Chapter 66 To Protect Her
Jack's POV
I haven’t slept properly in a week.
Not since that day she pointed a gun at me with eyes that looked like I had personally carved the betrayal into her heart.
The meeting with Conrad happened three days after she told me she never wanted to see my face again.
Three days of staring at my phone, of almost driving to her place and forcing her to hear me out. Three days of knowing that if I didn’t move first, her father would.
Conrad requested the meeting like it was just another business arrangement.
He was already seated when I walked in.
“Mr. Roman,” he greeted smoothly.
“Mr. Vale.”
But we didn’t shake hands.
He poured himself a drink before speaking again. “You care about my daughter.”
“That’s not relevant to business,” I said quietly.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. “On the contrary. It’s the only reason you’re here.”
I held his gaze. “Say what you called me here to say.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me like I was a piece on a chessboard he’d already calculated ten moves ahead.
“Elena is not ready to run Vale Corp,” he said plainly.
My jaw tightened. “She built half of its recent expansion.”
“She is emotional,” he corrected. “Impulsive and vulnerable.”
“She’s grieving,” I snapped.
“And that makes her dangerous,” he replied calmly. “To herself and to the company. If only she could see that I always want what's best for her.”
I wanted to walk out but I stayed because I knew Conrad never made moves without layers underneath them.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“You,” he said.
I almost laughed. “You already had me once,” I said coldly. “That contract is dead.”
His eyes sharpened slightly at that. “I’m not asking you to eliminate her,” he said. “I’m offering you a way to protect her like we discussed over the phone.”
“Protect her from what?” I asked.
“From the storm that’s coming,” he replied. “There are investigations circling, political shifts and enemies who would gladly use her inexperience against her.” He shrugged like he was playing around with words.
“You mean you,” I said.
He didn’t deny it. “Become Vale Corp's partner,” he continued. “Take control of the board alignment, remove her from the CEO position before I tell someone else to do it in a far uglier way.”
“You want me to oust her,” I said flatly.
“Shield her if you want,” he murmured nonchalantly.
I leaned forward. “By humiliating her publicly?”
I scoffed. “You think she’ll forgive that?” I asked.
“I don’t care if she forgives you,” Conrad replied. “I care to see that she tries to survives this.”
Silence stretched between us.
“And what makes you think I’d betray her?” I asked quietly.
His gaze didn’t waver. “Because you love her.”
That hit harder than I expected.
Then he stood up buttoning his suit jacket.
“If you don’t take the seat, someone else will,” he said. “And they won’t hesitate to crush her completely, you can say that I'm giving you a chance to prove that worthless love of yours.”
He paused at the door. “You have forty-eight hours.”
When I left that meeting, I told myself I was stepping into the fire so she wouldn’t have to but none of that stopped the bitterness from settling deep in my bones.
If I didn’t take the Vale Partnership position, she'd be in even more danger.
The morning of the shareholders meeting, I saw her before she saw me. She looked devastatingly distant and that hurt more than I expected.
When the votes started, I kept my expression neutral, counting every second like a person waiting for a sentence to be carried out.
When her removal was confirmed, I felt it like a physical blow and before I knew it, they announced it.
“Introducing Jack Roman as Vale Corp’s new partner.”
Applause.
My eyes went straight to her, and I saw that she looked like all the air had been ripped out of her lungs.
I almost stepped down right there but then I saw Conrad watching her and I was reminded of what would become of her if I didn't accept what was in front of me.
When our eyes finally met across the table, there was nothing soft left in hers except disappointment.
But sitting there, as they formalized my position and stripped hers away, I felt like I had just signed the papers that destroyed our marriage.
Then again, I knew protecting her wasn’t supposed to look like I was the villain in her story.
Even after she stepped into the elevator, I couldn't erase the look on her face when she said:
“Our marriage was a contract. And I’m terminating it.”
I stood there long after the doors closed. I don’t even know for how long.
The hallway noise faded back in slowly—reporters shouting downstairs, executives pretending not to stare as they passed me.
“She doesn’t mean it,” I muttered to myself.
But I bet she did.
I ran a hand down my face, exhaling sharply.
I'm an Idiot.
I instantly took the elevator down to the lobby. I quickly moved toward the exit, ignoring the tightness in my chest. The second I stepped outside, the paparazzi turned toward me like vultures changing targets.
“Jack! Is it true Elena ended the marriage?”
“Did you orchestrate her removal?”
“Are you the reason she’s out?”
But I kept walking.
“Mr. Roman! Did you betray her?”
That one almost made me stop but Instead, I shoved past a microphone that nearly hit my chin.
“No comment,” I said curtly.
Flashes exploded in my face but someone grabbed at my sleeve.
“Jack! Is the marriage over?”
I turned just slightly, my voice colder than I felt. “Move.”
Security tried to contain them, but I didn’t wait. I just pushed through the crowd harder than necessary, the noise buzzing in my ears like static.
By the time I reached my car, I got in and slammed the door shut before I hit the steering wheel with the heel of my palm.
“Damn it.”
The engine roared to life under my hand.
The thought that she ended our marriage just like that made me ball my fists.
This wasn’t how it's supposed to end.
I drove faster through the traffic than I should have because all I could see was the hurt on her face in that elevator.
“I was trying to protect you,” I muttered under my breath, gripping the wheel tighter. “You just wouldn’t listen to me.”
But even as I said it, doubt crept in. Protect her… or control the outcome?
The house came into view sooner than I expected. I immediately parked crookedly.
Up through the elevator, the front door opened with the familiar click of the lock, as I stepped inside.
“Elena?”
A beat passed.
I closed the door slowly.
“Elena?” I called again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
“Where are you?” I muttered.