The line went quiet for a long time. Just when Nora thought he wouldn’t answer at all, Kane finally spoke.

“Nora Bishop, you should know—anyone who dares to play me doesn’t stay alive for long.”

There was a pause, then he added, sharper this time,

“Don’t come testing me just because you think I’m still hung up on you. You really think I won’t change?”

For the first time in years, a faint smile touched Nora’s lips.

Kane Goode had been her childhood best friend. He’d fought his way up from nothing with sheer brilliance and ruthless determination, becoming a powerhouse in both domestic and international business. The man was a legend now—a mogul with steel in his veins.

Growing up, he had doted on Nora endlessly, confessed his love more times than she could count.

But then Damien showed up, like some storm out of nowhere. And once Nora laid eyes on him, she couldn’t see anything else—not even Kane.

She’d chosen Damien. And that choice had shattered Kane.

He left the country. Built a life overseas. But before he left, he told her, “If you ever change your mind, I’ll still be here.”

Now, Nora asked softly, “So… did you change?”

Kane’s voice dropped, gravelly and hoarse, “If I had, I wouldn’t have picked up this call.”

There was a pause, heavy with years of silence, before his voice hardened, sharp with pain. “It’s been eight years, Nora. Eight damn years you left me hanging. You don’t get to regret it now. Ten days. If I don’t see you at our old spot by then, I’ll make sure Damien and the entire Bishop Family burn with their empire.”

Nora hadn’t expected it—after all these years, the one who hadn’t changed… was Kane.

Tough words, always. But underneath that, no one had ever protected her like he did.

She tossed the single tulip into the trash and gathered herself before heading to the office.

A crowd had gathered outside her office door. Her assistant stood in front of her awkwardly, trying to block her from entering.

Nora peered past them and saw Hadley curled up in Damien’s arms inside her office, acting like she owned the place.

“This couch is ugly and stiff. I want a new one—real leather, soft and comfortable. And what’s with the lighting in here? These pendant lamps are depressing. Everything needs to go.”

Damien’s voice was warm, indulgent. “Whatever you want, Hadley. We can tear the place down and start from scratch if it makes you happy.”

Hadley wandered over to a landscape painting on the wall and reached out to touch it. “Who painted this? God, it’s hideous.”

Crash!

The painting hit the floor with a loud shatter. The frame broke, glass scattering everywhere.

Hadley screamed and Damien quickly pulled her into his arms, shielding her with a worried look on his face. “Leave it, Hadley!” he shouted as she moved to pick up the shattered pieces. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?” he asked, checking her over.

“Gosh! Isn’t that Nora’s painting? What if she gets mad?” she asked, eyes glistening with tears.

Damien’s voice turned cold, laced with indifference. “She was always into that useless artsy crap. Nothing we can do now that it’s ruined. What matters is that you’re okay.”

Nora clenched her jaw so hard it ached just to keep herself from crying out.

She was all business—always had been. She’d poured everything she had into helping Damien build his own empire. She gave him her time, her knowledge, her faith.

Back then, he’d treated her like she was his whole world. He knew she hated soft beds, so he had a foldable firm sofa custom-made just for her. He built her a solid redwood desk.

That painting on the wall? She painted it herself on their first wedding anniversary.

At the time, Damien had said the artwork was too bold for him—but that it suited her and insisted it be hung in her office.

Now… he called it crap.

The realization hit her like a punch. Eight years. Eight years she gave him—and all of it was a waste.

Nora curled her fingers into fists, turned to leave quietly before she lost control.

But Hadley spotted her.

“Is that you, Nora?”

For the first time in nearly eight years, Nora stepped into her office and felt like a stranger.

The heavy stench of perfume in the air nearly made her gag, yet Damien looked utterly intoxicated by it.

Funny—he used to complain when she added even a hint of fabric softener to his laundry, saying the scent was “too much.”

Hadley tugged Nora’s hand with a practiced pout. “Nora, my fans are obsessed with the girlboss aesthetic lately. I’m kinda have to work here and borrow your office for a while. You… won’t be mad, right?”

Damien scratched his nose and added lightly, “Hadley’s a top influencer now—over a million followers. Don’t be stingy, Nora. Support her brand a little.”

Stingy?

Had she ever asked for anything from Hadley to be called that?

“We can always carve out a desk for you in the secretary pool,” Damien offered casually. Like she was some intern, not the company’s executive director.

Hadley could have rented her own high-end office space—but instead, she claimed Nora’s. And he let her.

All these years building this company with him, Nora had taken barely more than an employee’s paycheck. She never asked for equity. Never claimed her share of the dividends.

And now? Not even the office she loved was hers to keep.

Hadley blinked innocently, her voice soft and sweet. “Can I have it just for a few days? I couldn’t find any place better than your office.”

Nora pulled her hand away and forced a smile. “Use it as long as you want.”

It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be needing it much longer anyway.

Hadley squealed in delight. “You’re right, Damien! Nora really let me have it!”

She never acted like Damien’s sister-in-law. And Damien never allowed Nora to call him “honey” outside the house.

He once said, “People might think it’s unprofessional for a married couple to work together.”

So Nora complied. She avoided him in public, tiptoed around appearances—just like he wanted.

Which was why most people didn’t even know they’d been married for years.

To the outside world, Damien was still the perfect, eligible bachelor.

Now, he looked at Hadley like she hung the stars. “Of course she did. It’s because you’re so radiant, it’s hard to turn down your request, Hadley.”

Nora remembered the day she came back to the Bishop Family. Hadley had smashed everything within reach, screamed at her to leave.

Her parents just looked at Nora with disappointment, telling her to be patient with her sister… be more understanding since she’s the older one.

Later, Hadley learned to fake sweetness. A few sugary words, a flutter of lashes—and the whole house adored her.

Then they started saying Nora’s too stiff and tell he to be more like Hadley.

But no matter what Nora did, she never seemed to be enough.

Hadley just had to stand there and everyone would praise her—telling how beautiful, radiant and perfect she was.

And Damien was always the first in line.

“This room is too cold and sterile,” Hadley announced. “We need color. Fresh flowers, bright ones!”

Damien nodded. “Great idea. The sunroom’s overflowing with them anyway. Just bring them in from the house.”

They walked out side by side, leaving Nora alone in what used to be her office.

She took a step and hissed in pain—glass shards had pierced through her shoes. Blood soaked into the carpet with every step.

A single tear slipped down her cheek, vanishing into the fibers below.

She began cleaning. Quiet, methodical, like peeling herself away from a life she no longer belonged to.

She deleted the photo of her and Damien from her desktop background.

Tossed out his favorite tea she used to stock just for him.

Removed the neatly ironed dress shirts she always kept in the cabinet in case he needed a change.

And finally, the photo frame on her desk—flipped face-down since that morning. Their wedding photo.

Her assistant came in just as she finished packing the last box, stunned at the contents. “Miss Bishop… you’re throwing all this away?”

Nora’s foot throbbed with every heartbeat. But she barely felt it anymore.

She gave a tired nod. “Don’t tell Mr. Penn. Just throw it out. As far away as possible.”

Nora thought she had walked into the wrong room.

The once-beautiful sunroom now reeked of muddy water. The windows were smeared, the marble floor littered with flower petals and broken stems. All her carefully cultivated blooms had been cut, mangled, left to wilt in disarray.

Hadley, in a bikini, zipped around the house in a toy car, crashing into furniture and walls.

“Nora! Wanna ride? I’ll drive you around!” she giggled.

Damien leaned against the doorframe, eyes fixed on Hadley, reminding her over and over to be careful.

Nora’s voice came out hoarse. “Where did that car come from?”

Damien’s smile faded. He still didn’t look at her. “Hadley saw the neighbor’s kid with it. She liked it, so I bought it.”

He added, as if that explained everything, “Nora, when I treat your family well, that includes you. Hadley’s different from you—she has no one left in this world.”

Hadley’s biological parents—Nora’s adoptive ones—had died three years ago. Even though they had mistreated her, Nora had still arranged an honorable funeral.

She’d thought returning to her birth parents would be a fresh start. But it was just a different kind of hell.

Damien frowned. “You two are sisters. But Hadley’s so playful and lively, while you… you’re just lifeless all the time.”

Nora’s body went numb. She couldn’t find her voice.

She remembered when they first got married, she’d said she wanted a child. Damien had insisted—career came first. Kids were too loud, too messy.

They’d started sleeping in separate rooms after that.

He hadn’t hated kids. He just didn’t want her child.

Hadley aimed her water gun and sprayed Nora across the face.

Nora staggered back in shock, wiping her eyes, but tripped—falling straight into the pool behind her.

Water swallowed her in an instant. Panic clawed at her chest. She thrashed toward the surface and gasped, “Damien… help me…”

Damien muttered, “What a hassle,” and began unbuttoning his shirt.

But before he could move, Hadley screamed.

“Ow! Damien help. I’m so clumsy! I was trying to help, but I twisted my ankle!” She collapsed dramatically, sobbing. “Go help her, it’s fine!”

Damien didn’t hesitate. He turned and rushed to Hadley, lifting her in his arms.

“You poor thing. Look at this, you’re bleeding…”

He walked right past the pool, not even glancing at Nora.

“Don’t worry about her. She needs to grow up sometime. Maybe this’ll help her get over that drowning trauma.”

Everyone knew—eight years ago, on Hadley’s birthday yacht party, Nora had fallen into the ocean and nearly died.

Damien had jumped in after her without thinking, spent a month in the hospital.

Now, as Nora looked at Damien and Hadley pressed up against each other, all tangled up in flirtation and affection, she understood—this time, Damien wouldn’t be the one to save her.

She had already lost all strength from thrashing around in the water. Just when her consciousness was about to slip away, her hand somehow caught onto a giant inflatable duck floating in the pool.

Clinging to the duck, Nora lay there coughing up water, gasping desperately for air.

It was supposed to be a blazing hot July afternoon, but all she felt was cold. Her skin felt like it was icing over, the chill cutting straight into her bones.

By the time Nora stepped out of the shower, freshly dried and wrapped in her robe, Damien had just walked through the door.