Chapter 132 Whatever Didn't Kill Me Would Only Make Me Stronger
Briar's POV
I didn't get home until nearly midnight, fumbling with my key.
The jewelry box wouldn't close, the lid catching on something. That small, stubborn resistance broke through my numbness. My hands started trembling, then my whole body shook with rage I hadn't let myself feel yet.
I hurled the jewelry box into the trash. It crashed against the wall. I was too angry to cry, too furious at myself.
The butler's words replayed endlessly: "Alpha Lucian and Alpha Julian, brothers managing Sterling Pharmaceuticals together." Brothers. While I thought Lucian was my refuge from Julian's cruelty, they'd been playing me from both sides.
I found myself crouched beside the trash can, dry heaving into it.
"I'm not going to cry," I whispered to the empty apartment. "I'm going to make them cry instead."
The next morning, I showed up to Vance Botanicals headquarters with dark circles under my eyes that no amount of concealer could hide.
Today was supposed to be a good day. Eric and Owen had moved up the official launch date for our Lunar Stabilizer products, and this morning marked the first full day of public sales.
By afternoon, I reviewed Owen's sales data. Despite everything, the numbers were impressive. Eric's soft launch had built real momentum.
Customer feedback praised Chloe's packaging design repeatedly. The stabilizer capsules sold out in six hours. The herbal tea line was down to twenty percent inventory.
"Owen predicts we'll need to increase production within the week," Eric's email noted. "At this rate, we're looking at becoming the dominant player in the lunar wellness market. Your deal with Reginald just got a lot more stable."
---
By evening, I couldn't stand being at the office anymore. I drove back to my old apartment, the one I'd been slowly moving out of before Lucian convinced me to stay at his place more often.
Nyx meowed indignantly from her carrier as I set it down in the living room. "I know, I know," I told her, opening the door so she could explore. "Big changes. But you're stuck with me now, so get used to it."
I collapsed into the oversized beanbag chair by the window, too tired to even make it to the bedroom upstairs. Nyx jumped into my lap immediately, purring as she kneaded my thighs with her paws. I scratched behind her ears absently while my mind wandered through memories I should probably stop torturing myself with.
Lucian helping me dodge Julian's inspection at that business dinner. Lucian beating Julian bloody after finding bruises on my neck. His voice on the phone before the Montgomery bid, steady and encouraging. The way he'd found me in the rain on that mountain road, wrapping me in his jacket like I was something precious.
Every memory was tainted now, but I couldn't deny that his actions had consistently been supportive, protective, caring. The lies about his identity were massive, but had they actually caused me harm? Or was I angry because my pride was wounded, because I'd let myself be vulnerable with someone who hadn't been equally honest with me?
I didn't know if I was being rational or just making excuses for him. Either way, I couldn't just let this go. He needed to understand what it felt like to want something desperately and know you couldn't have it.
I must have fallen asleep in the beanbag chair, because the next thing I knew, my phone was ringing in the darkness. I fumbled for it blindly, too exhausted to check the caller ID before declining. It rang again a few minutes later, and again I ignored it.
When pale dawn light started filtering through the windows, my phone rang again. This time I managed to see Rowan's name on the screen.
"What," I croaked.
"Where are you?"
"My apartment. Why?"
"Stay there. I'm coming over right now."
She hung up before I could ask what was wrong. I dragged myself upright and stumbled to the bathroom to splash water on my face. By the time I'd changed into clean clothes, the doorbell was ringing.
Rowan burst in the moment I opened the door, her expression grim. She grabbed my phone right out of my hand before I could react.
"Hey! Give that back."
"In a minute." She was already scrolling through something, her face getting darker by the second. "Have you been online at all this morning?"
"I just woke up. What's going on?"
"We need to get you out of town for a few days. Maybe a week. I know this great spa resort in—"
"Rowan." I snatched my phone back. "What the hell is happening?"
She bit her lip, looking genuinely worried. I opened my laptop on the coffee table, pulling up the news sites I usually checked.
The headlines hit me like physical blows.
Exclusive Exposé: Vance Botanicals CEO Nothing But a Rich Boy's Plaything?
The Truth About Briar Vance You Never Knew!
Legacy Company's Rise Built on Backroom Deals?
The photos were worse than the headlines. Someone had captured me soaking wet and disheveled at that mountain race, my shirt practically transparent from the rain. They'd blurred out everyone else in the shots, leaving me as the only identifiable figure, looking desperate and pathetic.
"I found these last night around eleven," Rowan said quietly. "I've been calling people, trying to get them taken down, but nobody's biting. I threw money at it, Briar. Serious money. But whoever's behind this has more influence than I do."
I stared at the photos, understanding clicking into place with cold clarity. Julian had been there that night. He'd seen me at my lowest, and instead of using it immediately, he'd waited. Saved it for exactly the right moment to cause maximum damage, right when Vance Botanicals was experiencing its biggest success.
I stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtains open. Morning light flooded the room, harsh and unforgiving. I let it wash over me while Rowan hovered anxiously behind me.
"Stop trying to get them taken down," I said.
"What? Briar, you can't just—"
"Leave them up." I turned to face her. "Let them think they've won."
I went to the bathroom and turned on the cold water, splashing it over my face again and again until my skin felt tight and awake. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see a victim. I saw someone who'd survived worse than this and would survive it again.
Every scar would become a badge of honor. Whatever didn't kill me would only make me stronger.
I came back out and grabbed my favorite blazer from the closet, my movements precise and controlled.
"What are you doing?" Rowan asked.
"Getting dressed." I pulled on the blazer and checked my reflection, then added a spray of perfume. "If they want to see me fall apart, I'm going to disappoint them. I'm going to that office looking better than I ever have."
"Briar..." Rowan's voice was gentle now. "Why did you suddenly move back here anyway? I thought you and Lucian were doing great."
I paused in the middle of applying lipstick, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "Lucian is Julian's half-brother. They're both running Sterling Pharmaceuticals together. I didn't want to stay there anymore."
The silence that followed was deafening. Then Rowan exploded.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Those two assholes were playing you from both sides? What kind of sick— Jesus Christ, Briar, that's— they're both absolute garbage! Who does that?"
She kept going, her rant gaining momentum as we headed for the elevator. I pulled out my phone and sent quick messages to Owen: [Wait for me at the office.]