Lila Hart stood frozen beneath the blinding glare of camera flashes.
Alexander Knight's arm stayed locked around her waist, his declaration—
"She's my woman."
still echoing through the room like a thunderclap she couldn't escape.
The crowd murmured, their faces a blur of awe, curiosity, and scorn. Every flash branded her as his. Every whisper dug into her skin.
The scandalous gala photo had already painted her as a gold-digger. And now, his public claim only tightened the golden chains around her—chains forged from obsession, control, and that single night two years ago when she'd dragged him out of a burning car.
Her eyes searched the crowd.
Ethan Caldwell stood near the back, a folder gripped in his hand, his expression sharp and unreadable. For a heartbeat, hope sparked—maybe he had something that could free her.
But then a new shadow fell across the stage.
Veronica Langley.
She didn't just walk—she glided through the crowd like she owned the air itself.
Crimson silk clung to her curves, black hair cascading in glossy waves, and her gaze—cold, precise—cut through the flashing lights like glass. The infamous ex-fiancée. The woman who once called herself Alexander's real future.
And she was smiling.
Lila's stomach twisted into knots.
"Alexander, darling," Veronica purred, her voice smooth and loud enough for the press to hear. "Quite the performance you've put on."
Her gaze slid to Lila, eyes glinting with cruel amusement. "So this is her—the little scandal everyone's talking about."
The reporters leaned closer. Cameras fired like gunshots.
Alexander's jaw tightened. His voice dropped into that dangerously calm tone Lila knew too well.
"Veronica," he said, his blue eyes cold steel. "What are you doing here?"
She laughed, a sound too soft to be kind.
"Oh, I heard about your… acquisition." Her lips curved, and her gaze lingered on the faint marks visible at the base of Lila's throat—the evidence of the night on the island. "I wanted to see the gold-digger who managed to leash the great Alexander Knight."
Lila's cheeks flamed. Anger surged up her throat.
"I'm not—"
But Alexander's hand tightened on her waist, a silent warning. His control was absolute, even now.
And yet, under the flash of cameras, she felt it—the small tremor in his grip, the tension rolling beneath his skin. Veronica's presence wasn't just unwanted. It was dangerous.
"Enough," Alexander said, his voice slicing through the chaos. "You left, Veronica. You have no place here anymore."
His arm pulled Lila closer. His claim was meant to look protective, but the way his fingers dug into her side made her pulse race for all the wrong reasons.
Desire and dread collided in her chest.
Veronica's smile didn't falter. If anything, it sharpened.
She took a slow step forward, her attention fixed on Lila.
"You think you've won him?" she said softly, her words meant for Lila alone. "You're new. Exciting. But that fades. I know him, darling. I was his everything once—his heart, his bed, his future. You're just another game to him."
Lila's breath caught.
The words hit too close. Too real.
Her mind flashed with memories—his voice, his touch, the way he'd said she belonged to him. The contract. The night. The way he'd broken down her resistance with both cruelty and tenderness.
Was she just a distraction from his ghosts?
Veronica leaned in, her perfume heavy and sweet, her whisper a dagger.
"You'll never replace me."
The world seemed to still.
Lila froze, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She wanted to lash out, to tear the smirk off the woman's perfect face, but her voice wouldn't come.
Alexander didn't hear the words, but his gaze was locked on Veronica now—a storm brewing, dangerous and unreadable.
The crowd sensed the tension. Reporters murmured, cameras flashed brighter.
And then—movement.
Ethan Caldwell stepped forward, his jaw set, the mysterious folder still in his hands. His eyes flicked between Lila and Alexander, a silent promise sparking there.
Veronica turned gracefully, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she slipped back into the crowd. Her exit was deliberate—slow, poised, victorious.
Lila stood trembling, her pulse racing, her thoughts unraveling.
Was Veronica back to reclaim Alexander?
Or to destroy him?
And what was Ethan carrying in that folder—what truth waited inside that could shatter everything?
The cameras kept flashing.
Alexander's grip stayed firm.
And Lila Hart realized she was standing in the center of a war she no longer understood.