ELENA
I didn't get a chance to respond. His phone vibrated violently on the hotel nightstand, and he, without a word, grabbed it and answered. His voice was calm, professional, and measured.
"I have to take this," he murmured, giving me a brief, almost apologetic glance before slipping out of the room
The hotel room smelled faintly of disinfectant, the kind of sterile scent that reminded me I was still alive, but not really living. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stared at the floor, trying to make sense of the past twenty-four hours.
I got up, dressed quickly, and left the hotel. The city outside was waking, indifferent to the wreckage of my life. I hailed a cab, barely noticing the street signs blur past. When I finally reached my apartment, it greeted me with the same cold silence that had been there for days.
I collapsed onto my bed and I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the weight of rejection press down on me.
The days passed in a haze of exhaustion and despair. I woke, scrolled through my phone for rejection emails, scowled at the trending hashtags, and went back to sleep. The apartment was littered with half-empty coffee cups and crumpled sketches. Every day felt like a repeat of the last, a slow rotation of grief, anger, and disbelief.
On the fourth day, I woke to my phone buzzing incessantly. Groaning, I reached over and unlocked it. The first headline made my stomach drop:
"Clifford Scott Announces Engagement to Lenora Bell. Society Watches in Awe as the Scandalous Ex-Fiancée is Completely Ignored."
I blinked. Twice. Three times. My throat constricted.
He hadn't just moved on, he had flaunted it, broadcast it, and the world had cheered him on. I could hear the whispers of my name everywhere I looked, the snide, reproaching comments, the memes, the mockery.
I closed my laptop and pressed my face into the pillow. Rage mixed with despair, boiling under my skin. The betrayal still burned fresh, sharper than any wound I'd imagined.
I thought maybe I could distract myself, reach for something familiar. I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts, stopping at a name I hadn't spoken to in years, Jade, my friend from fashion school. Someone who had once understood the fire in me.
"Hey," I said, hesitating. "Want to hang out? Coffee, lunch, I don't care. I just need… someone."
There was a long pause.
"Uh… Elena," Jade finally said, her voice cautious, hesitant, "I… I don't know. People… would talk. I just… I don't want to…my reputation by being seen around you right now."
The line went dead. I stared at my phone, gripping it so tightly my knuckles went white.
So this was it. The people I thought would stand by me—friends, colleagues, anyone—had abandoned me.
I curled into myself, letting the despair swallow me whole. Hours passed. I stared at the ceiling. I stared at my sketches. I stared at the clock, the sun dragging slowly across the sky as I sank deeper into the pit of my own helplessness.
Then, just as I had begun to drift into the kind of numbness that promised nothing would ever hurt again, my phone rang.
Unknown Number.
I hesitated, thumb hovering over the green icon. Something in me whispered that I shouldn't pick up. But curiosity, and a faint, desperate hope won.
"Hello?" My voice was hoarse, fragile.
"Ms. Hart?" The voice was smooth, professional, but there was an underlying warmth I couldn't place. "This is Wolfe Enterprises. We've reviewed your portfolio and would like to speak to you about an opportunity."
I froze. My brain refused to compute. Wolfe? The name alone made me uneasy—Clifford's company's biggest rival. And yet here they were, calling me, offering me a lifeline, when I hadn't even applied.
"Are… you serious?" I croaked, voice barely above a whisper.
"Absolutely. If you can come to our offices today, we'd like to schedule a meeting."
I sank onto the edge of the bed, trying to catch my breath. My heart raced with a mix of disbelief, caution, and something else I hadn't felt in days; hope.
Hope that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't completely ruined.
The next few hours were a blur. I showered, dressed, and combed my hair as though I were preparing for a battle I wasn't sure I could win.
Every reflection in the mirror showed the same tired, pale, and broken woman I had been for the past week, but beneath it all, there was a spark I hadn't realized I still had.
When I reached Wolfe's office, the marble floors and glass walls were intimidating. The hiring manager, a man with a sneer that made my stomach twist, looked me up and down.
"Ms. Hart," he said, tone dripping with condescension. "We're aware of… your current situation. I'm not sure anyone in this company would want—"
A shadow fell over him. I turned, and there he was.
The same man from the hotel, the same man I had barely known, now standing like a wall between me and ridicule. His presence alone made the air feel charged, electric, alive.
"She has an appointment," he said, calm, unwavering, and with an authority I couldn't ignore.
"My apologies, Sir," the hiring manager bowed, his apology sharp.
I stared at him. The man I thought was a stranger… was being referred to as "sir."
He gestured for me to follow him into his office. My mind raced as I took tentative steps. Every instinct screamed that this was too good to be true, that there must be some ulterior motive.
The tag on the door sucked out all of my breath. "ADRIAN WOLFE—CEO"
Oh, my goodness.
"Why me?" I asked as soon as we were alone. My voice trembled, but I forced it out. "Given… My scandal… my reputation… Are you using me as some pawn? To attack Clifford? Or for some vendetta?"
He blinked, genuinely confused. "What?"
"Don't play with me. You're just trying to use me too. Just like my ex fiancé."
"Who the fuck is Clifford?"
Ain't no way he didn't know who Clifford is. His business rival for fuck's sake.
"I just returned to the country. I know nothing about him, your relationship, or the scandal you're referring to. I only know what I saw in your designs at the hotel. I saved your card, I called you, and now I'm offering you a contractual position to design masterpieces for Wolfe Enterprises. Nothing more. Nothing less."
I blinked, overwhelmed, my mind trying to process the absurdity and the hope of it all.
"But… my scandal…" I whispered, voice small. "Everyone… thinks I…"
He cut me off gently, firmly. "I don't believe it. I don't believe that's you. You are not that person. And I know you aren't. I don't need the internet, or rumors, or opinions. I need your talent, your creativity, and your integrity. That's what brought you here."
The words struck me with a force I hadn't expected. Warmth spread through my chest, chasing out a little of the bitterness, and for the first time in days, I allowed myself to breathe.
"Thank you, Mr Wolfe," I murmured, the memory rushing back. France. The bar. The club. The moment he saved me.
"Just Adrian."
"Adrian," I repeated.
He gave me a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Yes. That's me."
I sat back, stunned, the weight of the past week pressing against me, and yet… for the first time, there was a glimmer of possibility.
A possibility that maybe my life wasn't over. Possibility that I could rise from the ashes Clifford left behind. Possibility that not everyone had turned against me.
And most importantly, a possibility that someone saw me for who I truly was.
ELENA
I didn't get a chance to respond. His phone vibrated violently on the hotel nightstand, and he, without a word, grabbed it and answered. His voice was calm, professional, and measured.
"I have to take this," he murmured, giving me a brief, almost apologetic glance before slipping out of the room
The hotel room smelled faintly of disinfectant, the kind of sterile scent that reminded me I was still alive, but not really living. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stared at the floor, trying to make sense of the past twenty-four hours.
I got up, dressed quickly, and left the hotel. The city outside was waking, indifferent to the wreckage of my life. I hailed a cab, barely noticing the street signs blur past. When I finally reached my apartment, it greeted me with the same cold silence that had been there for days.
I collapsed onto my bed and I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the weight of rejection press down on me.
The days passed in a haze of exhaustion and despair. I woke, scrolled through my phone for rejection emails, scowled at the trending hashtags, and went back to sleep. The apartment was littered with half-empty coffee cups and crumpled sketches. Every day felt like a repeat of the last, a slow rotation of grief, anger, and disbelief.
On the fourth day, I woke to my phone buzzing incessantly. Groaning, I reached over and unlocked it. The first headline made my stomach drop:
"Clifford Scott Announces Engagement to Lenora Bell. Society Watches in Awe as the Scandalous Ex-Fiancée is Completely Ignored."
I blinked. Twice. Three times. My throat constricted.
He hadn't just moved on, he had flaunted it, broadcast it, and the world had cheered him on. I could hear the whispers of my name everywhere I looked, the snide, reproaching comments, the memes, the mockery.
I closed my laptop and pressed my face into the pillow. Rage mixed with despair, boiling under my skin. The betrayal still burned fresh, sharper than any wound I'd imagined.
I thought maybe I could distract myself, reach for something familiar. I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts, stopping at a name I hadn't spoken to in years, Jade, my friend from fashion school. Someone who had once understood the fire in me.
"Hey," I said, hesitating. "Want to hang out? Coffee, lunch, I don't care. I just need… someone."
There was a long pause.
"Uh… Elena," Jade finally said, her voice cautious, hesitant, "I… I don't know. People… would talk. I just… I don't want to…my reputation by being seen around you right now."
The line went dead. I stared at my phone, gripping it so tightly my knuckles went white.
So this was it. The people I thought would stand by me—friends, colleagues, anyone—had abandoned me.
I curled into myself, letting the despair swallow me whole. Hours passed. I stared at the ceiling. I stared at my sketches. I stared at the clock, the sun dragging slowly across the sky as I sank deeper into the pit of my own helplessness.
Then, just as I had begun to drift into the kind of numbness that promised nothing would ever hurt again, my phone rang.
Unknown Number.
I hesitated, thumb hovering over the green icon. Something in me whispered that I shouldn't pick up. But curiosity, and a faint, desperate hope won.
"Hello?" My voice was hoarse, fragile.
"Ms. Hart?" The voice was smooth, professional, but there was an underlying warmth I couldn't place. "This is Wolfe Enterprises. We've reviewed your portfolio and would like to speak to you about an opportunity."
I froze. My brain refused to compute. Wolfe? The name alone made me uneasy—Clifford's company's biggest rival. And yet here they were, calling me, offering me a lifeline, when I hadn't even applied.
"Are… you serious?" I croaked, voice barely above a whisper.
"Absolutely. If you can come to our offices today, we'd like to schedule a meeting."
I sank onto the edge of the bed, trying to catch my breath. My heart raced with a mix of disbelief, caution, and something else I hadn't felt in days; hope.
Hope that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't completely ruined.
The next few hours were a blur. I showered, dressed, and combed my hair as though I were preparing for a battle I wasn't sure I could win.
Every reflection in the mirror showed the same tired, pale, and broken woman I had been for the past week, but beneath it all, there was a spark I hadn't realized I still had.
When I reached Wolfe's office, the marble floors and glass walls were intimidating. The hiring manager, a man with a sneer that made my stomach twist, looked me up and down.
"Ms. Hart," he said, tone dripping with condescension. "We're aware of… your current situation. I'm not sure anyone in this company would want—"
A shadow fell over him. I turned, and there he was.
The same man from the hotel, the same man I had barely known, now standing like a wall between me and ridicule. His presence alone made the air feel charged, electric, alive.
"She has an appointment," he said, calm, unwavering, and with an authority I couldn't ignore.
"My apologies, Sir," the hiring manager bowed, his apology sharp.
I stared at him. The man I thought was a stranger… was being referred to as "sir."
He gestured for me to follow him into his office. My mind raced as I took tentative steps. Every instinct screamed that this was too good to be true, that there must be some ulterior motive.
The tag on the door sucked out all of my breath. "ADRIAN WOLFE—CEO"
Oh, my goodness.
"Why me?" I asked as soon as we were alone. My voice trembled, but I forced it out. "Given… My scandal… my reputation… Are you using me as some pawn? To attack Clifford? Or for some vendetta?"
He blinked, genuinely confused. "What?"
"Don't play with me. You're just trying to use me too. Just like my ex fiancé."
"Who the fuck is Clifford?"
Ain't no way he didn't know who Clifford is. His business rival for fuck's sake.
"I just returned to the country. I know nothing about him, your relationship, or the scandal you're referring to. I only know what I saw in your designs at the hotel. I saved your card, I called you, and now I'm offering you a contractual position to design masterpieces for Wolfe Enterprises. Nothing more. Nothing less."
I blinked, overwhelmed, my mind trying to process the absurdity and the hope of it all.
"But… my scandal…" I whispered, voice small. "Everyone… thinks I…"
He cut me off gently, firmly. "I don't believe it. I don't believe that's you. You are not that person. And I know you aren't. I don't need the internet, or rumors, or opinions. I need your talent, your creativity, and your integrity. That's what brought you here."
The words struck me with a force I hadn't expected. Warmth spread through my chest, chasing out a little of the bitterness, and for the first time in days, I allowed myself to breathe.
"Thank you, Mr Wolfe," I murmured, the memory rushing back. France. The bar. The club. The moment he saved me.
"Just Adrian."
"Adrian," I repeated.
He gave me a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Yes. That's me."
I sat back, stunned, the weight of the past week pressing against me, and yet… for the first time, there was a glimmer of possibility.
A possibility that maybe my life wasn't over. Possibility that I could rise from the ashes Clifford left behind. Possibility that not everyone had turned against me.
And most importantly, a possibility that someone saw me for who I truly was.