All Chapters of He was never mine: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Wyatt’s POVWe got in the car and I started driving. Avery stayed quiet for a few blocks, her gaze fixed outside the window, her hands resting loosely in her lap.“Wyatt,” she said finally, her voice steady in a way that immediately put me on edge. “I need to tell you something.”My grip tightened on the wheel. “What is it about?”“Pull over. Somewhere we can talk.”I found a quiet street, pulled over, and turned off the engine. The silence that followed felt heavy, pressing in from all sides.“A few weeks ago,” she began slowly, turning to face me, “I got a call. From someone, a female.”“A warning,” she continued when I didn’t respond. “The person told me not to trust you. That you don’t do anything without a reason. That whatever you’ve told me about helping…there’s more to it.”Cold chill ran down my spine.“Did they say who they were?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay even.She shook her head. “No, the line went dead before I could ask who it was.” “At first, I thought it was

Avery’s POVThe opening event was everything I’d hoped for.Monochrome’s new headquarters officially launched.The space was filled with designers, investors, and industry people. The energy was buzzing but elegant. Champagne glasses in hand, soft music threading through conversations. Everything was perfect.This was it.Proof that Monochrome had survived. That we’d come out stronger. That everything Daniel and Maison Delacroix did hadn’t been enough.I moved through the crowd. Greeting guests, thanking people for coming, playing the part of a confident CEO.Wyatt was there. He’d arrived early. He helped with last-minute setup like he always did, making sure everything was perfect. Now he moved through the event like he actually belonged here.Which, in a way, he had. He’d made this building happen. Pushed it through and made it real.But it wasn’t just that.He stayed close. Not in a way that drew attention. Not hovering. Just…there, always in reach.Even when I wasn’t looking, I kn

Wyatt’s POVI landed in New York at midnight. Rain streaked across the window as the plane taxied. Cold air hit my face when I stepped off the plane, sharp enough to cut through the exhaustion already setting in my bones.I went straight to Sterling Industries headquarters. The building was almost empty, just a few lights still on and the cleaning crew moving through the hallway like shadows. I dropped my bag at the desk when I got to Richard’s office, loosened my tie, and rolled my sleeves.This would be quick. One day two at most. Fix what needed fixing, smooth things over and get back to California, back to her.I turned on the desk lamp and opened the first file. That was when things started falling apart.Page after page of a mess, numbers that didn’t add up, contracts marked ‘pending’ with no follow-up, emails unanswered, meetings rescheduled, then cancelled, then abandoned completely.I went through one file then another. By the fourth file, my jaw had already tightened.And

Wyatt’s POVTen days in New York, and it still wasn’t enough. Everyday had been the same. Meetings back to back, damage control, quiet negotiation to salvage what Nate had destroyed. I was making progress. Slowly but it was holding. Investors were starting to believe again, starting to believe Sterling might survive this, starting to give us another chance.Until Nate decided to make it worse again.I sat in my office in the late afternoon, files spread across the desk, overlapping in a way that made it hard to tell where one problem ended and another began. A cup of coffee sat untouched near my hand, long gone cold. I couldn’t even remember when I poured it.Another investor call scheduled in twenty minutes. I reached for the briefing notes for the call and skimmed the key points again. Everything was stabilizing, the stock, partnerships, but not enough to guarantee anything. One wrong move and we’d lose them again. This wasn’t a total recovery yet. It was damage control, still ha

Avery’s POVThe partnership announcement went public. The press coverage and industry blogs. The Fashion Week’s official social media made a post about the collaboration.“Monochrome Capital and Élise Laurent to debut a joint collection at Fashion Week.” Headlines were everywhere. Notifications were flooding my phone non-stop.It was real, no turning back now. I felt like something was moving in the right direction, I was making progress. Even if Wyatt still hadn’t called.The response from fans and the design industry was positive and overwhelming. Industry insiders called it a bold collaboration…Innovative…a collaboration long overdue.Comments poured in, messages stacked up and congratulatory messages flooding in from people who had gone silent weeks ago.My team was excited and energized. The project gave everyone something to focus on. It felt good, finally moving past the disaster.Élise handled the press beautifully. Everything you’d want in a partner. I watched her in intervi