She looked beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Sitting across the table like she hadn't once torn my world apart.
Like we were just strangers doing business.
But we weren't strangers.
Not even close.
The moment I saw her in the boardroom, it was like the air around me wraped. My focus sharpened, my pulse quickened, and every part of me remembered her_ every damn inch.
And yet, she didn't so much blink in my direction.
Cold. Composed. Controlled.
She was putting on a show. And so was I.
I kept my voice calm. My posture easy. I said all the right things.
But inside?
I was seething.
At her silence.
At her poise.
At the way she acted like I was nothing more than a nameplate on the wall.
She said she was committed to professionalism. Good.
So am I.
But let's not pretend this is just business.
Because when I said her name out loud in that room _ Ms. Blake _ I was reminding her of everything she used to be.
Everything she left behind.
And the way her jaw clenched?
That told me she still felt it too.
Good.
Let her feel it.
Let her burn it like I did.
She can sit across me and pretend all she wants.
But this game we're playing?
I'm not losing again.
Sharon pov
Something was off with sienna.
She smiled, she responded, she laughed _ but there was a glass wall between us now. Like I could see her, hear her, but I wasn't allowed in.
Not anymore.
I stared down at my phone, rereading her text from this morning.
"Leaving for work. Wish me luck."
I had.
But the way she'd worded it....
The way her messages were more careful lately, like she was trying not to say too much_ and it bothered me.
I wasn't stupid.
We'd been best friends since high school. I knew her inside out. And whatever this project was _ whatever was waiting for her at that company _ it wasn't just business.
She hadn't told me the full story.
I knew that too.
I hadn't pushed. Not when I got back from working abroad. Not when I found out she'd left New York too. But now....now I could feel something was cracking under that calm surface of hers.
And maybe I was being dramatic. Maybe it was nothing.
But the gut feeling wouldn't go away.
She was hiding something.
Or worse _ someone.
I opened her contact, thumb hovering over the call button.
Then I sighed and closed my phone.
Not yet.
But soon.
Because whatever this was, whatever storm she was standing in _ I wasn't going to let her drown alone.
Sienna pov
The soft click of dishes and the distant hum of my mother's voice floated through the hallway as I stepped into my parents' house.
Warmth.
Familiar walls. Family photos. The scent of baked bread and jasmine.
But even that couldn't ease the weight pressing on my chest.
I dropped my bag by the hallway table and walked toward the living room like I was dragging bricks behind me.
"Darling!" My mother looked up with her usual bright smile. "You're just in time. We made your favorite.
I forced a smile. "Thanks, Mom."
Dad looked up from the couch, his reading glasses perched low on his nose. "How was the meeting?"
I paused. "Fine. Productive."
It was a lie, of course.
What I really wanted to say was: it was a war in disguise. Polite daggers across a glass table. Him pretending I didn't matter and me pretending I didn't care.
But I just sat down, took a piece of bread, and nodded like I wasn't unraveling inside.
They chatted around me. About the company, the proposal, some dinner invitation next week. I nodded. Smile when necessary. But I barely tasted the food.
Because all I could think of was his eyes.
Damian's.
The cold intensity.
The way he said my name like I was nothing now.
And yet, everything in me still felt it.
I shouldn't. I don't want to. But I did.
I left early.
Blamed work.
My mom kissed my cheek and told me to take care of myself. My dad patted my shoulder and said, "You're doing great, sweetheart."
I nodded again.
Drove home in silence.
And the second I walked through my apartment door, I dropped everything and leaned against the wall, breathing like I'd just run miles.
Because I had.
Not on my feet.
But through memories, regrets, and everything I'd tried to bury for six years.
And now?
Now it was all clawing its way back.
My phone buzzed as I curled up on the edge of the couch, eyes fixed on nothing, head heavy with thoughts I couldn't outrun.
I took my phone to see who was calling...