Chapter 64 The End of Us
My fingers were digging into the fabric of my blazer so hard I was afraid I might tear it.
Mark was now the new CEO.
Jack Roman, partner of Vale Corp.
The words kept echoing and looping in my head like a cruel chant.
I kept my chin up.
My vision blurred for a second and I blinked rapidly, forcing the tears back because I could feel people watching me and waiting for the disgraced CEO to crack.
I won't give them that satisfaction.
I didn’t expect this from Jack and that was what hurt the most. I expected the board to turn on me, I expected my father to orchestrate something behind closed doors. But Jack?
I didn’t expect him to be standing there as the knife.
The meeting was done—Chairs slid back as voices overlapped.
“Congratulations, Mark.”
“Well-deserved transition.”
“Exciting new chapter.”
I remained seated for a second longer, staring at the table, and at my own faint reflection in the glossy surface. I looked… calm on the outside but inside, I was splintering.
“Elena.” My father called.
I closed my eyes briefly before looking up. He approached with that satisfied smile he wore when a deal closed exactly the way he wanted it to.
“Well,” he said lightly, adjusting his cufflinks, “I suppose transitions are never easy.”
I stood up slowly. My legs felt oddly detached from my body.
“You handled it better than I expected,” he continued, tilting his head slightly observing me. “I was almost worried you’d make a scene.”
The sarcasm was subtle, but it was there.
Did I trust my voice to speak? No, I didn't.
“I’ve learned not to disappoint you publicly,” I replied with a steady tone which surprised.
His smile twitched.
“You’re young,” he went on, lowering his voice slightly. “Emotional decisions lead to consequences. Perhaps this will teach you something about leadership.”
Emotional decisions?
My jaw tightened—he meant Jack, he meant falling in love and trusting someone.
“I see,” I said quietly.
He studied my face, maybe searching for cracks. “You’ll recover. Vale blood is resilient. Though next time…” He gave a soft, patronizing chuckle. “Try not to let your heart interfere with business.”
That did it.
Something in my chest burned so sharply I almost staggered.
“My heart,” I repeated, looking him directly in the eye now, “was never the problem.”
He raised a brow.
“It was the people who mistook it for weakness,” I added.
For a split second, the air between us sharpened.
Then he sighed faintly, as if I were being dramatic. “Don’t be bitter, Elena. This is simply how the world works.”
No, father—this is how you work.
But I didn’t say that out loud.
Instead, I smoothed my blazer, finally releasing the wrinkled fabric I’d been clutching like a lifeline.
“Congratulations on your successful coup,” I said evenly.
His smile widened. “You’ll thank me one day.”
“I highly doubt that.”
He leaned in slightly. “Take some time away and reflect. You may find this humbling experience beneficial.”
Humbling?
I felt something inside me go very, very cold.
“I have nothing to reflect on,” I replied. “I trusted the wrong people. That’s all.”
His expression hardened just a fraction at that. “Careful,” he warned softly.
But I was past careful.
“I’ll leave you to celebrate,” I said, stepping back. “You seem very pleased.”
“Elena—”
I didn’t wait for him to finish.
As I turned, I caught a glimpse of Jack across the room. He was speaking to Mark, but his eyes flicked to me the second I moved. There was something there—regret? Guilt?
It didn’t matter anymore because he had made his choice and I had just lost everything.
My heels clicked sharply against the floor, I could feel my father’s gaze on my back.
Jack’s too.
But I didn’t stop to acknowledge anyone.
Not Mark, who offered a tight, almost apologetic nod as I passed.
And certainly not Richard, whose expression I couldn’t even bring myself to read.
Even the board members who suddenly found the floor fascinating as I walked by.
The hallway outside the conference room felt too bright and exposed. My heels struck the marble floor in sharp, echoing beats that felt like a countdown.
"Just keep walking," I muttered to myself.
If I could get to the elevator, get outside.
If I could just breathe—
“Elena.” His voice hit me in the spine but I didn’t slow down.
“Elena, wait.” His footsteps quickened behind me.
I pressed the elevator button with more force than necessary.
“Please.” His hand wrapped around my wrist.
I stopped and for a split second, his touch burned.
I looked down at his fingers like they belonged to a stranger. “Don’t,” I said quietly.
He released me immediately, but stepped in front of me before I could move again.
Seeing him up close, there was tension in his jaw, exhaustion in his eyes and also the faint crease between his brows.
It didn’t matter.
“I need to explain,” he said, voice low, urgent. “You deserve to hear the whole truth.”
A hollow bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “The whole truth?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“Which version?” I asked, tilting my head slightly. “The one where you were hired to kill me? The one where you decided to marry me instead? Or the one where you jumped to be partner in the midst of all of this?”
His face flinched. “Elena—”
“No.” I took a step back. “I don’t want to hear anymore of your lies.”
“They weren’t lies,” he insisted. “Not all of it.”
That almost made me smile.
“Not all of it,” I echoed softly. “And that’s supposed to comfort me?”
His hands ran through his hair in frustration. “You think I planned this? You think I wanted any of this?”
“I don’t know what you wanted,” I shot back. “That’s the problem.”
People were walking past us now, pretending not to listen. The air between us felt electric and fragile.
“I never meant for it to go this way,” he said.
“But it did,” I replied.
His voice dropped. “I care about you.”
There it was, the sentence that once would have undone me. Now it just hurt.
“And yet,” I said carefully, “you still took the partnership.”
His silence answered for him.
“You stood there,” I continued, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it, “and let them vote me out. You let them announce you as partner.”
“It’s not what you think,” he said quickly.
“Then what is it?” I demanded.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?” I snapped. “Myself?”
“From your father and from what’s coming.” He said.
I stared at him because everytime he spoke, it was like trying to grab smoke. “You don’t get to play both sides,” I said quietly. “You don’t get to betray me and call it protection.”
His expression cracked then. “I chose you,” he said, almost desperately. “I’ve been choosing you.”
“You were hired to kill me,” I replied flatly.
“But I didn’t!”
“That doesn’t erase that you agreed to it.” I shot back.
His jaw tightened.
The elevator doors slid open behind me with a soft chime, but neither of us moved.
“I need you to listen to me,” he said. “Just five minutes.”
I shook my head slowly. “I gave you my trust,” I said. “And everything..." My voice almost broke.
I shook my head again. “You don’t get five more minutes.”
“Elena—”
“No,” I said firmly.
He looked at me like I was slipping through his fingers.
“There’s nothing left to explain,” I said quietly. “Whatever this was… whatever we were… it ended the moment you chose that seat at the table.”
His eyes searched mine. “Don’t say that.”
“I’m saying it.”
The words felt like glass in my mouth.
“Our marriage was a contract,” I continued, forcing myself to remain steady. “And I’m terminating it.”
Jack went completely still like I’d struck him.
“You don’t mean that,” he said, but there was no certainty in it.
“I do.”
“Elena—”
“I don’t want to be bound to you anymore,” I said. “Not legally, emotionally, or in any way.”
His face drained of color. “You can’t just—”
“I can,” I cut in. “And I am.”
I stepped into the elevator as the doors began to close.
He didn’t move to stop them, he just stood there, frozen and for a brief, terrible second, I almost faltered.
The doors finally slid shut between us and Jack Roman was left on the other side.