LOGINThen — “Because you always assume, before you want an answer.” she said. The words landed somewhere he wasn’t ready for. Not because they were cruel. Because they were accurate. He stood there. She walked out toward the front of the building. No goodbye. Just the sound of her leaving. He stood at the back of the building in the orange light and the quiet after. Pulled out his phone. Called Amirah. Liyana was scared, but now ok playing — in the garden, He stood there. He didn't know what to do with that yet. Something has shifted and it wasn't the earthquake. Zoya drove to Joseph's Manor, with both hands on the wheel, her mind was in chaos. She told herself she was not thinking about it. She was absolutely thinking about it. Her children. Joseph opened the door before she knocked. One look at her face and he said nothing. Just stepped aside. Riyana was asleep. Melissa and Amy were with her the entire time. He had checked three times already. The tremor had
"This was your only chance." He spoke before he fully formed the thought. That was new. That hadn't happened in years. Harder than he meant. "Settle now. I can make sure you have access. Time with her." His jaw tightened. "You walk out that door and you don’t see her again, I will make sure of it. You've taken enough." She looked at him. Long second. Then the corner of her mouth moved. That sound. The specific sound of a woman who has heard something so far from the truth that the only answer left is something that almost resembles a laugh. She picked up her tote. Walked to the door. He stood there. ⸻ The building moved while he was still standing in the same spot. A tremor first. The water glasses. Then the second one hit and the lights went and the floor moved and Raiyan was already out the door. Orange emergency light. People toward stairs. He went the other direction. Back corridor. She was there. One hand on the wall, the other on her tote, hair loose an
"Then ask what you're actually asking." He came close enough that she had to choose to hold her ground or step back. She held her ground. "I'm asking," he said, quieter now, "what you're trying to prove. In that courtroom. Every day." His eyes were on her face. Reading it the way he always had, the way that used to make her feel seen and trapped simultaneously. "You could have settled months ago. You could have gotten more for those families without putting them through a trial. So what is this actually about." She looked at him steadily. "Corporate accountability," she said. "Which you would know about if you'd read the environmental impact assessment that your own scientists buried." "Zoya." "That is my answer, Raiyan." “Is that all? Why didn’t Mr. Moss settle today? Everything was there. There’s no reason to drag this?” She also knew this. In fact she had wanted to settle today. The terms were reasonable. The victims would have been compensated. She had been ready.
He drifted back to the present. He looked at the window. He just wants to see her. He called Micheal. —————- The call had come at eight-fifteen. “Zoya, it’s back on,” Adrian had said. “The settlement meeting. You asked them to push it once already — now they’re asking for tonight. Mr. Mansoor requested it personally.” Zoya hadn't answered immediately. That was the first mistake she made without realizing it. She had been in the middle of putting Raiyana to bed, half her hair still damp, glasses on, no intention of going anywhere. Joseph had taken one look at her face when the phone rang and said nothing. Just went to sit with Raiyana while she listened to Adrian explain that the Mansoor legal team had requested an emergency settlement meeting. Tonight. She said fine. She hadn't even dried her hair. Zoya grabbed her bag, her glasses, the first outfit she touched. She was in the car before she'd fully decided to go. The Mansoor Corp building was all glass and cold li
"Then ask what you're actually asking." He came close enough that she had to choose to hold her ground or step back. She held her ground. "I'm asking," he said, quieter now, "what you're trying to prove. In that courtroom. Every day." His eyes were on her face. Reading it the way he always had, the way that used to make her feel seen and trapped simultaneously. "You could have settled months ago. You could have gotten more for those families without putting them through a trial. So what is this actually about." She looked at him steadily. "Corporate accountability," she said. "Which you would know about if you'd read the environmental impact assessment that your own scientists buried." "Zoya." "That is my answer, Raiyan." “Is that all? Why didn’t Mr. Moss settle today? Everything was there. There’s no reason to drag this?” She also knew this. In fact she had wanted to settle today. The terms were reasonable. The victims would have been compensated. She had been ready.
Chapter 75 Raiyan’s gaze sharpened on the road, something darker passing through his eyes so quickly it would’ve been invisible to anyone who didn’t know where to look. “That was a long time ago,” he said. “Was it?” Elena leaned closer, her voice turning soft, manipulative—care disguised as intimacy. “It feels like you’re still that lonely boy sometimes. Trying to control everything so no one can leave you again.” Raiyan’s hands went still. Not tighter. Just… still. His voice dropped to a warning. “Don’t.” Elena sighed like she was the victim of his boundaries. “I only care about you.” She sat back, crossing her legs as if she’d behaved. “I’m the only one who truly understands you. Zoya… she doesn’t know what you are. She just sees the power.” Raiyan finally gave her a glance—brief, icy, unreadable. “You don’t know anything about her. Or me.” Elena’s smile thinned, but she didn’t stop. She just changed tactics, casual again, like she was dropping gossip. “By the way,”
Mei locked the door again like it would fix everything.Chain. Bolt. Handle checked twice.Zoya watched her do it and hated the part of her that wanted to believe it. Like metal and wood could negotiate with men who didn't respect "no."Kenji stood near the window, peeking through the curtain like
By noon, the Airbnb smelled like coffee that had been rewarmed one too many times. Zoya sat curled into the corner of the couch, one leg tucked under her, sweater sleeves pulled past her wrists. Her phone lay face down beside her thigh—close enough to feel, far enough to pretend it wasn’t there. S
Zoya finally turned, her glare locked and loaded. But the retort died in her throat. He looked exhausted. There were shadows under his eyes that hadn’t been there before, and his frame looked leaner under his suit. But the way he was looking at the dinner—and then at her—was so raw it made her ch
Joseph answered on the second ring. He didn’t say hello. In their world, a greeting was a wasted breath, especially between two men bound by the same ghost.“Omar.”Omar’s voice was steady, but it wasn’t calm. It was the kind of stillness that happens right before a storm levels a ci







