Standing in front of the mirror in Nathan's apartment, Anita wore a sophisticated black gown that accentuated her figure. She was no longer the innocent young woman who had wandered into this world of betrayal and power. Her name was Nathan Grant's spouse. And she would put that title on like armour tonight. As he entered the room, Nathan adjusted his fitted suit's cufflinks. His gaze moved over her, pausing on her shoulders' exposed flesh before darkening. He said, "You're playing with fire, Mrs. Grant," as he neared her and touched her waist. Anita looked into the mirror at him. "Well. Set them on fire.darker side, a protective edge that let her know he was no longer just playing this game for her. He gave it his all. War had been proclaimed by the Walkers. And Anita would initiate the conversation at Eleanor Walker's charity event tonight. New York's elite, including CEOs, politicians, and socialites who thrived on scandal and power, crowded the huge ballroom. As she
The city lights shimmered beneath Anita as she stood on the balcony of the Grant house in the tense night air. She felt grounded by Nathan's presence at her side, but her thoughts were racing with the gala's happenings. Eleanor's contempt pierced her spirit, and Harry's warnings stayed in her mind like poison. Beneath all of that, though, there was a darker force simmering within of her: a desire for power, retribution, and liberation from the memories of her past. "Are you scared?" The silence was broken by Nathan's strong voice. The storm raging inside Anita was reflected in her eyes as she turned to face him. "No," she said in a whisper. "I'm upset."Nathan moved closer, his fingers grazing her cheek, and his eyes softened. "All right. You are dangerous in this world when you are angry. His words soaked into her veins, making her heart race. This was no longer only a matter of survival. The goal was to destroy the empire that had attempted to shatter her. After examin
As the black Rolls Royce raced through the wet streets of New York, Anita's head was propped up on Nathan's chest. The tumult inside her was reflected in the storm outside. When Harry revealed her ancestry, her entire life fell apart. The Gregor Bennett's daughter. the unnatural blemish on a family that prospered on dominance and authority. However, they were unaware that Anita had changed from being the gullible young woman they could degrade and throw away. Nathan Grant was now at her side. She would demolish all they had once revered with him. As the city lights flickered past them, Nathan's fingertips made lazy circles on her thigh, grounding her. In a low, personal voice, he whispered, "You've been quiet." "What are you thinking about?"Anita looked up into his eyes. "I'm considering how readily people undervalue me. They believe that because I believed Harry's falsehoods, I am weak. since I lost everything. However, they are unaware that I have nothing to lose and
In Nathan's bedroom, Anita sat facing the large mirror, her reflection gazing back at her with strange eyes. She was no longer the innocent, submissive girl she had been, the one who had let herself be twisted by this vicious family and broken by Harry. The humiliation had not killed her. The transgression had been tolerated by her. She was now gradually learning how to play the game that the Walkers had perfected for generations while she was Nathan Grant's wife. Her heart still hurt, though. From the man who stood by her side yet was inaccessible, not from the demons of her past. Nathan.He had stood up for her when Harry attacked. She had been protected by him from Eleanor's brutality. But a wall of distrust and self-control remained between them, one that none of them dared to breach. The sound of a gentle rap on the door broke her reverie. She said, "Come in," in a steady voice despite the tempest building within of her. Wearing a black fitted suit that added to his f
Long after the dinner was over, the stress of the evening persisted. As she left the Walker estate with Nathan at her side, Anita could feel the looks, the silent condemnation, and the mounting animosity from Harry and Stacy. She didn't care, though. No more. As they entered the vehicle, Nathan's hand was securely placed on her lower back. Tonight, his touch felt different—more... protective, not out of duty. As he turned on the engine, Anita glanced at him. His eyes were dark and impenetrable, and his jaw was clinched. The silence was broken by her softly saying, "You didn't have to defend me." With his eyes still on the road, Nathan answered, "I wasn't defending you." "I was defending what was rightfully mine." A beat skipped across her heart.She shouldn't have been impacted by his icy and possessive remarks. However, they did. Anita couldn't get rid of the impression that something sinister was hiding beneath the surface as the city lights flickered by. Eleanor's con
As the night wore on, Anita felt her heart pounding in her chest. Like a terrible echo, the video—the disclosure of her darkest moment—repeated in her head. Her breath was shallow, and her hands shook. Now everything was out there. The moment she had concealed from Nathan, the world, and herself was now visible to everyone. However, Nathan's voice cut through her mental haze. With his hand firmly clutching hers, he added, "I won't let this destroy you." His features were marked with a promise, and his eyes were ferocious. He wasn't staring at her as though she were brittle or damaged. He was staring at her as if she were worth battling for. She was frightened by that.Anita murmured quietly, her voice struggling with the vulnerability she couldn't quite control, "I don't need your protection." "You don't have all the facts about me." Although Nathan's visage briefly softened, his resolve remained unwavering. "Anita, you don't have to tell me everything. However, I won't
As Anita gazed at the man who had just entered the room, her heart fell to her stomach. Her father—the guy whose absence had left a hole in her heart that she would never be able to fill, the man she had never wanted to see again. And now he was there, a spectre of her past, poised to destroy everything she had put so much effort into restoring. Anita stumbled, her voice tense with shock, "Nathan, this... this is my father." The tension in the room increased as her words lingered like poison. Nathan's jaw tightened as though he were engaged in his own conflict as his gaze shifted between Anita and the man standing in the doorway.Her father's lips twisted into a deep, menacing smile as his icy, calculating gaze fell on Anita. You're the one who believes he can keep her safe, then. How charming. Nathan narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. "You've made a mistake if you're here to cause trouble; I don't even know who the hell you are." Beneath Nathan's composed demeanour, Ani
The man in the suit was standing there, waiting for Nathan to respond, and the room was tense and silent. As Nathan kept staring at the envelope, his knuckles whitened as he held it in his fist, Anita broke out in cold perspiration on her back. The moment's weight was suffocating her, bearing down on her chest. What could be so significant? What might be in that package to make all the difference in the world? At last, Nathan raised his head, his eyes as hard as a rock. "What's this?" A small smirk came to the man in the suit, his face unreadable and icy. "Mr. Grant, that's a piece of the puzzle that's going to blow your world apart."Anita felt her heart race. What puzzle? Despite her attempts to maintain composure, she shook her voice and shouted, "What are you talking about?" However, the man took a while to respond. All he did was move closer, his presence more commanding than before. "Your background is not as hidden as you believe, Miss Bennett. You may still see t
Slow motion shattered the world. Nathan fell to the ground with a horrible thud as his body struck the concrete. Beneath him, blood spread like a dark flower, soaking through the white shirt. "No!" Anita fell to her knees next to him, her scream ripped from her throat. She pushed her trembling hands against his chest in an attempt to halt the bleeding, hold him to her, and prevent herself from breaking. "Nathan! Remain with me. You dare not abandon me at this time. You dare not! Only a gasp, a constricted breath, and a spasm of pain flickered through his jaw as his lips moved but no sound emerged.With a casual smugness, Harry lowered his weapon and took a step closer, his eyes glimmering with sinister glee. “You know, Anita, for a woman so full of fire, you really do keep making the same mistake.” Her eyes were flaming with fury as she turned to face him. He went on, gently circling her, "You think you're in control, but you're not." You weren't. Like your father, you
Like a heartbeat, the quiet between them throbbed. Shadows danced across Nathan's sharp features in the faint, flickering light, creating a haunting appearance. “You want the truth?” he murmured at last, his voice so low Anita had to lean in to catch the words. "Then get ready." Because your father isn't the only one involved. Everything is involved, including how we met, the Walkers, the Bennetts, and my business. Anita tensed. "What are you discussing?" Nathan pointed to the disorganised desk. "Everything you've ever experienced was planned out and premeditated. The one-night stand, the night we met? It was not a coincidence. You were supposed to be present. She blinked. "No. That isn't possible. You didn't even know who I was—“I didn’t,” Nathan cut in. However, another person did. Someone who knew I wouldn't be able to let you go if we ever met paths. Someone who desired our connection in order to gain leverage. In her ears, her pulse roared. "Who?" Nathan pi
Anita's spine tingled when the door creaked open with a spooky sound. The smell of old concrete and rust permeated the moist air of the deserted warehouse. Every corner was covered in shadows, and the distant hum of the city outside seemed to be lost in the vastness of the room. With caution, Anita entered, her footfall resonating in the quiet. The sole source of illumination was a dim ray that filtered through a broken window located high above, creating long, angular shadows on the concrete floor. She looked around, every fibre of her body alert to the unknown threats that might be hiding in the darkness, her pulse thumping in her chest.She didn't know what to anticipate in this place. She could clearly see the map Nathan had left her, but she couldn't understand its significance or purpose. And what had he been up to? When she had thought they were finally on the same page, what had motivated him to leave her such a confusing message and to cut off contact? She was plague
As Anita made her way through the eerily quiet mansion's halls, her heart pounded against her ribs. Now, the commotion, the smoke, the flashing lights seemed like a faraway memory. Her feelings and thoughts were a whirlpool of bewilderment and sorrow. She could not get Nathan's face out of her head, his eyes meeting hers in that last second before everything broke down. Was he gone from her? Would all for which they had battled turn to ashes?She proceeded carefully through the building, her fingers brushing against the cool walls, each step echoing the anxiety that had pervaded the air for days. Although Nathan's absence felt like a wound too deep to ignore, Harry's betrayal still hurt. She needed to locate him. What had happened to him had to be known to her. However, nothing was ever easy. When Anita arrived at the end of the corridor, she was in front of the door leading to Nathan's office. The metal handle felt cold and unforgiving under her fingers, and it was locked.
Between them, the weight of the quiet hung heavy and oppressive. Anita struggled to maintain her composure as her chest rose and fell and her breathing became irregular. However, it was not feasible. Everything she believed to be true about their world and about herself had been destroyed by Nathan's comments, which were facts she had never asked for. Nevertheless, there was a glimmer of something else behind the tempest of emotions raging within her. A glimpse of the person she had turned into in this cruel game. A lady with a history of abuse. A woman who had made it out alive. And a woman who would not be kept in the background any longer."Anita..." Nathan's eyes continued to beg for comprehension, and his voice was strained and urgent. You must have faith in me. I did everything I did for you. to keep you safe. In a subtle request for him to stop, she held out her hand. Her heart was overflowing with conflicting emotions, including fear, wrath, betrayal, and love.
Above Anita's head, the faint illumination of a broken lamp flickered, creating long, unsettling shadows on the walls. She tried to calm herself by holding onto the edge of the table with trembling palms. She had arrived here as a result of every action she had taken during this tornado of upheaval, including choices, sacrifices, and betrayals. Right up till now. To Nathan, who stood opposite her and had that unreadable expression on his face. As though trying to remind her of something she already knew, her heart thumped loudly and insistently in her chest. Could she, however, trust herself? Would she be able to trust him? Anita tried to ignore the impending uncertainty by closing her eyes. Amidst the turmoil of everything—Harry's treachery, Eleanor's disdain, and Stacy's manipulation—one item caught her off guard: Nathan's silence. His distance.They had been balancing on a tightrope for months. Convenience marriage, a front, but gradually, gradually, it had evolved into
Standing at her elegant mahogany desk, Anita felt the weight of the power she suddenly possessed pressing down on her chest. She had the authority to run the business and the empire that had previously belonged to Nathan, but that authority also came with the burden of tearing it down and starting over, brick by brick. The future would be shaped by every choice she made going forward. Standing upright in front of the board, she had already demonstrated her worth, but that was just the start. She was startled out of her daydream as her phone buzzed on the desk. When she noticed the caller ID, she paused her fingers as she reached for it. Daniel. This was what she had anticipated. Daniel's voice crackled over the phone, "Anita." "There is a circumstance. It's urgent. You must hear this firsthand.The anxiety she had been repressing began to creep up her spine as her heart skipped a beat. "What's happening?" "It concerns Harry." Anger rose in her chest as her pulse accelera
As the sun sank below the horizon and the city was bathed in an orange glow, the penthouse was eerily quiet. With the city's lights glimmering like far-off stars, Anita stood in front of the enormous windows. However, the vista began to feel more like a battlefield than a privilege. She was reminded of the empire she now ruled and the power that accompanied it by every shadow and light flicker. She didn't know when she had gone too far, when she had ceased to grieve for Nathan and begun planning her next course of action, but it had happened. The grieving had shifted to resolution sometime between viewing the files and realising the stakes.Everything Nathan had left behind had been given to her. All the nasty secrets. All of the shady deals. All the truths she had been denied. The world would suddenly be aware of it. There was no turning back. She had gone too far. Those who believed they could control, manipulate, and exploit Anita Grant would soon discover the hard way
Everything was silent. Too silent. As the last echoes of the explosion vanished into the darkness, Anita stood at the edge of the flaming debris, her body shaking. The structure that had once stood for Nathan's empire, his legacy, and his castle was now reduced to a charred skeleton of ash and twisted steel. She was unable to hear the distant cries of emergency sirens. Smoke spiralled into the sky like mourning veils, and all she could hear was the harsh, uneven sound of her own breath. He had returned for her. after which she was barred out. Her voice was hoarse from yelling his name, and her palms were scraped raw from beating on the sealed exit. He never did, however, open the door.Since he never meant to. She muttered, "Nathan," as though the wind might take her words back in time, past the debris and the fire, to the man who had given all up. Security, firefighters, and medical personnel moved around her, but she remained still. The edges of the world were blurred.