Adrian called a meeting to announce that Marcus will no longer work with them but he never mentioned him being sent to Y City. Melissa was very please, thinking that she has finally dealt with a great challenge. Meanwhile Adrian never knew what Marcus was up to in Y City but often got report over the hapoenings and so far nithing was wrong, if anything, the company improved greatly, and just like they say "nothing can be hidden under the sun."
Thinking that no one can mess with her plans, Melissa continued in her quest to bring Cole's down but even though Adrian is a man creazy in love, even his love has sense and not blind. He kept observing and wasn't blind to all the changes in Melissa. The crack between them continues to widen even if he wouldn't like to admit.
The week after the annual party, something in Adrian began to shift. It wasn't dramatic, not the sort of change that could be seen at once. It was in the subtle things—the silence between words, the shadows that stretched too long across his thoughts.
He first noticed it at a dinner hosted by one of his investors but ignired it but during the annual party, Melissa had been radiant that night—her emerald gown shimmered like liquid envy under the chandeliers, her laughter echoing like music that didn't quite reach him.
Adrian had turned to speak to an associate, but when he looked back, he caught her standing close—too close—to one of his subordinates. They whispered, her hand brushing the man's sleeve lightly, casually, yet something about it twisted in Adrian's gut.
When she noticed him watching, Melissa smiled, that perfect, unbothered smile that had once disarmed him completely. "You look tense, darling," she said, slipping her arm through his when she returned to his side. "Are you jealous?"
"Should I be?" he asked, voice flat.
She tilted her head. "Only if you think I'm worth the trouble."
Her teasing tone drew polite laughter from the guests around them, but Adrian's jaw tightened. He told himself it was nothing—an innocent exchange, a misunderstanding amplified by his exhaustion.
But later, in the quiet of his penthouse, the memory refused to fade. He saw the way she'd leaned in, the secretive curve of her lips, the flicker of calculation in her eyes.
He poured himself a glass of whiskey and sank into the leather couch.
You're imagining things, he told himself. Melissa wouldn't risk everything she's built.
Yet his mother's voice—calm, wise, and hauntingly precise—echoed in his mind
> "Not every smile is innocent," everything Marcus said replaying in his mind.
Adrian closed his eyes, letting the words sting where they hit deepest. Clara had seen something he hadn't wanted to admit. He'd brushed it off as motherly suspicion. But what if she'd been right all along? And Marcus, what if he had seen something?
The next morning, he caught another glimpse of something that didn't fit. Melissa's phone buzzed on the marble counter as they prepared to leave for a meeting. A message preview flashed on the screen—only for a second—but he saw enough: "Don't forget our plan. He can't suspect."
Before he could process it, Melissa had snatched the phone, turning away smoothly. "Just work," she said with a careless smile. "Don't look so serious, Adrian. It's too early for that."
She kissed his cheek, leaving a faint trace of her perfume and lipstick.
He forced a smile, but his hands trembled slightly as he adjusted his cufflinks.
That night, as they stood on the balcony overlooking the glittering sprawl of the city, Melissa leaned close, her lips brushing his ear. Her voice was soft, melodic—and cold.
"One day," she whispered, "all this will be ours."
Adrian froze. The words were meant to sound like a promise, but they rang like a threat.
And as the city lights flickered beneath them, Adrian Cole—a man of logic, power, and control—felt the first real crack form in the world he'd built.