LOGINVICTORIAI didn’t move for a while.The screen stayed lit in front of me, but I wasn’t reading anymore. I was just staring at it, letting everything settle in my head.Because reacting too fast would be a mistake. And I didn’t make those anymore.This time, I didn’t confront him immediately. I read everything first.Every detail. Every signature. Every date.Slowly and carefully, like I was picking it apart piece by piece.The document wasn’t long, but it said enough. It showed connections that were never fully cut. I went back to the first page again, then the last, then the middle, making sure I didn’t miss anything.Because if I was going to act on this, I needed to be right. Not emotional or reactive.Minutes passed, maybe more. The office stayed quiet around me, but my mind didn’t.It moved fast. Too fast.Connecting things. Putting pieces together. And then the pattern became clear.Clark had stayed connected to Trent longer than he admitted. Not openly, but enough to matter an
VICTORIAThe next morning came too fast.I barely slept, but that didn’t matter. The moment I opened my eyes, my phone was already buzzing on the nightstand like it had been waiting for me.I had numerous messages, emails, and missed calls. Everything had started. The time change forced everything into motion.By the time I got to the office, the building already felt different. People moved faster. Voices were lower but sharper. Everyone knew something was happening, even if they didn’t have the full details.My legal team was scrambling. Investors had started calling. And the media had picked it up within hours.“Miss Hale, are you aware of the reports?” one of my assistants asked as she hurried beside me.“I’m aware,” I said without slowing down.“Do you want us to release a statement?”“Not yet.”“But—”“Not yet,” I repeated, a bit firmer this time.She nodded quickly and fell silent.The pressure I had felt before doubled instantly. But I didn’t show it.I walked into the first m
CLARKWatching her walk away from me after that felt worse than anything that had happened in that room earlier.And that was saying something.Because a few minutes ago, she had been right in front of me. Close enough that I could still feel it. Close enough that I knew she felt it too, no matter how much she tried to act like it didn’t matter.But now? Now she was already moving on.Her focus had shifted the second that phone call came in. Just like that, everything between us got pushed aside like it didn’t exist.I stayed where I was for a second, watching her.She didn’t look back. Of course, she didn’t.Victoria didn’t do that. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t second-guess herself. Once she decided something, that was it. And right now, she had decided that whatever happened between us wasn’t important.Or at least, that was what she wanted me to believe.I let out a quiet breath and ran a hand through my hair before following her.She was already by the desk again, scrolling thr
VICTORIAThe moment our lips met, everything else dropped away.The kiss wasn’t soft or careful or anything I could pretend was a mistake. It felt direct, like something that had been waiting for too long and finally broke through. I didn’t think, and that was the problem.Because I always thought.This time, I didn’t.The tension that had been sitting between us all night had turned into something real. It wasn’t gentle, it wasn’t slow, and it didn’t give me space to step back. It pulled me in instead.And I let it.That was my second mistake.His reaction came half a second later. There was a pause, just small enough for me to notice it. That small moment where he could have pulled away.He didn’t.Then just like that, the hesitation disappeared like it had never been there. His hand moved to my arm, firm but not rough, steady in a way that made everything feel more certain.What scared me. wasn’t the kiss or the closeness of our bodies. It was him. Because it meant he wasn’t holdin
VICTORIAThe space between us disappeared too easily. That was the problem, and I knew it the second it happened. It had always been like this with him, simple in the worst way.Everything else around us felt complicated, messy, and out of control. The case, the lies, the past that kept showing up at the worst time. But this part, this thing between us, stayed easy.It felt too easy, and I didn’t like that. Because easy meant dangerous. It meant I wasn’t thinking. And right now, I needed to think.His hand brushed mine first, lightly. It wasn’t an accident, and we both knew it. It was just enough to feel, just enough to notice.I didn’t pull away. I should have. I knew I should have, but I didn’t.The contact stayed there for a second longer than it needed to. My fingers didn’t move or react, and it felt like they were waiting for my brain to catch up. It didn’t. Instead, I let it stay.That was my first mistake.“Tell me everything,” I said quietly.My voice came out softer than I ex
VICTORIAThe moment the door closed behind us, the silence changed.It felt like everything we had just said outside had followed us in and settled into the walls.I stood there for a second, my hand still resting on the door handle, my mind trying to reset. The space looked the same. The lights were soft, the furniture was exactly where it had always been, and the city still stretched out through the glass.Nothing had moved, but something had shifted, and I could feel it.Clark walked past me like he had done it a hundred times before. He didn’t pause or hesitate. He just moved through the space as if he belonged there and nothing had changed.That annoyed me more than I wanted to admit.I let out a slow breath and pushed myself away from the door, walking deeper into the penthouse. I moved toward the desk and picked up my tablet, forcing my attention onto the screen. I had messages, reports, and legal updates waiting.All of it was important. This was what mattered.Not him. Not
VICTORIAThe duplicate walked the summit stage like she owned it.Her back was straight. Her steps were smooth. Her smile was calm and practiced. Cameras followed her every move, flashing nonstop like fireworks. The crowd leaned in, hungry for whatever version of me she was selling.I sat in the fr
VICTORIAI felt it before anyone told me.That shift. That wrongness in the air. Like when a room went quiet too fast and you knew something bad just happened, even if no one had spoken yet.I had just gotten back into my car when my phone started buzzing. Message after message piled up before I co
CLARKI didn’t find out what Victoria traded until hours later.That was the problem. With her, the danger was never loud. It moved quietly. Isabella was safe. That part mattered. I watched her walk into the secure house with shaky hands and stubborn pride, alive and angry and breathing hard. She
ISABELLA I should have listened to my gut.It had been whispering all morning. Not wildly. Just that quiet feeling that something was off. The kind I ignored because I had work to do, therefore, there was no time to be dramatic.That was my first mistake. The second was leaving the building alone.







