Zara stood by her office window, arms folded across her chest, her gaze on the city below—but her mind was still in the boardroom.
Of all the possible clients to walk through her company's doors, it had to be him.
Dylan Reid.
His name sat in her mouth like something sour and expensive. She'd tasted it before. She didn't want to again.
What pierced her wasn't the surprise on his face—though that had been satisfying—but the way he'd looked at her. Like a man who'd seen a ghost wearing silk and power. Not guilt. Not even hate.
Just disbelief.
He hadn't known.
He had walked into her company without knowing it was hers. Typical Dylan—so self-absorbed he hadn't bothered to research who signed the cheques. She'd wanted to laugh. But instead, she'd kept her face unreadable, the way she always did now.
Her phone buzzed on the desk. A news ping: DYLAN REID AND MODEL-FIANCÉE CELESTE ROUX TO LAUNCH JOINT TECH BRAND.
Zara let the screen go dark.
So he'd moved on. Of course he had.
And yet—her mind tugged on a single thread she hadn't expected to care about.
He has a fiancée now.
Her throat tightened slightly, not with jealousy, but with memory.
Even in the worst moments—those bitter nights, the silent dinners, the storming doors and sharp insults—he had never once strayed. Not once.
It was the only thing she could say with certainty about him: He wasn't a cheater.
He'd hated her, yes. He'd thrown venom with his words. But he had never betrayed her body, only her spirit.
And somehow, that stung more.
Because if he'd cheated, she could have hated him cleanly.
Instead, she hated him with questions.
---
Outside her office, her assistant hovered, debating whether or not to knock.
Inside, Zara smoothed her blazer, eyes hardening like glass.
Whatever he was here for—this project, this pitch—it wouldn't be business as usual. She would see what game he was playing. She would learn every angle. And if he thought he could walk into her life again and leave untouched...
He'd forgotten who she was.
She wasn't the woman crying in bed anymore.
She was the one sitting at the top of the tower.
And she was just getting started.
--
The elevator doors slid shut with a mechanical sigh, but Dylan's thoughts were still trapped inside that conference room.
Zara.
Zara Hartley.
He ran a hand through his hair, the polished calm he wore earlier now cracking. Of all the companies RISE Global could've landed a deal with—of all the possible clients in the city—it had to be hers?
And she hadn't flinched.
She'd looked at him like he was a line item on her budget report. Like he didn't even graze her memory. It should've relieved him.
Instead, it burned.
He stepped out of the elevator and into the parking lot, barely acknowledging his assistant's chatter beside him. The air was sharp with the kind of cold that made you feel like you deserved it.
As he slipped into the driver's seat, his phone buzzed on cue.
Celeste 💍
Babe! How'd the Hartley pitch go? Do I pop the champagne or wait for round two? 😘
He stared at the message for a long moment before typing a careful reply.
Still in progress. Complicated stakeholders. Will fill you in later.
He tossed the phone aside and gripped the steering wheel.
Celeste.
Perfect teeth. Perfect smile. The kind of woman who looked like a Vogue cover and spoke like a PR statement. She was everything his world admired.
But not once, in three years with her, had he ever felt the friction that made a heartbeat stumble.
Zara had never smiled for the camera. She never softened her edges to fit his comfort. She had challenged him, exhausted him, overwhelmed him—but even now, the memory of her was alive in a way Celeste never quite was.
He shook the thought off like a mosquito bite.
He hadn't come back for drama.
He'd come for survival.
RISE Global was hemorrhaging.
The merger looked good in the press, but behind the scenes, the tech wasn't ready. Their last three investors had pulled out. He needed Hartley Studios to sign this deal—not just for the tech rollout, but for the optics. Zara's brand was solid gold.
He hadn't even known she was the CEO. No one in the press connected her to the rise of Hartley Studios.
He thought she'd vanished after she walked out on him—disappeared like smoke. And now, here she was, not a shadow but a fortress.
And she had all the power.
Dylan exhaled slowly, tapping the steering wheel.
He hadn't cheated on Zara.
He hadn't wanted her. But he hadn't lied with his body.
And yet… there was something about seeing her again, seeing what she'd become without him, that stirred an old, unwelcome feeling:
He hadn't broken her.
And maybe—just maybe—that's what bothered him most.
***
The restaurant was gold-lit, filled with quiet jazz and the kind of people who knew the difference between caviar brands. Dylan sat across from Celeste, his untouched wine glass sweating slightly under the soft light.
She looked flawless, as always. Her white dress was tailored to perfection, her diamond engagement ring catching every glint of light. But her beauty had a sharpness tonight—like a portrait with no warmth.
"So," she said, slicing into her grilled salmon, "tell me what's going on."
He didn't look up. "I told you—it's just a slow client."
"You've had that 'slow client' face since this morning. And you lied about who the client was."
Dylan blinked. "What?"
"I checked the schedule. Your meeting today was at Hartley Studios, wasn't it?"
He clenched his jaw. "Yes."
Celeste leaned forward, voice low and sweet—but cold. "You should've told me it was your ex-wife's company."
He looked up, finally. "It wasn't relevant."
"Oh, come on." She gave a tight smile. "It's not every day you walk into a pitch and find the woman who disappeared from your life without a word now owns the building you're trying to impress."
Dylan said nothing. He reached for the wine but didn't drink.
Celeste's eyes narrowed. "You still have feelings for her?"
His gaze lifted, slow and steady. "No."
"Then why do you look like she ripped the air out of your lungs?"
The silence stretched like piano wire.
He hated this. Not the question—but the fact that he didn't have an answer.
---