Cela's POV
It was already seven in the evening, and still—not a single call, not even a single text from Zed.
The silence was driving me insane.
I tried convincing myself he was just busy finishing work at the company. After all, I had left earlier than him. But deep down, a gnawing feeling clawed at my chest, whispering that something wasn't right.
I prepared my car, hands trembling as I gripped the steering wheel. What if something happened to him? What if…
Before leaving, I even sent him a message.
Cela: Love!! Where are you? Why are you taking so long? I'm getting worried, please answer me!!!
—Sent 5:00 PM.
Seen? Nothing.
Reply? Nothing.
It was like I was talking to the void.
By the time I reached the company building, the lights were still alive, spilling out from every window. Employees were still bustling inside—it was only seven, after all. But the atmosphere felt… strange.
I spotted Tania, one of my trusted staff, walking down the hallway.
"Tania, where's Zed?" I asked, trying to sound calm, but my voice cracked, betraying my panic.
She nearly jumped when she saw me. "M-Ma'am Cela? Why are you here? You should be resting by now…"
Her voice quivered, her eyes wide. Fear. That was what I saw. She looked like a cornered rabbit.
My chest tightened. "Is there something wrong? Why do you look so scared?"
"A-Ah, n-no, Ma'am… Sir Zed is just… in his office." She stammered, and I could swear her cheeks flushed as if she was hiding something.
Her words made my skin crawl. My instincts screamed louder now.
Without another word, I rushed down the corridor, heels clicking like gunshots on the marble floor. Every step felt heavier than the last, like I was walking into a nightmare I wasn't ready to face.
By the time I reached the door to Zed's office, I froze.
Because even without opening it… I already heard it.
A woman's voice. Soft moans. Rising, falling. Sinful.
My heart dropped into my stomach. My vision blurred as tears threatened to fall. I pressed my hand against the cold wooden door, my whole body trembling.
"No… no, he wouldn't…" I whispered, choking on my own disbelief.
I turned the knob slowly, as if giving him one last chance to prove me wrong.
But when the door creaked open, reality slammed into me like a bullet.
There he was.
Zed. The man I loved. The man I trusted with every piece of me.
And sitting on his lap, half-naked, hair tumbling down her back like a crown of betrayal… was none other than Isabel.
My secretary.
My friend.
The woman I had trusted with my work, my secrets, my future.
My knees buckled, but rage kept me standing. My thoughts screamed her name so loudly it nearly tore out of my throat—
"ISABEL!!!"
The image burned into my mind: Zed's hands gripping her waist, her lips pressed against his neck, their bodies moving together as if I never existed.
They looked so comfortable.
So practiced.
Like this wasn't the first time.
I wanted to scream, to tear the room apart, to rip her away from him and demand answers. But all that came out was silence—shaking, bitter silence—as tears finally slid down my cheeks.
My heart shattered into pieces too sharp to breathe.
---
Zed froze the moment his gaze flicked to the door. His eyes widened, panic flooding his expression. "Cela—"
"Don't," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Don't you dare say my name."
Isabel turned, lips swollen, her bare shoulders gleaming under the dim office light. And instead of shame… she smirked.
That smirk.
That arrogance.
Like she had already won.
Something inside me snapped.
I stormed into the office, my heels echoing with fury. "How dare you, Isabel?! After everything I've given you, after everything I trusted you with—you repay me with this?!"
Isabel only laughed, a cruel sound that clawed at my ears. "Oh, Cela… you were too blind to see. Did you really think Zed was only yours? Men like him—powerful, dominant, dangerous—they don't settle for weak little girls who cry at closed doors."
My palm itched to slap her. My chest burned with fury. But more than anger, more than betrayal… it was grief that drowned me.
I turned to Zed, my voice shaking. "And you… tell me this isn't real. Tell me this is just some mistake, some sick nightmare—"
But Zed didn't move. He didn't push her away. He didn't even defend me.
That silence was the sharpest knife of all.
My vision blurred again, but this time, I forced myself to stand tall. "Fine," I said coldly, my voice breaking into a whisper that cut deeper than a scream. "If this is what you choose… then you've already lost me."
I turned on my heel, refusing to let them see me fall apart.
But as I stepped out of the office, Isabel's mocking voice followed me. "Run all you want, Cela. In the end, men like Zed always come back to women like me."
Her laugh echoed down the hallway like the crack of a whip.
And I swore, right then and there, I would never forgive them.
---
The night outside was colder than ever. The city lights blurred through my tears as I stumbled toward my car.
I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. My whole body shook with rage, grief, humiliation.
But beneath it all… something else burned.
Resolve.
Because if there's one thing they've forgotten, it's this:
I am not weak.
I am Celestine Atira Dione. Daughter of power. Heir to the empire.
And if Zed wanted betrayal… then I would show him the wrath of the woman he underestimated.
This was only the beginning