Chapter 9%
-LOTHARIO’S POV-
“Nothing.”
I gritted my teeth, tossing the folder onto my desk. I had spent the entire night digging through every database, every record nothing. Cressida Lancaster didn’t exist before last year. How was that possible? A new CEO taking over one of Anderson Corporation’s most powerful subsidiaries should have left some kind of trail. But there was nothing–no interviews, no background, no history. It was as if she had appeared out of nowhere
I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temple. The memory of last night clawed at my mind. Pearl–no, Cressida–standing on that stage, poised and powerful, looking right through me like I was nothing. It was her. I was sure of it. The same woman who once cried for me, bled for me–now walking around like she owned the damn world. How? How the hell had she done it?
A loud crash snapped me from my thoughts. I turned just in time to see a wine glass shatter against the floor. Alessia stood in the middle of the living room, rage twisting her face.
I sighed. Here we go.
“You’re just going to sit there?” she spat, voice shrill. They’re calling me a liar!”
I leaned back, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Alessia, calm down-
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Lothario!” she shrieked. “This is your fault“:
I arched a brow. “My fault?*||
“Yes! if you had just made a statement already, this wouldn’t be happening“:
I exhaled slowly, patience thinning. I’ll handle it.”
Her eyes narrowed, “Oh, really? Because all I see is you obsessing over her “l
I stilled. She saw it. The distraction. The way my focus kept drifting back to Pearl–no, Cressida
I clenched my jaw. “That has nothing to do with this ”
Alessia let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, please. You looked like a ghost when Sullivan called her name.”
My fingers twitched. I remembered that moment too well. That second of pure disbelief when Taurus Sullivan had turned
to her and said, “Cressida Lancaster, a pleasure to finally meet you.” I had frozen. And Alessia had seen it.)
She stepped closer, voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “You knew it was her, didn’t you?“!
I didn’t respond.
Her lips curled into a sneer. “She played you.” She tilted her head mockingly. “Oh, how does it feel, Lothario? To be discarded?”
I shot up from my chair so fast she flinched. Her smugness faltered, Good
I took a step forward, voice dangerously low. “Watch yourself, Alessia ”
She swallowed but quickly masked it with a scoff. “You’re pathetic. Chasing after a woman who hates you while I’m the one standing beside you.”
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. “I don’t have time for this,”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Of course you don’t.”
I turned my back to her, dismissing the argument. My mind had bigger problems. Like finding out exactly what Pearl–no, Cressida–was planning next. Because one thing was certain. She wasn’t finished with me yet.
The door burst open.
I didn’t even have time to snap before my secretary spoke. “Sir, there’s a problem.”
I lifted my head slowly. I am not in the mood for this. “What problem?”
She hesitated, then placed a file on my desk. The stock market… it’s bad.”
I exhaled through my nose, already irritated. “How bad?”
She swallowed: “We’ve dropped nearly 15% in a single day. IAnd She hesitated. “It seems like Cressida Lancaster’s company is directly benefiting from it.”
A sharp silence stretched between us.!
I leaned forward, picking up the papers. My grip tightened. She was strangling me. Suffocating my company in broad daylight, and no one even saw it coming. Smart.
I tossed the papers aside, jaw locked. “Get me a meeting with Alexander Anderson.”
My secretary stiffened. “Sir, that might be-
“I don’t care.” My tone was final. “Do it”
Before she could leave, Alessia cut in smoothly. “No need.“E
E
She smiled, tilting her head in that way she always did when she wanted to remind me of her importance. I’ll call him myself.“2
My stomach eased slightly. Alessia was Alexander Anderson’s daughter. That alone was the reason I had secured this engagement in the first place. If anyone could get him on my side, it was her
She pulled out her phone, stepping away as if to make a call!
I sighed, rubbing my temple, exhaustion settling deep in my bones.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I had built everything from the ground up. Fought for my place at the top. I should have been untouchable
And yet–Cressida Lancaster.
No–Pearl.
She was everywhere. In my business, in my head, in my goddamn veins like a poison I couldn’t get rid of
I leaned back in my chair, shutting my eyes for a brief moment. But the second I did, she was there.
Pearl
That quiet woman who had stood by my side for six years. The one I had never bothered to really see. The woman who once carry my child.
I tried to remember the details–tried to think of something, anything, about her that wasn’t just convenient.
What was her favorite flower? Her favorite food? Her birthday?
My stomach twisted in irritation when I came up blank.
I knew Alessia like the back of my hand. Every luxury brand she adored, every little spoiled habit, every craving she had for expensive wine.
But Pearl? Nothing. Because I had never needed to know
She wasn’t demanding. She never asked for anything. She had worked herself to the bone for me, stayed beside me when I was nothing, and I had taken it all without question.
And now? She had become something beyond my reach. A woman I no longer recognized
Alessia’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She turned, slipping her phone back into her bag. “He’ll consider it.”
I exhaled slowly. “Good.“}
She smiled, stepping closer, draping her arms around my shoulders. “See? You don’t have to worry. I’ll always take care of you, amore mio.”
I didn’t respond.
Because for the first time in years, I wasn’t sure if she really could.
PEARLS POV-
