Aurora Lane didn't cry. She didn't sulk. She didn't mourn.
She retaliated.
Within hours of walking out of Dominic's office, Aurora was already two meetings deep into her counterattack. Dominic had secrets? So did she. And now, she was going to weaponize them.
"You're sure these shares were quietly transferred through a shell company?" she asked, eyes sharp as knives, staring down the forensic analyst she'd hired two months ago—her just-in-case contingency plan.
"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed, sliding a document across the table. "This company was used in at least three of Mr. Raine's previous acquisitions. Including a silent buy-in into Lane Group stock during the Tokyo expansion."
Aurora's blood ran cold, but her lips curled into a triumphant smile.
Dominic had bought into her company. Secretly. Quietly. Strategically.
Like a snake.
That betrayal—deeper than any kiss he'd ever stolen—was all the fuel she needed.
"Start the legal block," she said coolly. "Freeze the shares. File a motion on grounds of nondisclosure. I want him out of my house, my company, and my life."
Her team exchanged glances but followed orders without question.
They'd seen Aurora Lane like this before.
Unshakable. Vengeful. Dangerous.
---
Meanwhile, Dominic stood in front of his office window, nursing a drink, his jaw clenched tight.
She was gone.
And this time, it wasn't a misunderstanding. She'd looked him in the eye and walked away. No yelling. No chaos.
Just silence.
And that silence was louder than any scream.
He replayed every second of their confrontation, how her voice never cracked, how her stare never trembled.
She had meant it.
And he was losing her.
His phone buzzed.
Leo: "Your shares in Lane Group have been frozen. Legal motion filed. Looks like war, boss."
Dominic threw the glass against the wall, the shatter echoing through the room.
He should've told her. Should've come clean the moment his business instincts crossed into something real. But he'd convinced himself that she'd never forgive him.
Now, she never would.
---
Aurora's penthouse was dark, city lights casting shadows across her floor as she stood in her glass living room, watching the storm gather over New York.
"I want all our energy focused on cutting off his backers," she told her assistant over the phone. "No mercy."
She hung up and tossed the phone on the couch, her chest rising and falling.
Then came the knock.
Not the kind from a delivery guy. Not timid. Not uncertain.
It was angry. Sharp.
She already knew.
She opened the door.
Dominic stood there, rain-soaked and furious, his hair disheveled, his shirt clinging to his chest.
"You froze my shares," he said.
"You lied to me," she replied without missing a beat.
They stared at each other like predators. Old lovers. Dead rivals.
"I didn't lie," he growled. "I withheld. There's a difference."
"No," she said, stepping closer, "there isn't. Not when it's you. Not when I trusted you."
"I didn't buy shares to control you, Aurora," he snapped. "I bought them to protect you."
She laughed bitterly. "Oh, that's rich. You played me, Dominic. From day one. You kissed me while stabbing me in the back."
"I fell for you while planning to use you," he admitted. "And it killed me every goddamn day."
The confession hit her like a punch. She didn't expect him to say it. Not now. Not like this.
"I didn't want to need you," he added, voice cracking. "But I do. Every minute."
Aurora stepped back. "Then maybe you should've needed me enough to be honest."
A long silence fell between them.
"I'm sorry," he said finally.
She didn't say anything.
Because sometimes, sorry wasn't enough.
---
The next morning, headlines exploded.
"Power Couple at War: Lane vs. Raine—Business Battle Turns Personal"
Photos of their public confrontation. Rumors swirling of sabotage. Investors panicking. Lawyers scrambling.
Dominic's phone didn't stop ringing. Neither did hers.
But they didn't care.
It wasn't about business anymore.
It was personal.
Dominic watched the news from his penthouse, whiskey untouched beside him, while messages from Juliana lit up his phone.
Juliana: "You should've let me help you ruin her first. Now she'll bury you."
He blocked her.
Because she was right.
Aurora wasn't like the women before.
She was fire.
And he'd just taught her how to burn.
---
That night, Aurora arrived at a private gala hosted by one of the city's biggest venture firms.
It was supposed to be about capital and growth. But tonight, it was a battlefield.
She wore a blood-red gown that hugged her curves and announced war without a single word. Her lips painted to match, her expression unreadable.
When Dominic entered thirty minutes later, the room shifted.
He was still the king of the city. Tall. Dangerous. Cold.
But tonight, he looked like a man without his queen.
Their eyes met from across the hall.
No smiles.
No greetings.
Just heat.
Tension.
Regret.
And something deeper.
Something that hadn't died.
Not yet.
---