a
h, her fingers digging into the sleeve of my tu
ed carpet of the Grand Imperial Gala. Flashbulbs went off, but the atmosphere felt entirely d
that
ter from the
publicist said
ement alleging that the woman in the video wasn't Victoria at all-that it was an AI-generated smear campaign designed to sink Sterling Media's stock. But lookin
r. If I could secure a few minutes with the city's top investors and project absolute, unsh
ublicist had instructed her to look elegant and unbothered. She ticked the elegant box, but not the unb
tray. My hand was gripping the crystal stem so tightly my knuckles turned white. "Once
at a few who were bold enough to return it, but my mind was st
sm
eapon to destroy me. The real sole heir to a trillion-dollar empire wouldn't spend three years scrubbing m
ssive crystal ch
d evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we are deeply honored to welcome the individual whose unparalleled generosity made this e
ng silence. Victoria froze beside me
esturing toward the velvet curtains at th
rtains
olently sto
hind her like liquid. Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders and back in flawless waves. Expensive diamonds caught the light ar
ce draining of every single drop of color. She completely f
deafening, but all I could see was the woman who used to pack my lunchb
sound echoed rig
in my hand, the shards digging into my palm, a mixture of expensive alcohol and dar
a stunt. It wasn't a c
had discarded like trash was th
starving predator. My palm was crudely bandaged with a cocktail napkin,
l, Jasmine excused herself from a group of foreign diplomats and walked to
stepping into the lounge just as she adju
ly, my voice thick with a
oked at my reflection in the mirror, her eyes entirely ice-cold and u
my chest was heaving. "Three years! For three entire years, you lived in my house, you folded my clothes, you let my
hest. Despite myself, I found my eyes wandering to the full s
lank, as if she were looking at
perfume hitting my senses, but the panic of my
any idea what you've done? My stock is down! The board is trying to vote me out! Sterling Media is bleeding to death because of your lit
omeone said in a d
as a towering figure stepped out fro
tian
had been the cause of most of my sleepless nights. He was
f his eyes could, they would shoot dagger
yingly calm. He reached down, his fingers locking around my wrist with an iron grip, and effortles
ce, putting his body b
sion completely unreadable, yet I didn't miss th
erling," Sebastian said in a chilling whisper.
/1/122435/coverbig.jpg?v=fab8ff6235e9eadfa38540d782ee3fda&imageMogr2/format/webp)