登入The DatesAdrian sat at his desk, the office lights dimmed low. Papers spread across the surface. Victoria had dropped the folder off an hour ago with a sympathetic look he didn’t trust.He opened it again. Photos. Hotel receipts. Messages printed out that looked like they came from Sophia’s phone. One showed her at a restaurant with Daniel, heads close, his hand on hers. Another had a blurry image of them outside her apartment building late at night.His jaw tightened. He picked up the message printout.*Daniel: Can’t stop thinking about last night. Come over again soon.*Adrian’s hand curled into a fist. He almost believed it. The photos looked real. The timing fit the weeks after she left. His chest burned.The door opened. Victoria stepped in, closing it softly behind her.“You saw?” she asked, voice gentle. She crossed the room and perched on the edge of his desk. “I didn’t want to show you, but… you deserve to know what she’s doing while you’re fighting for her.”Adrian stared
StillSophia stared at the message on her phone. *I’m sorry for the text. But I’m not sorry for still loving you.*A sharp laugh escaped her before she could stop it. She set the phone down on the café table a little too hard. The sound came out bitter, shaky at the edges.Daniel watched her closely, coffee cup paused halfway to his mouth. He set it down slowly. “What did he say?”She pushed the phone toward him. Her fingers brushed the screen one last time. “Read it. Go ahead.”Daniel picked it up. His eyes moved over the words. When he looked back at her, his expression had changed. Softer. Sadder. “Sophia…”“Don’t.” She shook her head fast and reached for her own coffee, but her hand trembled so badly she nearly spilled it. She wrapped both hands around the warm cup instead, gripping tight. “He’s just trying to get in my head. Same as always.”Daniel leaned forward, elbows on the table. His voice stayed gentle. “That laugh… it wasn’t because it was funny.”She forced another smile,
Not YoursAdrian canceled three meetings before noon. He told his assistant he had something personal to handle and left the building without another word. His driver knew the route. He’d been tracking Sophia’s location through the company car she still used for work. He hated himself for it, but he couldn’t stop.He spotted her through the café window. She sat at a corner table with Daniel. Their heads were close. Too close.Adrian parked across the street and watched. Daniel reached over and took Sophia’s hand, thumb brushing gently over her knuckles. She didn’t pull away. She even smiled a little.Adrian’s grip tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He pulled out his phone and typed fast, jaw locked.Adrian: She’s still my wife. Don’t touch what’s mine.He hit send and watched Daniel’s phone light up on the table. Daniel glanced at the screen, eyebrows rising. He turned the phone so Sophia could see it.Sophia read the message. She let out a sharp laugh th
TouchSophia turned her car around and went back. Her car was still running when she slammed the door shut again and stepped back out. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Adrian stood exactly where she’d left him, cheek red from the slap, eyes fixed on her as nothing else in the garage existed.She walked right up to him, breathing fast. “You never listen. I said business only. Partners. Nothing more. And you still—”Adrian didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. His voice came out low and rough. “Hit me again.”Sophia froze. “What?”“Hit me again.” He stepped closer, close enough that she could see the mark her hand had left. “At least then you’re touching me.”The words hit harder than any slap. Sophia stared at him, chest tight. Her eyes burned. She hated how her body still reacted to him being this close, hated the way her hand remembered the feel of his face.“You’re impossible,” she whispered. Her voice cracked.Adrian’s hands stayed at his sides. He didn’t reach for her. “I know. I d
Lines CrossedSophia walked into the boardroom at exactly nine o’clock, black dress from the photoshoot swapped for a sharp gray suit. Heads turned. Adrian sat at the head of the long table, but she took the seat to his right like she belonged there. The folder with her new contract sat in front of her.The meeting started normally enough. Numbers. Projections. Then the VP of Operations, a bald man named Richard, leaned forward with a smirk.“So, Mrs. Blackwood—sorry, Ms. Collins now? —You’re here to… what? Add the feminine touch?”Sophia’s eyes narrowed. She leaned forward, hands flat on the table. “The feminine touch? I spent five years watching this company bleed talent because decisions were made by men who only looked at spreadsheets and ignored people. You want to talk about the merger? Fine. The Nakamura team cares about relationships. Not just money. You’re offering terms that make them feel like they’re being swallowed. Change the language or they’ll walk.”Richard laughed.
Equal PartnersSophia sat at the small kitchen table, the leather folder open in front of her. Sunlight came through the window and caught on the pages. She rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone.“Mr. Hargrove? It’s Sophia. Can you look at something for me?”Twenty minutes later her lawyer sat across from her in the apartment, flipping through the contract. His eyebrows kept rising higher.“This is… unusually generous,” he said, tapping one page. “Equal partnership. Profit share. No non-compete after the merger. You could walk away with serious money even if things go south.” He looked up at her. “Adrian’s team didn’t have to offer any of this.”Sophia leaned back in her chair, arms folded tight. “That’s what worries me. He’s not doing this just for the company.”Mr. Hargrove closed the folder and slid it toward her. “Legally it’s clean. Smart, even. But personally? Be careful. This gives him daily access to you again.”She nodded slowly, fingers drumming on the table. “I know.”Aft
SeenSophia stood just inside the doorway of the small apartment, arms still crossed tight over her chest. Daniel lingered on the threshold, one hand braced against the frame. The fresh flowers on the counter filled the air with a soft sweetness that felt almost too gentle for the day she was havi
The KeySophia dragged the second suitcase down the front steps of the mansion, wheels bumping hard on each stone. The morning sun felt too bright. She popped the trunk of her small silver car and heaved the bag inside next to the first one. Only two suitcases. Five years of marriage, and that was
Ashes in the DrawerVictoria locked her apartment door behind her and kicked off her heels with a sharp flick. The city lights glittered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but she ignored them. She walked straight to the sleek black desk in her living room, fingers trembling slightly as she pull
Her ScentAdrian strode into his corner office on the top floor of Blackwood Tower and dropped his briefcase onto the desk. The city sprawled below the windows, but he barely glanced at it.Victoria leaned against the sideboard, pouring coffee. She looked up with a sharp smile. “Well? Is she final







