All I ever wanted was love.
That's all I ever asked from him.
But it seems he never truly understood that—or me.
For so long, I believed in his love. I never questioned it, never doubted his intentions. I thought we were building something together—something real, something lasting. But perhaps my blind faith led me here, to this moment. To this devastation. Now, all I have left is a shattered company and a mountain of debt, all taken from my private assets.
I've lost everything.
My company. My dreams. Myself.
It's all gone, slipping through my fingers like grains of sand. As I stand in the empty shell of my once-bustling office, the weight of betrayal settles in my chest, suffocating me. The pain is sharp, deeper than I ever imagined. I had given him everything—my heart, my trust, my loyalty—only to be left with nothing but the wreckage of what was once our shared dream.
The silence in the room is suffocating, punctuated only by the ghostly echoes of what once was. Desks that once brimmed with creativity and purpose now stand abandoned. Papers are scattered across the floor like autumn leaves, meaningless in this moment but once the blueprints of my passion.
My company.
My dream.
I walk slowly, deliberately, through the office, my footsteps echoing in the stillness. Each step conjures a memory—late nights full of hope, brainstorming sessions that seemed unstoppable, milestones that felt like the future. Bright Horizon Innovations wasn't just a company to me. It was my life, my soul, my reason to get up in the morning. And now, it's nothing more than a pile of ashes, the embers of what used to be.
How could I have been so blind? The question loops through my mind, tormenting me. How could I not have seen it coming? The late nights he said were for work, the secretive phone calls, the sudden distance between us. The signs were there — clear as day. And yet, I chose to ignore them, so sure in the bond we had. So sure, that we were in this together.
Alex. His name feels like poison on my tongue now. Once my partner, my confidant, my lover. Together, we built this company from nothing. Bright Horizon was supposed to be our legacy—a revolutionary force in healthcare technology. But that vision was never real to him. It was never about the dream; it was about power, about greed, about control. And I fell for it, hard.
I sink into the chair behind my desk—my desk. The one I earned. But now, it feels foreign, cold, like everything else in this place. The silence is unbearable. This office, once filled with the hum of innovation, of purpose, now feels like a tomb. I can't help but think of the people who believed in me—the team we assembled, the investors who trusted us, the partners who saw potential in our vision. And now, I've let them all down.
Tears prick at my eyes, and for a brief moment, I allow myself to grieve. To feel the weight of everything I've lost. But the tears don't last long. The sorrow begins to fade, replaced by something fiercer. Anger. It bubbles up inside me, rising slowly but surely, burning away the helplessness. I won't let this be my end. I won't let Alex's betrayal be the final chapter in my story.
Not a chance.
I sit up straighter, the fire in my chest growing. My reputation may be tarnished, my finances in ruins, but this is not the end. He will not take this from me. He may have knocked me down, but I'm not done. I refuse to let him walk away unscathed, to believe that he's won. The world hasn't seen the last of Isabella Harper.
But I'm smart enough to know that now is not the time for revenge. Right now, I need to retreat. I need to disappear, if only for a little while. I need time to regroup, to plan, to rebuild myself from the ground up.
So, with a heavy heart and steely resolve, I take one last look around the office. I take in the broken pieces of what was once my life, and I promise myself that this is not where my story ends. The walls may be crumbling around me now, but I will rise from the ashes.
Because I am not defined by his betrayal.
I am not defined by my loss.
I will rebuild. I will come back stronger. And when I do, I will take back everything that is rightfully mine—my dream, my company, my future.
And Alex will regret the day he ever underestimated me.
YOU ARE READING
Rising Phoenix
Romans"You had no right! We built this company together! You had no right to make that decision alone!" He shrugged, as if they were talking about something trivial. "I had every right. Legally, I owned 51%. That gave me the final say." Her chest tightene...
