Chapter 13 - Three Years Earlier
Flashback:
Three years ago, Emilia did not know she was losing him.
She thought they were building something.
Adrian had just secured the Singapore expansion deal. Blackwell Holdings was rising aggressively in the international market. Emilia remembered how proud she felt watching him during that phase.
He had invited her to the celebration dinner.
Not as a date.
Not publicly.
But privately, afterward.
That should have been the first sign.
The gala hall that night was full of investors, press, and executives. Emilia stood near the balcony, wearing navy silk — elegant, understated. Adrian liked when she wasn't flashy.
She was waiting for him.
But Adrian was not alone.
Camila Laurent stood beside him.
Effortless in silver.
Confident.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
Emilia watched as Camila leaned in close to whisper something into Adrian's ear. He smiled. Not politely.
Softly.
Like history.
People around them were already murmuring.
"They're unstoppable together."
"Power duo."
"They should just marry and merge everything."
Emilia heard it.
Adrian heard it too.
And he didn't correct it.
That was the first fracture.
Later that night, when Emilia finally approached him, Camila was still there.
"Emilia," Camila greeted smoothly, her smile perfectly measured. "You must be proud of him."
Must be.
As if Emilia were an outsider.
Adrian didn't notice the tone.
Or maybe he did.
He just didn't address it.
"Camila handled the negotiations brilliantly," he said. "Couldn't have done it without her."
Emilia smiled politely.
But something in her chest tightened.
She didn't mind Camila being capable.
She minded being invisible.
?
The real moment came two weeks later.
Adrian had promised Emilia dinner. A rare, private evening.
She had waited in the restaurant for forty minutes.
Then an hour.
Her calls went unanswered.
Finally, his assistant informed her:
"Emergency board discussion."
She understood business.
She always had.
But when she turned on the news later that night—
She saw him.
Not in a boardroom.
At a late corporate strategy dinner.
Across from Camila.
Laughing.
Relaxed.
Intimate.
The article headline read:
"Blackwell & Laurent: The Next Power Alliance?"
There it was.
The narrative forming.
And he still did not deny it.
When he finally called her past midnight, his tone was tired.
"Why didn't you pick up?" she asked quietly.
"I was in meetings."
She had almost told him she saw the article.
Almost told him she waited.
Instead, she swallowed it.
"I missed you tonight," she said instead.
"I'll make it up to you," he replied.
But he didn't.
Because from that point forward, Camila became constant.
Strategic meetings.
Overseas trips.
Late-night calls.
Shared hotel floors during conferences.
Always "necessary."
Always "business."
Emilia never found proof of physical betrayal.
But she began noticing the shift.
He asked Camila's opinion first.
He defended Camila when Emilia expressed discomfort.
He once told her, lightly—
"You're overthinking it. Camila has always been there."
Always.
That word cut deeper than intended.
Because Emilia had not always been there.
Camila had.
Childhood friend.
Trusted partner.
Legacy connection.
Emilia was newer.
Replaceable.
That was the insecurity Camila fed slowly.
One evening, at a private investors' cocktail, Camila deliberately placed her hand on Adrian's arm as they posed for photos.
Emilia was standing three feet away.
The cameras clicked.
Camila didn't remove her hand.
Adrian didn't move away.
And Emilia realized something devastating.
He didn't see the disrespect.
Because he didn't see her discomfort as priority.
That night, she cried quietly in her apartment.
Not because he cheated physically.
But because he didn't protect the space between them.
That was the beginning.
Not betrayal in a hotel room.
But emotional displacement.
Three years ago—
Camila didn't steal Adrian.
Adrian slowly handed over emotional access.
And Emilia stayed.
Hoping he would notice.
He didn't.
Until now.
?
End Chapter 13