Todos los capítulos de Rejected, Now He Craves For Me: Capítulo 61 - Capítulo 70

Isabella's POVI mentioned the conversation with Julien to Damien almost by accident, during a working dinner a few days later, more thinking out loud than deliberately seeking his opinion."Julien warned me about you," I said. "Said he thinks your interest in Hartford Enterprises might be connected to something more personal, something aimed specifically at me."Damien's expression shifted carefully, something thoughtful settling into place rather than the defensive reaction I half expected. "That's an interesting accusation," he said. "Did he offer any evidence?""Not really," I admitted. "Old business history with his mother, some pattern in the acquisitions. Nothing concrete connecting it directly to me personally.""I see," he said, considering this for a long moment. "May I offer an observation, Isabella? Not about myself. About him.""Go ahead.""I've watched him carefully these past several months," Damien said, his tone measured, thoughtful rather than accusatory. "The way he

Isabella's POVThe boardroom felt different that morning, larger somehow, though nothing about its dimensions had actually changed. Representatives from both companies filled seats that rarely, if ever, shared a table, Hartford's board on one side, what remained of Hamilton Group's leadership scattered uncertainly on the other, everyone aware something significant was about to unfold without fully understanding its shape yet.Damien sat near the center, calm and composed, the same easy confidence he'd worn at every gala, every dinner, every careful conversation over these past several weeks. He caught my eye as I entered and offered a small, warm smile, the exact expression I'd once found reassuring.Now it made my skin crawl.I took my seat, Julien settling in beside me, close enough that our shoulders nearly touched, though something careful and unresolved still sat unspoken between us. Creed sat on my other side, a thick folder in front of him, ready."Thank you all for accommodati

Isabella's POVWe took our seats together, close enough that our shoulders nearly touched, the way they had before Damien's careful manipulation drove us apart. Neither of us mentioned it directly. There was no need to. I could feel the shift settling between us the moment we walked through those doors side by side, the same quiet, unspoken alignment we'd built during the worst of the Sterling crisis, resurfacing now exactly when we needed it most.I glanced at the timeline Creed and Julien had compiled, still open in my lap, and felt the last threads of doubt Damien had planted finally collapsing under the weight of how precisely everything matched. The flowers. The careful observation about old habits wearing gentler faces. The perfectly timed warmth that had made trusting him feel effortless, exactly because effort was what he'd positioned as the burden Julien represented instead.I didn't apologize to Julien for the distance these past weeks. Some part of me understood, sitting th

Isabella's POV"Damien." I said his name before he reached the door, and something in my voice made him stop, his hand already on the handle.He turned back slowly, whatever remained of his composure straining visibly now, though he still managed something close to his usual calm. "Yes?""Before you go," I said, "I think this board deserves to understand the actual reason behind everything you've built these past several months. Not business strategy. Not opportunism. Something considerably older."He studied me carefully, something guarded settling into his expression. "I'm not certain what you mean.""I think you are," I said, gesturing for him to return to the table. He hesitated, then walked back slowly, standing rather than sitting, as though preparing to leave the moment this conversation concluded."Nearly a decade ago," I said, addressing the room now as much as him, "Margaret Hamilton destroyed a partnership you'd built from nothing. Restructured the terms until she controlle

Isabella's POVThe board reconvened formally twenty minutes after Damien left, the room settling into a different kind of energy than it had carried at the start of the session, resolve replacing uncertainty now that the full shape of what nearly happened had become undeniable."I'd like to move that this board formally reject the proposed restructuring," Reeves said, the same cautious man who'd questioned my accusations against Voss weeks earlier during the Meridian confrontation. "And further, that we establish a permanent bylaw requiring unanimous leadership approval for any future consolidated share acquisitions exceeding fifteen percent across affiliated entities.""Seconded," Jeffery's contact on the Hartford side offered immediately.The vote passed without a single dissenting voice, unanimous in a way I hadn't seen from either board since before Margaret's schemes first fractured everyone's trust in careful, quiet leadership. I sat there listening to each affirmation, understa