Semua Bab VOWS OF DECEPTION; THE CEO I HATE: Bab 1 - Bab 5

It was almost midnight and my feet were killing me.It was a friday and Blue Lounge bar was packed, as usual. It was the same old crowd, city guys in suits, too drunk to stand but somehow still cocky enough to make my skin crawl.“Selena!” my manager yelled from behind the bar. “Table nine’s drunk and rich. Go charm ‘em.”I rolled my eyes as I picked up the tray of drinks and summoned my best fake smile. “Yeah, because that always ends well.” I muttered to myself. Most of the men in the bar were sleaze bags that thought they were entitled to getting in my pants.As I walked over, I could already hear them. The loud, annoying laughter, the clink of glasses and a comment about my ass I pretended not to hear. I dropped their drinks on the table.“Three bourbons, one gin and a martini. Anything else?”One of them with a red tie and greasy hair grinned at me, licking his lips like I was dessert. “You, sweetheart.”I froze first, stopping myself from giving him a dirty look. Then I turned a

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It wasn't the burner Dante had given me. My personal one. Somehow it was still active but it barely had any signal in this place. I reached for it. had any signal in this place. I reached for it.It was a call from prison. Inmate name, Richard BlakeI accepted the call, voice trembling as I spoke. “Dad?”“Selena…” His voice was hoarse. Just hearing it broke something inside me.“I miss you.” I whispered.“I miss you too, baby girl. Didn’t think I’d be able to get a call out this morning,” he said. “Are you… okay?”“I’m hanging in there.”There was a pause. I could hear the distant buzz of the prison behind him. My dad sounded smaller somehow. Like those prison walls were pressing in on his soul.“Selena, listen. I don’t know how much time I have left—”“No.” My voice cracked. “Don’t say that.”“I just… I need you to be okay. You've been so strong, trying hard to hold it all together,” His breath hitched. “And I hate tha

Three months. It had been three whole months since they had taken my father away in handcuffs.Three months since I stood in the middle of the street, crying like the world had ended. Because in a way, it had.My life had unraveled pretty fast after that night. Legal consultations, working three jobs, court hearings…The business my father had spent his entire life building— completely gone now. The business had already gone under a year ago due to losses, but my father had just received an opportunity for a huge grant. It was supposed to change everything.Instead, everything changed.His name was dragged through the mud, on every headline like he was some lowlife criminal. What little friends he had left disappeared. The shame was like a heavy coat I couldn’t take off.I remembered sitting by his side in court, watching helplessly as they tossed around allegations of embezzlement and fraud like they knew the truth. Like they knew him.But they didn’t.My father was framed.And the