Chapter 14 My Lucky Charm
At the Sinclair Corporation, the atmosphere was heavy and tense. Every employee had stiff shoulders and tired eyes.
The Empire Group had been creating problems for them for months. Deals were crumbling, negotiations collapsing, and the pressure of keeping the business stable was wearing everyone down.
Inside his office, James stood hunched over his desk, one hand pressed against his forehead as he stared at the papers in front of him like they were suffocating him.
Kylie was standing beside him, leaning slightly toward his chair.
James didn’t even hide his irritation. “I’ve already signed the documents for that apartment. Kylie, you and I are done. You need to stop coming to my office. I’ve told you—there is nothing between us, and there never will be.”
Kylie bit her lip hard, her mouth twisting in a mix of bitterness and desperation.
‘If it weren’t for the fact that my career is ruined and I have no other choice, do you think I would be standing here begging?’
But she didn’t say any of that out loud.
Instead, she drew in a slow breath, forcing herself to calm down as she softened her expression. Tears gathered in her eyes, and when she finally spoke, her voice trembled with practiced innocence.
“James…” she whispered, sounding small and pitiful. “You and I have known each other for years. Even if we can’t be together… we’re still friends, aren’t we? After everything between us… I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
James sighed heavily. His patience was thinning.
He turned his chair toward her and spoke in a quiet but cold voice:
“Kylie… there needs to be a limit. You and I both know you never wanted to be friends with me. From the beginning, your intentions were never friendship.”
“If you knew that from the very start, then why didn’t you say anything when you were married to Mia all these years?
” Kylie snapped, her voice sharp and trembling.
She looked him straight in the eyes, hurt and rage mixing together.
“James… you were there for me for five years. Every time I called you, you came. So why are you pretending now that I don’t mean anything to you? ”
Her voice cracked. “It’s not like I forced you to be with me back then. But you were there for me, James. Always.”
“I was just being a good friend,” James insisted, jaw tight.
Kylie let out a cold, disbelieving laugh. “A good friend?” she shot back. “A good friend who rushes to a woman’s side in the middle of the night? A friend who drops everything the second she calls?”
She placed her hand on his shoulder again, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt as she leaned in closer, her breath brushing his cheek. Her voice softened with a practiced seduction.
“James… we’re both single now. We can finally be together. Isn’t that what you wanted all along?”
Her eyes locked onto his. “You and I both know you’ve always liked me. Isn’t that why you were always there whenever I called? What other reason could there be?”
James’s face twisted with discomfort. “Kylie… everything I did was because you were a friend. Nothing more.”
But the words came out weak, almost hollow. Even he could hear how unconvincing he sounded. His thoughts tangled.
He had never truly accepted Mia… never even tried. Kylie had always been a constant in his life. He had long assumed a woman like her would be his wife someday. Instead, he married Mia—a young, simple, clueless girl, far from the accomplished, enviable woman he had imagined by his side.
Since it was just a business marriage, it was easier for him to ignore the commitment than to face the truth: even though Mia wasn’t what he had pictured as his wife, she had captivated him from the very first glance.
He kept running from Mia, avoiding her, letting someone else fill the space that should have been hers. He spent his time with Kylie, even when Mia needed him most.
This refusal to face his feelings, to accept Mia as his wife, had led him to make terrible mistakes. He had chosen to run, to focus on anything and anyone other than her—and that choice had always ended with Kylie.
James finally grabbed Kylie’s wrist and pushed her hand off his shoulder. His eyes burned with annoyance and something darker. “I’ve repeated this a thousand times, and I’ll say it again,” he snapped. “There was nothing between you and me. I never led you on. I never promised you anything.”
Kylie’s face twisted in pure anger. The softness vanished instantly. Her whole body went rigid as heat boiled under her skin.
‘He used to listen to me. He used to do anything I asked. He used to come running the second I called. The moment Mia disappeared, I thought he’d finally choose me. I was sure of it. But he’s even colder now. As if I don’t even exist…’
Her nails dug into her palm as she clenched her fists. Rage flickered sharp and ugly in her eyes.
Just then, the office door swung open.
A man rushed in, breathless. “Mr. Sinclair!” he said urgently. “I found a sign of Madam’s whereabouts!”
The entire office had been living through hell for the past few months. James’s first and only priority had been finding Mia. James had turned into a different man—obsessed, aggressive, constantly demanding updates about Mia. Every time a report came in, the entire office held its breath.
The pressure, the tension, and the fear had almost broken everyone… because James was no longer the controlled, icy man he used to be.
Finding Mia had become his only priority.
And now—
They finally had a clue.
James shot out of his seat so fast the chair rolled back and hit the wall. He tossed the files in his hands onto the desk with a loud thud and rushed toward the man, his steps sharp.
“What is it? What did you find? Where is she?” James demanded, grabbing the man’s arm
The man swallowed, nervously shifting his weight. “Sir, her personal information was just updated on public records. Her status changed from divorced to… married.”
James went completely still—frozen like someone had unplugged his soul.
Beside him, Kylie’s face ignited with a sick, bright spark of joy she tried—and failed—to hide. A triumphant smile curled at her lips.
‘She got married? That fast? Did she marry that secretary she was clinging to? What a fool… leaving someone like James for a small-time office boy.’ Her chest fluttered with happiness.
‘Or maybe she married some old man for money. I’ve never seen her with anyone else.
That secretary only showed up once. Yes… it must be some old rich man.’
Her fingers twitched with excitement. ‘Whatever it is, she’s out of my way now. James will finally be mine.’
James’s face turned white—dead white. He stared at the man, not breathing.
“What?” he whispered. “Who… who got married?”
“Mrs. Mia Sinclair,” the man repeated, voice tight. “I checked her details. It shows her status as married.”
James blinked rapidly, confusion clouding his eyes. He looked down at his shoes, then back up, as if couldn’t understand a word coming out of that man’s mouth.
“Married?…” he murmured, voice cracking. “Whose marriage? Who got married?” His brows pulled together, and the entire office fell silent except for his shallow, uneven breathing.
The man stepped forward.
“Miss Mia Bennet, sir,” the man said again, his tone tight with tension. “Mrs. Sinclair? I checked it twice. The update is from the official government site. Her status changed from divorced to married just recently.”
He extended a printed document toward James.
James snatched it out of his hands, his fingers trembling. He scanned every line, eyes darting wildly over the paper.
There it was.
Her name.
Mia Bennet
Status: Married.
Everything else—the details of her age, her spouse, her current address—was blank.
As James continued to stare blankly at the paper in his hands, the man spoke nervously, “I tried to find out who she married, where she’s living now, any new address… but nothing came up.”
James heard the words—but they sounded far away, like echoes through water. His vision blurred as he stared at the printed sheet, his fingers tightening until the paper crumpled.
His head began to spin violently. His knees weakened. The room tilted.
“Sir—!” William rushed forward, catching him by the arm as James’s body swayed backward.
James’s breath came in fast, sharp bursts. Suddenly he ripped the paper in half—then again—shredding it with shaking hands.
“What the hell is this?!” he roared, voice breaking. “This is fake!”
His eyes were wild, red, furious.
“She divorced me just a few weeks ago—HOW can she be married already?!”
His voice cracked painfully, filled with disbelief and something deeper—panic.
His headache pounded, sharp and brutal. He glared at the man, then at William, fury and desperation mixing in his eyes.
“She must be waiting for me,” James muttered, his voice shaky, his eyes unfocused.
He looked at William like a man desperately searching for someone to agree with him.
“Obviously. Divorce was just a… a brief break between us. Married couples fight. Married couples argue. Isn’t that how all marriages are? ”
His lips trembled, and he tried again, but nothing clear came out. He couldn’t even form the words properly.
“How—how can she—” The words broke apart in his throat.
He stared at the ripped pieces of paper scattered on the floor, then suddenly turned and stormed toward the door, chest rising and falling harshly.
But before he could leave, Kylie rushed forward, throwing her arms tightly around his waist from behind. She hugged him desperately, pressing her face against his back.
“James— you clearly saw how fast that bitch moved on,” she said loudly. “Look at her. You divorced her not even a few weeks ago and she already got married to some other man.”
James froze, fists clenching at his sides, his shoulders stiffening.