All Chapters of He Chose My Sister, So I Married His Enemy: Chapter 241 - Chapter 250

We narrowed the field to three by mid-morning, and I sat across from Priya first, the woman who had spent the last two years building trust with participants across our current caseload, watching her lean forward with the particular earnestness of someone who had been waiting patiently for exactly this kind of opportunity."I know every participant we currently serve by name," Priya said. "I trained half our staff on the intake process. I understand what makes this model work because I've lived inside it every day for years.""You'd be building something new, though," I said. "Not maintaining what already exists. A whole region, staff you've never met, communities we don't currently touch.""I'm ready for that."I believed her sincerity completely, even as some quiet part of me kept turning over whether readiness alone answered the actual question in front of us.The second candidate, a woman named Elena, walked in with a résumé that read like exactly what Nathan would have recommende

Damien set my bag down and knelt in front of me before I'd even fully processed sitting, working one shoe off my foot and then the other with the particular unhurried care he brought to small things when he sensed I needed more time before speaking properly. "Sit. I'll get you something to eat.""I'm not hungry.""You're going to be, in about ten minutes, once you start talking and your body remembers it hasn't eaten since noon." He was already moving toward the kitchen, and I heard cabinets opening, something warming, and by the time he came back with a plate I hadn't argued him out of it further.I told him everything, curled against his side on the sofa, his arm settled around my shoulders while I worked through the conversation with Priya piece by piece. Two years of service. Every participant known by name. Half the current staff trained on the intake process. And then my own weak attempt to soften the disappointment instead of answering her actual question, praising her value in

"I'm not asking you to feel better about Grace," I said, staying in the doorway rather than crowding her desk. "I'm not asking you to approve the decision or forgive me today. I'm asking for a few minutes to talk about something separate."Priya's expression didn't soften, but she gestured toward the chair across from her without quite inviting me to sit in it. "Go ahead.""Grace remains the right choice for this role." I kept my voice steady, unwilling to soften that part just because it would have been easier. "But that doesn't erase the fact that New Ground never gave you a real path toward leadership. Nobody told you what you needed to develop. Nobody offered you the exposure that would have made this a fair competition instead of one you were disadvantaged in from the start.""I know that already.""I know you do. I'm telling you I know it too, and I'm fixing it." I laid it out plainly, the way I should have the day before. "Published leadership criteria for every future role, so

I was still standing at the counter, phone in hand, staring at the empty screen when it finally lit up with his name. I answered before the first ring had even fully finished."Where are you?""Still at the office." Damien's voice came through rushed, apologetic already before he'd properly explained anything. "One of the divisions submitted incorrect figures for tomorrow's board package. I had to come back and sort it before it went out.""That explains where you are.""I know how that sounds.""It doesn't explain why I didn't get a single message telling me any of that," I said, keeping my voice level even as the irritation sat plainly underneath it. "I've been standing here for twenty minutes wondering whether you'd been swallowed by the earth.""I should have texted. I got pulled into it fast and stopped thinking about anything else." He sounded genuinely sorry, no defensiveness in it, which softened the edge slightly even as the point still stood. "I'm leaving now. I'll bring foo

I stepped out of the closet in the dress I'd chosen weeks ago and found Damien already dressed, tie half-knotted, watching me with an expression that made finishing the outfit feel briefly beside the point."You're staring," I said."I'm admiring. There's a difference." He crossed the room slowly, finishing his tie without breaking eye contact, and reached to adjust the strap at my shoulder with more attention than the task strictly required. "You look extraordinary.""You clean up reasonably well yourself.""Reasonably well." He arched an eyebrow. "I'll take it.""You know exactly how you look, Damien. You don't need me to inflate it further.""I like hearing it from you specifically," he said, low enough that it landed somewhere warm, and I found myself reaching for his tie instead of letting him finish it, adjusting it slowly, deliberately, watching his composure shift slightly under something as simple as my hands near his collar."We're strangers tonight," I reminded him, steppin