Chapter 2

The next day, Ethan called her. He sounded casual, almost cheerful, as if he hadn't just detonated a bomb in the middle of her life.

"Hey, just checking in. How are you holding up?"

His arrogance was stunning. He clearly expected her to be at home, crying, waiting for him to return and fix everything. His voice was patronizing, the tone one might use with a pouting child.

"I' m busy, Ethan," Ava replied, her voice flat. She was in her office, staring at the architectural model for a new skyscraper, its clean lines a stark contrast to the mess her life had become.

"Don' t be like that, Ava," he said with a sigh. "Look, I' ll take you out to dinner tonight. We can talk. I' ll make you understand."

Ava felt a flash of the old her, the woman who would have clung to that offer, desperate for a sign that he still cared. She remembered a time, just a year ago, when they had sat in a small Italian restaurant, and he had promised her the world. He' d held her hand across the table and told her she was the only woman he could ever imagine building a future with. The memory was now sour, tainted by the truth of his betrayal.

"I can' t tonight," she said, her voice firm. "We have the final tasting menu meeting with the caterers for the wedding."

She deliberately used the word 'wedding' to see his reaction.

There was a short pause. "Oh, right. I forgot about that. Listen, I can' t make it. Chloe is having a really hard day. I need to be with her."

Of course.

"I' ll send you a gift," he said, his voice turning smooth and conciliatory. "A little something to show you I' m thinking of you. We' ll get through this, you and I."

Later that afternoon, a courier delivered a small box. Inside was a single, perfect gardenia, her favorite flower, with a note: This will all be over soon. Yours, E.

The gesture was so hollow, so performative, it made her sick. It was a cheap attempt to keep her on the hook, to manage her emotions while he went about his deceitful business. She threw the flower and the note into the trash without a second thought.

That evening, Ava went to the tasting alone. The private dining room was set for two, a painful reminder of Ethan' s absence. The wedding planner, a woman named Mrs. Gable, looked at her with pitying eyes.

"Mr. Hayes has been delayed?" she asked gently.

"He won' t be coming," Ava said, her voice steady. She sat down and looked at the elaborate menu they had chosen together. Each course was a memory, a shared moment of excitement that now felt like a farce.

She tasted the lobster bisque, the seared scallops, the filet mignon, all by herself. The flavors were exquisite, but she might as well have been eating cardboard. She was being publicly abandoned, left to handle the final details of a wedding to a man who was preparing to marry someone else. The humiliation was a cold weight in her stomach.

This was the final push she needed. The last vestige of hope that he might change his mind, that this was all some terrible mistake, died in that empty dining room. This was no longer just about her broken heart. It was about her reputation, her family, her company. Ethan wasn't just betraying her, he was making a fool of her.

She excused herself from the table and went outside, pulling out her phone. She looked at the unsaved number Liam had sent her earlier. Lucas Thorne' s private line.

It was a strategic choice, a move on a chessboard. Marrying Lucas Thorne, their fiercest competitor, would be a declaration of war. It would protect her family' s company from the fallout of the scandal and, more importantly, it would hit Ethan where he was most vulnerable: his ambition and his pride.

She took a deep breath and walked back inside, finding Liam, who had insisted on waiting for her in the lobby.

"I' m going to do it," she said, her voice resolute.

Liam studied her face, his expression serious. "Ava, are you sure? Thorne is... he' s not an easy man. He' s ruthless."

"So am I, now," she replied. "Why did you suggest him, Liam? Really."

Liam ran a hand through his hair. "Because I' ve done my homework on him. He' s been trying to force a merger for years. He' s aggressive, but he' s never engaged in the kind of dirty tricks our other rivals have. He fights in the open. And more than anything else," Liam paused, a grim smile on his face, "he absolutely despises Ethan Hayes."

"Why?"

"A few years ago, before you met him, Ethan was working on a project for Thorne Industries. He stole proprietary data and sold it to a competitor. Lucas found out but couldn' t prove it in court. He' s been waiting for a chance to ruin Ethan ever since. This isn' t just a marriage of convenience for him, Ava. It' s an opportunity for revenge. He' ll be your willing accomplice."

A new piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Ethan wasn' t just a manipulative fiancé; he was a corporate thief. And Lucas Thorne wasn' t just a rival; he was a potential ally with a shared enemy.

The decision was no longer just emotional, it was logical. It was the only move she had left to play.