2026-08-04 20:29:18Adrian stopped at the door but did not turn around. A thought crossed his mind that almost made him smile. If the marriage certificate had been real, if he and Chloe had been legally married this entire time, then half of Skyward Technology's eighty seven billion dollars would have belonged to her right now. Half of everything. Gone. Just like that.
But it was fake. She had made sure of it herself, years ago, for Julian's sake. And now that decision had saved Adrian more money than she would ever see in her lifetime.
It was the luckiest betrayal he had ever suffered.
He walked out without another word and closed the door behind him.
Chloe stood there staring at the closed door. The guilt was heavy on her shoulders, pressing down like a weight she could not name. She had treated him poorly. She knew that. She had forgotten his mother. She knew that too. And now he was walking away, and for the first time since he had come home, she felt something pull inside her chest, something that told her she had just lost something she should have held onto.
She took a step toward the door.
"Chloe! Chloe, look at this!" Julian's voice cut through the room, loud and electric with excitement. He was holding his phone up, his eyes wide, his whole body leaning forward like a child who had just found buried treasure. "The mastermind behind Skyward Technology just surfaced. They released an official statement. The mysterious boss is right here in our city!"
Chloe stopped mid step and turned around. "What?"
Julian was already scrolling through the announcement, his words tumbling out fast. "Skyward Technology just confirmed that in one month, they are holding a press conference right here. The hidden owner, the one who controls eighty percent of the company, is going to make his official public debut. Chloe, do you understand what this means?"
Chloe walked back to the table and took Julian's phone from his hands. Her eyes moved across the screen, and with every line she read, the guilt about Adrian faded a little more, replaced by something stronger. Ambition. The same force that had built her company from nothing. The same drive that made her forget hospital visits and prison release dates and the man who had just walked out of her apartment.
"This is real." She looked up at Julian, and her eyes were bright. "This is an official Skyward Technology announcement."
"It is real. And if we can get to him before anyone else, if we can secure a meeting with this person, even five minutes, it could change everything for your company. Partnerships, contracts, funding. This is the kind of connection that puts you on the global stage."
Chloe grabbed Julian's hands and squeezed them, her face lit up with the kind of excitement she had not shown all evening.
"We have to move fast. Before every other CEO in the country starts circling. We need to find out who this person is, get their contact information, arrange a private meeting. Whatever it takes, Julian. This is our chance to reach the top."
Julian smiled at her, warm and encouraging on the surface. But behind his eyes, in the place where he kept all the things he never said out loud, something dark and satisfied settled into place. Chloe was already thinking about the press conference. She was already planning her next move, her next deal, her next climb up the ladder.
She had completely forgotten about Adrian walking out the door.
And she had completely forgotten to look into the matter of his mother's medical bills.
Julian's smile widened, just a fraction, and he squeezed her hands back.
"Don't worry, Chloe. I will take care of everything."
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 10 part-2
“You mentioned an arranged marriage. With someone named Julian.” Adrian watched her face carefully. “Do you know his full name?”The change was instant. Her whole body went rigid, like someone had pressed a knife against her spine. Her nostrils flared and her lips pulled into a thin, hard line. The cold indifference cracked open for a moment, and underneath it was something hot and furious.“Why do you want to know?”“Just tell me his full name. That’s all I’m asking.”“Julian Malcolm.” She said the name the way someone spits out food that has gone bad. “The most worthless piece of garbage walking on two legs in this city. A leech who feeds off his family’s money and treats every person beneath him like dirt on his shoe.”Adrian’s stomach dropped. The same Julian. The same voice that had called his mother a bottom feeder. The same man who told him to put a cup on the street and beg.“You know him well?”“I know enough.” Her voice was low and tight, controlled but burning underneath. “
Chapter 10 part-1
Adrian's whole body went still. Julian. The name landed in his chest like a stone dropped into deep water, and the ripples spread outward through every nerve in his body.The woman snapped two short sentences into the phone, her voice clipped and final, and hung up without waiting for a response. She tossed the phone onto the crumpled sheets and exhaled through her nose. Then she looked down.Her eyes moved over her own body, the bare shoulders, the sheet twisted loosely around her waist, and the realization hit her all at once. Her lips pressed together and color flooded up her neck and into her cheeks."What are you looking at?" The words came out sharp and loud, more bark than sentence. She yanked the sheet up to her collarbone and glared at him like he had committed a crime by existing in the same room."Nothing. I wasn't looking at anything.""You were staring.""I just woke up. My eyes were open. That's not the same thing as staring.""Get out."Adrian held up both hands and bac
Chapter 9 part -2
“I do not care what his family offered. I do not care how much money they have or how many buildings they own or how many people think he is some kind of golden prince.” Her tone did not rise. It stayed level, almost bored, like she was reading items off a list she had already thrown in the trash. “I have met Julian Ashford. I know exactly what kind of man he is.”Adrian’s stomach tightened. He turned to look at her fully now, and she must have felt his eyes on her because she glanced at him again, brief and dismissive, before returning her attention to the phone.“You want to know what kind of man Julian is?” She stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain aside just enough to let in a thin blade of light. “He is the kind of man who smiles at you while he is counting the money in your pocket. He is the kind of man who calls other people dogs when they are down and then goes to church on Sunday like his hands are clean. He treats anyone below him like garbage on the street,
Chapter 9 part -1
Adrian's eyes opened to a ceiling he did not recognize.The light was wrong. Too soft, too clean, filtered through curtains that smelled like lavender instead of prison bleach. His head was pounding, a slow heavy drum behind his temples that made the room tilt when he tried to sit up. His mouth tasted like something had crawled inside it and died.He blinked twice and pressed his palm against his forehead. Fragments of last night came back in pieces. The bar. The whiskey he had no business drinking after three years of nothing stronger than tap water. A woman's laugh somewhere in the haze, low and careless, like she had heard a joke that was only half funny. Her hand on his arm. The taxi. This room.A phone was ringing.Adrian turned his head and saw her. She was lying on her side with the sheet pulled up to her shoulders, her dark hair fanned across the pillow. Her face was still, almost severe even in sleep, the kind of face that did not soften easily. Her brow furrowed at the sound
Chapter 8 Part 2
The tall man looked at them. Then at the car. Then back at them. Whatever calculation was happening behind his eyes, the answer came quickly. He put his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and walked away without a word. The other two followed like dogs called to heel.The second bodyguard turned toward the shadows where Adrian was hiding, and his voice softened."Mr. Adrian. We're here. Please come with us."Adrian exhaled and stepped out of the gap, still carrying the unconscious woman in his arms. The bodyguard opened the rear door and helped him set her down gently on the back seat before Adrian climbed in beside her. The car pulled away from the curb in silence, smooth as water."Where are we going?""The Grand Meridian. A suite has been prepared for you on the top floor. Miss Sarah arranged it.""What about her?" Adrian looked at the woman beside him. Her face was pale under the passing streetlights, but her breathing had steadied."We will have a medical team on standby at
Chapter 8 Part 1
The night air hit Adrian's face the moment he stepped outside the apartment building. Cold and sharp, the kind of cold that cuts right through your clothes and sits on your skin like a second layer you cannot take off.He walked. No direction. No destination. Just one foot in front of the other, moving away from the place he used to call home and the two people inside it who had carved out everything he ever believed in and replaced it with nothing.Three years. He had spent three years in a concrete box for a woman who never married him. For a man who called his dying mother a bottom feeder. For a lie so well constructed that he had lived inside it without ever seeing the walls.But it was over now. All of it. The lie, the marriage, the woman. His heart felt like a house after a fire. Still standing, but hollow, and everything inside it burned to ash.He found himself standing in front of a bar. The neon sign buzzed overhead, throwing red light across the wet sidewalk. Music leaked t
You may also like
The Midnight Heir
South Ashan101.0K viewsRise Of The Student Billionaire
Dragon Sly234.6K viewsThe Secret Billionaire Son-in-law
Perry will91.4K viewsMy Sudden Rich System
M_jief124.4K viewsRising from Betrayal
BOSSSESamaaaa183 viewsDamien Ross: Wrath of the Warlord Chairman
Lord_Fiction106 viewsThe Reaper's Redemption
Aemon47 viewsThe Live-In Son-in-Law Is the Supreme Tycoon
Stella122 views