LOGINAURIELLE I showed the note to Dominic, after I already made up my mind. "What time do we leave?" Dominic asked. “I’m going alone,” I said firmly, standing in the living room with my arms crossed. “This is my fight too, Dominic. Victor wants to talk to me. If I take you with me, he will shut down and we will get nothing useful.” Dominic paced back and forth in front of me, his voice rising with every step. “Absolutely not. You are not meeting that man by yourself. He is dangerous, Aurielle. He already tried to break into the house once, he stole footages, what if he tries something worse this time?” I shook my head, refusing to back down. “I can handle Victor. I lived with him for four years. I know exactly how he thinks and how he operates. If you show up, he will use it as an excuse to play the victim and leak even more lies to the press. Let me do this my way.” He stopped pacing and faced me directly, his eyes intense. “Your way almost got you hit by my car that day, you kno
AURIELLE “Dominic,” I said, my voice quieter than I wanted, showing him the screen. “The leaked footage is everywhere. They twisted our conversations, It looks like we’re just actors reading lines for your inheritance.” "Damn it," He cursed under his breath, answering one of the calls with a clipped tone. “We will issue a statement soon.” He hung up and turned to me, his face tight. “My secretary just called." I rolled my eyes as I heard the person that was on the other end of the phone. "She said the board is in panic. They want us at an emergency press conference in two hours. We have no choice but to face this head on.” I nodded, even though my stomach twisted. The next two hours passed with rushed preparation. I changed into a simple but strong beige dress that made me feel armor-plated. Dominic stayed close, but the tension between us was heavy. I could see the hardness in his jaw, the way his hand flexed at his side. I felt exposed, like every private word we had s
AURIELLE “Dominic,” I said, my voice quieter than I wanted, showing him the screen. “The leaked footage is everywhere. They twisted our conversations, It looks like we’re just actors reading lines for your inheritance.” "Damn it," He cursed under his breath, answering one of the calls with a clipped tone. “We will issue a statement soon.” He hung up and turned to me, his face tight. “My secretary just called." I rolled my eyes as I heard the person that was on the other end of the phone. "She said the board is in panic. They want us at an emergency press conference in two hours. We have no choice but to face this head on.” I nodded, even though my stomach twisted. The next two hours passed with rushed preparation. I changed into a simple but strong beige dress that made me feel armor-plated. Dominic stayed close, but the tension between us was heavy. I could see the hardness in his jaw, the way his hand flexed at his side. I felt exposed, like every private word we had s
AURIELLE Dominic caught her before her head hit the stone steps, sliding his arm under her shoulders and lowering her down. “Marcus!” His voice tore through the house. “Marcus, I need my keys now!” Marcus came running from the side hall, took one look at the woman in Dominic’s arms, and didn’t ask a single question. He just pulled his keys from his pocket and threw them across the foyer. “Aurielle, move,” Dominic said, already lifting her. I stepped back automatically, my mind still trying to catch up to what my eyes were seeing. “Dominic, who is…” “Please, not now.” He was out the door before I finished the sentence, the woman limp against his chest, her coat falling open to reveal how thin she was underneath it. I grabbed my own shoes from the hallway and ran after them anyway. Whatever was happening, I wasn’t being left behind in the house wondering. The car ride to the hospital felt like it stretched. Dominic sat in the back with her head in his lap, two fingers pressed aga
AURIELLE There was no news about my marriage with Dominic. I checked my phone three times before getting out of bed, half expecting him to still go along with it. Dominic found me in the kitchen an hour later, still in my robe, staring at the cup of coffee I hadn’t touched. “You didn’t sleep.” “I kept waiting for my phone to blow up, Victor said tomorrow morning. It’s tomorrow morning.” Dominic pulled out the chair across from me and sat down slowly. “Maybe he’s bluffing.” “Victor doesn’t bluff.” I wrapped both hands around the mug, needing something to hold onto. “If he hasn’t leaked it yet, it’s because he’s still deciding how to use it. That’s worse than him just doing it.” “What did he actually say to you yesterday? You never gave me the full conversation.” I’d been avoiding this. “He wants me to help him sabotage you. Feed him information. In exchange, he keeps quiet about the footage and whatever Tyler’s willing to say.” Dominic’s expression didn’t change, but his hand
AURIELLE I showed the note to Dominic, after I already made up my mind. "What time do we leave?" Dominic asked. “I’m going alone,” I said firmly, standing in the living room with my arms crossed. “This is my fight too, Dominic. Victor wants to talk to me. If I take you with me, he will shut down and we will get nothing useful.” Dominic paced back and forth in front of me, his voice rising with every step. “Absolutely not. You are not meeting that man by yourself. He is dangerous, Aurielle. He already tried to break into the house once, he stole footages, what if he tries something worse this time?” I shook my head, refusing to back down. “I can handle Victor. I lived with him for four years. I know exactly how he thinks and how he operates. If you show up, he will use it as an excuse to play the victim and leak even more lies to the press. Let me do this my way.” He stopped pacing and faced me directly, his eyes intense. “Your way almost got you hit by my car that day, you
AURIELLE Tyler’s gaze locked on mine, desperation flashing across his face. “Aurielle… God, it’s really you.”Dominic’s head snapped toward me, his sharp eyes narrowing. “You know him?”I swallowed hard, heart pounding. “Uhm, yeah, this is Tyler. We used to work together, before Victor. We… dated
AURIELLE “Ask him how his mother died.” I repeated the text message.That single line from the unknown number chilled me. I didn't know anything about Dominic and I still agreed to get married to him, and then, the text message sent the wrong signals to me. Only one question hung in my head. How d
AURIELLE I stood frozen in the driveway, the phone still pressed to my ear like a lifeline I wanted to crush. Victor’s voice slithered through the speaker, laced with that familiar cruelty. “But I’m not done with you yet.” My blood boiled. I opened my mouth to unleash every curse I’d held back
AURIELLE He stepped even closer, towering over me in the softly lit living room. The whiskey glass sat forgotten on the counter. I thought he was finally going to close the distance. My heart hammered wildly. I could smell his cologne, feel the heat rolling off his body. Every nerve in me screamed







