Chapter 4

Two days later.

The breakroom at Thorne Tech was deserted.

I shouldn't be here. I had money. The Vance Trust had unlocked exactly twenty-four hours after my marriage certificate was filed, flooding my personal accounts with millions. I had a husband. I had the deed to the Hamptons estate.

But I also carried a heavy sense of professional responsibility.

Liam still held the encryption key for the safe containing the Henderson merger documents. As his executive assistant, I was the only person who knew the backup passcode.

I couldn't just email it to him; I had to physically retrieve it and hand it to him to cleanly and professionally finish my job.

Two junior analysts walked in laughing, completely oblivious to me hiding in the corner.

"Did you see Liam's post this morning?" one asked. "Chloe Mercer looks like a queen. That diamond is massive."

"What about Clara?" the other scoffed. "Isn't she still his assistant? That's gotta be brutal."

"She was just a fixture," the first dismissed with a wave of her hand. "He never planned to marry her. She was just... there, waiting to pick up his dry cleaning."

I gripped my ceramic mug so tightly my knuckles ached. A fixture.

I found Mandy, the receptionist-the only person in this building I could tolerate-and pulled a crisp white envelope from my blazer pocket. "Please give this to HR. Today. It's my official resignation letter."

Mandy gasped. "You're quitting? Right before the gala tonight? Liam is going to lose his mind."

"Where is Clara?" Liam's arrogant voice echoed down the hallway.

I froze. His voice triggered an instinctive, physiological dread inside me.

Just as Liam strode past the breakroom doors, I ducked into the emergency stairwell.

Through the crack in the door, I saw him. He looked refreshed, deeply tanned, and absolutely radiant.

"Tell her to bring the Henderson merger files to the gala dinner tonight," Liam barked at an intern. "In person. I am not risking a courier losing them."

I leaned against the stairwell wall and closed my eyes.

He wanted me to deliver the files to a high-society party where he was going to publicly announce Chloe as his new fiancée. This was his calculated power play, a final public humiliation to put me in my place.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Alexander.

Alexander: Dinner tonight? I know an obscure little place.

I stared at the screen. How badly I wanted to say yes. How badly I wanted to hide in a dark, quiet booth with the mysterious man who had thrown me a lifeline.

But I had to finish this.

Clara: Tied up. Work emergency.

I would go to the dinner. I would hand him the files. And then I would sever this tie forever.

The Pierre Hotel was the epitome of old-world New York luxury. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a golden glow over hundreds of guests.

I entered through the back doors. I wasn't wearing a gown, just a simple black cocktail dress underneath my tailored blazer. I clutched the heavy file folder tightly to my chest with my right hand.

I scanned the room and spotted him immediately.

Liam was standing in the center of the ballroom, holding court.

Beside him, Chloe Mercer was dressed to the nines. She wore a silver gown that hugged her curves, and the diamond ring on her finger acted as a beacon under the chandeliers.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Let's get this over with.

I navigated through the crowd. "Mr. Thorne," I said, stepping up to him.

Liam turned, his smile instantly vanishing, his eyes raking over my plain attire with deep disdain. "You're late, and underdressed. Put the files on that table over there, I don't want to hold them."

Chloe turned around, a sly, triumphant gleam in her eyes. "Clara! Darling!" she shrieked, lunging forward to give me a fake, exaggerated hug. "We missed you so much in Paris! It was absolutely divine."

I took a step back, my face devoid of expression. "Hello, Chloe."

Liam watched, sipping his champagne, clearly enjoying the dynamic. "Chloe is being nice to you, Clara. Don't be rude."

The pain was unbearable. I instinctively jerked backward, a movement born purely of self-preservation. My elbow collided with the silver tray of a passing waiter.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass cut through the chatter like a gunshot. Champagne flew everywhere-splashing across the floor, and landing directly onto the hem of Chloe's silver Givenchy dress.

Dead silence fell over the ballroom.

Chloe gasped, covering her mouth in an exaggerated show of shock. "Clara! Are you drunk?"

Liam stepped forward, his face dark with fury. He grabbed my arm and dragged me a few steps away.

"Apologize to Chloe," he hissed into my ear. "Right now."

I looked at him, trembling, feeling the room tilt around me. "It was an accident. I didn't hurt her."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Stop playing the victim, Clara."

"I am not playing anything," I said, raising my voice. It grew louder, finally finding its strength. "I quit, Liam. I handed my resignation to HR this morning."

Liam sneered, the laugh sharp and grating. "You quit? You have nowhere to go. You need this job. You need me." He dropped my arm, turning to the surrounding crowd with a charming smile. "Apologies, everyone. A disgruntled employee. You know how it is."

He turned back to me. "You're just an assistant, Clara. Don't confuse your role."

Those words hung heavily in the air. Just an assistant.

I felt the last thread of my attachment to him snap. It was a visceral, physical pain, like a taut rubber band snapping violently in my chest.

I felt a strange, icy clarity wash over me.

"Thank you for clarifying," I said calmly.

The heavy folder dropped from my hands. It hit the marble floor at Liam's feet with a loud thud.

"Here are your files. Pick them up yourself."

A collective gasp rippled through the assembled elite. No one had ever spoken to Liam Thorne like that.

Liam's face flushed crimson. "Clara!"

I turned and walked away. I didn't run. I kept my posture perfectly straight, my heels crunching satisfyingly over the broken glass. I was deaf to the whispers.

I ignored Liam calling my name. I pushed through the heavy double doors, through the lobby, and out into the cold New York night.

It was raining. A freezing drizzle soaked through my blazer in seconds. I stood at the curb, shivering, trying to hail a cab.

A low roar cut through the noise of the traffic. A car pulled over to the curb. It wasn't a taxi, but a vintage silver Aston Martin DB5.

The window rolled down. Alexander sat in the driver's seat, the dashboard lights casting sharp shadows across his cheekbones.

"Get in," he ordered softly.

I didn't argue. I slid into the leather seat, overwhelmingly grateful for the dry warmth.

His jaw was tight, the muscles in his cheek feathering.

"Who touched you?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

"It was an accident," I lied instinctively, a conditioned reflex built from years of covering for Liam.

Alexander didn't believe me for a second. He pulled out a silk, monogrammed handkerchief and, with incredible gentleness, wiped the rain from my face.

I flinched.

Alexander paused, his hand hovering near my cheek. "I am not him, Clara," he said softly.

Those words completely broke me.

The defenses I had built crumbled instantly, and hot tears spilled silently down my face.

In this world, there was still someone willing to treat me with tenderness.