LOGINSelene
He stopped for a moment and turned, “What?" he asked, confusion written all over his face.
I smiled seeing his reaction, I stepped forward, speaking as I moved. "I said I'm pregnant.” I paused looking down to my tummy, the baby that would save my marriage.
"With our child." I finished looking up to him. He shook his head, his face going through different phases of emotions.
“How is that possible?" He finally blurted out after a while and I smiled, looking down to my belly.
“I just found out about it a few days ago, I was still contemplating…" I stopped my words immediately he spoke over me, his words leaving my hands tightly placed over my belly.
I turned, wanting to stop him but he still spoke of the harsh truth I was unwilling to face. “I still can't be with you. I love her, and I want to be with her."
My face fell. The feeling of despair I had washed away returning quickly. “I can't let the kid grow up without a father." He said and I couldn't help but scoff.
He was so fast to erase himself from our lives. He, who had always been gentle with me, preached to me about how important I was and how he would never in a million years trade me for anything, was now shamelessly leaving me with a baby.
He sighed, rubbing his temple like I was the problem. “I'm sorry. I can give you money to terminate it if you want but I can't stay." He said, and this time, I didn't stop him.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and I soon found my self gasping for air. The entire room felt too suffocating for me to breath in.
The pictures of us on the walls suddenly looked mocking, I had thought that a child was what we needed to make our family perfect but I was wrong, so wrong.
I bit hard on my tongue until I felt a metallic taste coated in my mouth. I fell to the floor, tears streaming continuously down my face, finally accepting the reality I had refused to face—he never loved me.
Shoes clamped against the marble floor, and he descended from his room, a big luggage in his hands, obvious enough that he wasn't coming back.
I stared at his retreating figure, a tiny part in me really hoping for him to turn back but he didn't.
He rather paused and shattered that little hope. “You can call me whenever you're ready for the abortion." He said before walking out the door without even looking back once.
I lowered my head yet again, hot tears streaming down my face. I tried to deny it but the reality was glaring hard at my face. He was gone, forever.
My phone buzzed, and I paused immediately. I raised my hand, and cleaned my tears with the hem of my sleeve.
I answered the call, and I put it on speaker, raising my voice slightly to give a steady impression. I spoke. "Hello?”
“Selene." I heard my mom’s voice from over the phone.
“We've finally seen your sister! She seemed quite happy. “she wanted the party moved up. The date we had chosen couldn't be used.” Mom paused, waiting for my response.
"Oh…Okay." I trailed off and she continued. “The party is now tomorrow, we called to ask if you could come to help with the decorations. Of course, if your husband is cool with it.”
I cut her off immediately. "Okay, I'll be there soon.” I said, hanging up before she could hear the crack in my voice.
I rushed upstairs, changing into a casual wear, and rushing downstairs to my car. I pushed off the thought of Xavier and ignited the car, swerving off.
***
"Thanks a lot. You can go to get dressed now, the party will be starting soon.” Mom said, now fully dressed in an elaborated style.
I nodded at her words, giving some final instructions to the servants before finally turning to go upstairs.
My hands moved towards my zipper when my phone suddenly rang.
Rubi, my assistant. I picked expecting some usual rant about work but rather she said omething else.
“Ma’am did you work on the 10th of August?" She asked.
“ No”. I said automatically. “Why?”
“The portal was updated, it says here that you operated on someone that day”. She paused. “I called because I remembered taking care of you on that same day. You were barely conscious.”
“A glitch. It has to be. Tell the technical team to adjust it immediately." I said
"No, ma'am it's not that simple” Rubi's voice slightly lowered. The surgery written here was the one performed by Dr. Gordon. The one we tried to cover up by revoking his licence.” She said, and the memory immediately popped up but before I could say a word, a knock came on the door.
“Selene, are you ready yet?" My mom’s voice came from outside.
I moved towards it “Almost." I said before pulling down my outfit. I returned towards the mirror for a final glance. “Let's talk about this later. I need to go"
"No, wait”…I hung up. I changed into the new clothes and walked downstairs.
My mom waved at me from a distance and I smiled, walking forward but someone suddenly pushed past me and went directly to hug her. Not roughly, but with the confidence that came with knowing exactly where they belonged.
Mom laughed joyfully, hugging her back tightly.
The woman turned around.
Aurora
My breath caught.
Those eyes, that smile. No! It couldn't be
My head snapped
I turned my headctowards my mother but she only confirmed my suspicion. “Selene, meet your sister."
Xavier's POVThe rain on the towering glass of my executive suite doesn’t sound like water, rather it sounds like gravel being thrown against a window by someone desperate to get my attention.I stand with my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my trousers, staring out at the grey, choked skyline of the city. Down there, people are rushing beneath umbrellas, small and insignificant, worrying about train schedules and dry cleaning. They don’t know what it feels like to have thirty billion dollars resting on the bridge of their nose, threatening to snap the bone.My reflection in the glass is a joke. The sharp, custom-tailored silhouette of Xavier Adrian looking intact, but the man inside is starting to fray. My jaw is tight, the muscles along my cheek bunching rhythmically."Gerald," I say, my voice a low, gravelly rasp. "Tell me the audit committee hasn't flagged the Hadley accounts yet."Gerald doesn't answer immediately. When I turn, I see him sitting on the edge of the leather so
"Ninety million dollars," I say, the words falling between us like heavy, solid gold coins. My voice is as steady as a perfect, chilling flatline. "Transferred to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. Fifty percent upon the signing of our preliminary agreement, and the remaining fifty when the Hadley papers are in your hands along with an ironclad contract for the position of Vice President of Operations here at Northstar."Eliot doesn't move, he doesn't smile either and for a long, agonizing moment, the only sound in the vast, sterile office is the faint, rhythmic hum of the air conditioning. He stands perfectly still, his eyes locked onto mine, searching for any sign of a tremor, any flicker of weakness in my posture."Ninety million," he repeats, his voice dropping into a dangerously low, gravelly register. "And a seat at my right hand. You have a very high opinion of your worth, Aurora.""I know exactly what I am worth, Eliot, and I know what Xavier’s ruin is worth to you."H
The lobby of Northstar Holdings hasn’t grown any warmer since my last visit. It is still that temple of polished black granite and cold, blinding light, designed to make anyone who enters feel small. But today, the rhythmic ‘click-click-click’ of my Louboutins across the stone doesn't feel like a countdown to an execution. It feels more like a march to a coronation.The last time I was in this building, I only offered Eliot Crane a glimpse of the weapon. I showed him the encrypted folders, the unredacted files, and the screenshots on my phone…proof that I held the keys to Xavier’s empire. He was skeptical then, demanding more, asking the predictable questions: ‘Does Xavier know you’re here? How did you get access to his private terminals?’ Well, today, I am back to give him the answers. And the blade of course."Mr. Crane is expecting you already" the secretary says, her voice a modulated, polite purr. I offer her a cool, practiced smile and step into the private elevator. The ascent
The air inside the penthouse is thick, suffocating with the rich, heavy scent of amber, expensive single-malt scotch, and the distinct, sour metallic tang of absolute panic. It is a beautiful playground of glass and white marble, suspended high above the glittering, uncaring expanse of Manhattan, but tonight it feels like a gilded cage. My cage…until I decide to unlock the door and walk out, leaving it to burn."They’re going to ruin me, Aurora. Every single line of credit will be frozen…just like that." Xavier’s voice is a jagged whisper, stripped of the booming authority he usually wields in the boardroom. He is sitting on the edge of the Italian leather sofa, his head buried in his hands. He looks smaller now, he's probably lost a lot of weight. The invincible, arrogant billionaire who once looked down on the world is vibrating with a terror so raw it makes a delicious, warm thrill bloom deep in my chest.I swallow the smirk rising to my lips, smoothing my features into an expressi
The steam in the master bathroom did not just rise; it hung in the air like a heavy, suffocating veil, damp with the scent of my vanilla perfume and the metallic tang of his bottled fury.Behind that frosted glass door, the water was a deafening roar, a relentless, pounding downpour that felt less like a shower and more like a storm trapped inside marble walls.I stood in the center of our bedroom, my hands trembling so violently that the silk of my robe rustled against my thighs with a dry, whispering sound. My chest heaved with shallow, desperate breaths. “He is beginning to know.” The realization felt like a drop of liquid nitrogen pouring straight down my throat, freezing my organs, halting the very beat of my heart. I force myself to walk toward the vanity, my bare feet sinking into the plush Persian rug, but there was no comfort in the luxury anymore. I gripped the edge of the marble sink, staring at my reflection in the steam-fogged mirror. My face looking pale as ever…my eye
POV: AuroraThe tea was perfectly hot. It was an imperial Earl Grey, brewed for exactly four minutes, sitting in a delicate porcelain cup that had belonged to my grandmother before Xavier Adrian took everything we owned.I sat in the morning room, watching the sunlight play across the high plastered ceilings. The light was beautiful today, casting long, golden rectangles across the Persian rug. The penthouse is completely quiet like a peaceful sanctuary in the middle of the roaring city where the servants had been dismissed for the morning and I had given them all a paid holiday to celebrate a quiet family milestone. They had thanked me profusely, smiling and wishing me a wonderful day, thinking I was being sweet and generous but what they didn't understand was that an execution requires a clean, empty room. They didn't know that silence is the best canvas for a confession.The front door didn't just open; it slammed. The heavy oak frame shuddering against the limestone walls, the sou







