All Chapters of Charmed By A Rival: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

“Are you out of your mind?”Matilda's furious whisper cut through the chaos as she seized my arm and dug her fingers into my skin, dragging me away from the crowd—and, more importantly, away from Vice President Zachary Simon.“Are you trying to ruin everything Ralph has worked for?” she hissed.I stumbled after her, still too numb to react.“Couldn't you have stayed at home and waited for Ralph to come back? Instead, you had to show up here and humiliate all of us.” Her eyes traveled over me with open disgust.“Look at you!”She lowered her voice further, making sure only I could hear.“The kitchen is where you belong. You should have stayed there.”I flinched.Roman joined us, his expression no less contemptuous.“And why did you even come here dressed in those rags?”His gaze swept over me from head to toe as though I were something unpleasant he had accidentally stepped on.I looked down at myself.Simple clothes. Unstyled hair. Calloused hands that carried the faint scent of the c

“The Wrights are really going the extra mile to prove just how ruthless they are in the business world,” I remarked, taking a slow sip of my drink.“Sending the mighty Vice President Zachary Simon all the way to Lax City. Now, that’s quite a statement.”After sharing a ride with him, I had somehow ended up in an exclusive bar, sitting across from the very man my family considered an enemy.And now, we were sharing a drink as though we had been friends for years.The absurdity of it almost made me laugh.“Is K-Line Shipping really that valuable?” I asked when he offered no response. “Valuable enough for the Wright Group to go out of its way to snatch it from the Contis?”Zachary casually lifted his glass and took a long drink before answering.“As far as I know, the deal between K-Line and Conti Corporation hasn’t been finalized yet.”He set his glass down, his expression unreadable.“K-Line Shipping simply walked away from the negotiations the moment they saw an opportunity with the W

“Isn’t she the wife of CEO Ralph Vergara?”Curious glances immediately turned toward me as I waited in the reception lounge of the salon, preparing to indulge in several personal services—a manicure, a pedicure, and perhaps a few other treatments I had forgotten how to enjoy.It had been years since I had done anything simply for myself.During my marriage to Ralph, taking time for myself had always felt like an unnecessary luxury. There was always something to attend to, someone to please, or some expectation I had to meet. Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten what it felt like to simply be Isabella.Looking at my reflection in the salon’s glass doors, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me. I looked tired. Plain. Far removed from the woman I used to be. But that was about to change.For the first time in years, I was going to reclaim the things I had sacrificed. My time. My confidence. My sense of self. Before I decided what I would do next, I wanted to find myself aga