Chapter 1 The Man I Swore I Hate

I hadn't seen Dominic Russo in five years. Not since the night everything fell apart. Not since the night he looked at me like I was a stranger.

Like I was the enemy. And yet there he was-standing at the head of the conference table like he owned the world. Because he did.

The glass walls of the boardroom overlooked the skyline of New York City, all steel and ambition and glittering power. The city suited him now. Hard. Unforgiving. Untouchable. Dominic Russo wasn't the reckless, passionate man I once loved. He was controlled. Precise. Dangerous. His tailored black suit fit him like armor. His dark hair was shorter, sharper. His jaw tighter. His eyes- his eyes no longer softened when they found mine. They hardened.

"Ms. Moretti." My name rolled off his tongue like a challenge. I froze at the doorway of the boardroom, aware that every executive at the table had turned to look at me. "You're late," he said calmly, flipping through a file without glancing up. I wasn't late. I was exactly on time.

He just wanted control. "Traffic," I replied evenly.

A few awkward shifts around the table. Everyone knew who he was. CEO of Russo Enterprises. The man who rebuilt his father's collapsing empire before he turned thirty.

The man who blamed me for its collapse in the first place. His eyes finally lifted. And locked onto mine. Five years vanished in an instant. I remembered his hands tangled in mine. His quiet promises. The way he once said he would burn the world before letting anyone hurt me. Now he looked like he would burn me himself.

"I wasn't aware you still worked in this city," he said.

"I wasn't aware you bought the company I work for," I shot back.

A flicker of irritation crossed his face. Brief. Controlled.

"I acquire what benefits me," he said smoothly. "This firm has potential."

His gaze lingered deliberately.

"Some assets more than others."

Heat crept up my spine.

The meeting continued, numbers and projections bouncing around the room, but I barely heard a word. Dominic's presence consumed the space. Every breath felt heavier. Every second stretched tight. Then he spoke again. "I'll be restructuring management."

My stomach tightened. "And I'll need a personal project lead." The room quieted. His eyes settled on me without hesitation. "I've already selected her." No. Absolutely not. "I decline," I said immediately. The word dropped like glass. Dominic leaned back slightly, studying me with faint amusement.

"You don't get to decline."

"I'm not interested in working under you."

"You signed a contract with this firm," he reminded me. "Which now belongs to me."

There it was.

The power move.

"I'll quit."

A sharp silence fell. Dominic rose slowly from his chair. The air shifted. Heavy. "You'll walk away again," he said softly. "Just like last time."

The accusation hit harder than I expected. "You don't know what happened," I snapped. His jaw flexed. "I know you chose money over me." That was the story he believed. That I took a payout from his father to disappear. That I sold us out.

He didn't know the truth. He didn't know about the threat. Or the document I was forced to sign.

Or how much it cost me to leave.

"You're wrong," I said quietly.

"Then explain it."

I opened my mouth. And closed it. Because I couldn't. Not without exposing a secret that would destroy more than just us. Dominic walked around the table, each step slow and deliberate, until he stood directly in front of me. Too close. Close enough that I could feel the warmth of him.

"You owe me, Elena."

"I owe you nothing."

His hand came down on the table beside my hip, trapping me between him and polished wood. "You left me to take the fall," he murmured. "Investors pulled out. My father nearly lost everything. And you vanished." His voice wasn't loud. But it was sharp enough to cut. "I did what I had to," I whispered. "That's the problem," he said. "You always decide alone." He straightened, stepping back just enough to make his next words land harder. "Here's what's going to happen." My pulse pounded in my ears.

"You will work as my personal project lead for six months."

"No."

"If you refuse," he continued calmly, "I'll release the financial audit from five years ago."

Cold flooded my veins.

That audit. The discrepancies. The deal his father forced me into. "If that becomes public," Dominic added quietly, "your father's name will be attached to it." Low. Cruel. Strategic. "You wouldn't drag my family into this." His expression didn't change. "You dragged mine."

The room felt suffocating. Six months. Six months working directly under the man who thought I betrayed him. Six months pretending I didn't still feel something when he looked at me.

"Well?" he pressed. I swallowed my pride. "For six months," I said stiffly. A slow, victorious smile curved his mouth. "Good." I turned to leave before my hands betrayed their shaking.

"Oh, and Elena?"

I paused.

"For the sake of appearances... you'll be attending all public events with me." My stomach dropped. "What events?" His voice lowered."Starting with the engagement gala next week." Engagement. The word echoed painfully.

"You're getting married?"

"No."

He stepped closer again.

"But you'll be my date."

"That's insane."

"Is it?"

His eyes darkened. "Or are you afraid of what people will remember when they see us together again?" Five years ago, we were everywhere. Five years ago- I was wearing his ring. My fingers curled slowly. He leaned in just enough for his words to brush against my skin.

"Don't worry, Elena," he murmured.

"This time..."

His gaze dropped to my lips before rising again.

"...I won't be the one who falls in love."