THEY ERASED THE MAN WHO BUILT EVERYTHING

THE TRUTH THAT BROKE HER

POV: CELESTE

Celeste barely made it through Damian's front door before Evren's name hit her like a wave. There it was, sprawled across a mountain of paperwork on the dining table. Not just once dozens of times.

She froze, hand gripping the door handle. For a few seconds, she couldn’t even breathe. Folders were scattered everywhere—contracts, private reports, tech specs, internal Arden Global paperwork. And then, photos. All of Evren.

Evren entering the company. Evren leaving meetings. Evren talking to investors. Evren beside her at charity events. Evren working late at the office.

Her stomach flipped, but she forced herself toward the table. One document sat open. The heading screamed at her:

CALLoway Technology Division — Strategic Acquisition Plan.

Underneath, a list. Evren’s projects. His contracts. His investors. His intellectual property. His weaknesses.

Celeste’s hands shook. Then she spotted her own name:

CELESTE ARDEN — PRIMARY ACCESS POINT.

She stopped breathing. “No.” The word slipped out before she realized.

A voice behind her: “You shouldn’t have come here.”

She spun around. Damian was standing there, blocking the doorway. He looked irritated, not surprised. Not scared.

“What is this?” she demanded.

Damian glanced at the papers. “You already know.”

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

He stayed silent.

“Damian.” Her voice cracked. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

He walked over and picked up a folder. “You always get emotional when you’re confused.”

Celeste stared at him. “You used me.”

He shrugged. “I used what you gave me.”

Her face drained of color. “I trusted you.”

“I know.”

“You told me you loved me.”

“I told you what you needed to hear.”

That hurt more than any slap.

Celeste stepped back. “How long?”

Damian smiled. “Does it matter?”

“How long have you been working against Evren?”

“Long enough.”

“Three years?”

No answer.

“Is that why you met Victor Hale?”

Damian’s eyes narrowed. “Who told you about Victor?”

“Evren.”

Something flickered in him—not fear. Just recognition.

“So he knows.”

Celeste stared at him. “You knew this whole time.”

“Of course I knew.”

“You knew who Evren was. What he built.”

“Yes.”

“You knew about his legal rights.”

“Eventually.”

“You knew I could access his files.”

Damian smiled. “That was the useful part.”

Celeste felt sick. “You asked me to authorize those requests.”

“You approved them.”

“You said they were for the company.”

“They were.”

She shook her head. “No.”

Damian actually laughed. “You really are unbelievable.”

“What?”

“You still think everything’s about love.” His face chilled. “It wasn’t.”

He circled the table. “You wanted to believe I cared. So I let you believe it.”

Celeste’s eyes filled with tears. “Did you ever love me?”

“No.” Immediate. Cruel. Final.

She pressed her hand to her chest. “What about the wedding?”

Damian smiled. “That?” He laughed quietly. “The wedding was the best part.”

Her stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”

“I wanted Evren humiliated.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s easier to ruin someone’s credibility when everyone sees him lose.”

She stared at him.

Damian went on. “The announcement wasn’t about marrying you.” He leaned in. “It was about making Evren look like a bitter reject who couldn’t accept you’d chosen someone else.”

Celeste felt her skin go numb.

“You planned that.”

“Of course.”

“The ballroom.”

“Perfect.”

“My father.”

“Useful.”

“My friends.”

“Necessary.”

“And me?”

He looked straight at her. “You were the centerpiece.”

She recoiled. “I wasn’t supposed to be your wife.”

“No.” His smile vanished. “You were supposed to be the woman who publicly abandoned Evren.”

Her knees threatened to buckle. Old memories rushed in—Evren’s face when she announced the marriage. The quiet before the applause. His hand slipping off the ring. The way he'd stared at her—not with anger, but disbelief.

She thought he was overreacting. She thought he'd finally understand. She thought Damian was protecting her.

But it was all a trap. And she’d walked right into it.

She smiled, spoke, chose Damian. Watched the man she loved leave. Helped ruin him.

“You never loved me,” she whispered.

Damian lifted another document. “No.” He gazed at her with something close to pity. “But don’t flatter yourself.”

Celeste looked up.

“You weren’t special.”

Tears spilled over at last.

“You were useful.”

Something inside her snapped. She slapped him, hard. The sound bounced around the apartment.

Damian turned his face back toward her, slow and cold. Neither moved. Then he smiled.

“That’s the first honest thing you’ve done since I met you.”

Celeste stared. “I hate you.”

“I know.”

“I trusted you.”

“I know.”

“You destroyed Evren.”

Damian’s smile faded. He stepped closer. “No. You helped me.”

Celeste froze.

He pointed at the papers. “Every file you authorized.”

Her eyes traced his finger.

“Every piece of information you gave me.”

He pointed to another folder. “Every time you told me Evren’s schedule.” Another. “Every complaint.”

Her breath grew shaky.

“You handed me the key,” he said quietly. “I only opened the door.”

Celeste looked at the table. The papers. Her own signature.

And finally, she saw it—she’d never been outside the trap. She’d helped build it.

—

By the time Celeste reached Evren’s apartment, rain soaked her hair and clothes. She didn’t care. She bolted up the stairs, ignoring the elevator.

Evren opened the door. Saw her. His face shifted—not angry, not surprised. Nothing. That hurt more than anything.

“Evren.”

He stood aside. “Why are you here?”

“I know.”

He said nothing.

“I know what Damian did.”

Still nothing.

“I know about Victor.”

He barely blinked.

“I know about the files.”

Evren’s jaw tightened. Celeste stepped in.

“I didn’t know,” she said.

“I believe you.”

That stopped her.

“You do?”

“Yes.”

She searched his face. “Then why do you look at me like that?”

He spoke softly. “Because knowing you didn’t mean to destroy me doesn’t change the fact that you did.”

Her eyes welled.

“I was manipulated.”

“I know.”

“I thought he loved me.”

“I know.”

“I thought he was helping my family.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t know he was using the information against you.”

“I know.”

She stepped closer. “Then please—”

Evren looked at her. “Please what?”

“Forgive me.”

He looked away. “I can’t. Not yet.”

She swallowed. “Then give me time.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want time.”

“Tell me what to do, then.”

He turned back to her. “Nothing.”

Her face crumpled. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

“I can help you.”

He cut her off. “You’ve helped enough.”

That finished her. She covered her mouth, fighting back sobs.

“Evren…”

He moved toward the window. “You don’t understand what happened to me.”

“I do.”

“No.” His voice was steady. “You understand that you hurt me.” He turned, eyes searching hers. “But you don’t understand how it felt—finding out the person I trusted most was handing over the keys to everything I built over seven years.”

Celeste had no answer.

“You didn’t hold the knife,” he said.

His eyes locked on hers. “But you handed it to him.”

She broke, crying silently.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Evren closed his eyes for a moment. “I know.”

“Tell me what I can do.”

He opened his eyes.

“What can I do to make you forgive me?”

He stared at her, searching for something. Then he spoke—the only answer left.

“Nothing.”

Celeste froze. “Nothing?”

“Nothing you do will give me the seven years I lost,” he said, voice cracking a little. “And nothing you do will let me forget that when they came for me, you stood with them.”

She dropped her gaze. Evren opened the door.

She didn’t move. He waited. She finally walked out.

Nobody said a word.

He closed the door behind her. Celeste stood outside, drenched, staring at the locked door.

The cruel truth hit her then, all at once.

She hadn’t lost Evren when she chose Damian. She lost him long before—every time she handed Damian something that belonged to Evren. Every time she opened a door. Every time she signed a request. Every time she believed a lie.

Nothing she said could ever shut those doors again.