Chapter 8

Nathan POV

No matter how I try to reach him, he never answers the phone, hasn't been to the offices, and I've postponed my return overseas because I need him to reconsider.

Years ago, when Aiden drunkenly admitted he had feelings for me, I didn’t give it much thought; still, 5 years on, nothing has improved.

And I guess the fact that I confessed my feelings to Miley hasn’t helped matters either.

He becomes more of a stranger to me by the day, and now I realize I know absolutely nothing about him. I don’t know who his friends are, his favorite places—nothing. Which is why, four days since that call, I haven’t been able to find him.

Damn it, Aiden, when will you stop being my worry and making me work overtime? I’m furious I won’t let him give up, not ever.

Logan POV

Lately, she's been the talk of the town, the four Hales business partners were penalized for embezzlement, and their businesses went bankrupt almost immediately.

Moreover, she's secured key associates for her company, it came as quite a surprise when they broke deals with Durian Industries and Metro. This was managed very discreetly; it seems everyone was pleased with the terms they settled on.

For weeks, I expected our own company to get the notice. Part of me even hoped for it, so I wouldn’t have to keep track of every damned thing she does, nor silence every blasted hallway gossip that spreads.

I’m not usually like this, but after a few days of her arrival, this feeling that something keeps me tied to her wouldn’t leave me alone. Yet, I couldn’t connect the dots. Why does she always treat me like I’m the plague that must be avoided when it’s often me who does this to others, not the other way around? Second, the way she talks and looks at me, why does a part of me feel guilty, miserable, and anxious? I didn’t like any of the emotions this lady caused me—none of them were like me. It was infuriating and maddening.

Then I figured it out. Foolishly, I had thought that more than 6 years ago, I have no recollection of that night, to be honest, my mind is blank after that…

Never mind.

Surely she found someone else to take my place; that's their nature.

But it bothers me. What are her intentions in

Showing up here? Is she here to seek revenge? If so, why isn't she doing anything?

Does she hate me more than anyone in the world? | can see it; she wants me as far away

As possible. So why does she simply do nothing?

I'm going mad waiting for her to act, but ever since | found out who he was, it's been a month, and nothing has changed. She continues her life, completely ignoring my existence. Today, when I went to her office, I didn't understand my behavior after what | saw.

She and that meddlesome bodyguard were too close; her smile while looking at whatever that idiot was showing her got my heart racing, but | I felt the urge to kill the cause of such a genuine expression on her part. What the hell is happening to me? This isn't like me at all!

I turned around and went back to my office, unable to shake off that moment.

Logan? Are you listening to me? What are

Are you muttering about? Who's this Miley?

Damn it, the last thing I needed. This woman doesn't understand that I don't want her here. I only accepted her as my fiancee because she's the best option for having my children. There's no such thing as a romantic relationship between us.

"Leave! | told you, don't show your face at my company."

"Soon I'll be your wife, what's wrong with

me coming to see you?"

Does she think that using that little voice has any effect on me? | know what she's after. She

Reaches for my tie to take it off, and I stop her.

What's the matter? I just want to help you relax," she brings her hands to my pants and undoes them; I don't stop her this time. I'll admit she's always been a good distraction, and that's what I need right now, to stop thinking about him.

Only this time, it's not her actions arousing me, but the thought of Miley's expression

"Damn it!"l stopped Nora's actions and pushed her against my desk, lifting her dress and pulling down her underwear, I put on a condom and entered her, to release all the damn frustration that this woman causes me, but the more I tried to get her out of my head, the more vividly her memory stayed with me, not just now but images from that night, I withdrew from inside Nora.

"What's wrong?'l know how insatiable she is and how much she enjoys my roughness, but...

"I've lost my taste for you, leave me alone."

She looked annoyed, but | ignored her, pointing her to the door. She picked up her underwear, adjusted her clothes, and left.

"6 damned years without remembering what happened that night, and it all comes flooding back at a time like this... After what I did, her behavior is perfectly normal."

Still, there was the fact that she orchestrated

Everything, so the fact that it was her I attacked could be seen as poetic justice.

But her pleas and begging, and the way she

Swore she was innocent is hammering in my head so much that it invalidates everything else.

What if she was telling the truth? What if someone else did it, and she was just caught up in it all?

"Ah, damn it, why didn't these memories

Come back sooner?" even if they had, would it have made a difference? Maybe | wouldn't have hurt her that way, with the sole intention of giving him a terrible end.

Perhaps I would've compensated her and cared for her, having been my victim, and freed her once she'd recovered.

But now, what can I do? I've never apologized for anything, and there's still the matter of proving she's truly innocent.

Miley POV

You? What are you doing at my company?

Leave! Well, that's a warmer welcome than I expected; after bursting into her family meeting like it was nothing, following the shouts from my uncle George, came the embraces from my mother.

Daughter! Thank God you're alive, all these years, I've been so worried, praying for your well-being. Did she pray for me? | was hospitalized for a month before leaving the country, and not once during a phone call did anyone ask if I was still alive. I pushed her away from me, and Dave once again became my shield.

"That's right, thank God! He sent me an angel because from my family, | would havedied like a stray dog."

Daughter, please...

"Enough, madam, I'm sure you know why I'm here, it's the same reason you're all gathered." I threw the documents in front of my uncle, who turned pale after reading them.

George: This is ridiculous; you can't do this to us, we're your family. | was the one who fed you for years when your good-for-nothing father abandoned you, it was me who paid for your schooling and everything you needed.

"And out of gratitude for that, you're not being dragged out of here in handcuffs by police with the international press broadcasting live. Here's the deal I offer: repay Hales enterprises for all you

stole over the last few years, plus the agreed-upon compensation for breaking the partnership, and you'll be free. You'll have lost your golden goose, but at least you won't go to jail and your family won't lose everything."

George: We understand, we were wrong,please Miley help us, we can't afford this sum, we'll be ruined anyway, we're family,your mother still depends on us, think of her. Really? Think of others?

"Think of my mother, and of you because we're family, right? Just like you thought of me 6 years ago when you turned your back on me, kicking me out of the Gilbert family and handing me over to a bloodthirsty CEO?"

Daughter, please understand, we couldn't do anything against Logan Pierce, no one could save you from him.

"| get it, mom, and likewise, I can't save you from the Hales. Either pay the amount or George will go to prison for his crime, and the Gilbert family will be nothing."

George: It will be the same if we meet these demands, we'd have to declare bankruptcy.

"That's not my problem, uncle. If you could steal for so many years, at least you should have been smart enough to save."

What happened to you, Daughter?

"Life happened, that's what. Uncle, | advise you to find someone else to scam, or ask your beloved daughter she's doing well, isn't she? Or your illustrious future son-in-law. They believed them; let them save you from the Hales. You have 15 days to pay up, or you know what will happen. "I left there as fast as I could; I needed some fresh air."