Beyond the paper walls

Inner turmoil

I tried my best to avoid Zane at all costs, staying in my office and focusing on the project with my team. We were working on the financial plan for the biggest company in California-a dream come true, a high-stakes deal for my company, my career, my legacy. This project would ensure my name stayed on top, where it belonged.

But even as I tried to focus, my mind kept wandering back to everything that had happened in the past two weeks. Maya had tried reaching out, but I shut her out. I'd distanced myself from everyone, just to avoid hearing how rude and irritated I'd become.

Coming up here wasn't easy. In a cutthroat competition dominated by men, no one cares if you're the only woman in the room. But I made sure they remembered me. I made sure everyone knew who Aria Devonshire was.

"Ma'am, don't you think you should take some rest? It's already getting late," my assistant Ellie said. She was incredible at her job, but she had this habit of reminding me to rest and eat. I appreciated her concern, but tonight, food and sleep were the last things on my mind. I brushed off her suggestion and kept working until morning.

After a series of meetings, I finally left the office, heading back to my apartment for what felt like the first time in a month. That's the upside of being rich-you can practically live in your office. Not that it mattered much; both my office and apartment were just as lonely.

The only difference was Zane.

I didn't know why my mind kept spiraling back to him.

I was stopped at a red light when a car pulled up beside me. "Hey, Aria! Is that you?" came a familiar voice. I glanced over to see an old classmate-Alexis.

"Oh, hey, Alexis! Good to see you!"

"Park around that bar," she said, pointing to a large place I'd somehow missed for the past six years. "Let's catch up. It's been ages."

Socializing wasn't even at the bottom of my to-do list. All I wanted was to go home and sleep this all off, but now...

We took a booth on the top floor, and the view was something worth talking about. The wind, the lights, the city skyline-it all felt straight out of a movie, if you ignored the people, who were way too loud and nosy. We chatted for a while, Alexis diving into all the latest dramas in her life, including her upcoming wedding. At this point, it seemed like all my classmates were married or getting there, and then there was me... struggling to even find a decent one-night stand.

"You remember that  assistant professor, Zane, you hated so much?" she said, her tone full of excitement. "Well... guess what? I saw him holding a child yesterday!" She laughed. "Can you imagine? For someone who swore he'd never settle down, he's sure done a 180."

"Um... yeah," I replied, shifting uncomfortably in my chair and quickly changing the subject.

We had a few drinks (definitely more than a couple), and by the time I left the bar, I knew there was no way I was going to make it back to my apartment by driving. So, I did the only sensible thing: booked an Uber and listened to the driver-a lonely older man-ramble about random things all the way home.

When I finally reached my building, I took the elevator up to my floor. As I stepped out and made my way to my apartment, I focused on walking normally and straight, having already hit my head twice on the way home. Suddenly, I heard someone call my name from behind. I turned, and just as I did, everything went black.