Adrian''s POV

    Corporate bullshit.

    That''s what this was.

    I stared at the screen-project timelines, team performance updates, and task

    But the moment I opened myptop, I knew I was in way over my head.

    This wasn''t my world.

    I didn''t want to be here. I wanted to be back in my restaurant-sleeves rolled up,

    fire beneath the pan, knives gliding clean through ripe tomatoes.

    That was me.

    This? This was a cage dressed in fancy walls and giant windows.

    But I was here because of Dad-and his threat to cut me out of the will.

    I wasn''t about to let him hand over everything he built to strangers. I was his only blood. His legacy-whether he liked it or not.

    Still, I couldn''t call his bluff. I knew my father well enough to know he never made empty threats. He''d do it just to prove a point.

    And maybe just maybe there was still a part of me that wanted to make him proud. Wanted to see that look in his eyes that said I wasn''t a disappointment. Because if I was being honest, I hadn''t exactly been the ideal son.

    And if I ever wanted him to take me seriously-if I ever wanted to be more than just the screw-up son who blew every shot he was given-then I had to prove it.

    Not just with words. With action. With follow-through.

    If sitting through board meetings and learning the business was the price to pay, then so be it-no matter how much I hated it.

    Because this wasn''t just about him.

    There was also iressa.

    She worked at Storm Innovations, and being here gave me a real shot at getting close to her again.

    I didn''t just let her slip through my fingers-I pushed her away. I hurt her. And somewhere deep inside, I was still bleeding from that.

    When she was in my life, everything made sense. My restaurant thrived. I thrived. She brought rity, calm, and something real. Without her, everything''s been chaos.

    Now fate had dragged her back into my life without me even lifting a finger...

    I wasn''t d her house burned down, but I wasn''t about to waste the chance to use her staying at my dad''s ce to make things right.

    She was still angry about the whole Nicole situation-I could see it in her eyes every time she looked at me. But what she didn''t understand was that I was never in love with Nicole.

    She was just an easyy-God, she knew exactly how to make a man lose his mind. But iressa... she was sweet. Innocent. Real.

    That''s why I couldn''t let her go.

    She wasn''t like the women I met on the regr-the ones who chased the fast cars, the private jets, the bank bnce.

    I was done with the fake smiles. Done with women who only saw the name or the money. They never gave a damn about me. Never brought peace. Never offered anything real.

    They wanted what I had, but gave nothing back.

    But iressa was different. The kind of woman any sane man would fight to keep.

    Beautiful. Smart. Homely. The kind of woman who''d walk beside me while I tried to be the man my father always wanted me to be.

    I trusted her. She wasn''t the type to lie or y games. Too soft-hearted. Too innocent. That was one of the reasons I loved her.

    She acted like she''d fallen out of love with me. Barely looked at me. Only spoke when I forced it.

    But I wasn''t letting that stop me, because deep down, I knew she was pretending. Pretending because I hurt her. But love? It was still there. I could feel it.

    There was no way she stopped loving me just like that. That kind of love doesn''t disappear overnight.

    Unless... there was someone else.

    Shit.

    I remembered she was about to tell me something. A confession. Something she

    did with him, out of anger.

    I didn''t let her finish. I couldn''t. The thought of someone else having her-

    touching her, knowing her-drives me insane.

    Was it a fling? A rebound? Is she still with him?

    No. It had to be a fling. She only said it to get back at me.

    Because the iressa I knew wouldn''t let just any man touch her-unless he was her husband.

    I tried for a long time to get her to sleep with me, and she always turned me down.

    Told me to wait until marriage.

    And I agreed-at first-because I

    was in love with her. But as time

    went on and she wouldn''t budet

    caved. I needed sex. That''s when Nicole came into the picture.

    But I refuse to believe she gave herself to someone else. I''m certain my ire- baby is still a virgin. She was saving herself—and I was meant to be her first.

    All I need to do now is prove I''ve changed.

    And I''ll woo her so hard, she won''t just fall for me again-she''ll never let go.

    I checked the time.

    12:04.

    Lunch.

    I shut myptop with a sigh-not like I understood a damn thing I''d been reading for the past hour.

    My head was spinning. I needed air. Wine. And to see iressa. I hadn''t seen her

    all morning, and she hadn''t replied to the text I sent earlier.

    Either way, I figured this was a good chance to coax a smile out of her. Maybe get her out of that office, even just for half an hour.

    I grabbed my phone and headed for the elevator up to her floor-close to my dad''s office. Part of me hoped I''d bump into him, even though the odds felt slim.

    As I stepped off the elevator and approached her office, I heard voices— iressa''s and someone else''s.

    I gave a quick knock before nudging the door open, half expecting to find her glued to herptop.

    Instead, I found her in the middle of

    a conversation-with Jess, of

    course She was perched casually next to iressa, one leg crossed over the other like she owned the ce.

    My mouth twitched. Leave it to Jess to drag iressa out of her shell.

    "Hey," I greeted, stepping inside with a smile.

    iressa''s eyes widened like she''d been caught doing something wrong.

    "Adrian... what are you doing here?"

    Before she could say more, I crossed the room and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

    She jerked slightly, pulling away.

    "I''m here to take you to lunch."

    Ouch.

    I turned to Jess next. "Wow, Jess. Didn''t expect to find you here. It''s been a

    while."

    Her expression soured the moment she saw me. No surprise there.

    I didn''t me her-she was clearly

    still pissed off that I''d hurt her friend. Her loyalty was unwavering, the kind of friend who stood with you,

    , not

    just behind you. I respected that even if I was currently the

    enemy.

    Which was exactly why I needed to make my way back into iressa''s heart-

    and in doing so, earn Jess''s respect again, just like it used to be.