2025-11-04 16:48:41Two months had passed since the SolarGrid fallout.
Turner Industries was collapsing fast.
Inside the boardroom, chaos ruled. Reporters flooded the entrance, employees whispered, and stockholders demanded answers.
Ethan slammed his fist against the table. “We’re not finished! Do you hear me? We can bounce back!”
But no one responded.
One executive finally stood. “Without SolarGrid, no one trusts us, Ethan. Every major investor pulled out. The company’s reputation is destroyed.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll rebuild!”
The man sighed. “With what? You’ve burned every bridge.”
And just like that — they walked out, one after another.
Melissa stood at the doorway, her voice trembling. “Ethan… maybe it’s time to accept it’s over.”
He turned sharply. “Don’t you dare say that!”
She flinched. “I’m just saying—”
“You started this!” Ethan spat. “You and your family. You chased status, you wanted Daniel gone — and now look where that got us!”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t blame me for your failures.”
Ethan’s expression twisted. “Oh, I blame you for everything.”
He grabbed his coat and stormed out — leaving her standing in the ruins of the empire they once boasted about.
“ If only we can trap him down, then we have it all.”
Daniel’s name dominated the news.
His latest projects. His awards. His influence.
Each headline cut deeper than the last.
One evening, she sat before her mirror — the same mirror she once used to prepare for galas and luxury dinners.
But tonight, all she saw was a woman hollowed by guilt.
She whispered to her reflection, “You left the only man who ever loved you for real.”
Tears slid down her face.
In a moment of reckless resolve, she opened her laptop and searched:
> SolarGrid Headquarters — Public Relations Contact
Her fingers trembled as she typed:
> To Mr. Daniel Carter… I know I don’t deserve your time. But please, I need to see you — just once. Not for business. For closure.
She hesitated before hitting send.
Minutes later, the email was gone — floating toward a man who had sworn never to look back.
SOLARGRID — THE UNEXPECTED VISITOR
The next morning, Clara entered Daniel’s office, holding a tablet. “Sir, you received an unusual message.”
Daniel glanced up from his screen. “From who?”
She hesitated. “Melissa Turner.”
Silence.
For a long moment, Daniel didn’t move. His expression is unreadable.
Clara continued carefully, “She asked for a meeting. Personal, not professional. I can delete it if you’d like.”
Daniel leaned back slowly, eyes narrowing. “No. Schedule it.”
Clara blinked. “Sir?”
“Set it up for tomorrow morning. But make it private.”
Clara nodded, though confusion flickered across her face. “Understood.”
When she left, Daniel turned to the glass wall overlooking the skyline. His reflection stared back — older, stronger, but not unfeeling.
He whispered under his breath,
“You wanted closure, Melissa? Then you’ll have it.”
The next morning, Melissa stepped out of the elevator on the 90th floor of SolarGrid Tower.
Every step echoed against marble. She could barely breathe.
When the doors to Daniel’s office opened, she froze.
He stood near the window — tall, commanding, a dark suit framing his powerful figure. The morning light outlined him like a silhouette of vengeance and grace combined.
“Daniel…” she said softly.
He didn’t turn immediately. “You came.”
Her voice shook. “I didn’t know if you’d agree.”
“I was curious,” he said simply. “Curiosity is dangerous, though — you taught me that.”
She bit her lip. “I deserve that.”
Finally, he turned. His eyes were calm, but cold — the kind of calm that hides storms underneath.
Melissa swallowed hard. “I didn’t come here to make excuses. I came to say… I’m sorry.”
Daniel studied her quietly. “Sorry?”
“Yes.” She took a shaky breath. “For everything. For leaving you when you needed me most. For listening to my parents. For being blind.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You believed in dreams, Daniel. I believed in appearances. You were right, I was wrong. I know I can’t undo it, but—”
He raised a hand, cutting her off. “Stop.”
His tone was sharp. Controlled.
“Tell me, Melissa,” he said slowly, stepping closer, “are you sorry because you lost me… or because I became everything you wanted?”
She froze. The truth hit her harder than his words.
“I—”
He smirked faintly. “Exactly.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Daniel, I didn’t come for pity. I came to face you — not the man I left, but the man you became. To tell you… I’m proud of you.”
That last line caught him off guard. His jaw tightened.
“You’re proud?”
“Yes.” She wiped her tears. “Even if I don’t deserve to say it.”
For the first time, something flickered in Daniel’s expression — a brief softness, quickly buried beneath his cold exterior.
He turned away. “You said what you came to say. Now go.”
Melissa’s voice cracked. “Daniel, please—”
He faced her again, eyes like steel. “Go, Melissa. Before I start remembering why I ever loved you.”
Her lips trembled. “Do you still hate me?”
Daniel’s voice dropped to a whisper.
> “No. I don’t hate you. Hate means I still care.”
And with that, he turned his back once more.
Melissa stood there for a moment — silent, broken — before finally leaving the room.
After she left, Clara entered minutes later. “Sir, should I make sure she doesn’t return?”
Daniel stared out the window, voice low. “No. Let her go.”
Clara hesitated. “You seem… distant today.”
He gave a faint, tired smile. “Distant is how I survive.”
When she left, Daniel’s gaze drifted to the city below.
He had everything he once dreamed of — power, respect, victory.
Yet, for the first time in years, he felt something missing.
The silence in the room felt heavier than ever.
That night, Melissa sat alone on a park bench — the same park where she and Daniel once dreamed together.
The city lights shimmered across the water. Her tears fell silently as she whispered,
“You may have moved on, Daniel… but my heart never did.”
She opened her phone — a new message half-written, trembling under her fingers.
Daniel… Please, just one chance to make things right. I don’t want your money. I just want forgiveness.
But she never sent it.
She knew some things could never be fixed.
Later that night, Daniel sat alone in his study, a glass of wine untouched beside him.
He replayed her words in his mind — I’m proud of you.
No anger, no hate — just quiet reflection.
He whispered to himself,
“You wanted me to become someone the world would notice.
I became someone you could never reach.”
He looked at the skyline — the empire he built — and for a fleeting second, his chest tightened.
Then he exhaled deeply. “No more ghosts. No more pain.”
He reached for his phone and called Clara.
“Prepare the jet,” he said. “We’re expanding SolarGrid to the Middle East next month
. I want a full strategy by morning.”
“Understood, sir.”
He hung up — eyes steady, voice calm.
“The past stays buried,” he said softly. “I buried it myself.”
But deep down… he knew some ghosts never truly stay buried.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The unimaginable shock
When Melissa felt the deep, warm heartbreak spread through her chest, it was almost comforting in its familiarity. Pain had become a language she understood too well.She sat quietly on the edge of her bed, hands resting limply on her lap, eyes unfocused. The room was dim, curtains drawn, the city lights outside bleeding faintly through the cracks like wounded stars. Her breathing was shallow, controlled—too controlled for someone who felt like her heart had just been torn open again.Behind her, the door creaked.“I guess you’re thinking about Ethan,” Turner’s voice came, smooth and intrusive, like a blade sliding across glass. “The man whose wealth suddenly went viral. Not even the government has been able to track him down.”Melissa’s fingers curled slowly into fists.“Father,” she said without turning, her voice dangerously calm. “Spare me that. Do not mention his name before me. Not even his shadow. He is the last thing I want to hear.”Turner scoffed softly and stepped further i
The sudden affection
Ethan’s voice was low, almost pleading now, but the anger behind it made it dangerous.“Ethan, I don’t know where you have gotten your wealth,” Melissa said firmly, pulling her wrist back as if his presence alone stained her skin. “All I want from you is to step aside from anything that has to do with my life. I don’t love you anymore, and I’m not ready to do that at any time.”For a moment, the street seemed too quiet.The city lights still shone, cars still passed, but between them, it felt like the world paused.Ethan’s jaw tightened.“What do you want from me, Melissa?” he demanded, his voice rising with desperation. “Name your price, and I will give it to you. If that is enough to win your heart back to me.”Melissa’s lips curled, not in amusement but in disbelief.“Did I just hear you say I should name my price?” she asked slowly, each word sharp like glass. “When your money runs in billions, yet you are unable to pay off your debt.”The words struck him directly where it hurt.
Ethan’s disappearance became the biggest headline in the country.
“Escaped prisoner still at large.”“Government under pressure.”“Two days left to find Ethan Carter.”Police sirens filled the streets every night. Officers searched forests, raided empty warehouses, questioned anyone connected to him.But Ethan was nowhere.Or rather… Ethan was everywhere they weren’t looking.He sat comfortably in a private lounge of a five-star hotel, legs crossed, a glass of expensive wine in his hand.A man in a suit approached carefully.“Mr. Carter… or should I say, Mr. Cole,” the man said nervously.Ethan smiled.“Names don’t matter. Money does.”The man swallowed.“You paid for the entire penthouse in cash. For three months.”Ethan leaned back.“Then you should be thanking me.”“Yes, sir. Of course.” The man hesitated. “But… the news—”Ethan’s smile faded.“You talk too much.”The man quickly raised his hands.“No, no, I didn’t mean—”Ethan cut him off.“Bring me what I asked for. Clothes. Watches. Cars.”The man nodded fast.“Immediately, sir.”When he left,
Ethan’s Escape and the Deal That Changed Everything
The prison was not supposed to break.It was built from concrete thicker than trust, iron stronger than promises, and rules that crushed men until they forgot they were ever free.Ethan had spent months inside it, counting the days not by calendars but by suffering.Every morning, the same cold walls.Every night, the same bitter silence.The air smelled of sweat, regret, and rust.And Ethan…Ethan was tired of being powerless.He was tired of being the man everyone stepped on.Tired of being Melissa’s mistake.Tired of being Daniel’s shadow.In prison, he had nothing.No suits.No wealth.No name that mattered.Just a number stitched onto fabric, and a future that looked like a locked door.But locked doors had always made Ethan curious.And curiosity, mixed with desperation, was a dangerous thing.That night, the prison was quieter than usual.Rain fell outside, heavy and relentless, tapping against the barred windows like impatient fingers.The guards were fewer.The power flickere
The argument
Melissa wasn’t done.Not even close.The beach confrontation hadn’t ended inside her the way Clara thought it had. It hadn’t disappeared with the waves or been buried beneath the sand.No.It followed her home.It crawled into her chest like a living thing, wrapping itself around her ribs, tightening every time she remembered Clara’s calm voice.Put it down.The humiliation burned worse than the gun ever could.Melissa sat in her bedroom that night like a statue carved from anger and shame. The lights were off, but her eyes were open, staring into the darkness as though she could find answers there.Her fingers trembled occasionally.Not from fear.From rage.Her purse lay on the floor beside her, the gun still inside it like a secret she didn’t know what to do with anymore.She had imagined victory.She had imagined Clara shaking.Begging.Running.But instead…Clara had looked at her like she was nothing more than a desperate girl throwing stones at the ocean.Melissa’s jaw clenched
The war for Daniel
Melissa’s fingers tightened around the gun again, but her courage was collapsing.Clara leaned closer.“Put it down,” Clara ordered.Melissa didn’t move.Clara’s voice became colder.“Melissa… put it down. Or I swear to you, this beach will be the last place you ever breathe.”Melissa swallowed hard.She hated Clara.She hated her calmness.She hated her confidence.She hated that Daniel looked at Clara like she was the answer to his prayers.But Melissa also hated fear.And right now, fear was creeping into her bones.Slowly, Melissa pulled the gun away from Clara’s stomach.Clara didn’t relax yet.She kept her own gun pressed against Melissa.Melissa scoffed bitterly.“You think you’ve won?” Melissa asked.Clara’s eyes didn’t move.“This is not a competition,” Clara replied. “It’s a warning.”Melissa’s voice shook with frustration.“Daniel is mine,” she whispered.Clara’s lips curled slightly.“No,” Clara corrected her. “Daniel is not anyone’s property. But he chose me. And that is
You may also like
THE GREAT GENERAL
Ardy-sensei135.4K viewsI Married a Beautiful Boss After the Breakup
Seafarer's Strike193.8K viewsThe Trillionaire's Heir
Renglassi335.6K viewsThe Almighty Dragon General
Crazy Carriage6.6M viewsAshes Between Us
RebornWill 321 viewsThe City Is Mine
Daniel Solomon 447 viewsREJECTED BY THE HEIR AFTER DIVORCE
Healing-Pen625 viewsThe Return Of The Hidden Dragon
BUCHI MIX309 views