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Chapter 49
The dressing room had settled into a rhythm by the time Charles arrived.Vanessa sat in front of the mirror again, shoulders bare beneath the soft drape of fabric, chin tilted slightly upward as the makeup artist made careful adjustments around her eyes. The worst of the puffiness had been concealed, though the irritation still lingered beneath the surface, visible only to Vanessa herself when she looked too closely.She felt exposed anyway.The room was quiet in that professional way—low voices, deliberate movements, nothing wasted. Monica sat on a stool near the wall, scrolling on her phone, unusually subdued, her earlier chatter replaced by an almost bored vigilance. Nadia stood near the rack of clothes, reviewing something on her tablet, her expression unreadable.The knock came suddenly.Not the tentative tap of staff, but firmer. Confident.Vanessa frowned before anyone else could react. “Who is that?”The door opened without waiting for permission.Charles stepped inside.He lo
Chapter 48
Vanessa sank into the backseat of the car, sunglasses already sliding into place over her eyes like a shield. Monica plopped down beside her with an exaggerated sigh, stretching one arm across the seat like she owned the place.“You look like death warmed over,” Monica said, peering at Vanessa’s puffed eyes. “Are we sure you survived last night or did you just… you know, die a little?”Vanessa huffed, jabbing a finger at her sunglasses. “If I survived, it’s a miracle. And these,” she gestured to the dark lenses, “are literally the only thing keeping me from murdering someone on sight.”Monica laughed, a loud, obnoxious kind of laugh. “Murder? Ooh, dramatic! Don’t tell me Adrian is the target. I didn’t think he was equipped for that.”Vanessa rolled her eyes, muttering, “He’s lucky I haven’t invented a way to publicly humiliate him like he deserves.”“Lucky for him,” Monica said with mock solemnity, pressing a hand over her heart. “Or maybe he’s cursed. I can never tell.” She leaned ba
Chapter 47
Vanessa sat rigidly on the edge of her bed, phone still in her hand, the screen glowing with paused footage she hadn’t yet found the courage to replay fully.Her phone vibrated again, this time with an incoming call labeled PR – Nadia.Vanessa stared at the name for a few seconds, jaw tight. Of all people, this was the one she least wanted to hear from right now. Nadia didn’t call unless things were already bad. Emails were for minor fires. Calls were for infernos.She answered anyway.“Yes?” Her voice came out clipped, defensive before the conversation even began.“Vanessa,” Nadia said, skipping pleasantries entirely. Her tone was calm, professional, but weighted. “I need you to listen to me very carefully.”Vanessa scoffed softly. “If this is about last night—”“It is,” Nadia cut in, firmly. “And it’s worse than you think.”Vanessa rolled her eyes and leaned back against the headboard, crossing her arms. “People get denied entry all the time. This will blow over.”There was a brief
Chapter 46
Lunch was served on the terrace.The restaurant sat on the uppermost level of the Rand Building, all glass and steel, open to the sky in a way that suggested nothing could touch the men who dined there. Below them, the city moved in restless lines—cars inching forward, pedestrians weaving through one another, lives unfolding in ways that would never brush against this height.Adrian sat across from Victor Rand, unhurried, composed, his posture relaxed in a way that came from certainty rather than ease.The table between them was set with precision. Polished cutlery. Plates arranged at careful angles. A waiter had just finished pouring wine before retreating with the kind of discretion money trained into people.Victor leaned back in his chair, phone in hand, eyes gleaming with quiet amusement as he scrolled.“It’s impressive,” Victor said, breaking the silence at last. “Truly impressive.”Adrian didn’t look up immediately. He cut into his food calmly as though Victor had said nothing
Chapter 45
Vanessa was dragged out of sleep by the shrill vibration of her phone against the bedside table.She groaned, rolling onto her side and burying her face into the pillow. The curtains were still drawn, the room dim and heavy with the kind of morning light that felt intrusive rather than gentle. Her head throbbed faintly—not from alcohol, but from the emotional exhaustion of the night before. Shame clung to her like a second skin, even in sleep.The phone vibrated again.With an irritated sigh, she reached out blindly, snatching it up and squinting at the screen. Her assistant’s name flashed insistently.“What?” she snapped the moment she answered, her voice thick with sleep. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”There was a pause on the other end, then her assistant spoke quickly, nervously. “Good morning, ma’am. I—um—have you gone online today?”Vanessa scoffed, rolling onto her back. “Obviously not. I was sleeping until you decided to wake me up. What kind of question is that?”The
Chapter 44
Monica sat frozen for a few seconds, still trying to process the last thing Vanessa had said. Her shock lingered on her face, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, as if she were waiting for Vanessa to laugh and say it was all some exaggerated joke.When that didn’t happen, Monica shifted closer on the bed.“Okay,” she said carefully, lowering her voice the way people did when they sensed something fragile underneath anger. “You can’t just stop there. Explain. What exactly happened? What do you mean by you were denied access? You mean like you didn't get into the hall?”Vanessa let out a sharp breath through her nose and turned her face away again, as though the ceiling suddenly held answers she didn’t want to share. For a moment, she looked like she might refuse to say anything more. Her fingers twisted into the fabric of the bedspread, gripping it tight.Then she spoke.“Fine, let me tell you everything that happened, so you understand exactly how I'm feeling right now. First of all... Yo
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