𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 [18+]

- 31 -

I couldn't fucking see anymore. My visions blurred.

Do you love him?

The question hit me like a slap to my face.

It echoed in my head over and over again, like a haunting whisper. I wanted to shut it off, to make it stop. I want to end myself. How could I be so stupid?

I had let a stranger take control of my life. He had done more to me than everything Pen had listed. But I couldn't tell her that.

She lets out a humourless chuckle.

The room felt like it was closing in on me – I inhaled deeply.

"You think he's just a little intense guy and wants what he wants?" Pen continued, fire blazing in her eyes.

"You must've checked his socials, right? Val's family—his real family—doesn't live here. They're not 'local business owners' like he wants everyone to believe. They own property, stocks, companies—they've got money in places you wouldn't even think to look. He's got connections that run deep, Zara, and they're not the kind of people you can walk away from."

My fingers were numb as I stared at her.

"How big?" My voice trembled.

"Oh, I'll tell you."

"Emerald Gateway Development Project."

My eyebrows scrunched, "I think I've heard of that before." I could feel the gears turning in my head. "Has Mom talked about it?"

"You probably heard snippets, in passing. It's one of those projects always kept under the radar."

"Why?" I pressed.

She smiled. A bitter one.

"A 50 million dollar project, proposed by Augustus Lawrence six years ago to our dad."

5 years ago.

Anxiety thrummed through my skin as I walked down the polished marble floors. I'd been here a million times before, shadowing Dad in and out of meetings, but this was my first real week. My first week as a junior lawyer at his firm. My first week with my own office, my own desk, my own responsibilities.