I looked at the bay. Fog rolled over the water, hiding the horizon. “Then let him wait.”
But he didn’t wait. Three hours later, Ryan knocked again, his expression tight. “He’s here. In the lobby. With Stella.”
“Security?”
“They won’t leave. Ethan’s telling everyone who walks in that you’re his ex-wife and you’re trying to destroy his company.”
I stood. “Let them up.”
Ethan burst into my office like a storm. Stella followed, her heels clicking accusations across the marble floor. “Aurora,” Ethan said, “you need to stop this. Whatever game you’re playing, it’s over.”
I didn’t look up from my monitor. “Mr. Key, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Our clients. Our investors. They’re all gone. And every single one of them mentioned the Zenith Group.” He leaned over my desk, his hands flat on the glass. “You’re doing this. You’re trying to ruin me because I divorced you.”
Stella put a hand on his arm. “Ethan, calm down. Let me handle this.” She turned to me, her smile sharp. “Aurora, I know you’re still in love with Ethan. That’s why you’re doing all this—to get his attention. But here’s the truth: He doesn’t love you. He never did. You were just a placeholder.”
I finally looked up. “Miss Bao, I don’t care what Ethan Key feels or doesn’t feel. I care about business. And right now, the Key Group isn’t good business.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Then make us good business. Invest. Thirty million. That’s all we need.”
“Thirty million?” I laughed. “Mr. Key, you’re really overestimating yourself. I’m loaded. I can buy any company in Vidia. Why would I buy yours?”
“Because—” He stopped. Swallowed. “Because you still care.”
I stood. Walked around my desk until I was inches from him. He smelled the same—expensive cologne and desperation. “Mr. Key, let me tell you something about caring. I cared for four years. I made your soup. I washed your clothes. I slept in hospital chairs when you were sick. And you know what you did? You never once asked me how I was feeling. You never once thanked me. You never once looked at me like I was a person instead of a servant.”
His face went pale. “Aurora…”
“So no. I don’t care anymore. The Key Group will go bankrupt, and I’ll buy your family’s assets for pennies on the dollar. That’s not revenge. That’s just good business.”
Stella grabbed my arm. “You can’t do this. You promised me—you said if Ethan came to you, you’d invest forty million in my company.”
I pulled free. “Miss Bao, I was just making small talk. Who knew you’d actually take it seriously?”
Her face crumpled. Then hardened. “You’ll regret this.”
“Get out. Both of you.”
Ethan didn’t move. He stood there, frozen, like a man watching his house burn down. “Aurora. Please.”
That word again. Please. Four years, and he’d never said it once. Now it was all he had left.
“Out.”
