Chapter 51 - Used and Discarded

Adrian knelt on one knee, the ring box outstretched.“Lena, will you…”“Let's break up.”The smile on Adrian's face dropped.“Wh…at?”He hadn't even said the main words completely before Elena interrupted him.She looked away then back at him.“I said, let's break up.”Adrian stood up confused.They were on a quiet bridge where couples normally come to get the city’s best view.The night breeze blew against their skin, doing less to the rising tension between them.“Hold up. Is this a joke?” he said with an unsure smile.There was a brief silence before she finally spoke.“No it's not Adrian, I'm done.”She gripped her bag tightly as she turned around and walked away from him.Adrian's feet remained stuck to the ground, the ring box in his hands as he watched her back.“Lena!”He ran after her.Elena kept walking.He finally caught onto her and held her hand.Elena turned to face him “What's all this about, Lena? Did I do something wrong?”She dragged her hands away from his grip.“D

Chapter 52 - A New Lead

Elena knocked harder on Sofia's door.“Sofie, can we talk please?”She had been standing there for some minutes trying to get Elena to come out.She was already dressed for work in her office wear. She knocked again. “Sofie!”A maid passing by stopped behind her.“Uhm… Ma’am,” she called out, a little bit concerned.Elena looked behind her back.“What,” she said uninterested, turning back to the door.“She's not in her room, she left very early this morning,” she replied gently.Elena turned fully to her.“Did she say where she was going?” Elena asked.“No, but she took her bags with her.”Elena palmed her face and sighed.“But she had a brief chat with Mr Marcus on her way out.”Elena stared at her.“Where's Marcus?”“He left for work already.”---Marcus was in his office working on his computer when Elena barged in.He looked up.“Where's Sofie?”Marcus stared at her slightly confused.“Why are you asking me?”Elena walked farther into the room and dropped her bag onto the sofa bef

Chapter 53 - Unexpected Arrivals

-CARTER HOLDINGS-The conference room was filled with representatives from Rivera Corporation and Carter Holdings.Elena sat near the head of the table, a folder containing the latest Horizon Bay reports open in front of her.Adrian sat beside her, quietly reviewing the figures on his tablet.Across the table, Grayson listened with his usual unreadable expression, while Jace sat beside the other Carter Holdings representatives, following the construction data on his tablet.Marcus stood at the front of the room.The screen behind him displayed the architectural rendering of Horizon Bay—the massive waterfront development that Rivera Corporation was responsible for constructing.Marcus clicked the remote.The rendering changed to a recent aerial photograph of the construction site."Two months in, we're progressing according to the revised schedule."He pointed toward the image."Site preparation is seventy percent complete. The land has been cleared and graded, construction zones have

Chapter 54 - Connected Answers

Lydia drove along the busy road, keeping Elena’s car within sight.She had been monitoring her since the meeting, carefully maintaining enough distance to avoid drawing suspicion.But Elena had caught on faster than she expected.After realizing Elena had been deliberately driving in circles, Lydia decided to back off and keep a lower profile.Then Elena suddenly took a different turn.Lydia’s eyes narrowed.This was her chance.She pressed down on the accelerator, increasing her speed while making sure to keep a reasonable distance between them.They approached a cross junction.Elena slowed down.Lydia frowned.Why is she slowing down?Before she could figure it out, Elena suddenly sped through the intersection.Lydia followed without hesitation.But the traffic light changed to red at the worst possible moment.She slammed on the brakes, but it was too late.Her car rolled into the intersection as vehicles began crossing from both directions.Horns blared around her.Drivers shoute

Chapter 55 - Partners or Enemies?

Lydia returned to the office later that evening.After losing Elena, getting stuck in the intersection, and finally managing to get out of it, she had endured more than enough for one day—not to mention the curses thrown her way by the angry drivers around her.She gritted her teeth as she remembered the incident.Walking over to her cubicle, she sat down and let out a quiet sigh.Before she could gather her thoughts, a file was slammed onto her desk, jolting her out of them.“Ms. Grant, where have you been?” her team leader asked.Lydia turned toward her.“You didn't return to the company after the meeting at Carter Holdings,” she continued.“I got caught up in a minor car incident. It delayed the cars in front of me,” Lydia replied, looking up at her.“Oh, you witnessed the car that got stuck in the intersection?” another staff member nearby chimed in. “The driver must have been drunk or something to make such a careless move. I'm just glad no one got hurt.”Lydia pressed her lips t

Chapter 56 - Interested in Someone

But when you say enemies... am I one of them?Elena stared at the message she had typed.Her finger hovered over the send button for a moment before she deleted it.He didn't remember their past.Sending him something like that would be unnecessary. Worse, it might make him suspicious.It was better to leave things as they were for now.She typed another message instead.I'll text you the time tomorrow. Goodnight, Mr. Vale.She sent it.After placing her phone on the bedside table, Elena connected it to the charger before pulling the covers over herself.She closed her eyes, allowing the exhaustion of the day to take over.Across town, Adrian read her message.His fingers moved toward the keyboard, ready to reply, but he stopped.There was nothing else to say.It was obvious Elena wanted the conversation to end.He sighed and lowered himself fully onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.The room was dimly lit, with only the faint glow from the bedside lamp illuminating the space.“El