EMILIAThe sheets had turned cold beside me.I stared at the ceiling of Steven’s bedroom, counting the shadows the city lights made on the paint while trying to ignore the knots in my stomach.It was 2 am in the morning. I knew because I had been watching the clock on his nightstand for the past forty minutes.He had left right after we had sex.That wasn’t new. Steven had always needed space after sex. He would retreat into himself like he was scared that I would ask for something he couldn’t give. Usually, he’d go to his office or the kitchen. Usually, he came back after ten or twenty minutes.Tonight was different. It was almost an hour.I pulled up the sheet to my chin even though the room wasn’t cold. The air conditioner hummed with a subtle buzz. Everything in Steven’s penthouse was perfect and expensive. Even the silence had a price tag.I should go back to sleep. Pretend that I didn’t notice. That I didn’t care. After all, that was all I had been doing for the past five years.

Last Updated : 2026-02-08

EMILIA“Steven,” she answered. “The news is all over the finance channels. What’s going on with his company?” She asked, concern leaking into her voice.Her words had me standing up immediately, and my heart began to race. “What are you talking about?”“You didn’t know?” She asked, and I shook my head, forgetting that she couldn’t see me. “Turn on the TV. Channel seven,” she instructed before I could respond vocally.I moved as though my body was on autopilot, and I hurried to the living room. I grabbed the remote with shaking hands and turned on the television. The channel was already on seven.Steven’s face was the first thing that greeted me as the newscaster read the news.The headline underneath read: RIORSON INDUSTRIES IN CRISIS – STOCK PLUMMETS AS INVESTORS FLEE.What? How come?"Emilia?" Sunny's voice sounded far away. "Are you there?"I couldn't answer. I was too busy staring at the screen, watching my world crack open all over again.The news anchor was talking about billion

Last Updated : 2026-02-08

EMILIAI didn’t get out of bed the next day until Sunny came over. She came by with groceries and coffee and the kind of tough love only a younger sister could deliver. She let herself in with the spare key I'd given her years ago and found me exactly where I'd been since Friday morning. In bed. Staring at the ceiling."Okay, that's enough," she said, pulling open the curtains. Sunlight flooded the room, and I threw my arm over my eyes. "You're getting up. You're eating. You're showering. In that order.""I'm fine," I groaned and rolled over to my side."You're not fine. You've sent me exactly three text messages in three days, and one of them was to tell me you're going to work for your ex. That's the opposite of fine."I didn't argue. She was right. I wasn't fine.Sunny sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand on my ankle through the blanket. "I know you're hurting. But you can't stay in this apartment and torture yourself. Come stay with me for a few days.”"I can't."She sigh

Last Updated : 2026-02-08

Monday morning came too fast.I got dressed in my boring professional outfit, did my makeup carefully, covering the dark circles under my eyes, and pulled my hair back in a neat bun.I could barely recognise the woman staring back at me in the mirror. She looked like a proper 9-to-5 worker who had her life together.There was no sight of a girl who had spent the last three days crying in bed over a man who didn’t love her.Good.The subway ride to Midtown Manhattan took forty minutes, and I spent the entire time rehearsing what I’d say and how I’d act if I saw Steven. I had to be professional and show nothing that would reveal how badly I was falling apart inside.Riorson Industries was in a sleek glass building on Fifth Avenue. I'd been here before, for company parties and charity galas when I was Steven's date. But I'd always come through the VIP entrance, not the main lobby.Now, I was here like any other employee entering the building. I showed the temporary ID Alexander had email

Last Updated : 2026-02-08

All Chapters of The Woman He Never Chose: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

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