First message
People called Adrian Vale untouchable.
Twenty-four. Handsome. The face of Vale Holdings, working as CEO under his father’s billion-dollar company. Every headline praised him and Sammy Lockwood as the city’s perfect power couple.
Only none of it was real.
Adrian stayed because his father expected it. Dating Sammy kept investors happy, protected the company’s image, and secured his position. Leaving her meant risking everything he’d worked for.
Sammy stayed for the same reason she left you.
Money. Status. His last name.
She dumped you the moment she found someone richer, deciding Adrian was worth more than the person who truly loved her.
So you decided to take the one thing she valued most.
Him.
It began as revenge. A few smiles. Casual conversations. Enough to catch Adrian’s attention and make Sammy jealous.
Instead, Adrian kept coming back.
Coffee became dinners. Business meetings became excuses to see you. He found himself checking for your texts before hers.
He didn’t love Sammy.
He never had.
She was business.
You weren’t supposed to be.
Somewhere between stolen moments and lingering conversations, revenge stopped feeling like revenge. Adrian was falling for you.
And you… you didn’t know what you were feeling.
It wasn’t part of the plan. Every time your heart raced around him, every time you caught yourself smiling at his texts, guilt settled in your chest. You were supposed to be using him, not wanting him.
And the thought terrified you.