escort Ms. Morrison out of the building,” he said without hesitation. “Immediately.”

Her breath hitched. “You can’t…”

“I can,” he cut in. “And I am.”

Footsteps sounded outside the office.

Her hands curled into fists. Humiliation burned hot and sharp in her chest, spreading like wildfire. Not again. Not like this.

Two security guards appeared at the door.

“Ms.,” one of them said awkwardly, eyes flicking between her and Darian. “Please come with us.”

Bella looked at Darian one last time.

He didn’t look away.

“You’re making a mistake,” she said quietly.

His expression didn’t change. “I don’t make mistakes.”

The guards waited.

Her legs felt heavy as she bent down and picked up her bag, movements stiff, mechanical. She straightened, shoulders trembling, and walked past them.

Out of the office.

Down the hallway.

Every step felt like being stripped bare. Doors blurred past her vision. People glanced up, curiosity flashing across their faces. Whispers bloomed behind her back.

By the time they reached the elevator, her chest felt hollow.

The doors slid open.

She stepped inside.

Just before they closed, she looked back.

Darian stood in the doorway of his office, watching with satisfaction.

And the doors shut.

And Bella’s reflection stared back at her, eyes blazing through the humiliation.

She didn’t know it yet.

But this wasn’t over.