LOGINTo my dear readers, I’m really sorry if it took me a while to update. I’ve just been very busy these past few days, but I’ll do my best to update every day from now on. 💖 Thank you so much for reading and supporting this novel....it truly means a lot to me! I hope you’ll continue to stay with me on this journey. ✨
The clock on Thirdie’s office wall ticked loudly in the quiet room, though he barely heard it anymore. Paperwork had a way of swallowing time whole. He leaned back in his chair, eyes still tracing the figures printed across the project report in front of him. It was already lunch hour, but he didn’t notice because on the executive floor, hardly anyone stayed. Access was limited. The space was quiet by design. Thirdie didn’t like noise, and very few people were allowed near the CEO’s office to begin with.Only two people are staying there.Him.And Jeff.Everyone else had already gone, yet he was still there, buried in contracts, deadlines, and numbers that never lied.He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and let out a slow breath. Another project. Another responsibility on his shoulders. His company had many businesses, including airlines, construction, mining, real estate, restaurants, and international deals. And he handled all of them himself. He didn’t trust anyone els
The sound of paper slamming against glass echoed through the high-rise office like a crack of thunder.Harold Salcedo stood behind his wide glass desk, both hands pressed flat against the surface. The finance reports slid slightly under his palms, the pages rustling faintly. Numbers filled the sheets. Numbers he had expected to see rise quietly under his control.Instead, they mocked him.He stared down at the reports, his jaw tight, his expression dark.It should have worked.It always worked.So why wasn’t he getting a call?“Where is he?” Harold muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing. “He’s supposed to call me by now.”He straightened slowly; shoulders stiff with tension.The man he trusted, the one he had planted inside Stone Company, should have reported already. Should have told him the money was secure. I should have said everything was clean.But there was nothing.Harold’s lips pressed into a thin line.“He should have called,” he snapped suddenly, his voice echoing in the
The car stopped in front of Kathalina’s office building.She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to them. “I’ll see you later.”Thirdie stepped out first and opened her door. Before she could walk away, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.“Be careful,” he said. “I’ll pick you up later.”She smiled at him.“I always am… okay.”Then she turned and walked toward the building, her head held high.Thirdie watched until she disappeared inside.Let the storm come, he thought coldly. This time, she won’t face it alone.Thirdie slid back into the car, the door closing with a soft thud, quiet, yet final.The car was wrapped in black leather and dark wood. The faint scent of expensive cologne filled the air. Soft lights glowed along the doors, making the space feel quiet and private. Outside noise vanished, leaving only silence inside the car.The moment he settled into his seat, something in him shifted.The warmth he had shown Kathalina moments ago vanished, wiped clean as i
Kathalina slowly woke up, her eyes blinking against the soft morning light. For a moment, she stayed still.The space beside her was empty.She frowned slightly and turned her head.Thirdie was gone.The memory surfaced again.There were so many mornings before…quiet, empty ones, when she would wake up alone in their room. The other side of the bed was always untouched, cold, perfectly neat. Thirdie would already be gone, his presence marked only by the faint scent left on the sheets and the silence he always left behind.She used to lie there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, listening to the house breathe without him. No footsteps. No voices. Just another morning that felt the same as the last.But this time was different.The bed was warm. The pillow beside her carried his scent. And instead of that familiar emptiness, a quiet thought crossed her mind.He must already be awake.The idea settled gently in her chest, not painful, not hopeful, just… real.She sat up slowly, rubbin
Thirdie stared at the phone in his hand, the faint vibration echoing through his palm. The cold air from the veranda still clung to his skin. Dawn hadn’t fully arrived, only a pale hint of light brushing across the quiet private subdivision. Gated homes lined the quiet streets, each one neat and clean. Gardens were full of flowers; their petals wet with morning dew. The streets were empty and still, the neighborhood calm and peaceful, like nothing bad could ever happen here.Inside, Kathalina lay curled on the bed, hugging his pillow like it was the only safe place left in the world. The faint morning glow filtered through the curtains, softening the edges of her peaceful face.She had no idea about any of it. She didn’t know about the chaos happening outside, the lies spreading online, or about Agnes. She didn’t know about the fierce determination burning inside him to keep her safe.Thirdie didn’t want her to wake up to any of this.And then… the phone rang again.Erica’s name flash
Across the city, while Kathalina slept peacefully in Thirdie’s arms, someone else was wide awake.Agnes barely slept at all. She sat on her bed in the dark, eyes glued to her phone screen, refreshing social media again and again. Her heart pounded with fear and jealousy. Every new post made her fingers tremble.“Let’s see if she can face the world head high,” she muttered under her breath. “She will be ruined again.”She picked up her phone and called the one person she trusted for her dirty work, Gretchen Young, her longtime friend who worked in media.Gretchen answered groggily. “Agnes? It’s three in the morning.”“I know, I just—” Agnes hissed, lowering her voice as if the walls themselves might be listening. She paused, breath trembling with barely contained spite. “I need another favor. Kathalina is back in the city again… and I want her ruined. Ruined to the point she’ll leave again and never come back.” Her tone darkened, a cold echo of the past. “I want you to do what you did







