Third Person POV
Jace couldn’t take his eyes off Aria<b>, </b>
She was standing just a few feet away, chatting with the head of the Marketing Department <b>Gary</b>. <b>That </b>guy was a total snob–always looked down <b>on </b><b>him</b>, even after he married Delh. But now? Gary <b>was </b>all smiles with Aria, <b>practically </b>falling over himself to be nice.
Jace’s fists clenched, his nails digging into his palm. Rage boiled in his chest, so hot it nearly wiped out all reason.
How the hell was Aria back at this <bpany</b><b>? </b>
He’d made sure her <b>career </b>was over. That million–<b>dor </b><b>deal</b><b>? </b>The one that vanished? He sabotaged it. He spread rumors, got people, talking, made her colleagues doubt her. He crushed her–not just to get her out of the way, but to punish her for daring to <b>walk </b>away from him. For not begging toe back.
And yet here she was.
Not just surviving. Thriving, Glowing.
HOW???
He watched <b>as </b>Aria wrapped up her conversation <b>and </b>headed for the front doors. Hastily, Jace ducked behind a potted nt to avoid being seen. Once she was outside, he slipped out too, trailing her from a distance.
On the busy street, he stared at her back <b>as </b>she strolled toward the intersection<b>. </b>Something twisted in <b>his </b>p
gul
Her outfit–he knew that white zer. It was a limited edition piece, retailing for at least five thousand yuan. And the pearl earrings? <b>Those </b>babes were real. No doubt about it.
Aria Collins could barely afford a basement apartment a few months ago. Where the hell <b>was </b>she getting this kind of money now?
And then, right as she stepped off the curb, all his questions were answered.
A silver Rolls–Ro
-Royce pulled up beside her. The driver jumped out, bowed slightly, <b>and </b>opened the door for her like she was a princess.
Jace stood frozen, half<b>–</b>hidden behind a billboard, jaw practically on the ground.
<b>That </b>car–he recognized it immediately. There was only one Rolls–Royce like that in the entire Frostpine Pack.
And she got in. She got in that damn car.
Aria Collins just got into Grayson Hart’s <b>cart </b>
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!
<b>His </b><b>brain </b>short–circuited. How the hell was this happening!
That broke–ass bitch..How did she know Grayson Hart, the most eligible bachelor on the?
He dumped her when she needed him the most on purpose. She was supposed to crawl back to him, beg him for mercy, let him watch her squirm.
Yet
t instead, she traded up.
“That bitch,” he growled, punching the wall hard enough to make his knuckles bleed. “<b>Fucking </b>gold–digging slut.
<b>This </b>won’t over.
He’d <b>make </b>damn sure she paid for betraying him.
Anu’s POV
9:47 AM
Chapter <b>12 </b>
The past few days <b>had </b>been <b>amazing</b><b>. </b>
<b>Thanks </b>to Grayson, I was back in the marketing department. But this time, I wasn’t reporting to Jace. My new supervisor was a guy named Gary
At first, I was worried he’d resent me being parachuted in out of nowhere. <b>But </b>turns out I couldn’t have been
more
wrong.
“Don’t stress it,” <b>Gary </b>said with a snort. “Everybody here hates that shortcut–taking leech Jace. When he fired you, I knew something was fishy. You were one of our top performersst quarter–there’s no way you lost that million dor deal by ident. I smelled a setup a mile <b>away</b>. I’m just d you’re back now. You <b>can </b>finally clear your <b>name</b>.
“Thank you, Gary,” I said, genuinely moved.
He patted my shoulder hard enough to knock the wind out of me. “Now go crush him. We’re directpetitors with <b>Jace’s </b>team. In marketing, it ain’t about whose wife has more money. We speak in numbers,”
His words lit a fire under me
So for the past few days, I’d been grinding nonstop. I wanted tond a huge contract before the <b>month </b>ended. I wanted <b>results</b>, I wanted everyone to see I earned my way back fair and square.
Buttely..there’s something weird.
I kept getting this feeling.
Like someone was watching and stalking me
It wasn’t constant, but it happened often enough to make me uneasy. Especially on mymute to <b>and </b>from work. I’d nce over my shoulder, feel eyes on me. but when I looked, there was no one there.
<b>Grayson </b>told me to tell him if <b>anything </b>happened. And he already had a <b>driver </b>picking me up and dropping me off every <b>day</b><b>, </b>so my safety wasn’t really an issue. I just didn’t want to bother anyone <b>over </b><b>a bad </b>gut feeling.
Maybe I’d mention it the next time <b>I </b><b>saw </b>him? Although, I hadn’t seen <b>him </b><b>since </b><b>that </b>breakfast<b>. </b>ording to Mrs. Jones, <b>he’d </b>flown to the other side of the world for business. No one knew when he’d be back. I told myself I wasn’t allowed to miss him.
Luckily, work kept my mind off him–Most of the time:
A week passed like that. Then May called me out of the blue, asking to grab a coffee.
“<b>Where </b>are you? I’m already at the café,” she said..
I tucked the phone between my shoulder and ear while quickly straightening my desk. “Sorry a meeting rante. I’ll be there in five.”
“Take your time, Apex’s golden girl,” she teased. “Did you bring an umbre? It’s pouring our
“Nope. But it’s only a few blocks. I’ll make a <b>dash </b>for it.”
“I’ming to get you. No way am I letting you catch a cold before I hear all the juicy gossip tonight” She hung up before I could
argue.
I chuckled to myself. May <b>really </b><b>did </b>spoil me sometimes–saying no to her was impossible.
I rode the elevator down with a few coworkers, chatting about random things, then said goodbye as I stepped into the lobby. Sure <b>enough</b>, rain wasing down hard outside.
I held my briefcase over my head like <b>a </b>shield, and jogged out into the storm. I figured if I met May halfway, she wouldn’t have to <b>walk </b>too <b>far </b><b>in </b>the rain.
The sidewalk <b>was </b>slick. I kept my head down, carefully dodging puddles. I wasn’t paying attention to anything else.
That’s why I didn’t see iting.
A hand yanked my shoulder and dragged me into a side alley.
“Ah-
19:47 AM
I screamed, but a hand mped <b>hard </b>over <b>my </b>mouth and shoved me against the wall.
“Shut up,” a cold voice hissed near my ear.
My eyes widened in horror. He was wearing a ck raincoat, hood pulled low <b>over </b>his face–but I’d know him anywhere.
Jace
What the hell was he doing?!
“You slut,” he sneered. “I had some respect for you, you know? You might be a boring prude but at least you held on to your own belief But the second <b>I </b>wasn’t looking, you threw yourself into another man’s arms.”
<b>“</b><b>W</b>–What..?
“How do you like sucking Grayson Hart’s dick?” he snarled.
<b>AD </b>