Chapter 14
The kiss didn’t last long. It was soft, tentative—like testing a door she hadn’t dared open before. But when she pulled away, the silence between them was thick with something unspoken.
Sebastian didn’t chase her, didn’t push for more. He just looked at her with those steady eyes and said, “Whenever you’re ready.”
That night, Elena went home with her heart beating fast—not from fear, but from something deeper, something unfamiliar. A strange mix of excitement and vulnerability. She wasn’t sure what came next, but for once, she wasn’t scared of the unknown.
The following morning, Elena returned to work with renewed focus.
She and Jade had been working on a proposal to invest in a local fashion startup—something sustainable, female-led, bold. Elena poured her energy into the project, determined to build something that was hers from the ground up.
“No more standing in anyone’s shadow,” she told Jade as they finalized the presentation.
Word of her growing influence had already started to ripple through her social circle. Even people who once whispered behind her back were now trying to align themselves with her. Elena wasn’t just the scorned wife anymore.
She was becoming someone powerful.
That week, a news article surfaced online:
“Evans Corporation Faces Internal Crisis as CEO’s Reputation Spirals.”
Photos of Andrew looking frazzled were paired with headlines about investors pulling out and questions surrounding mismanagement. There were even rumors of board members wanting him replaced.
Elena read it all with an unreadable expression. She didn’t gloat, but she didn’t pity him either. He was reaping what he sowed.
Sebastian texted her a screenshot of the article.
“Told you the house of cards was falling.”
She replied:
“I’m not looking back. He’s not my concern anymore.”
And she meant it.
But that didn’t stop Andrew from showing up.
Late one evening, she returned to her apartment to find him waiting by her door, hands shoved in his pockets, looking like a man who’d lost everything.
“Elena,” he said, voice low.
She didn’t respond right away. Just looked at him, silently daring him to speak.
“I messed up,” he began. “I know that now. I lost the company, Chloe’s losing it over every headline, and I… I miss you.”
She stared at him, stunned by the audacity.
“You miss me?” she repeated coldly. “You mean now that everything’s crumbling and you have nothing left, suddenly I matter again?”
“I never stopped caring—”
“You stopped the moment you chose her,” Elena snapped. “You cheated, Andrew. You humiliated me. You threw away everything we built for a lie.”
He looked desperate now. “I didn’t know how much you meant to me until—”
“No,” she cut in, voice sharp. “You don’t get to rewrite the story now. I’m not your safety net.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but she stepped past him, unlocking her door.
As she turned back, she said, “Next time you want comfort, go to Chloe. She’s the woman you destroyed us for. I’m not your backup plan.”
And with that, she closed the door in his face.
Inside, Elena stood in silence, her heart pounding.
Not from hurt.
From power.
Because for the first time in a long time, she was the one choosing how the story went. And she wasn’t choosing him.