The doors opened and the applause followed Sophia out like it didn’t want to let her go.She stepped into the corridor and exhaled. One long quiet breath that she had been holding since Victoria climbed those stage steps. Her legs were steady but only just. Her hands were fine. Everything was fine. She was fine.She pressed her back against the wall for just a moment and closed her eyes.The midnight blue dress still had the coffee stain on it. Her folder was still in a bin somewhere. She had walked into that room with nothing and walked out with everything and her body hadn’t quite processed the distance between those two things yet.She heard footsteps.She opened her eyes.Adrian was walking toward her.He looked like he had been there the whole time, calm and unhurried, with his hands in his pockets, looking directly at her.Sophia straightened immediately.“Adrian.” She blinked. Then again. “You’re here.”“I’m here,” he said.“How?” She looked behind him, then back at his face. “

Victoria’s feet hit the floor of the house running.She didn’t stop in the hallway. Didn’t stop to take off her shoes or catch her breath or collect herself into anything resembling the woman she had been this morning when she left this house feeling like today was going to be the day everything finally went her way.She went straight for the stairs.“Victoria …”Her mother’s voice came from the sitting room but Victoria was already on the third step, fourth step, fifth, her hand dragging along the railing, her heart doing something loud and unsteady in her chest that she was trying very hard not to listen to.She reached the top of the stairs.She went to Vincent’s room.The door was closed. She pushed it open.She stood in the doorway.The room was tidy. The wardrobe doors were closed but one was not fully shut and through the gap she could see bare hangers. The bedside table was clear. The cologne he kept on the dresser, the three watches he rotated between, the small leather box w

Her mother turned around.Mrs. Stone’s eyes were red, mascara streaking down her cheeks in ugly black lines. For the first time in years, she looked old. The perfect posture had collapsed. Her shoulders hunched like a woman carrying every bad decision her daughter had ever made.“You stupid girl,” she whispered.The words landed like a slap.Victoria lifted her head slowly. “What?”“You heard me.” Mrs. Stone’s voice cracked, but the anger was already rising, pushing past the tears. “You stupid, ungrateful, blind girl. I told you. I warned you from the very first day that Adrian was different. That he was steady. That he never complained, never asked for anything, never left us wanting. But no … you wanted flash. You wanted power. You wanted a man who could make you feel like a queen instead of a wife who had to mop floors.”Victoria stood up so fast the bed creaked. “Don’t you dare bring Adrian into this!”“Why not?” Mrs. Stone shouted, stepping closer. “He is exactly why we’re standi

Adrian remained on one knee in front of Sophia, his hands steady on her face, his voice low and even as he guided her breathing. The elegant lobby around them felt distant, almost unreal. The only thing that mattered was the pallor of her skin and the way her fingers still clutched weakly at his shirt.Footsteps echoed sharply across the marble floor.Dr. Harrison entered through the private entrance, with a medical bag in his hand, but he was not alone.Behind him walked a tall, silver-haired man in a tailored charcoal suit … Mr. Reginald Kane, one of the most influential board members of Meridian Industries and a man who rarely left his private estate unless the situation demanded absolute discretion. Kane’s sharp eyes swept the scene and landed on Adrian kneeling on the ground, his usual commanding presence was replaced by the worry that was obvious on his face.Kane’s face turned pale. He couldn’t understand what he was looking at. Why was the strongest man in the world? The king

Mrs. Laurent’s shoulders trembled. One of the aunties looked like she might faint, her face drained of all color as she stared at the document.Then something in Mrs. Laurent snapped. She has hard enough of a low fry like him commanding her. With a sudden, violent cry, she snatched the paper from the table, her perfectly manicured nails tearing into it. She shredded it with frantic movements … ripping it again and again until pieces scattered across the beautiful table like snow. Her chest heaved, breathing hard and ragged. Sweat beaded on her forehead and upper lip, making her usually flawless makeup look terrible. Her eyes were wild with fury and fear.“Who the hell do you think you are to ask for my daughter?” she shouted. “What makes you think I’ll sign this stupid document? You are the reason Alexander is behind bars!”At those words, Derek’s muffled cries increased behind the gag. His broken hand hung limply in his lap as tears streamed down his face, his body shaking with p