Nova

I sit in bed, staring absentmindedly at a corner of the room.

Moonlight seeps through the windows and paints everything a serene shade of blue and the silence is calm, but my mind is far away from the present.

Unlike my dreams, I remember my nightmares in brutal detail. They are never scary, just reminders of my past and all the things I could have, should have, done differently. My nightmares are a collage of regrets resurfacing to remind me who I am and what I destroyed.

Memories laced with guilt and pushed away bubble up to the surface and I can't help but relive them.

After I got my heart broken watching Theodore get married, I wrote letters upon letters to him. It went on for months on end; a routine filled with writing, stalking, and feeling more disappointed and angry with each passing day.

And then one day I finally received a reply.

It was his handwriting. I could even smell a whiff of his cologne on it. My anticipation was at an all time high it made my hands tremble as I opened the letter, eager to hear from him for the first time since he left.

It was brief. Detached even. It was just a single line that warned me to never reach out to him again, to move on.

For a moment, the air left my lungs and I wanted to disappear.

I refused to believe I was just another girl, another summer fling. I refused to believe the Theodore I knew would ever abandon me so easily. So I put all my anger and hurt into another letter and sent it. I was certain that he would read it and remember what we shared.

And that was when I began to face the consequences of falling in love with the heir of a national empire.

It's started small. Rumors that painted my parent's family owned hotel resort in a bad light. Then important business investors and suppliers got lured away by rival businesses. Slowly, we lost even the most loyal clients and the hotel became a relic of the past and had to be shut down.

And everybody in town knew why. It was an open secret that Theodore's family pulled a string or two in favor of our rivals.

In less than a year, my parents went from successful business owners to sick and ailing. And soon after, they died.

"Yet here I am, sleeping in the comfortable sheets of the man behind their deaths and fucking him in my dreams," I mutter bitterly.

Hot tears slide down my tears as an ache I have long since identified as self loathing settles like an anchor in my chest.

After a long, shaky breath, a sigh leaves my parched lips and I reach for the faint light of my phone. It's only 1am.

I swing my legs out of bed and head downstairs to quench my thirst.

Just like last night, Theodore's dark figure stands overlooking the scene from the tall windows in the darkness of the living room. His white shirt is untucked and his sleeves are rolled up while his dark trousers hang low on his hips.

But this time I pay him no mind and walk by silently. I'm in no mood to entertain a conversation with anyone, especially not him.

For a second I allow myself to think about his strange sleeping patterns and the bags under his eyes but I ignore the thought.

In the kitchen, I drink a glass of water and walk to the stairs heading back to my room when he speaks.

"You're not going on that date."

A bitter chuckle leaves my lips. "Or else what? You'll fire me?"

His jaw tightens. "I won't have my staff–"

"--the contract says I can go about my life after the children have been put to bed for the day, provided I am back in time for the next day's activities and I don't allow it affect my performance."

He arches an eyebrow in surprise.

"I told you," I add as I fold my arms. "I actually read that form."

And yet, I somehow missed the clause that stated I had to work for him for a minimum of a year. How could I have missed it? How could I have been so stupid?

"Stop being so fucking stubborn Nova," he says as he runs a hand through his hair. "You have no idea what Grant is capable of. I'm trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" My eyes narrow and I step closer until I can see the storm in his dark eyes. "You think you're the good guy here? You're the one forcing me to work for you or else you'll take me to court for a ridiculous amount of money."

"Like you have better fucking options?" he laughs incredulously. "I'm saving your fucking life by taking you in."

Anger bubbles up in me at the thought of being saved by him. "You're saving my life? After you ruined it?"

"What the fuck do you mean?" he spits. "We spent one fucking summer together, I don't owe you shit."

The words hit harder than expected, but it isn't his tone that breaks me, it's the confusion on his face.

"Wait..." My voice drops to a whisper. "Do you not remember what you did?"

The confusion on his face deepens and that is all the answer I need. I take a step back, seeing him in a new light.

Since the day I saw him again for the first time I have been waiting for an explanation. Some sort of crazy, unimaginable and yet true story to convince me what happened was a mistake and something he regrets.

Instead, he doesn't even remember ruining my life.

It finally dawns on me that this man before me is not the person I fell in love with.

"Let me out of that contract, Mr Thompson," I say quietly.

His eyes flash in anger. "You don't seem to understand, Miss Patel," he says, each syllable coming out like a blade. "While you're under this contract what you do, where you go and even who you see, I am in control of it all. Do not fuck with me."

Just like before, my life and freedom is completely in his hands to do whatever with. But this time I won't allow it.

"Then I'm leaving," I whisper as I turn and walk away. "I would rather fight you in court than spend another fucking second here."

I would rather lose the little I have escaping him than play his twisted game.

"You might be willing to lose everything," he calls after me, "but is your friend? Alexandra, was it?"

Her name from his lips stops me dead in my tracks. The warning is clear.

I might not have much to lose but Xander has her whole life ahead of her. Thoughts of Xander suffering what I did flash through my mind and I know I could never do that to her.

Slowly, I turn to face him and my voice trembles with fury.

"You're a fucking monster."

The corner of his lips lifts in a bitter smile. "Are you just finding out?"

You're a fucking monster.

Now the voices from my nightmares follow me into my waking hours except this one was not just a voice in my head.

It was her. And the words cut deeper than they should have.

I lean back into the office chair, loosening my tie and staring at the polished surface of my desk. The faint scent of whiskey lingers, my poor attempt at drowning out last night.

She looked like she had been crying. I realized it too late, only seeing the red in her eyes when she got closer and by then emotions were already too high to stop.

I wanted to take her into my arms and apologize for everything but the anger in her eyes was directed at me, she wanted nothing to do with me.

And maybe she's right to keep her distance.

The day after what I now know was our last day together, I returned to the city with a heavy heart but excited at the thought of keeping in touch with the girl I spent an enchanting summer with.

Instead, my father presented me with my only option. He didn't ask, he commanded. Save the empire, he said, by getting married and taking over as the head.

A heavy sigh leaves my lips. At the time if felt like duty but now I recognize it as cowardice. That was not the only option. Maybe I should have run away, back to her. Maybe we could have lived a modest but happy life. But I didn't. I chose a family that doesn't give a fuck about me and a company that's not completely mine. Over her.

So of course her guards are up against me.

Now every time she calls me "Mr Thompson" it feels like a knife, it's a reminder of the distance I put between us.

But is that really the only reason she despises me? It feels like something more...

There's a short knock on the door and an assistant peeks in. "Sir? Your brother is here."

My brows furrow in annoyance instinctively at the mention of him. "Let him in."

"As if I need actual permission to enter," Grant says as he strolls in and sprawls onto the leather sofa like he owns the place.

"Well then, dear younger brother," he says as he flashes his signature charming smile, a smile I have seen work on many people over the years. "Have you thought about my proposal?"

"I maintain the same stance as I did yesterday," I say as I lean back into my chair. This might be the only part of this entire interaction I will enjoy- denying Grant what he asks for.

"Maybe another round of visiting every club and bar on planet earth will get you ready but for now, quite unfortunately," I say in a voice that says completely otherwise, "the company doesn't need you."

The mask slips off his face and I know what is coming next.

"You piece of shit," he spits. He gets up and stands leaning over the table. "This office, that chair, this entire company belongs to me. I am the rightful heir to this empire and I won't have you standing in my way. I'm warning you, step down now or this fight will turn ugly and I will take everything by force."

The threat hangs in the air between us. He does have a right to the empire. Father only handed it to me as punishment for his misdemeanor in the hopes that one day when Grant is more suited for the role, he can lead again. And then father died, without clearly naming his successor.

I study my older brother now, he's the image of arrogance. Father once said Grant has fire, but all I see is a man who will burn everything he touches.

For a second I wonder why I care. I was smart enough to ensure that whether I lead the empire or not my future and the future of my children is secure. I could hand him the company today and when he runs it down to the ground tomorrow, I will still be standing tall.

But everything I worked for will be gone. So I stand and say, "No. You will never sit in this chair. You are too impulsive, too reckless."

His eyes blaze with hate.

I lean in closer and whisper, "And stay away from Nova."

The shift on his face is immediate as anger melts into a smirk on hearing her name and my jaw ticks in annoyance.

"I had a feeling you would say that," he says as he walks back to the sofa. "So I had your assistant bring me a copy of the original contract and the contract she signed. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the extra clause you slipped in. The one that traps her in your employment."

He grins slowly and tuts. "You might want to pretend you're a better man than me, Theo, but you're not. You would do anything to win no matter who you trample on. Imagine her reaction if I tell her she has no real legal obligation to stay in your employment, especially after what you did to her family."

My jaws tightens and the muscles on my next strains as he laughs satisfyingly. But what angers me more is the confusion that settles in. What I did to her family?

"Now if you'll excuse me I have a date to prepare for tonight. For you to go that far to keep her, she must be something," he winks, his smirk widening as he heads for the door.

The moment he leaves, silence settles into the air and my knuckles are white from being pressed against the mahogany desk.

I run my hands through my hair and exhale slowly. Something else is definitely going on.

A knock on the door signals the assistant's entry. "Sir, your mother is on the phone."

"Ok." She turns to leave but I call after her. "Who gave Grant a copy of documents?"

"Yes sir, he told me he needed–"

"You're fired," I say without looking up.

"No...wait sir, it was a mistake, it will never happen again–"

I turn away from her. "If security has to be called, I will make sure you never work in this city ever again."

Silence. A few moments later the door closes behind her.

I pick up the phone. "Mother."

"Theodore," she says briskly in a tone as cold as marble. "The gala is approaching. We need the support of that media mogul. Remember what's at stake."

"I remember."

"Good. Do not allow anything slow you down. Goodbye."

"Wait," I call out before she can hang up. "Get me in touch with your Private Investigator."

"What for?"

The image of Nova staring at me with so much hate in her eyes flashes through my mind. Yes, I left her to save my company. But something tells me something more happened between us.

"There's someone I need to check."