I was devoted to Tom Collin, a man whose ambition I once admired. I gave up my career, my future, my entire identity for him. I was the perfect wife while he built his empire. But when he reached the top, I became invisible.
Then I found him with her—his college ex, the woman who’d abandoned him when he had nothing. When I confronted him, the man I married vanished, replaced by a monster whose hands left bruises on my skin.
I was finally ready to leave. But I never got the chance. He left our five-year-old daughter, Joy, alone for his mistress. And in his absence, my baby was murdered.
I buried my child, and with her, the weak woman I used to be. In a haze of grief, I let a handsome stranger hold me for one night in Italy—a single moment of oblivion.
Five years later, I live for one purpose: Revenge. Tom Collin will pay for what he did. He has no idea the woman now standing before him. But my new boss… he might. The magnetic CEO of our rival company is the stranger from that night. And he doesn’t know he’s the father of my secret daughter.


"So, do you have any other questions?" he asked, his fingers expertly spinning a silver pen between his knuckles like he'd done it a thousand times before.


Questions about his company? Not really. Questions about what happened between us last night? Absolutely. But asking those things here, under the harsh office lighting with his cold stare boring into me, felt impossible. I simply shook my head and kept my lips sealed tight. Better to stay quiet.


"Does this mean you're offering me the position? And if so, when would I begin?" I managed to ask, fighting to sound professional and detached.


"Tomorrow," he answered, placing the pen down with a soft tap against the desk. "Use today to prepare yourself properly. Press your clothes and do something decent with your hair instead of whatever this is." His eyes swept over my disheveled appearance, lingering on my messy hair. Though his voice stayed level, his words cut deep.


Chapter 71 - Chapter 71 Bitter Victory