6. Vengeance

Chapter Six

The cool night air brushed Sofia’s face as she stepped out onto the terrace, the distant hum of Paris filling the silence she so desperately needed. The soft glow from the ballroom spilled onto the marble floor, but out here, the world felt quieter.

Calmer.

But not her.

Inside, her chest was a storm—rage, pain, memories she’d buried clawing back to the surface. The confrontation with Aaron had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. Her hands still trembled faintly, even as she gripped the stone railing for supp by ort.

She had told herself she was stronger. That she was over him.

But standing so close to him again, hearing that voice—the one that used to be her comfort—had stirred too many ghosts.

He doesn’t deserve your pain.

And yet, the ache remained.

Behind her, the soft click of heels echoed, breaking her thoughts.

Elise.

Of course, she had followed. Always watching. Always assessing.

“You’re unraveling,” Elise said softly, stepping beside her. No judgment, just fact.

Sofia forced herself to straighten, smoothing her dress as though wiping the emotion away. “I’m fine.”

Elise’s cool gaze narrowed.

“No, you’re not. But you will be. I warned you this would happen, Sofia. Facing him again—it’s personal. But personal pain only makes you weak if you let it control you.”

Sofia exhaled sharply. “I wasn’t weak.”

“Really?” Elise tilted her head, studying her.

“Because it looked to me like you were seconds away from breaking.”

Sofia’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t break. I walked away.”

“You ran,” Elise corrected. “And that’s the difference between power and vulnerability. You want revenge, Sofia? True power? Then you must master control—over your words, your reactions. If you let him see that he still affects you, he wins. And we both know you didn’t come this far to lose.”

She hated how right Elise was.

But the pain tonight wasn’t just from facing Aaron.

It was the unspoken truth she carried alone.

Her babies. The son she lost.

He had no idea.

And the cruel part? She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to know.

Sofia turned her gaze back to the city lights, her heart hardening once more. “He won’t break me again. I won’t let him.”

Elise nodded, her expression softening just slightly. “Good. Because your next move is already in play.”

Sofia frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Elise slipped a folded paper from her clutch and held it out.

“Aaron’s company. Kingston Enterprises. It’s vulnerable. He doesn’t know it yet, but his board is crumbling under internal pressure. His next investment deal depends on the French market—your market now. If you strike, you can weaken him professionally, not just emotionally.”

Sofia hesitated, the weight of the document heavy in her hands.

Attack his company? His legacy?

For a heartbeat, she wavered.

But then she remembered the rain. The hospital. The way he’d called her a liar, a manipulator.

No.

He deserved to feel what she felt—powerless.

And she would deliver that pain.

“I’ll do it,” Sofia whispered, her voice like steel.

Aaron’s POV

Aaron stood near the ballroom’s edge, watching the doors where Sofia had disappeared minutes earlier.

His chest was tight, heavier than it had been in years.

She was alive.

Not just alive—thriving. Beautiful. Radiant in a way he hadn’t seen before.

But so much colder. So much harder.

The words she’d spoken cut deeper than any wound Chloe’s lies had ever left. You destroyed me. You threw me away.

And I won’t forgive you.

He dragged a hand down his face, the whiskey he’d abandoned earlier forgotten.

When she had left all those years ago, he’d been angry. Furious, even. Convinced she’d been just another woman who wanted his money—manipulated by Chloe’s twisted lies.

But now?

Seeing her again… Aaron felt something he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in years.

Regret.

The truth gnawed at him.

He hadn’t searched hard enough. He had let Chloe spin her web while he sat in darkness, blind to the lies.

And now, Sofia was back.

But not for him.

No, the woman he’d seen tonight wasn’t here to rekindle lost love.

She was here to burn him to the ground.

And he had no idea why.

Sofia’s POV - Two Days Later

The Parisian skyline stretched before her as Sofia sat in her penthouse suite, the city lights dancing across the floor-to-ceiling windows.

But her mind wasn’t on the view.

It was on the folder spread across the marble table.

Kingston Enterprises. Financial vulnerabilities. Board fractures.

Everything she needed to deliver the first blow.

A knock sounded at her door, and she called for them to enter.

Elise stepped inside, a small smile curling her lips as she placed a sleek tablet in front of Sofia.

“It’s time. The documents are prepared. All you need to do is sign, and the contract will block Kingston Enterprises from securing their next luxury retail deal in France. They’ll lose millions. His reputation? Shaken.”

Sofia’s fingers hovered over the tablet screen.

Her heart pounded.

This was it. The beginning of her revenge.

But why did it feel… hollow?

Was it because, deep down, she knew the pain she truly wanted Aaron to feel wasn’t financial?

It was emotional.

The pain of losing a child. Of being discarded.

But Aaron didn’t even know.

The memory of her hospital room came flooding back—the ache, the emptiness, the unbearable knowledge that she had carried that pain alone.

He hadn’t deserved to know then.

And he didn’t deserve it now.

Sofia exhaled slowly, then pressed her finger against the screen, finalizing the contract.

It was done.

And now, Aaron Kingston was about to learn exactly what it felt like to lose.

But as the screen blinked with confirmation, a whisper of doubt curled in the back of her mind.

Would it be enough?

Or was she only just beginning?

Meanwhile, in London…

Aaron sat in his office, the skyline dim outside his windows.

His phone vibrated on the desk.

Incoming call: Kingston Enterprises Legal Team.

He frowned, pressing the call.

“This is Kingston.”

“Sir… we have a problem. The France deal… it’s collapsed. La Reina Holdings just outbid us. And…”

Aaron’s blood turned to ice.

“Who the hell owns La Reina Holdings?”

There was a pause.

A heavy silence.

Then the words he never expected.

“Sir… it’s owned by Sofia Laurent.”

His heart stopped.

What have you done, Sofia?