An hour later, I rushed into Sullivan Corp and jumped into the express elevator to the top floor. Just as I stepped out, I could already hear Lucille shouting angrily.

I straightened my back and walked through the office area, ignoring the glances from the staff. A few female employees were whispering behind their hands, and one of them said under her breath, "She's got some guts. The real wife's here and the mistress still dares to show up like she owns the place. Such a shameless seductress."

I paused for a second, then turned and gave her a sharp look. Once our eyes met, she went pale and shut her mouth real quick.

I sneered deliberately and said, "So this is what Sullivan Corp calls elite employees? Maybe you should consider quitting."

That shut them up instantly.

The secretary tried to stop me but failed. I barged straight into the inner office and saw Lucille cursing at a woman dressed in designer from head to toe. Graham sat at his desk with a face like thunder and slammed the table.

"Enough!" he barked.

What really threw me off was seeing Theodore sitting directly across from Graham. He glanced at me coldly, then looked away like I was just some stranger.

As soon as I walked in, everyone turned to look at me. Graham pointed at me and asked, "How did you get in here?"

"I called her!" Lucille stepped in front of me and snapped, "Don't think you can get away with everything just because you've got Theodore backing you. I swear I'll drag your company down if I have to!"

"Stop slandering me!" The woman in luxury brands snapped back. "My husband already said he was meeting Ms. Reynolds for business last night! Manager Oliver was there, even Mr. Sterling can confirm it. Watch your mouth or I won't be polite!"

My face turned dark, and I pulled Lucille aside. "What the hell is going on?"

Lucille gave me an annoyed glare before she sighed and explained. She got an anonymous call last night, saying Graham tried to assault me. She couldn't stand the idea of me being hurt-never could since we were kids. Whether it was real or not, she didn't care. She immediately spent money, pulled some strings, and found out Graham had a jealous wife. So she invited her along to confront him in person.

The wife was all fired up when she got here. But just when they arrived, Theodore happened to be around for a meeting with Graham. And for whatever reason, he sided with Graham, saying there was no inappropriate behavior at all last night.

Lucille, still fuming, turned to Theodore and said, "Mr. Sterling, I know Sterling Group is trying hard to win the Southveil construction bid right now. Besides Reynolds Corp and Sullivan Corp, there's no other real competition. Reynolds' second daughter is about to get engaged to you-so is this about business? Are you covering up for Graham just to secure that deal?"

My brows furrowed. I stared at Theodore in disbelief, but his face was stone cold. He looked straight at Lucille and said in a flat voice, "You might be close friends with Ms. Reynolds, but you know better than anyone how many rumors she's been in over the years. How can you be sure this isn't just another scheme she orchestrated?"

"She's not that kind of person-"

"She's never been innocent. You're underestimating just how manipulative she can be."

My mind went blank. It felt like someone threw me into a freezing lake. I was numb, frozen all over.

I was a fool. Right now, I only regretted not using my phone to record everything last night.

Graham sneered coldly at Theodore's words, his gaze locked on me like a cold blade. "Miss Reynolds, you're at that age where marriage is knocking, aren't you? Word is, Mr. Sterling's mother had her eyes on you before suddenly switching to your sister. Could it be that you're just bitter... or maybe just lonely enough to throw dirt on my name too? Keep throwing baseless accusations, and I'll be seeing you in court. Then let's see how that pristine image of yours holds up."

"You-"

I clenched my jaw, nothing would come out. I had no evidence, Oliver had been bought off, and Graham had clearly warned the restaurant in advance. Sullivan Group was a major name in Southveil. Add in the fact that Theodore, who actually saw what happened, was siding with him, and I had no way to defend myself without looking completely pathetic.

After a long silence, I balled my fists, lifted my chin, and shot a smirk at Theodore. "I'll remember what you did today, Mr. Sterling. Trust me, I'll return the favor when the time's right."

His face turned dark, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits as if he could will me to drop dead on the spot.

I tugged Lucille's arm, glared back at him defiantly for a few seconds, then turned on my heel and left without even glancing back. But I could still feel that icy glare burning into my back as we walked out.

As soon as we exited Sullivan Group's building, Lucille's face twisted in anger. "I can't believe I went to all that trouble finding his wife! And this is the guy you almost married? Honestly, he's trash. Maybe we should thank your stepmom. If she hadn't bribed Julian to drug you and set you up, leading to the broken engagement-God knows how bad it could've gotten if you'd ended up stuck with him."

She rant-huffed a bit more, then saw my pale face and quickly fell silent. "What is his deal? Every damn thing out of his mouth was aimed at you. Do you know him from before or something? I've heard things about him... You sure you didn't piss him off somehow?"

My cheeks burned up, chest heaving with anger, and I barely croaked out four words, "He's a disgusting jerk."

Just as we were about to leave, not even a block away, we spotted a black Maybach parked along the curb. I recognized it instantly. No way I'd forget that car. It belonged to Theodore himself.

I stormed toward it, yanked a nail clipper from my bag, flipped out the small hidden blade attached, and jammed it straight into one of his tires.

It felt ridiculously satisfying. Lucille, watching all fired-up, looked like she was ready to hype me into flipping the whole damn car. Neither of us noticed the looming shadow until a voice cut through like ice.

"Pay up."

I froze before slowly turning around. And there he was-Theodore.

His expression was stone-cold, eyes sharp enough to prick skin. "One hundred grand."

Panic surged inside me. He stepped closer with purpose, glanced at the tire, then grabbed the wrist that had held the blade. "One tire. One hundred thousand. You're paying for it."

I bit back the urge to scream at him and shot a quick look at Lucille, trying to signal her to run. But Theodore was faster. His driver had already intercepted her, dragged her to a waiting cab before she could react, shoved her in, gave the guy a wad of cash, and slammed the door shut.

Lucille's pissed-off shouts echoed across the street, catching plenty of attention from passers-by. Not that it helped. The next second the cab disappeared around the corner.

Something felt real wrong. I turned to bolt but barely made it two steps before he caught up. In one swift move, he hooked my legs and lifted me over his shoulder like it was nothing. I screamed and flailed, but he shoved me into his car and climbed in right after, snapping at his driver, "Bring another car."

My face burned as I yelled, "What the hell are you doing? We're on a freaking public street!"

Then both his hands moved, coming at me fast.

Theodore grabbed my chin, his eyes locked on mine like a vice-cold, sharp, and more than a little overbearing. "You seriously don't take any responsibility, do you? Just pretend stuff you did never happened? Who do you think you are? Think everyone's just gonna put up with you?"

I was already pissed off about his betrayal, and now he had the nerve to come at me like this? That set me off. "At least I don't lie to myself and everyone else like some people do."

My sass lit a fire in his eyes, his voice low and almost sinister. "You'll thank me for this one day."

I gave a cold snort, rolled my eyes and reached for the car door, wanting to get the hell out, only for him to slam it shut and lock it before I could even breathe. "You think you can just walk away?"

My chest was rising and falling in rage. I cursed him six ways to Sunday in my head, and still couldn't hold it back. I clenched my teeth and spat, "What, you wanna keep me prisoner now? You think I forgot what a scumbag Graham is? And what right do you have to get all worked up about a stupid tire? You're just pissed for the sake of it. Didn't you say you hated me, that I was beneath you? So what now? You suddenly can't stay away? What are you into-pain? Or did a few nights together mess with your head?"

I gave a mocking smirk. "Honestly, between the two of us, you're the pathetic one."

His jaw clenched so hard I thought the veins in his neck might pop. His eyes were pure fury, like he wanted to end me right there. And yeah, I was scared-who wouldn't be-but I stared right back at him, refusing to flinch.

"Get out!" he barked, flinging the door open with one violent sweep, voice hoarse and brimming with rage.

His glare could've set me on fire.

That look of pure hatred felt like someone stabbed my heart, deep and brutal. It hurt-more than I'd admit.

I didn't say a word. I turned, stepped out of the car-and bam, he shoved me from behind and slammed the door shut behind me. Windows rolled up, total silence. Didn't even glance back.

I stood in the wind, freezing to my bones.

Right then, Fiona Holmes called. Said there was something urgent and I needed to get back to the office right away.

When I got back and barely sat down at my desk, one of the girls from my department-someone who'd never been on good terms with me-shot me a smug side-eye and muttered loud enough for the whole office to hear, "Homewrecker. Desperate little attention-seeker."

She wasn't loud, but boy, the room got quiet. Everyone turned to stare at me like they were waiting for a circus act.

Across from me, Fiona wheeled her chair over and leaned in close. "Where the hell were you? You have no idea what's gone down. Early this morning, someone came from the Sterling Group. Said they were Mr. Theodore's assistant. They went into Mr. Hatcher's office, had some kind of secret talk.

"Originally, Mr. Hatcher had told HR to prep your termination paperwork. But right after that assistant left, he stopped HR and even told Finance to bump your salary by twenty percent. Is it true? Are you actually messing around with your sister's fiancé?"

I almost passed out. Twenty percent?! What the hell even happened while I was gone?

Oliver came out of his office just then, spotted me, and beckoned with a polite, steady tone. "Natalie, come in for a minute."

My nerves instantly went haywire. I stood up shakily under the thick stares and low whispers swirling around me like vultures.

Inside the office, I sat at the seat opposite his desk. That fake, overly sweet smile plastered on his face made my skin crawl.He stood next to me and patted my shoulder approvingly. "Natalie, you've been with the company for a while now. You've shown solid work ethic. Honestly, you're the only one under me right now I actually trust and see potential in..."

"Mr. Hatcher, whatever it is, just lay it out," I cut him off straight.

Only then did Oliver nod and sit down. "What happened last night, that was on me. But President Graham used the ongoing project we're doing with his firm to pressure me. You know how cutthroat the industry's been-this project has top-level attention. We're halfway through now, but if it gets scrapped out of the blue, I'll be the one taking the fall."

I frowned. "So what exactly are you saying?"

He sighed. "I'm saying, can you talk to Mr. Sterling and ask him not to go against us? Besides the raise, if there's anything you're still unhappy about, just tell me-I'll try to fix it. Once things are smoothed out with you, Mr. Sterling will likely greenlight our collaboration. This is a rare shot. If things go well, we'll all benefit big time."

My mind was spinning. I'd been getting ready to resign, and now I couldn't even get the words out.

But the moment I heard Theodore's name, a chill shot up my spine. That man-he was sneaky, manipulative, and impossible to figure out. Totally terrifying.

I got through the day at work spaced out. Didn't write up a single proposal. And then, while heading home, I bumped into my landlady coming to collect my rent. I pulled out my wallet, ready to pay, but she just laughed and said I was silly-it had already been taken care of.

Confused, I entered my place and spotted Lucille lounging on my sofa, legs crossed like she owned the place. That explained it.

I grabbed my phone from my bag. "I'm sending you 3,000 bucks."

"Hold it right there," Lucille waved me off with a grin, looking secretive. "Keep it for now. Once I help you settle something major, you can pay me back-with interest."

She looked so smug, like a cat that just stole a fish, I instantly knew something was up. "Spill. What's going on?"

Raising an eyebrow, she said slyly, "What do you think? Just watch."

She pulled out her phone and opened up a video. Instantly, loud moaning filled the room. "Ah, yes, Kevin... harder, don't stop..."

The scene showed Isabella completely naked under that call boy Kevin, totally lost in it. They kept switching positions, and her breathy sounds were downright explicit. It was borderline porn. Even I blushed hard watching it.

Lucille tapped my nose, grinning wickedly. "What, reminded you of your first night with your dear Mr. Sterling? Come on, spill it-good or not? Did he deliver?"

Flushed as hell, I kicked her with embarrassment. But deep down, I couldn't stop the rush of excitement bubbling inside.

"And that's not all. My brother helped me dig into Julian's whereabouts-turns out he ran off overseas. But get this-he's flying back soon."

My heart thudded. "That's sketchy. If he fled, what's he coming back for?"

"Apparently his dad's turning fifty-five. I also heard Julian's been living it up abroad-partying, sleeping around, even dating a exchange student. Oh, and I pulled some bank records-Vivian's account recently transferred several large sums to an overseas account. Isn't that suspicious?"

I clenched my jaw tight. Julian had dumped me for a fat paycheck from Vivian. I'd been dying for payback. And now, with this video in my hands?

There's no way Theodore could keep ignoring this and go through with marrying Isabella. Unless he's seriously messed up. And Vivian-you owe me. Time to settle the score.

A few days later, at Isabella and Theodore's engagement party.

The moment Lucille and I walked in arm-in-arm, Vivian was already pretending to be all warm and chummy with the Sterling relatives at the door. The second she saw me dressed to the nines, her face twisted with rage.

She stormed over, making sure no one was watching, and hissed through clenched teeth, "You little bitch, what are you doing here? Get out!"

I scoffed lightly. "What kind of tone is that, Mom? I'm Natalie, the eldest daughter of the Reynolds family. What's wrong with me showing up to my own sister's engagement party? You might want to watch it-if Grandpa hears about this, you'll have to deal with the fallout."

Vivian's eyes practically popped out of her head, clearly dying to rip me apart. But with so many people around, she could only glare while I sidestepped her and kept walking. Just as I passed, she muttered under her breath, grinding her teeth, "I'm warning you-try anything tonight, and I'll make sure you regret it first."

I curled my lips into a mocking smile. "Can't wait to see you try."

We hadn't been inside long when commotion rippled through the entrance. A sleek black limousine pulled up, and out stepped Theodore with his mother and grandfather, exuding elegance and superiority.

As he walked past me, his eyes flicked my way with icy indifference. Just that single glance made my heart race enough to stop me from lifting my head.

The room filled up fast, with plenty of high-profile guests from the business world and political circles. No doubt about it-this event had pulled out all the stops. Vivian and Hubert stood in the thick of it, laughing along with Mortimer Sterling and singing praises about each other's children like they were performing a duet. Couldn't even wipe the smiles off their faces.

I stared at their smug, greasy grins, disgust rising in my throat. I slammed my wine glass down on the table and pulled out my phone from the clutch. A few taps, and a message was sent to Theodore. Without missing a beat, I headed for a quiet corner of the room.

Footsteps echoed behind me, getting closer. I turned and saw the tall figure I had expected. Chin lifted, I smiled sweetly. Nailed it.

He stopped in front of me, towering over, eyes cold and warning. "Natalie, what game are you playing now?"

"I want you to call off this engagement with the Reynolds family."

"Not a chance," he shot back, sharp and quick, way more decisive than me. "Haven't I warned you enough times already?"

I met his gaze dead-on, unflinching. "You don't even love her. Marrying her is just setting yourself up for misery. I'm actually doing you a favor today. I've got something to show you, and I think you'd want to see it before turning me down."

"Natalie!"

He growled out my name, furious. I looked down, opened a video on my phone, turned the screen around, and held it up toward him. Frame after frame of crystal-clear, explicit footage played out in front of him.

Meanwhile, I started smiling like I'd just won the jackpot, arching my brow with a taunt. "What do you think? I've got even juicier stuff in my phone. I dare you to still take her home to meet the parents after this."

Theodore suddenly stepped forward. Before I knew what was happening, the world spun sideways-he had slung me over his shoulder in one swift move.

Eyes wide with disbelief, I started punching his back in rage, but I didn't scream-I didn't want the guests noticing. He stormed off without a word, carrying me up the staircase like I was weightless, and kicked open the rooftop door.

"You bastard, you-"

My furious shout was cut off when he shoved me against the railing. The cold metal pressed hard into my bare shoulders, sending a sharp chill through my spine.He had one arm braced on the railing, boxing me in, while his other hand clamped onto my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His anger was written all over his face. "Who the hell gave you the guts to film those videos? Don't tell me you actually went there yourself!"

The grip hurt, pulling a painful frown across my features. I snapped back, "Yeah, I did. So what? You better let go before someone sees us-you're not worried about your image?"

Theodore let out a cold chuckle, his knee suddenly jamming between my legs, pushing closer. "Your reputation's long gone, Natalie. Are you seriously still worried about it? Or are you just that desperate to stop me from marrying your sister?"

The sarcasm and chill in his eyes sliced straight through me. I turned my head, avoiding his gaze in panic. "Yes. That's right. So what?"

He yanked me right back, his eyes sharp as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Why? What's your reason?"

I shoved at him hard. "Back off!"

With no warning, his hand pressed roughly against my chest, grabbing tight. His voice was shaking with rage. "I asked you why! Why are you doing everything to mess this up for me?"

My whole body froze, my face losing all color.

Was the answer to that question still something I could explain-even to myself?

My fingers dug into his chest, the pressure tightening. Finally, I raised my head, meeting his stare with a chill in my voice. "Vivian wronged me. Neither she nor her daughter gets to play happy family in front of me."

Theodore's expression darkened visibly, his gaze locked on my stubborn face, suppressed emotions simmering in his eyes.

Then he broke into a cold, mocking laugh, let go, and without any warning, yanked up my skirt. His fingers shoved between my thighs, movements harsh and violating.

A sharp jolt shot through me with the aggression of it. I clenched my teeth so hard it hurt, but my strength gave out and I collapsed weakly against him, shivering.

He suddenly yanked his hand away and forcefully shoved me aside, his words dripping with disgust as he spat into my ear, "You're really disgusting, Natalie."

He walked away without even a glance back.

I leaned against the wall, eyes stinging, heart twisted with pain.

By the time I pulled myself together and made it back to the hall, Isabella was just coming down the spiral stairs in her gown. Theodore stood at the foot of the steps, face composed again, waiting for her to put her hand into his. Together, they turned to smile at the guests and bowed.

The applause roared around us, and voices praising how perfect they looked echoed in my ears like taunts. Just as the pain in my chest tightened, Theodore's eyes locked right on me. He gave a mocking smirk, then spoke in his low timbre that filled the whole place.

"Thank you everyone for joining us today. I've just received a special little gift-figured I should show it to all of you."

My heart dropped. Panicked, I lowered my head and frantically felt around my dress for my phone. Before I could do anything, Theodore had already raised my phone and tapped the screen connected to the projector meant to play Isabella's childhood montage.

The audio clicked on full blast.

"Ah... mmm... Kevin, give it to me..."

"D-don't stop... Kevin, you're amazing. I finally have you... oh god..."

The room froze. Every sound died. Mouths opened in shock but no one said a word, everyone just stared at the screen.

Isabella's face went paper white before she crumpled to the floor at Theodore's feet. I was still frozen when Vivian recognized the phone in his hand. Her eyes snapped toward me, filled with rage, and her shriek split the air.

"Natalie! You vile bitch!"