Maya's POV
I fled. No destination in mind, no plan—just pure instinct driving me away from that devastating scene. Away from Sebastian. Away from the image seared into my memory: him and Valentina, bodies pressed close, their mouths a breath apart.
"Don't worry. It's over," he had whispered before leaving me earlier. Now those words made perfect sense. He meant us. Whatever this charade between us had been, it was finished.
This shouldn't matter. Our arrangement was business, nothing more. Sebastian Sterling had never promised me faithfulness or genuine affection beyond our contract terms. Yet my chest felt crushed, as if someone had driven a stake through my ribs. Tears streamed down my face without permission, blurring my vision as I stumbled forward.
