Third Person POV

Jace couldn’t take his eyes off Ariab, /b

She was standing just a few feet away, chatting with the head of the Marketing Department bGary/b. bThat /bguy was a total snob–always looked down bon /bbhim/b, even after he married Delh. But now? Gary bwas /ball smiles with Aria, bpractically /bfalling 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/bb? /b

He’d made sure her bcareer /bwas over. That million–bdor /bbdeal/bb? /bThe 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 bwalk /baway from him. For not begging toe back.

And yet here she was.

Not just surviving. Thriving, Glowing.

HOW???

He watched bas /bAria wrapped up her conversation band /bheaded 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 bas /bshe strolled toward the intersectionb. /bSomething twisted in bhis /bp

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? bThose /bbabes were real. No doubt about it.

Aria Collins could barely afford a basement apartment a few months ago. Where the hell bwas /bshe 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, band /bopened the door for her like she was a princess.

Jace stood frozen, halfb–/bhidden behind a billboard, jaw practically on the ground.

bThat /bcar–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 bcart /b

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

bHis /bbbrain /bshort–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. “bFucking /bgold–digging slut.

bThis /bwon’t over.

He’d bmake /bdamn sure she paid for betraying him.

Anu’s POV

9:47 AM

Chapter b12 /b

The past few days bhad /bbeen bamazing/bb. /b

bThanks /bto 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. bBut /bturns out I couldn’t have been

more

wrong.

“Don’t stress it,” bGary /bsaid 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 baway/b. I’m just d you’re back now. You bcan /bfinally clear your bname/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 bJace’s /bteam. 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 bmonth /bended. I wanted bresults/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 band /bfrom work. I’d nce over my shoulder, feel eyes on me. but when I looked, there was no one there.

bGrayson /btold me to tell him if banything /bhappened. And he already had a bdriver /bpicking me up and dropping me off every bday/bb, /bso my safety wasn’t really an issue. I just didn’t want to bother anyone bover /bba bad /bgut feeling.

Maybe I’d mention it the next time bI /bbsaw /bhim? Although, I hadn’t seen bhim /bbsince /bbthat /bbreakfastb. /bording to Mrs. Jones, bhe’d /bflown 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.

“bWhere /bare 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 bdash /bfor 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 breally /bbdid /bspoil 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 benough/b, rain wasing down hard outside.

I held my briefcase over my head like ba /bshield, and jogged out into the storm. I figured if I met May halfway, she wouldn’t have to bwalk /btoo bfar /bbin /bthe rain.

The sidewalk bwas /bslick. 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 bhard /bover bmy /bmouth 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 bover /bhis 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 bI /bwasn’t looking, you threw yourself into another man’s arms.”

b“/bbW/b–What..?

“How do you like sucking Grayson Hart’s dick?” he snarled.

bAD /b