Twice Burned Twice Desired

"And here I thought ghosts didn't exist."

When he heard that voice, Dominic Stones turned; it was a voice that had whispered his name in the dark for five years.

As he found himself looking at the lady he had once sworn to love, his hold on his champagne flute became more firm. The lady he had discarded.

It felt like a kick to the stomach to see Elena Silvers standing in front of him, poised, untouchable, and magnificent.

The tempest seething within him was concealed behind a false grin. "Elena," he remarked with ease, his tone indicating that her presence did not cause any commotion. "I almost didn't recognize you."

She cocked her head, a little smile teasing her lips. "Is that so?" What had previously been warmth was now nothing but cold in her emerald-green eyes. "It's unfortunate." "I quickly recognized you. Some things are constant."

Studying her, Dominic took in the change. The kind, trusting lady who previously regarded him as her whole universe was no longer there. In red silk, this Elena exuded confidence in every step, making her deadly. A face sharpened by experience was framed by her long, dark chestnut hair, and the caution in her eyes was reflected in the deep tint of her full lips.

Her personality has evolved.

Nevertheless, there was still a part of her that stirred something dark and restless within him.

He blew out a quick breath. "What are you doing here?"

She sipped her wine slowly before responding, "Oh, don't worry, Dominic. I'm not here for nostalgia. As she moved closer, he could smell her aroma, which was both familiar and frighteningly novel. "I'm here to do business. I think Silvers Enterprises and Stones Holdings will be interacting often in the near future."

Dominic clinched his jaw. There was a sharp, unwanted ripple in his head as he heard the term Silvers Enterprises. The latest and most fierce rival of his business.

When Elena saw the insight appear in his eyes, she grinned. "You didn't know, did you?" There was humor in her voice. "That the woman you left for dead now owns the company threatening to rip yours apart?"

An itch of uneasiness slithered through him, and his chest constricted. "So this is revenge?"

Her brow was delicately arched. "Revenge? No, Dominic. This is just ordinary business." She spoke softly on his skin as she drew closer. "But I'll admit... watching you sweat is a satisfying bonus."

The throng surrounding them moved before he could reply, and a recognizable voice broke the tense silence.

"Darling, Dominic! What a catch."

Miranda.

Her whole body became stiff, and Elena's grin disappeared. She curled her fingers around the stem of her glass, whitening her knuckles as Dominic watched.

As she walked toward them, Miranda Stones' platinum-blonde hair glistened in the golden chandelier lights, and her ice-blue eyes briefly met Elena's with a smug flash.

"Elena," Miranda crooned, seeming to be shocked."I was unaware of your return to the city. In my opinion, you would rather vanish when things were too... challenging.

Elena maintained a constant expression, but Dominic saw that her breathing was deliberate and delayed, like a predator waiting for an opportunity to attack.

"Miranda," Elena whispered, her voice silky smooth but piercing through."Still meddling in things that don't concern you, I see."

Miranda grinned wider. "Oh, darling, everything concerning my brother concerns me." She gave Dominic a sidelong look. "Especially old flames who refuse to stay buried."

Dominic became impatient. He cautioned, "Miranda," but she only chuckled and turned back to Elena.

"Oh, I'm good. Miranda went on, sipping her wine, "I'm just admiring the audacity." "After all, it takes a special kind of delusion to think you can walk back into this world unscathed."

When Elena spoke, her words were like velvet-wrapped poison, yet her lips opened slightly as if she would chuckle. "You believe that I returned to be friendlier?".. "I returned, sweetheart, to destroy everything with fire."

Between them, a dense, uncompromising silence hung. Its weight was pushing on Dominic's flesh.

Miranda pondered, idly twirling her glass. "Big words," she said. "But then again, you always were good at pretending to be stronger than you are."

Elena remained calm. Rather, she stepped slowly forward, reaching a point where Miranda had to raise her chin to look her in the eye.

"Oh, I'm not pretending."

As swiftly as she had emerged, Elena took a step back and drained the last of her wine. "Miranda, enjoy the celebration. We're going to see each other a lot in the near future.**

As she turned, she walked away, her silk dress grazing Dominic's arm.

With all of his attention focused on Elena's retreat, Dominic hardly noticed what Miranda was saying next.

His lady.

The non-existent lady who disappeared.

She was prepared to accept everything from him now that she was on an equal footing with him.

As she vanished into the throng, a single idea struck him with a startling intensity-

Elena Silvers's return was not sudden.

Her goal was blood.

Dominic whirled abruptly, his mouth clenched, toward Miranda. "What the hell was that?"

Smiling, Miranda sipped her champagne as if nothing had occurred. "Oh, Dominic, please. Did you really believe she would be gone forever?"

With a steady heat starting in his chest, his fingers flexed over his glass.

"You knew she was back." His tone was husky and menacing.

Miranda's mouth quirked up. "I certainly did. I make it a point to track out my adversaries. You, however, seem dreadfully unprepared.**

He squeezed harder.

Elena had caught him off guard.

Not only by going back, but by getting up. by evolving into something greater than his previous state.

A lady who now threatened everything he had created.

Everything had to be known to him.

"Elicit the duration of her return. Get all the information you can on Silvers Enterprises," he said.

He nodded sharply and slid into the throng, his right-hand man, Nathan, who had been hovering just out of earshot.

Miranda gave a little chuckle. * "Brother, you look shaken." You're still affected by her, don't you?

His eyes scanned the room, ignoring her.

But Elena could not be found.

She had, nevertheless, made her mark.

He was still able to sense the cold in her eyes and the fire of her words.

The lady Elena Silvers was no longer disposable.

She was returning to the board as a queen, and she had every intention of overthrowing his realm.

Dominic Stones was determined to prevent it from occurring.

"Dominic Stones is about to learn what it means to lose."

He couldn't get Elena's remarks out of his head even after the program was over. She had made it public: Silvers Enterprises was pursuing Stones Holdings, and she had no intention of requesting permission. The things she desired were being taken. She was getting personal about it.

As he sat at his computer, Dominic's fingers tightened as he watched the television; Elena, the woman he had once loved and abandoned, was standing in front of a room full of reporters. She had the appropriate appearance ,strong, composed, and cool. The distraught lady who had pleaded for his affection years ago didn't look like her now.

His inner tempest threatened to burst as he combed through his hair.

"How the hell did she pull this off?" More than everybody else in the room, Dominic murmured to himself. He relived the moment in his thoughts, the confident, fluid way Elena had declared the takeover, her words piercing the atmosphere like a sword.

"We've done our research. Silvers Enterprises have the necessary resources to acquire Stones Holdings. He kept hearing the words in his mind. He was aware of her potential, but this was a whole other level of theatricality. She wasn't only targeting his business; she was contesting all he had fought so hard to achieve.

His loyal right-hand guy, Nathan Pierce, walked in as the door to his office suddenly opened. His expression was as surprised as Dominic's, but his eyes had a hint of terror.

"Sir, we need to talk."

Dominic kept his head down. At first, his thoughts were too preoccupied for him to see Nathan. But he quickly regained consciousness as the seriousness of the situation dawned on him.

"What is it?"

With a hushed voice, Nathan moved forward. "She takes this to heart."Silvers Enterprises has spent the last six months purchasing shares in secret. A motion has been made. a large one.

Dominic's thoughts were scattered. "What did I miss? It should have been obvious to me."

"No one saw it coming," Nathan answered."Silvers Enterprises has been taking a long-term approach. They now own enough shares to launch a hostile takeover.

Dominic clenched his jaw. "How much?"

Nathan took a time to think. "Enough to seize the board."

Dominic got up as his chair pulled back, yelling. He darkened his eyes. "This is war."

"The board has already been divided," Nathan said, nodding. The other half already support her, and they are too scared to oppose her. The deadline for our response is fewer than twenty-four hours before the voting.*

Dominic didn't answer right away. Already, he was planning his next move. Not just another business, but the very lady he had discarded was posing a danger to his empire. The lady who used to be his whole world.

"How are we responding?" inquired Nathan.

Dominic walked around the room, thinking. Power, control, and retaliation were the main goals of this takeover attempt in addition to financial gain. Elena had spent months, if not more, organizing this. He was determined to stop her from getting away with it, however. He was going to fight.

Then he looked at Nathan. "Make a counter offer." " I want to meet with the significant stockholders tonight. Obtain a list of the board members who remain faithful for me.

Nathan's eyes softly broadened. "Are you proceeding with a buyout?"

He shook his head, "I'm not purchasing any property. She will be crushed in the boardroom by us. We will engage her in combat if she desires one.

Given the seriousness of what Dominic was about to undertake, Nathan nodded. Their conversation had shifted from a straightforward commercial deal. This was a private matter.

The buzzing of Dominic's phone jolted him out of his reverie. He gave the screen a quick look. A notice by email.

"Board Meeting Invitation: Silvers Enterprises."

His gut clenched at the mere mention of it. He opened the email with a touch and swiftly skimmed through it. The next day was a planned meeting. An extraordinary meeting for Stones Holdings' shareholders.

"She's already making her move."

"We need to get ahead of this," Nathan said in a pressing tone.

For an instant, Dominic remained still, his mind figuring out every action he needed to do. He had always held the reins of power and established the regulations. However, Elena had turned the tables. Not only did she want to control his business, but she also wanted to control him.

"Get everything ready," Dominic said in a cold voice."Assign our legal team to get ready for battle." Every Stones Holdings stakeholder should be aware of this woman's true intentions.

Nathan's eyebrows went up. "You'd want to choose that path? Let her be exposed? Are you certain that's sage?*

His eyes were harsh as Dominic turned to face him. "Nathan, she's trying to ruin me. Half of the board has already been influenced by her charisma. We're going to lose everything if we don't give her a heavy blow immediately. This goes beyond business. It is personal."

With a nod, Nathan hurried to fulfill Dominic's instructions. Dominic, on the other hand, stood at the window, gazing out over the city, while he exited the room. Even though he was miles away, he could just feel Elena's weight on him.

It would be necessary for him to outmaneuver her in a manner he hadn't done in years. With his hands still clasped firmly at his sides, his mind was racing with schemes.

It would be necessary for her to battle him before she could defeat him.

Dominic was staring at the skyline of the city when his phone buzzed once again. Already expecting terrible news, he picked it up.

However, his heart skipped a beat at seeing the name on the screen.

He received the word from one of Silvers Enterprises' most reliable insiders.

"She isn't merely stealing Stones Holdings." She is specifically targeting you. You'll be shocked to learn who is supporting her."

For the first time in his life, Dominic stones was not focusing on the city that had always been his kingdom, even if the skyline of New York stretched on forever behind him. All he could think about was the lady in front of him.

Elena Silver.

She had no business being here.

Not in his workplace. In his life, no. Not after all these years.

However, she was.

She was different, too.

The lady who had once laughed in his arms and murmured promises of eternity, and who had once gazed at him with unwavering affection, was no longer there. With each breath, the Elena in front of him now radiated strength and defiance, growing colder and sharper.

When her emerald-green eyes met his, they remained unflappable. The hint of a grin, one that was tinged with challenge rather than love, was all that was left of her full lips, which had previously been so fast to curl into a loving smile.

She was back.

And she wanted war.

With his storm-gray eyes scouring her face for something, anything that looked like the woman he had once called his wife, Dominic's hold tightened at his sides.

But he couldn't find anything.

He had never seen her like this before.

But when he did speak, his tone was solid. "You genuinely believe that this will work?"

Elena's head dipped ever so slightly as her grin grew. "Dominic, I don't believe it. I know."

He tightened his jaw. He had battled corporate sharks, vicious rivals, and opponents who would sell their souls to see him fail. However, none of them had ever given him the icy amusement Elena was giving him now, as if she had already won.

"You left." The words were abrasive, tinged with an unidentified substance.

Elena didn't even flinch. Rather, she moved slightly closer and said in a velvet whisper that was as cold as ice. "You threw me away."

The charge struck him more forcefully than it ought to have.

"And now, I'm here to return the favor."

The tension between them crackled like a live wire as Dominic took a deep breath. She wasn't playing a bluff. Every action and every phrase was planned to demonstrate to him that she wasn't there to plead. She came to take.

"You think you can destroy me?" He spoke in a calm, quiet voice.

She moved closer and closer till he could practically smell the subtle scent of jasmine clinging to her skin. It was so familiar, but so unachievable.

"I don't think," she said, her green eyes shining with a last, dark glint. "I know."

A lengthy, oppressive stillness spread between them.

Then,

"Mom?"

Everything was broken by one word.

Dominic stopped.

Something heavier and more hazardous took the place of the tension in the air.

He turned slowly, almost mechanically, toward the entrance.

And his air left his lungs at what he witnessed.

A little boy.

Hair that is dark and wavy.

The stormy dark eyes that had been staring back at him from every mirror for thirty-four years were striking.

Everything in Dominic's world turned on its axis.

The boy stood in the doorway, blinking up at them curiously, his little hand gripping the frame.

"Lucas, sweetheart, I thought you were with Olivia."

In sharp contrast to the coldness she had used minutes before, Elena's voice had softened.

The boy Lucas shifted slightly, peering between them. His gaze hovered over Dominic, examining him with naive interest.

"Who's he, Mom?"

In his ears, Dominic's pulse roared.

The air seemed unnaturally thin, and the room seemed smaller.

He was immobile.

He was unable to breathe.

Elena gently held Lucas's hand as he was still having trouble processing what he was seeing and understanding what it meant.

"Come on, my love. Olivia is waiting.

And suddenly,

She looked aside.

Lucas followed without hesitation, his tiny fingers curled trustingly around hers.

Dominic stared , still transfixed, still reeling, as they proceeded toward the door.

He was urged to say something by his intellect.

To stop her. To demand a response. to take action.

However, before he could even process what had just transpired, before he could find his voice,

They had vanished.

Dominic Stones reality abruptly and irrevocably shifted, leaving him standing in the quiet.

Dominic stones has mastered control throughout the years. amid the realm of business, amid the tangled jumble of power and fortune, he lived on accuracy. The regulations were set by him. The choices were his. He never lost.

But everything he thought was definite, all he knew, fell apart in a matter of seconds.

A little boy.

A child.

Calling Elena Mom.

And those eyes...

His look.

As Dominic saw Elena leave with the child's little hand in hers, his whole body tightened. His mind was racing with ideas, but none of them made sense. Not one of them fits.

How?

How could this have happened?

The ramifications were difficult for his intellect to process, but the tempest that raged within him was too strong for reason or logic.

She was gone.

She had just disappeared from his life.

And now she was back, but this time she was a mother as well as a vicious business opponent.

To his kid? However, she...

The prospect hit him like a kick to the stomach.

His heart thumping, he stepped forward unsteadily. No. He needs clarification. Right now.

"Boss?"

The quiet was broken by a voice.

His right-hand guy, Nathan Pierce, waited at the entrance, his hazel eyes flitting in bewilderment. Dominic hardly noticed him. His thoughts continued to focus on the picture of that little boy the striking, unmistakable likeness.

"Who was that child?" Nathan's tone was deliberately neutral as he inquired.

Dominic's mouth tightened. He didn't respond.

because he didn't know.

However, one person did.

Elena.

She had just left his office after receiving his responses.

The only sound in the hallway was Elena's shoes clicking softly on the marble floor. She maintained a steady, controlled gait, not letting the chaos inside her show.

Take a breath.

She was grounded by the warmth of Lucas's little hand in hers and was prevented from turning around. She was aware that Dominic was still there, obviously in shock at what had transpired.

Excellent.

Let him think. Allow him to struggle.

The expression on his face pure, unguarded shock had been more pleasurable than she had anticipated, even though she had expected this encounter to disturb him.

The pain in her breast, however, did not go away with contentment.

To make sure that nothing from her past could affect the life she had battled to reconstruct, she had spent years erecting walls and fortifying them with steel.

Nevertheless, the walls almost shook as one gazed into those storm-gray eyes.

Nearly.

"Mom?" As they arrived at the elevator, Lucas said softly.

Elena squatted to his level and forced a grin as she let out a slow sigh. "Yes, dear?"

Lucas's head cocked. "Who was that man?"

Elena paused, running her fingers over his black hair's gentle waves. "Just a coworker, sweetheart."

Lucas scowled. "He gave me a funny look."

Elena felt her heart tighten. He had, of course.

Because Dominic stones had just seen that he was looking back at his own reflection.

Dominic was fixed to the place, unsure of how long he had been there.

His mind was a battleground, with fragments of his past forcefully crashing into the present.

Elena.

disappeared for years.

Back now.

with a child .

A kid that resembled him perfectly.

The boy's voice was still resonating in his brain.

Mom?

Behind her, the elevator doors closed.

Dominic jolted out of his reverie. He walked ahead without a second's hesitation.

"Nathan." He spoke in a clipped, chilly tone. "Discover every detail of Elena silver 's life over the previous five years."

The abrupt demand took Nathan by surprise, and he blinked. "Sir-"

Dominic's patience vanished as his jaw tensed. "I want to know everything about her, including where she lived and what she did. and learn more about the child.

Nathan paused. "You believe..."

Dominic's angry eyes became gloomy. "I doubt it. I need to know.

After giving a single nod, Nathan slipped away, immediately taking out his phone.

With his fists gripped at his sides and the city stretching out in front of him, Dominic turned toward the window.

He had thought Elena had left for years. She had deceived him.

However, now,

Was there anything more she was concealing?

And if he had that tiny boy,

Why in the world had she concealed him?

He was consumed by the inquiries like a wildfire.

And in one way or another

His replies were on the way.