Few days later, Princewill woke up ready for a meeting one with investors from different countries and powerful groups whereby they were to have a joint meeting on signing. He arrived and was greeted by everyone. The boardroom was already full. Leather chairs lined the long polished table, each occupied by people who rarely waited for anyone. Men and women whose schedules were carved into stone, whose time was measured in leverage and consequence. The air was cool, conditioned, sharp with quiet expectation. Princewill adjusted his cufflinks for the third time in under a minute. This meeting mattered, it was the most important one of them all. It was the final stage of negotiations... a partnership that would cement months of maneuvering, closed-door discussions, and carefully balanced egos. Princewill had flown back into the city barely forty-eight hours earlier, carrying the weight of unfinished business and the echo of a night he hadn’t allowed himself to examine too

Cassandra after walking out on Princewill was so upset. It is safe to she was on fire. The door shut behind her with more force than necessary. Cassandra Finnegan didn’t slam doors. She closed them... decisively, elegantly, the way she closed boardroom negotiations and hostile takeovers. But Tonight? well, the door felt her mood. Her heels clicked sharply against the marble floor as she dropped her bag onto the console table, the leather making a dull thud that echoed through the quiet apartment. The penthouse lights were still dimmed the way she’d left them that morning, cool, calculated and untouched. The city skyline glowed beyond the glass walls, it stretched out beneath her like a living thing. Normally, that sight grounded her. Tonight, it did nothing. She exhaled sharply, fingers sliding up to her temple. “Unbelievable,” she muttered. Princewill. The name alone made her jaw tighten and her pulse betray her in the same breath. How could one man be

Javier didn’t follow them... how could he? He stood exactly where he was, frozen in place as Cassandra walked away without a backward glance... her hand resting lightly on the arm of the man beside her, her posture calm, composed, untouched by the disruption he had tried to cause. That was what cut deepest, not the dismissal. Not the presence of another man. But the ease, she looked… lighter and younger. Radiant in a way she had never been with him. The restaurant doors opened for them, and the valet hurried forward as if summoned by something more than money his presence, perhaps. Power, the kind that didn’t need to announce itself. Javier watched as the car pulled up. A car that didn’t scream luxury. It embodied it, low, sleek, dark and quietly expensive in the way that only real wealth ever was. The driver stepped out first, opening the rear door with practiced precision. Princewill turned slightly, his hand settling at Cassandra’s lower back. Not possessi

The resort was alive the very next evening... Lanterns glowed softly along winding stone paths, music drifted lazily from hidden speakers, and laughter rose and fell like the tide itself. The air smelled of salt, citrus, and something indulgent... freedom, perhaps. Cassandra hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. Not the polite, measured laugh she offered at boardrooms or charity galas. This was unguarded, here she was free and open. Her head tipped back as Princewill said something quietly ridiculous, his voice low, conspiratorial, meant only for her. She covered her mouth instinctively, eyes bright, shoulders shaking as she tried and failed to contain her giggles. “Stop,” she laughed, nudging him lightly. “People will stare.” “I don’t mind,” he said, eyes warm. “Let them.” They stood near the pool, the water reflecting dancing lights from above. Guests lounged nearby, some dipping their feet in, others nursing drinks and conversations that felt distant and

“Despite the way he made you feel small and uncertain? Like you had to even earn basic decency?” “Stop,” Cassandra whispered. “No,” Mabel said firmly. “I won’t.” She stepped even closer, eyes fierce. “You don’t get to rewrite history because he dove into a pool.” Cassandra’s voice cracked. “I never said I was going back to him.” “But you’re entertaining the idea,” Mabel shot back. “And that terrifies me.” Cassandra looked up then, tears brimming. “You think I don’t hate myself for even hesitating?” Mabel’s anger faltered but it was only for a moment. “Then why the hell are you hesitating?” “Because he knew me,” Cassandra said. “Because he saw me before I built all this armor. Because when he looked at me tonight, it felt familiar.” “Familiar doesn’t mean safe,” Mabel said immediately. “Poison can be familiar too, he was the reason why you wore an armour in the first place.” Cassandra pressed her lips together. “And Princewill?” Mabel asked quietly. “Where