It was a little past five in the evening when Gabriel showed up unannounced at the doorway of Ervin's office. The sun had dipped low beyond the horizon, casting the skyline in molten gold as the building slowly emptied. Silence blanketed the floor like a heavy, suffocating fog.
"Let's grab a drink," Gabriel said without preamble, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Ervin hunched over his desk. "You look like you're two seconds away from torching this place."
Ervin let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "Feels about right."
Soon, the two cousins were seated at a quiet bar, far removed from the world of boardrooms, legacy, and manicured reputations. No business talk. No forced smiles. Just the dull clink of ice against glass, dim lighting, and silence weighed down by unspoken emotions.
Ervin didn't say anything for a long while. He stared into the glass in his hand, slowly swirling the amber liquid as if the whiskey might offer clarity he couldn't find anywhere else.
"He used me," he said at last, voice low and controlled—like a fire burning beneath the surface.
Gabriel knew exactly who he meant. There was only one man Ervin would refer to with that kind of restrained venom: their grandfather.
"I thought I earned his trust. All those years. Every sacrifice I made—it meant nothing to him in the end. I was just a pawn in his damn empire. And Leigh? She was part of the plan, too."
Gabriel blinked, frowning. "Leigh?"
Ervin let out a laugh—cold and sharp. "You think he forced her into marrying me? No. She agreed. Willingly. Played the role. Said the vows. And all while I stood there like a goddamn idiot. Like she actually wanted it."
"You think she was in on it?" Gabriel asked carefully.
"I know she was," Ervin snapped, slamming back the rest of his drink. "There's no way my grandfather could've orchestrated everything without her cooperation. Too smooth. She knew exactly what was happening, and she let it play out like some scripted performance. I was the only one kept in the dark."
Gabriel remained quiet. He understood what Ervin wasn't saying—that this betrayal cut deeper than business. That it had shattered whatever personal trust Ervin still had left.
"I wasn't just blindsided," Ervin continued, eyes now glossy with unshed rage. "I was humiliated. Manipulated into marrying —only to realize she was playing a part from the beginning. And for what? A title? A name? Money?"
He shook his head, the pain now clawing its way to the surface.
"She pretends she didn't know. But I see through it now. She knew everything. She just played dumb."
Gabriel leaned forward, concern etched into his features. "You really think Leigh married you for the money?"
"I think," Ervin said slowly, "that she married me because he told her to. And I think she saw an opportunity. A way in. Maybe she never asked for anything directly—but she never questioned him either. She let him choose her for me. Like some reward."
By the time they left the bar, Ervin was visibly drunk—his steps uneven, his thoughts jumbled. Gabriel made sure the driver got him home safely, but nothing about Ervin felt safe. He was a man on the edge of something dangerous—anger that had calcified into suspicion and hurt.
The mansion was quiet when Ervin stepped inside, the kind of silence that amplifies every thought and emotion.
And then—she appeared.
Leigh.
The wrong person at the worst possible time.
She stepped out of her room, startled to see him in that state. He stopped midway up the stairs, unsteady, his gaze locking on her with glassy intensity.
"You," he hissed.
She stiffened.
"You really think I'm that stupid?" he growled, voice laced with loathing. "You really thought I wouldn't figure it out? You stood there—smiling—while he handed me over to you like a prized dog. And you didn't say a damn word."
Leigh's eyes widened in disbelief. "I don't know what you're talking about—"
"Don't lie to me!" he roared, stumbling forward, grabbing her arm hard enough to make her wince. "Don't pretend you didn't know. You were chosen. Handpicked. And you played along. You stood there in that dress and said yes, like you actually wanted this."
His grip tightened. "He chose you because you were perfect for the image—pretty, polite, pliable. And maybe he thought I'd never notice. But I did. And I can't forgive you for playing me."
Leigh tried to pull away, her voice trembling. "Ervin, please. I didn't—."
Then, just like that, his knees gave out beneath him. Instinct took over, and Leigh caught him, cradling his weight as she struggled to keep them both upright.
Wordlessly, she helped him to his room. She cleaned him up, took off his shoes, removed his coat. Not as a wife. Not as an accomplice. Just as a woman still haunted by the man in front of her.
As she turned to adjust the covers, his hand reached out and brushed her cheek.
"You were part of it," he whispered, barely conscious. "And I still... I still can't let go."
Tears filled her eyes—but she said nothing. There were no words left.
He passed out moments later, leaving Leigh alone in the dim room, holding pieces of a man breaking from the inside out.
She stepped out into the hall, only to find Santiago waiting.
"Is he alright, Ma'am Leigh?" he asked softly.
Leigh nodded slowly. "He's asleep."
But deep inside, she wasn't sure either of them would ever truly wake from what had been done.