Chloe

Morning light crept through the heavy drapes, casting a pale glow over the room. I had been by Orion’s side for three years, and every day was a battle fought with carefully measured moves.

My entire life had been bent toward one goal: to stay at his side and keep anyone, especially Ava, from ruining what I’d built. The sacrifices I made were too many to count, and all of them had one thing in common—they were for him. For us.

People thought Orion’s strength was unshakeable, but they didn’t see what lay beneath. Only I did. I was the one who kept him from crumbling when he faked his own death to escape Ava's clutches.

It was all my idea—a genius ruse that severed the ties binding him to a life he despised. The power he wielded now was, in no small part, because of me. And he was mine. I made sure of it.

I had him twisted around my fingers, not through force, but through devotion. When he looked at me, he saw the woman who pulled him from the brink, who knew his darkest fears and could shape his desires. It was a delicate dance, and I’d perfected every step.

But last night was a close call. Too close.

Orion leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, watching me with stormy eyes as I poured coffee into two cups. I could feel his scrutiny, the question poised on the tip of his tongue. He wouldn’t let it go.

I swallowed my anxiety and turned to face him, putting on the mask I’d worn so many times before.

“It was my ex,” I said, the lie slipping easily off my tongue. “He’s out of jail.”

Orion’s entire demeanor shifted, like a predator catching the scent of blood. “What did he want?”

“He’s threatening me. He said…” I lowered my gaze, letting tears gather in my eyes. “He said if I don’t go back to him, he’ll kill you.”

Rage erupted in his expression. He strode forward, pulling me into a tight embrace. I let myself sob against his chest, feeling the fury that radiated off him. It was almost too easy.

Too easy.

“I won’t let that happen,” he growled, his arms tightening around me. “He’ll have to go through me first.”

I trembled in his embrace, but inside, my thoughts were cold, calculated. Orion couldn’t know the real reason I was on the phone.

Ava was a threat I couldn’t ignore—a thorn that refused to be pulled. But I had come too far to let her take what was mine. If I had to get my hands dirty, so be it. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“You should stay home,” Orion said, pulling back to look at me. “There’s maximum security here.”

“I’m scared,” I whispered, my voice catching just right. “What if he slips past security? What if he kidnaps me?”

He cupped my face, eyes blazing. “Then come with me. But stay at a distance. I don’t want anyone saying it’s because of you that Ava rejected me yesterday.”

I nodded, as if grateful for his protection, even as I felt a dark satisfaction settle within me. He would keep me close, exactly where I needed to be.

We showered and had breakfast, the tension still heavy but now held by his resolve to protect me. When it was time to leave, he walked me to the car after informing the security about being vigilant around the mansion.

When we got to the company, he turned to me, his large hands still laced in mine.

“Make sure you're within my reach and that you're accompanied by the driver at all times,” he commanded. “Don’t leave the company premises until I’m back for you.”

I nodded, pretending to be obedient and scared. He kissed my forehead and walked away, his footsteps echoing down the hall. Once he was out of sight, I slipped past the guards and into the waiting car. There were plans to set in motion—plans Orion would never know about.

Orion would never know the depths I’d go to protect what I had carved out for myself. He believed I needed saving, that my tears were real. The truth was far simpler and far more ruthless: I wasn’t going anywhere. Especially not for Ava.

As the car sped away, I leaned back, a smirk playing on my lips. Orion’s mother, for one, had been easy enough to sway. The woman despised Ava with every fiber of her being, and it was a tool I wielded with precision.

I had spent countless hours listening to her grievances, nurturing her hatred like a carefully tended flame. She loathed Ava’s audacity, her strength—everything that made her a threat to the delicate power structure she'd built around Orion.

Convincing her that Ava needed to be “removed” wasn’t difficult. Planting seeds of anger, fanning her fears—it was almost too easy.

If Orion’s mother thought I was simply a loyal dog protecting her son from a scheming ex-fiancée, then I’d let her believe it. The truth was far more sinister, but that was my burden to bear.

I needed her influence, her connections, her money. She was a pawn, but a useful one, and I had her twisted around my finger almost as tightly as I did her son.

Anger boiled up as I thought of Ava. She had tried to worm her way back into Orion’s life, acting as if the years apart had changed anything. She didn’t know what I knew—the sacrifices I’d made, the blood on my hands.

I had shed everything that could have tied me to the person I once was, all for this. All for him. I wasn’t going to let a spoiled, entitled little girl ruin it.

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. Ava didn’t belong in his world. She was a sore sight, a relic of a past best forgotten. Her presence was a constant reminder that my position wasn’t as secure as it should be, and I hated her for it.

She had dared to reject him in front of everyone, making a fool of him—of us. That wasn’t something I could forgive. Not ever.

The car slowed to a stop, and I stepped out, my expression cold and unreadable. There were other pieces to move, other plans to oversee. If it meant crushing Ava underfoot, so be it. If it meant using every bit of leverage, every ounce of influence I’d acquired over the years, that was exactly what I’d do. The stakes were too high to falter now.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of everything yet to come settle over me like a heavy cloak. I couldn’t afford weakness or hesitation—not when I was this close to securing everything I’d fought for.

“Time to move another pawn on the board,” I murmured to myself, my voice low and resolute.