Victoria was pulled from the depths of unconsciousness by the insistent vibration of her phone against the nightstand. Her body felt heavy and foreign, as if she had been submerged underwater for hours and was just now surfacing. The first coherent thought that penetrated her foggy awareness was "James," and for one blissful moment, hope bloomed in her chest like a flower breaking through concrete.
But reality crashed back down on her the instant she saw the message sender's name on her screen. It wasn't James. Of course it wasn't James. The cruel reminder that he was gone sent fresh waves of pain through her already battered heart.
The message was from someone she had hoped never to hear from again, someone whose involvement in her current misery filled her with a rage so pure it temporarily overshadowed her grief. Victoria opened the message with eyes that felt raw and swollen from hours of tears, squinting at the screen through the haze of her emotional exhaustion.
The contents of the message made her anger sizzle and rise like steam from boiling water. Without a word to Amara, who was undoubtedly still at her desk wondering about her boss's unusual behavior, Victoria grabbed her sunglasses and stormed out of her office. The dark lenses were a necessity now, not just to hide her tears but to conceal the murderous fury burning in her eyes.
The drive to the Nexus Technologies branch office was a blur of traffic lights and racing thoughts. Despite the late evening hour, Victoria's rage gave her a clarity of purpose that cut through her grief like a blade. Chad Winters had crossed a line, and she was going to make sure he understood exactly what that meant.
The Nexus building was in chaos when she arrived, employees scurrying around with the frantic energy of a company in crisis mode. Victoria ignored the confused stares and worried whispers, her focus laser sharp as she made her way to the elevators. She knew exactly where Chad would be, probably barricaded in his top floor office trying to manage whatever disaster was currently befalling his precious company.
Victoria bypassed every protocol, every professional courtesy, and stormed directly into Chad's office without announcement or permission. The scene that greeted her was exactly what she had expected: Chad standing behind his desk, phone pressed to his ear, his usually perfect composure cracked as he yelled at whoever had the misfortune of being on the other end of the line.
His assistant rushed in behind Victoria, face flushed with embarrassment and panic. "Mr. Winters, I'm so sorry, she just pushed past me and..."
Chad's eyes locked onto Victoria's through her dark sunglasses, and even through his obvious fury, she could see the flicker of surprise at her unexpected appearance. He held up a hand to silence his flustered assistant.
"It's fine, Rebecca. Leave us."
The moment they were alone, Victoria didn't waste a single second on pleasantries or explanation. Her voice carried the kind of soft aggression that was far more dangerous than shouting, the controlled fury of someone who was barely restraining themselves from physical violence.
"I thought I warned you not to mess with my man," she said, each word dripping with venom. "How dare you?"
Chad, already in an unstable mood from whatever crisis he had been managing, bristled at her approach. His charming demeanor, the carefully cultivated composure that had made him so successful in business, evaporated completely.
"You think you're something, Victoria?" he snarled, his voice rising to match the intensity of his anger. "That I'm afraid of you? That you can just waltz in here and bark orders at me like I'm some loyal dog who'll roll over on command? Watch it. I'm not in the mood."
Victoria let out a laugh that held no warmth, no humor, only bitter contempt. Though Chad couldn't see her eyes behind the dark lenses, he knew without a doubt that she was fixing him with that signature glare, that condescending look that had always made his blood boil. He sneered in response, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.
"This is exactly why I rejected you, Chad," Victoria said, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "Because of this fucking calculating attitude. You're nothing but a piece of inferior trash."
The insult hit its mark with devastating precision. Chad's control snapped completely, and he slammed his hand down on his desk with such force that everything on its surface jumped. He shot to his feet, his composed self completely out the window as he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Don't you dare act like you're innocent in all this! You did the same thing!" His voice cracked with the intensity of his fury. "You claim to love him, but you're just using him! In case you haven't noticed, we're very much alike, Victoria. Like two peas in a pod!"
But Victoria was not to be deterred. She matched his energy, her own anger blazing with equal intensity as she stepped closer to his desk.
"If saying that helps you sleep at night, then please, by all means, keep deluding yourself," she shot back, her voice sharp as broken glass. "But here's the truth, Chad: in a relationship, there cannot be two manipulators. It won't work. That's why James and I are perfect for each other. I alone am enough to scheme if needed, it spices things up. But you and I? We're constantly at each other's throats, trying to out best and outplay one another."
She paused, letting her words sink in before delivering the killing blow.
"James is not like you and me. I never once used him the way you're suggesting. I'm not innocent, and I won't refute my damning actions, but that's between me and my man. There's no space for you in between, Chad, so exclude yourself and fucking get lost. I don't want to see you appear near James ever again. Better heed my warnings, because this would be the last time I'll be cordial."
The words came out in a rush, fueled by restrained anger and the deep pain of her loss. She was panting heavily by the time she finished, her entire body trembling with the effort of containing her rage.