CHAPTER 2 — THE TRUTH HE NEVER SAW
Three days later, the headlines exploded.
CEO Removed Overnight.
Hidden Heiress Takes Control.
Corporate Coup or Long-Overdue Justice?
I didn’t read them.
I didn’t need to.
I already knew the truth.
I was sitting in my grandfather’s old office when Chloe walked in.
Uninvited.
Unwelcome.
Predictable.
“You ruined him,” she said immediately.
I didn’t look up from the document I was reviewing.
“No,” I replied calmly. “He ruined himself.”
She stepped closer, anger flashing in her eyes.
“You tricked him.”
That made me pause.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze.
“Explain.”
“You pretended to be nothing,” she snapped. “You let him believe he was above you.”
I studied her for a moment.
Then asked quietly—
“And what does that say about him?”
She faltered.
Just for a second.
Long enough.
“He loved me,” she insisted.
I almost smiled.
“No,” I said gently. “He loved what he thought you were.”
That hit harder than anything else I could have said.
Because it was true.
Chloe wasn’t special.
She was convenient.
Temporary.
Replaceable.
Just like I had been—
In his eyes.
“You think you’ve won,” she said bitterly.
I stood.
Walked around the desk.
Stopped just in front of her.
“I don’t think I’ve won,” I said.
“I know I stopped losing.”
She didn’t have a response to that.
She left without another word.
May you like
And for the first time in years—
I felt light.
