My fingers hovered above the mouse, heart pounding in my chest like a war drum.
SUBJECT: Your fiancé has a past—and it's catching up.
The email came from an anonymous sender. No name. No signature. Just the attached file. Grayson Tech's confidential prototype reports. I recognized them instantly—I'd skimmed the real ones earlier this week. But these were doctored.
Heavily.
A trap.
But why send them to me?
Unless...
Someone was framing me. And they knew Liam and I weren't truly engaged.
I closed the laptop slowly and walked back to the bedroom. Liam was still asleep, arm draped over the pillow I had abandoned, his face softened by slumber. So peaceful. So trusting.
I could wake him.
Tell him everything.
But he wouldn't believe me. Not yet. Not without proof. And if I made the wrong move, I'd take my son down with me.
I slipped back into bed, curling around the ache in my chest.
***
Back at Grayson Tech's Shanghai branch the next morning, Liam and I were the power couple everyone gawked at. My hand stayed curled in his, the ring flashing in the light like a warning sign.
Miranda was already waiting in the glass conference room when we arrived. Her eyes darted to our clasped hands and narrowed like daggers.
"Morning," she said coolly. "Hope I'm not interrupting another engagement… celebration."
"Not at all," Liam said, pulling my chair out. "We were just talking about how much we trust the team. Integrity is everything in this company."
Was it my imagination, or did he look at me longer than necessary?
She forced a smile. "Of course. Trust is so... fragile."
I felt the warning in her tone. She was digging. And somehow, she knew something didn't add up.
***
After the meeting, I slipped away and found the IT manager, Brian. Mid-thirties. Socially awkward. Brilliant.
I leaned against his desk. "Brian, I need a favor."
He blinked behind his glasses. "You want to change your password again?"
I smiled. "Actually, I think someone's using my credentials. Can you check for suspicious downloads or messages linked to my profile?"
His fingers flew across the keyboard. "Wow... yeah. There's a flagged download at 3:06 a.m. this morning. Large file. Doctored AI analytics. It was emailed off the server using your encrypted ID."
Ice slid down my spine.
"Can you trace the IP address?" I asked.
He frowned. "Whoever did it rerouted through a proxy. But give me a few hours."
"Brian… this stays between us."
He gave me a curt nod. "Always."
***
That night, we returned to the suite late. Liam poured us whiskey without asking. I sat on the couch, the tension in my spine impossible to stretch out.
"You're distant again," he said.
I shrugged. "Just tired."
He walked over and handed me a glass. "It's more than that."
I took a long sip before answering. "Your brother. He unnerves me."
He sat beside me. "He should. He'll do whatever it takes to see me fail."
"Why?"
Liam stared into his drink. "My father left the company to me. Damien's mother was the mistress. He never got over being second."
I reached for his hand. "So he'll sabotage you?"
"He'll try." He paused. "But he won't expect you."
"Me?"
"You're my blind spot. But you're also my shield. That makes you... dangerous."
He leaned in. The tension between us snapped again. His lips brushed mine, tentative but hungry.
I melted into the kiss.
This time, it wasn't wild. It was slow, simmering with heat and emotion. He kissed me like he was discovering something he didn't want to forget. His hand found the small of my back, pulling me closer until our bodies aligned.
He peeled my blouse off, his mouth grazing my collarbone, the slope of my shoulder. My nails raked down his back as he lifted me onto his lap.
I moaned into his neck, feeling the friction of his body hard against mine.
"I can't stop thinking about you," he whispered, breathless. "Even when I try."
My head fell back. "Then don't stop."
He took me to the bedroom and made love to me like I was both a memory and a promise. For a few minutes, I forgot the lies. The secrets. The threats.
It was just us.
Until my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Liam didn't stop. He didn't even notice.
But I did.
Brian's text lit up the screen:
Trace complete. The login came from Miranda's device.
***
The next morning, I barely kept my composure.
Miranda. It was her.
She was framing me for corporate espionage.
I found her near the elevators, sipping an overpriced coffee like she owned the building.
"Can we talk?" I asked.
Her eyes flicked over me. "Alone?"
I nodded. We stepped into a side conference room.
I closed the door. "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" she asked innocently.
"You used my ID to send those fake files. You're trying to ruin me."
She leaned against the table, unbothered. "Do you have proof?"
"IT traced the IP. It was your laptop."
She smirked. "That'll never hold up. I'll say you borrowed it. Or that you seduced Brian, the lonely little nerd who worships you."
My hands curled into fists. "Why? What do you get out of this?"
Her smile faded. "Liam was mine. Everyone knew it. But then you showed up—mysterious, magnetic, 'untouchable' Ava. And now you're his fiancée?"
She stepped forward, venom in her tone. "You don't deserve him. You don't deserve any of this."
"I didn't ask for this," I snapped. "I'm just trying to survive."
"Well, sweetheart, survival in this company means playing dirty. And you? You don't have the stomach for it."
I didn't respond.
Because she was wrong.
I had a son. A business to build. A future to protect.
I had everything to fight for.
And I wasn't going down quietly.
***
Later that night, I told Liam everything.
Not about Eli—not yet. But about the files. The frame job. The threat.
His face darkened. "Miranda did this?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you come to me sooner?"
"Because I didn't want to look weak. Or worse—like I had something to hide."
His jaw clenched. "She's gone. First thing tomorrow."
I touched his arm. "She'll retaliate."
"She can try," he said, eyes burning. "But no one hurts what's mine."
His words made my heart ache. Because part of me wanted to be his. Truly. Fully.
But the secret between us was growing heavier by the second.
He kissed me hard, possessively, and I let him. Because this might be the last time he touched me without knowing what I had kept from him.
Because soon… I would have to tell him the truth.