Chương 6
To let lawyers handle everything.
To step away from the company, the media, and the people who would suddenly have opinions about me.
But running away had never actually protected me.
It had only delayed the moment when I had to choose.
The lobby was different when I entered.
Not physically.
The same marble floors.
The same receptionist.
The same security desk.
But people looked at me differently.
News traveled quickly in companies.
Especially when the news involved the CEO.
The receptionist, a young woman named Lily, looked up from her computer.
Her expression changed slightly.
"Mrs. Pierce."
I stopped.
That name sounded strange now.
"I don't use that name anymore."
She immediately looked embarrassed.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
I gave her a small smile.
She relaxed a little.
"Ms. Carter?"
I nodded.
"That works."
The elevator ride was uncomfortable.
Two employees stepped inside before the doors closed.
They recognized me.
I could feel it.
Not because they said anything.
Because people became very interested in their phones when they wanted to pretend they were not listening.
One of them finally spoke.
"Is it true?"
The other person looked nervous.
"Don't."
The first employee lowered his voice.
"I just asked."
I watched the floor numbers change.
The old me would have apologized for making everyone uncomfortable.
The new me was still learning not to.
When I reached Nathan's floor, his assistant immediately stood.
"Emma."
Her name was Rachel.
She had worked for Nathan for three years.
She was good at her job.
Too good, sometimes.
She could schedule impossible meetings and somehow make everyone believe they had chosen the time themselves.
"I wasn't expecting you."
"I need to collect some personal things."
Her expression shifted.
"Of course."
Then she hesitated.
"Is Nathan here?"
I almost laughed.
Everyone knew.
The question was never whether Nathan was in the building.
It was whether Nathan was ready to face something.
"Yes."
Rachel looked down.
"He's been in his office since seven."
That did not surprise me.
Nathan always arrived early when he was trying to control something.
I walked toward his office.
The door was open.
He was standing near the window.
No jacket.
No tie.
The expensive appearance was still there, but the confidence was missing.
He turned when he heard me.
"Emma."
I waited.
He looked at me for several seconds.
"I didn't sleep."
I said nothing.
"I kept thinking about yesterday."
Still nothing.
His jaw tightened.
"You don't have to act like I don't exist."
"I spent two years feeling like I didn't exist."
The words came out before I could soften them.
Nathan looked away.
That was the first time he had no immediate response.
"I was wrong."
The sentence surprised me.
Not because I had never wanted an apology.
Because I had wanted one when it mattered.
"About what?"
He looked back.
"About you."
I folded my arms.
"That's a very broad apology."
He sighed.
"I know."
For a moment, he looked exhausted.
Not like the CEO.
Like the man who used to fall asleep on my couch while pretending he was only resting his eyes.
"I thought I understood your life."
"You never asked."
"I thought you were happy."
"I was."
The answer seemed to hurt him.
"I mean..."
He stopped.
I waited.
He looked down.
"I thought you were happy because of me."
There it was.
The truth hidden beneath everything.
Nathan did not just underestimate me.
He believed he was the reason I was valuable.
"You were important to me," I said.
His eyes lifted.
"But you were never the reason I mattered."
The silence between us felt different from the silence in the boardroom.
This one had sadness inside it.
Not anger.
Not humiliation.
Just two people finally seeing how far apart they had become.
"Madison is gone," he said.
I blinked.
"What?"
"She left."
I did not know what emotion I was supposed to feel.
Relief?
Satisfaction?
Nothing came.
"When?"
"Last night."
"Why are you telling me?"
Nathan looked uncomfortable.
"Because I thought you should know."
I nodded.
"Okay."
He seemed disappointed by the lack of reaction.
Maybe he expected proof that I still cared.
Maybe some part of him wanted me to be jealous.
But jealousy required wanting something back.
And I was not sure I wanted the man standing in front of me.
Not the way he was.
"She said I only loved the version of you that benefited me."
I looked at him.
Nathan gave a small, bitter smile.
"She wasn't wrong."
That honesty was new.
It almost made me sadder.
Because I remembered the man he used to be.
The one who could admit when he failed.
The one who apologized before pride became more important than people.
"What happens now?" he asked.
I looked around the office.
At the awards.
The photographs.
The company he had built.
"I don't know."
His face tightened.
"Are you going to destroy me?"
The question bothered me.
Not because it offended me.
Because it revealed how little he understood me.
"I don't want to destroy you."
"Then what do you want?"
I thought about it.
The answer had changed over the years.
At first, I wanted him to understand.
Then I wanted him to regret.
Now I wanted something else.
"I want the truth."
Nathan looked at me carefully.
"About what?"
"Everything."
A knock came at the door.
Rachel stood there holding a folder.
"I'm sorry to interrupt."
She looked between us.
"The board members are asking for an emergency meeting."
Nathan's expression changed.
"What happened?"
Rachel swallowed.
"They received a report about irregular transfers from company accounts."
The room went silent.
Nathan looked at the folder.
Then at me.
For the first time, neither of us knew what came next.
And somewhere beneath the fear spreading through the room, I understood one thing.
My divorce had not ended my connection to Nathan Pierce.
May you like
It had only uncovered the reason it had to happen.
The emergency board meeting started forty minutes later.
