The elevator dinged at 8:03 p.m.
Ana wasn't expecting anyone.
Especially not her.
Victoria Monroe walked in like she owned the skyline.
Same signature heels. Same blood-red lipstick.
Same scent of smoke, scandal, and ice.
She didn't wait for permission to enter.
Just stepped in like this was her stage.
"Ana," she greeted sweetly. "Hope you don't mind. I used the old code."
Ana didn't move from the sofa.
"You're still using codes for a house that's not yours?"
Victoria smiled. "Habit. Memory. I left more than my perfume behind."
Ana set her tea down slowly. "What do you want?"
🥀 The Power Game Begins
"I just came to see how you're settling in," Victoria said, glancing around the penthouse. "Everything looks the same. Except…"
Her eyes flicked to Ana's bare feet, messy bun, and loose oversized shirt.
"…the wife."
Ana didn't flinch.
"You came all this way just to insult me?" she asked. "How romantic."
Victoria chuckled. "I came to deliver a reality check. I thought after Clause Fourteen, you might be ready for one."
Ana's breath caught.
Victoria saw it.
"Oh," she said slowly, delight in every syllable. "So you have read the contract."
She stepped closer. "Let me guess — he kissed you. You believed it. And now you're wondering if any of it was real."
Ana said nothing.
But her silence spoke louder than Victoria's smirk.
🧊 The Cutting Truth
"You think you're different, Ana?" Victoria whispered. "He made me promises too. Real ones. Whispered ones. Bedroom ones."
"I'm sure he did," Ana said softly. "But you're not the one he married."
Victoria's smile faltered for half a second.
Then she snapped back. "Marriage is paper. You're a clause in his business strategy."
"And you're the past he doesn't talk about."
This time, Victoria's jaw twitched.
Ana stood.
Not shaking. Not scared.
Just… done.
"You want to stay for dinner?" Ana asked with a smile. "Or just throw your insults into the trash where they belong?"
Victoria stepped back, eyes flashing.
"You'll regret believing in him."
"I might," Ana said, walking to the door and opening it wide. "But at least I don't regret being me."
Victoria walked out with her head high.
But Ana closed the door with her heart just a little lower in her chest.
Because even if she'd won that round—
The truth still burned underneath:
She believed in a man who prepared for her heartbreak in writing.
(Christian's POV):
He heard the elevator doors before he saw her.
Victoria.
He didn't call her.
Didn't invite her.
But he didn't stop her either.
And now he hated himself for it.
From the hallway, he heard the entire conversation.
Every insult.
Every truth Ana didn't deserve.
And every lie Victoria threw like knives.
🥀 Inside the Study
He stood in his office, lights off, the contract in his hands.
Clause 14.3.
He'd written it with his legal team at 2 a.m. over whiskey and spreadsheets.
Just in case, he told himself.
It's only business. Protect the company. Keep your name.
But that was before Ana laughed in her sleep.
Before she started leaving teabags on the edge of the sink.
Before she kissed him like she didn't know how to fake it.
Before he wanted things that had nothing to do with the Blake empire.
He read the line again.
"Measurable emotional attachment…"
God.
It even sounded cold.
He didn't hear Ana approach until she was standing in the doorway, arms crossed.
Wet eyes. Unreadable expression.
He lowered the paper.
Didn't bother hiding it.
"I didn't plan to fall for you," he said quietly.
Her jaw clenched. "But you planned for me to fall."
Silence.
And then—
"I was terrified of you," he admitted. "Because you were the one thing I couldn't schedule. Couldn't predict. Couldn't control."
Ana stepped into the room slowly, pain in every inch of her.
"And now?"
"I'm still terrified."
His voice cracked, just a little.
"But not of losing my company. Or my image."
He met her eyes.
"I'm terrified of losing you."
For a moment, nothing moved.
Then she walked forward—one step, two—and placed her fingers on the contract.
Folded it shut.
"I don't want to be a loophole in your empire, Christian," she whispered.
"You're not," he said instantly. "You're the only thing that doesn't feel like strategy."
She stared at him.
And he knew...
If she forgave him now, it would be the last time.
To be continued…