The evening air pressed heavy with silence as Marrin stood in her dressing room, the faint scent of roses lingering from the gala earlier that night. The mirror reflected a woman she barely recognized. The elegant gown, the perfect curls, the diamonds—everything gleamed, but none of it felt like her.
She reached up, brushing her fingertips across the glass, almost expecting another woman to reach back.How many masks had she worn in this life?How many times had she smiled while her heart was breaking?
Behind her, the clock ticked softly, a metronome to her thoughts. Each second reminded her of the decisions she had made since her return—the quiet manipulations, the controlled charm, the patience she'd learned to wield like a blade.
It was working.Vivienne was uneasy now, unsure why every move seemed to backfire. Derek had grown more desperate, trying to reclaim her attention with grand gestures and sudden bursts of nostalgia. And Calvin… his attention had deepened into something far more complicated than curiosity.
That last part frightened her most.
Because when Calvin looked at her now, it wasn't the same cautious businessman she'd once admired from afar—it was a man watching someone he might one day fall for. Marrin didn't know if she could let him. Not when every affection, every shared glance, risked unraveling the armor she had spent years rebuilding.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Liam.
"He's asking questions about the Reeves account again. Do you want me to interfere?"
She hesitated before replying.
"Not yet. Let him dig. I want to know what he finds."
Her reflection seemed to smirk at her—calm, strategic, in control. But behind her eyes, a war still raged. For all her careful planning, for all her strength, the line between survival and self-destruction had never felt thinner.
She drew a slow breath. "No more pretending," she whispered, meeting her own gaze. "Not even with myself."
Outside, the city hummed with life. Cars swept through the rain-slick streets, carrying strangers chasing their own illusions. Marrin turned away from the mirror, the sound of heels striking the marble floor sharp and final.
Tomorrow, she would face them all again.And this time, no one—not Vivienne, not Derek, not even fate—would decide her story for her.
The next morning came too bright, too loud, and too fast. Marrin had barely slept. The storm outside her windows had quieted into a pale drizzle, but her mind kept circling the same thought — how long can I keep control before someone notices the cracks?
She moved through her apartment like a ghost, coffee in hand, scanning the morning reports Liam had sent. Numbers, names, connections — the blueprint of her revenge was taking shape, and yet the satisfaction she'd once imagined still eluded her.
A notification blinked on her phone.
Calvin Reeves: "Board meeting moved up to 9. Derek's attending too. Be ready."
Her pulse spiked. She hadn't expected that. The last time Derek and Calvin were in the same room, Derek had treated her like a stain on his reputation. Now, things were different — she had power, and he had no idea how much.
The boardroom felt colder than usual. The air conditioner hummed faintly, but it wasn't the chill that made Marrin's hands tighten around her folder — it was Derek's voice."Miss Reeves," he greeted, deliberately formal, a mocking half-smile tugging at his mouth."Mr. Hale," she replied smoothly, her tone a mirror of indifference.
Calvin's eyes flicked between them. He could sense the tension even without knowing its roots.He cleared his throat. "Let's stay professional. We're here to finalize the acquisition terms."
But Derek wasn't here for professionalism. He was here to provoke."You've come a long way, Marrin," he said casually. "Back then, you couldn't handle a small marketing account without my help. Now look at you — sitting at the head of the table."
"People learn fast when they stop depending on the wrong person," she said, her voice steady but sharp enough to slice the silence.
Calvin's lips curved slightly, just enough to betray approval. "Let's continue," he said, trying to steer the discussion back to business.
Marrin kept her eyes on the documents, refusing to meet Derek's stare. Every muscle in her body screamed to throw every secret she knew at him — the bribes, the falsified reports, the affair with Vivienne that had ruined her reputation. But not yet. Revenge, she'd learned, was best delivered with precision, not passion.
An hour later, the meeting ended. As the others filed out, Calvin lingered."You handled him well," he said softly.
"Did I?" Marrin's expression was unreadable. "Sometimes silence is the loudest answer."
He looked at her for a long moment, as if trying to read the spaces between her words. "Whatever history you have with him… it doesn't define you anymore."
His tone was gentle, but the weight of it hit her harder than any insult Derek had ever thrown.For a second, she forgot the plan, forgot the scripts she had rehearsed in her mind.Calvin's gaze wasn't judgmental — it was kind. And that, somehow, made her feel dangerously human again.
She took a breath, steadying herself. "Kindness can be a weapon too, Calvin. Don't forget that."
He smiled faintly. "Then I'll risk being unarmed."
Marrin turned away before he could see the flicker of emotion on her face. When she reached the door, she allowed herself one final thought:The game has changed. But so have I.
As she stepped into the hallway, the reflection in the glass wall followed her — the same woman, same elegance, but now, beneath the calm surface, something sharper gleamed.
This time, it wasn't fear. It was control.