LOGINIt’s been a stormy three weeks for Benita Dawson. It all started when Gaby fell ill, then it took the most unexpected turn. The truth behind her marriage of ten years unraveled! Benita Dawson wasn’t loved, she was being used. She had chosen him against her father’s wishes, only to uncover that she was just being used? They were the dream couple in college. For them, the word “college sweethearts” was formed. Was it all a lie? When Benita discovers the truth, she will stop at nothing to bring him down. With his billionaire brother by her side of course. Cilian Dawson is finally out of prison. He has vowed to take down his enemy, the one who put him there. “I’m not just taking back what’s mine— I’m taking everything he’s values. The company. His status. His perfect little wife. One by one, I’ll strip him bare. And you’ll be the first thing he loses.”
View More"Jadi karena ini kau memutuskanku?”
Lean Marquise melemparkan tatapan tajam dan kalimat sinisnya pada lelaki yang kini tengah berdiri di samping wanita lain yang tak lain adalah sahabatnya.Sore tadi, lelaki yang masih sebagai tunangan Lean itu menghubungi ayah Lean dan memutuskan pertalian itu tanpa sebab. Namun, melihat pemandangan di hadapannya, kini ia tahu mengapa lelaki itu membuangnya."Kau tidak berhak menyalahkan orang lain, Lean." Lelaki itu tampak tidak senang atas ucapan Lean tadi, sementara sang wanita yang berdiri di sampingnya terus menatap Lean dengan wajah gusar."Seharusnya kau sadar diri, Lean Marquiese! Kau sudah tahu, 'kan kalau kekasihku ini sama sekali tidak suka padamu?" Wanita itu kini turut angkat bicara.Mendengar kata ‘kekasih’ meluncur enteng dari mulut mantan sahabatnya membuat dengusan keluar secara spontan di bibir Lean."Oh? Benarkah?" katanya sembari tersenyum miring. "Bukankah sudah jelas karena kau yang telah menggodanya?" sela Lean."Itu karena salahmu!" tuding wanita itu tak mau kalah, lalu menoleh ke arah kekasihnya. "Brad, tolong katakan sesuatu padanya, mengapa kau hanya diam saja melihat dia menghinaku?!" protesnya pada Brad.Di hadapan Lean, Brad tampak menghela nafas. Lalu dengan arogan, mantan tunangannya itu berkata, "Bisakah kau tidak menyalahkan orang lain atas kelemahanmu, Lean?” Brad lalu memandang sekujur tubuh Lean dengan pandangan menilai. “Kau terlalu polos. Kau bahkan tidak pernah berdandan, dan tidak mau kusentuh. Kau juga terlalu sibuk. Aku tidak ingin menikahi wanita membosankan sepertimu!” "Aku… membosankan?" jantung Lean berdegup penuh kemarahan ketika ia mendengar ucapan Brad itu. Sama sekali tidak pernah menduga bahwa alasan Brad memutuskan pertunangan mereka ternyata sangat klise. Apakah selama ini ia yang terlalu memandang tinggi Brad? Padahal pria itu hanyalah seorang pria biasa yang tidak bisa menjaga hatinya dengan baik.Melihat keterkejutan di wajah Lean, Isla justru tersenyum penuh kemenangan. "Kau dengar, 'kan? Jika Brad sampai meninggalkanmu, itu karena kau memang pantas untuk ditinggalkan!"Tak menunggu waktu, tangan Lean yang sedari tadi mengepal karena menahan emosinya itu lantas terayun ke atas.Plakk!!Satu tamparan keras mendarat ke pipi Isla. Beberapa tamu pesta bahkan sampai melirik, karena suara tamparan yang terdengar cukup nyaring.“Kurang ajar!” Plakk!!Tak terima kekasih barunya dipermalukan, Brad pun naik pitam dan membalas tamparan Lean.Pipi Lean memerah, sejalan dengan air matanya yang mengembun, tak menyangka lelaki yang dulu dicintainya tega mengayunkan tangan padanya.“Jangan pernah lagi menyentuh Isla!” ancam Brad, sementara bisik-bisik dari para tamu pesta mulai terdengar. “Berkacalah agar kau sadar kalau kau tidak pantas untukku!”Hati Lean sudah teramat sakit. Diputuskan tanpa sebab, lalu mengetahui ia dikhianati oleh sahabatnya sendiri, hingga dipermalukan oleh mantan tunangannya … membuat Lean kini berani menatap Brad dengan tajam.Tidak ada sepatah kata pun terucap dari Lean. Bahkan hingga Brad membawa pergi Isla dari hadapannya, Lean masih menatap penuh dendam ke arah mereka.Tatapan Lean baru terputus saat suara seorang wanita terdengar khawatir menghampirinya."Lean? Apa kau baru saja bertengkar dengan Brad?”Lean menghela nafas, lalu melemparkan pandangannya pada Eve, saudarinya. Dan, alih-alih menjawab pertanyaan Eve, Lean justru mengambil segelas whisky dari pelayan yang melintas di hadapannya dan menghabiskan minuman tersebut dalam satu kali tenggak.Lean menatap frustrasi saudarinya. Ia juga meletakkan gelas whisky yang telah kosong dengan kasar."Oh? Jadi Kakak sudah tahu kalau dia akan datang?” cecarnya. “Bukankah Kakak yang menyuruhku datang ke sini untuk melupakan kesedihanku?!" protes Lean. “Dia … dia diundang bosku karena perusahaannya adalah klien kami.” Eve mencoba menjelaskan dengan wajah yang terlihat cemas.Lean berdecak, lalu ketika seorang pelayan lewat di depannya, wanita itu memesan minuman di bawah tatapan Eve yang penuh waspada.Setelah itu, barulah ia berkata lagi pada Eve, "Pergilah, Kak! Aku ingin sendiri. Kakak tidak perlu khawatir, aku janji tidak akan membuat keributan lagi.”Tak lama setelah kepergian Eve, pelayan tadi kembali datang membawakan jus jeruk pesanannya. Perlahan, Lean menyesap minumannya yang terasa menyegarkan. Saking wanita itu menikmati minumannya, juga terlena akan pikirannya sendiri … ia tidak menyadari, jika dari kejauhan seorang wanita tengah tersenyum sinis manakala Lean meneguk jusnya.Ketika minumannya tandas, Lean yang baru saja berniat meninggalkan lokasi pesta tiba-tiba merasakan keanehan di sekujur tubuhnya.Napasnya seketika memburu, seiring suhu ruangan yang tiba-tiba terasa begitu panas hingga membuat keringatnya bercucuran."Mengapa sangat panas sekali di sini?" Dua tangan wanita itu mengusap peluh yang berjatuhan bahkan mengalir hingga lehernya yang jenjang.Di tengah kebingungan itu, tak jauh dari hadapannya muncul dua orang pria asing. Tatapan haus, juga seringai menjijikkan yang dikeluarkan para pria itu membuat Lean semakin panik. Terlebih, saat dua pria itu mencoba meraih tubuhnya dari arah yang berlawanan."Siapa kalian?!" hardik Lean, mulai terpojok ke tembok dengan dua pria yang semakin menghimpit di kedua sisinya. Lean semakin gusar mana kala mereka mulai berani menyentuh lengannya. "Kalian ... apa yang ingin kalian lakukan padaku?"Dengan sisa kekuatan yang ia miliki, Lean berusaha memberontak. Namun sayang, semakin ia banyak bergerak tubuhnya justru semakin lemas dengan pandangan yang mulai kabur.Tepat saat dua pria itu hendak membawanya, tiba-tiba suara bariton seorang pria terdengar menginterupsi, “Siapa kalian berani berbuat keributan di tempatku?!”The day of the wedding was a study in deliberate contrast. Outside the perimeter of the St. James Mansion gardens, chaos reigned. The highly-publicized "Charity Gala"—the brilliant decoy orchestrated by Kent—had successfully drawn every camera crew, socialite, and corporate climber away from the small, significant event taking place within the mansion's walls. Inside the quiet sanctuary of the garden, a profound peace settled. The air was fragrant with simple white roses, exactly the color of hope, and the soft strains of acoustic music—played by Noah—drifted from beneath the old oak tree. There were no grand decorations, no elaborate seating arrangements, just two elegant chairs for the couple and three small benches for the rest of the family: Sylvester, Lola, Kent, and baby Gill. Benita stood in the master suite, her nerves strangely absent. Her dress was simple, elegant silk, chosen for its comfort, not its volume. She wore no excessive jewelry, letting the sapphire engagement r
The morning after the celebratory reunion, the villa’s grand living room transformed into the most unusual planning session of their collective careers. Instead of balance sheets and market reports, the central focus was a single, blank mood board and a strict mandate: simplicity and absolute secrecy. Cillian and Benita sat at the head of the table, their engagement rings—the sapphire and the diamond—glinting in the morning light. They were flanked by Lola and Sylvester, while Kent set up his high-security satellite link, already looking stressed by the lack of complexity. "We have to approach this like a covert operation," Cillian stated, his demeanor exactly as it would be before a hostile acquisition. "The goal is a beautiful wedding with zero media footprint and zero drama. This, ironically, is the hardest project we've ever taken on." "And it has to feel like us," Benita added, folding her hands neatly. "Not a PR event. We want the antithesis of a society wedding." The challe
The moment Benita whispered, "Absolutely and irrevocably, yes," was the final punctuation mark on years of chaos. As Cillian slid the bespoke, deep-blue sapphire onto her finger, the simple action carried the weight of every past battle and future promise. They stayed kneeling in the warm sand for a long time, the silence broken only by the sound of the ocean and the frantic, happy thumping of their own hearts. When they finally stood, Benita looked at the ring, then back at Cillian, her eyes reflecting the last, fiery light of the tropical sunset. "I can't believe the lengths you went to," Benita whispered, her voice still thick with emotion. "The lie, the seaplane, the chaos and confusion you caused just to give me this peace." Cillian pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers. "It was the only way to prove my term of the contract, Benni. Protection. I needed to protect this moment from everything else. I needed to prove that my strategic mind is now entirely dedicated
The sleek, corporate jet was a sanctuary, carrying Cillian and Benita high above the world. The flight had begun with the comforting chaos of Sylvester and Lola performing their roles: exaggerated discussions of mooring fees in Sardinia, loud complaints about the slow progress of the alleged yacht charter. But hours into the flight, the feigned commotion had ceased. Sylvester and Lola had retreated to a separate cabin, and a deep, unnerving quiet settled over the main cabin. Benita was looking at her tablet, but Cillian watched her brow furrow, knowing her keen mind was detecting the deception. "We passed the standard point of no return for Europe hours ago, Cill," Benita stated calmly, without looking up. "We're flying due south, not east. If the yacht in Sardinia had a systems failure, we would have rerouted to an airport in France or Spain. We are currently heading toward the equator. Where are we really going?" Cillian put down his drink, meeting her gaze with a controlled cal
Cillian spent the afternoon doing exactly what he was told: nothing. He took a long walk with Benita, enjoyed a quiet lunch, and watched with genuine amusement as the manor descended into organized, festive chaos. By 5:30 PM, the atmosphere in the manor had undergone a miraculous transformation
The next morning, the serene quiet of the manor was abruptly interrupted by the insistent vibration of Cillian's phone. He reached for it, groggy, expecting the usual frantic calls from his brother, Syl, or Kent, regarding the fallout from the previous night's public date. The corporate world, he
Cillian's Intentionality The evening began with Cillian's deliberate effort to remove every possible source of stress, chaos, or corporate distraction. The venue was not Gallo's, it was too public and prone to paparazzi. In fact, Cillian was sure the whole media companies in Oakland were lying in
The sun was high when Cillian finally pulled Benita aside. The manor was quiet, Sylvester and Lola having left early for their respective cover stories—Sylvester to coordinate the settlement details, and Lola to ensure her cousin was moved to a private room. Cillian found Benita in the sunroom, lo






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