His Betrayal Unleashed Her True Power

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coffee in bed, drove me to and from the office, and filled my evenings with takeout from my favorite restaurants. He' d s

dia, a masochistic ritual of scrolling through photos of the life Coleton had built without me. I saw the way he smiled when a text lit up his phone while he was

l expression. "The gang is going for a ride up to the

kill, flickered to life. Maybe this was his attempt to mer

said. "I' d

I mean, are you sure? You' ve never re

," I said, m

just come for the drive? You can wait at the v

a tiny, sharp sting. But I ignored

group, and I felt like an alien among them. Then Kyra arrived, a sleek black racing bike

me on the back of Coleton' s bike, and a smirk played on her li

' s engine roared to life. He laughed, a comp

-speed blur. I squeezed my eyes shut, my arms wrapped around his waist in a death grip, my face pressed again

I screamed, my voice

he girl on the bike just ahead of us. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic,

, my legs like jelly. I lurched to the side of the road

y?" she asked, though there was no real concern in her voice. It was

g his attention back to his friends, laughing and replaying t

home wa

his driveway. "I guess this just isn' t your scene." T

my voice barely a whisper.

n would I let him make me feel so small, so insignificant, so terr

code as a shield against my crumbling personal life. I was in my office late

the OmniCorp contract. The final version that was sent over... it' s the wro

my feet.

o pull a fast one. All our work... half a mon

e floor. People were sh

nd send that file?" I demanded, m

l sign-off came from upstairs. From Cole

ged through me. I grabbed a copy of the contract and stormed out of

to Coleton' s office open and thre

I said, my voice

r cubicle walls. Co

oing on?" he aske

just cost this company millions of dollars and weeks of wo

d. He scanned the first page and then looked at

, Erika," he said, his voice

his isn' t a game, Coleton. This is our job. And your pe

lling with tears. "I' m so sorry.

nded by her audacity. Sh

I said, my patience gone. "This is about

' s en

his face a mask of cold fury. "It was a mistake. People make them

Humiliate her? She made a colossal

d architect! Maybe if your team had better oversigh

a physical blow. He was b

lt?" I whispered,

his. Ever since you got here, you' ve been nothing but miserable. If you can

f the entire floor. My boyfr

ent, every eye on us. I felt a hundred pairs

ut to swallow me whole, t

out. A man I knew better than anyone. Edi

s taking in the scene-me, pale and trembling; Coleton, r

onto completely dissolved. Tears I hadn' t even

and on my arm, steadying me. He offered me

Moreno. Sir. I didn' t know

aid, his voice low and full of a paternal warmth that broke my heart all over again. "There

is expression hardening. "Ms. Boyd, you' re fired. Our legal team will

nd sharp as a shard of

a dangerous whisper. "You have the audacity to

dropped. "The.

ared out of thin air? You' ve been working on her platform, living in her shadow, buil

s words sink in, a death sentence d

the woman who orchestr