The city had moved on—or at least, it tried to. A few weeks passed since Luna Blackwood disappeared from the office without a single goodbye. In that time, the company had weathered more storms than it had in years. But somehow, it was still standing.
The whispers had faded, the boardroom tension had eased, and for the first time in a long while, Adrian Cole could walk through his own building without feeling like an intruder in his kingdom.
Lila stood by the tall glass windows of her new office—COO engraved on the doorplate—a position she never imagined she'd hold so soon. The air smelled faintly of coffee and rain, and the city stretched endlessly beneath her.
She pressed her fingers against the cool glass, thinking of everything that had changed. Luna was gone, the truth was out, and yet… a part of her missed her sister like a piece of herself she'd lost.
It had taken just one televised interview to change everything.
Luna's face appeared on screens across the country, not as the villain the tabloids had painted, but as the woman who stood up and admitted everything she'd done. She had looked different—less polished, less perfect. Just real.
"I was blinded by pain," she'd said, her voice steady but raw. "I believed a lie and built my life around it. I hurt an innocent man, and I'll spend the rest of my life taking responsibility for it. This isn't an excuse. It's an apology."
Adrian hadn't expected to feel anything when he saw it, but the truth was… he did. Anger, yes. But also something quieter, deeper—an understanding of what revenge does to broken people.
She cleared his name publicly. She returned the shares officially. And then, just like that, she disappeared again.
"Hey," a voice broke through Lila's thoughts.
She turned. Adrian stood at the door of her office, hands tucked into the pockets of his black trousers. He looked calmer these days. Lighter, even. The lines of tension that used to live between his brows had softened.
"You're staring out the window again," he said.
She smiled faintly. "Old habits."
He stepped inside, stopping beside her. "You've done well, you know. The company… it's better with you here."
Lila laughed softly. "Better than your other assistants?"
"Better than anyone I've ever worked with," he admitted. His voice carried no charm or flirtation—just truth.
The warmth in her chest surprised her. She'd spent so long in the shadow of Luna's plans that hearing something honest and kind felt strange. But good.
They walked down the hallway together after the meeting. The entire floor felt alive again. Employees greeted them warmly, not with the cold, suspicious stares from before.
The scandal had left scars, but it hadn't destroyed them.
"I keep wondering if she's okay," Lila said quietly as they walked.
Adrian knew who she meant. "Luna's strong. And if she wasn't before, she'll learn to be now."
Lila exhaled softly. "She always wanted to be the one protecting me. And in the end, I couldn't protect her from herself."
He stopped and turned to her, his voice gentle. "You're not responsible for her choices, Lila. You stood by her longer than most people would have."
Her throat tightened, but she nodded. She needed to hear that.
That evening, the company held a quiet investor dinner. Nothing grand—just an evening of new beginnings. For weeks, Adrian had worked tirelessly to rebuild the bridges Luna's scheme had burned.
Now, the company wasn't just surviving. It was growing again.
Lila stood in a soft black dress, hair loosely curled, looking elegant but effortlessly herself. She wasn't the same woman who'd walked into this building months ago under someone else's shadow.
Across the room, Adrian's eyes found her in the crowd like they always did lately. There wasn't tension between them anymore. Just something steady. Warm.
When the speeches ended and the crowd scattered, he approached her slowly. "You clean up nicely, Miss Blackwood."
She arched a brow. "That sounds dangerously close to flirting, Mr. Cole."
He smiled—the kind of smile she'd never seen from him before, unguarded and easy. "Maybe it is."
Her laughter was soft but real. For the first time in a long time, they weren't boss and assistant. They were just… two people who had survived the same storm.
Later that night, after the event ended, they walked together outside. The air was crisp, the streetlights warm against the night. Rain had fallen earlier, leaving the ground slick and shimmering.
Adrian shoved his hands into his pockets. "I should've hated you," he said quietly.
Lila blinked. "What?"
"For standing by her. For not telling me everything. For letting me fall into her trap," he said. His voice wasn't bitter. Just honest. "But I didn't. I couldn't. Because somewhere in all that mess… I trusted you."
Her heart ached at the honesty in his tone.
"I didn't want to be a part of her plan," she whispered. "I was trying to protect everyone, and somehow, I still ended up hurting you."
"I know."
They stopped at the edge of the steps, the city stretching wide below them. He turned to face her fully.
"I don't want to keep living in what happened," he said. "I want to build something new. And I want you in it."
For a moment, the world went quiet. Her chest tightened—not in fear, but in something softer, deeper.
She didn't need to think twice. "Then let's build it," she said softly.
He reached for her hand—not sudden, not rushed, just steady—and she let him. Their fingers intertwined naturally, like they'd been moving toward this moment all along.
A few days later, Luna sent a single message.
"I watched the interview. You look happy. Keep it."
Lila stared at the words for a long time. She didn't know where her sister was. But she knew Luna wasn't running anymore. She was rebuilding too, in her own way.
Lila didn't reply with a long message. Just two words.
"I will."
Months down the line, the company thrived. Adrian and Lila learned to love each other slowly—not with fireworks or chaos, but with quiet trust.
They shared morning coffees in his office. Walked through meetings like a team. Laughed in the spaces where pain used to live.
And somewhere far away, Luna found her own peace—not as the girl who destroyed, but as the woman who took responsibility and started over.