Chapter 27 Twenty seven

Chapter 27 Twenty seven
REINA’S POV

The penthouse had started to feel like home. Bessie’s toys scattered across the rug, Orion’s ties draped over the back of a chair, the faint lavender scent that lingered on every sheet and shirt after I did laundry. I had begun to imagine our life here after the wedding: mornings spent with coffee on the terrace, evenings tangled on the sofa and the quiet promise of forever settling into every corner.

That illusion shattered on a Tuesday afternoon.
I had left for Gran’s etiquette lesson at ten, returned by three. The private elevator hummed open as usual,no code needed since Orion had programmed my fingerprint months ago.

I stepped into the foyer, kicking off my shoes, already thinking about the dinner I wanted to surprise him with.
But voices drifted from the living room, familiar in a way that made my stomach drop.

I froze.

I heard Orion’s voice and a woman’s laughter, the kind that carried history.

I padded forward silently.

She was sitting on the sofa with her long legs crossed, her red dress hugging every curve and her dark hair cascading over one shoulder.

She looked like she belonged in a boardroom or a magazine cover. The kind of woman who had never once questioned her place in a room like this.

Orion stood near the windows, arms crossed, posture rigid.

She held a sleek black keycard between two manicured fingers, twirling it lazily.

“I kept this,” she said. “Thought you might want it back someday but you never asked.”

Orion’s jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t be here, Elena.”

She is his ex-girlfriend Elena. The one he had mentioned once in passing. They had a brief relationship which ended without drama.

Except there had been drama and apparently she still had access.

She tilted her head as she lookedat him, “You’ve been avoiding me. Every time your little farm girl leaves, I come up. I watch the garage. I wait. You never let me stay long, but you never take the card back either.”

My blood turned to ice.

She had been here multiple times. While I was at Gran’s, at etiquette lessons, shopping for wedding things. While I was planning our future, she had been sitting on our sofa, holding the key to his private world.

Orion exhaled sharply. “I told you it’s over. It’s been over for years. Give me the card.”

She smiled, slow and sharp. “You say that, but you never change the access. Part of you still likes knowing I can get in, just admit it.”

I couldn’t breathe. As I stepped into the doorway, they both turned to look at me. I saw Orion’s face go white.

“Reina”

Elena’s smile widened. “Oh. The fiancée. Hello.”

I looked at the keycard in her hand and then at Orion.

“How many times?” My voice was steady. Too steady.
He took a step toward me. “Reina, listen”

“How many times has she been here while I was gone?”
Elena answered before he could. “Thrice, he always sends me away after ten minutes but he never takes the card.”

Orion’s voice cracked. “I should have. I didn’t think…”

“You didn’t think,” I repeated softly.

I felt the ring on my finger suddenly weigh a thousand pounds as I twisted it off. The platinum band caught the light as I held it out to him.

“The wedding is off.”

His face crumpled. “Reina, no—”

I dropped the ring onto the coffee table. It clinked against the glass.

“I trusted you,” I said quietly. “I trusted this.”

I turned and walked to the bedroom. Packed a small bag enough for a few days.
Orion followed me, his voice desperate as he said, “She means nothing. She’s been trying to get back in since before you arrived. I never let her stay. I never touched her. I swear…”

I zipped the bag. “You let her in. You kept the access. You let her sit in our home while I was planning our wedding.”

He reached for me but I stepped back.

“I’m going to the farm,” I said. “I need space from you and don’t follow me.”

I picked up Bessie’s carrier. She bleated softly, confused.

Orion stood in the doorway, looking like I had punched him in the chest.

“I love you,” he said brokenly. “Please.”

I looked at him. He was the man I had fallen for, the man who had proposed under city lights with a ring that still sat on the table like a broken promise.

“I know,” I whispered. “That’s why it hurts.”

I walked past him.

The private elevator doors closed on his face.

I didn’t cry until the car pulled away from the building.

ORION’S POV

The ring sat on the coffee table like an accusation.
I stared at it until my vision blurred.
Elena was still there, lounging on the sofa like she owned it.
“Get out,” I said quietly.
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re really going to throw everything away over…”

“Get Out.”
She stood slowly, smoothing her dress. “You’ll call me when you realize she’s not cut out for this life.”

I walked to the elevator, swiped my card, and held the doors open.

She stepped inside. I pressed the lobby button.
The doors closed.

I called technicians to change the RFID access immediately. They had new cards programmed and old ones deactivated. Elena’s card was now useless.

Then I called Gran.
She answered on the first ring.

“She left,” I said. My voice cracked. “Elena showed up at the penthouse and Reina met her here. She called off the wedding and left for the farm, leaving her ring behind.”

Silence fell. Then Gran’s voice came, calm but edged with steel.

“Come to the house. Now.”

I drove on autopilot. When I arrived, Gran was waiting at the door. She took one look at my face, pulled me inside without a word, and led me to her study.

We sat down while I told her everything.

Gran listened without interrupting. When I finished, she leaned forward.

“You kept the card.”

I nodded, ashamed. “I didn’t think. I should have…”

“You should have, but you didn't” she agreed. “Although you didn’t cheat, you were careless.”

I rubbed my face. “She won’t answer my messages. She won’t pick up.”

Gran reached for her phone. “Let me try.”

She dialed. It rang twice before Reina answered. Gran switched to speaker.

“Reina, darling. Where are you?”

A pause. Then Reina’s voice came through.

“On the road to the farm. I’m halfway there.”

Gran glanced at me. “Orion is here. He’s a wreck.”

Another pause.

“I can’t talk to him right now,” Reina said. “I need time.”

“I understand,” Gran replied gently. “But hear this: he changed the access. Elena’s card is dead. She will never set foot in that penthouse again. He’s ending every loose end. And he’s terrified of losing you.”

Reina’s breath hitched. “I know he didn’t cheat. I believe that. But he let her in. While I was planning our wedding. While I was falling in love with him. He let her sit on our sofa and talk about watching me leave so she could sneak up.”

Gran’s eyes met mine.

“He was wrong,” she said. “He knows it. He’s asking for a chance to prove he can be better.”

Reina stayed quiet for a long time.

“I need space,” she said finally. “I need to think. Tell him… tell him I still love him. But I can’t marry someone who keeps doors open for his past when he promised me forever.”

The line went dead.

Gran set the phone down carefully.

“She’s hurt,” she said. “But she still loves you. That’s something.”

I stared at the floor. “What do I do?”

Gran leaned forward.

“You give her the space she asked for. You don’t bombard her with messages. You don’t chase her to the farm. You show her that you’ve changed the locks on every door that isn’t hers.”

I nodded slowly.

“And when she’s ready,” Gran continued, “you go to her on your knees if necessary to apologize and beg.”

I swallowed hard. “I will.”

Gran reached across the desk and squeezed my hand.

“Go home,” she said. “Sleep if you can. Tomorrow we start fixing this.”

I drove back to the empty penthouse.

The ring still sat on the coffee table. I picked it up, held it in my palm for a long moment, then slipped it into my pocket.

I wasn’t giving up.

Not now.

Not ever.

But for the first time since she had walked into my life, I understood what it felt like to be the one left waiting.

And it hurt like hell.