Chapter 68 Chapter 68
STANLEY'S POV
It would have been the intelligent thing to do. Let her recover. Let time do its slow, merciless work. But I've never been a patient one where Liana is involved. Least of all now, least of all when each passing second away from her is like losing something that can't be regained.
So I paid her a visit at her office. The Z-Core building towered high and haughty, just like the woman who owned it. Security scanned me from head to toe, and I flashed the ID of my firm as it held sufficient authority to get me in. They didn't ask my questions, or maybe they didn't care. I took the elevator up to the top. It was still very busy, it had the kind of silence that hung around when people were either deeply engrossed in work or terrified. I didn't know what sponsored today's silence. Maybe it was both.
As I walked out, her assistant stood up. She had a neat bun, oversized glasses, and the voice that always had the tone of being on the verge of telling you that she had five minutes before the next meeting. She blinked at me. "Mr. Stanley. Ms. Liana isn't in."
"Where is she?"
Clara winced. "Please."
She gasped and then she exhaled. "I know you've seen the Smith's scandal. She is deeply involved and she went there this morning."
Dominic. That name, even now, made my blood burn. I hate the thought of the past or of seeing him as a competition. Blood that had always tasted like betrayal. I should have been thrilled that Liana had made another move on him, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was because of him Liana and I were in this bad place. But was it?
"Thanks," I muttered to the lady and turned on my heel.
I knew every route by heart. My car hummed as I drove, and with every street I drove past, I rehearsed my lines. Upon arriving, security tried to hinder me at the front desk. They were new faces so I didn't throw a show. I just showed them my last name with a raised brow and just the right amount of haughtiness and they apologized and waved me in.
Liana was exiting the boardroom when I ran into her. She was weary but resilient, a war survivor queen. Her shoulders were squared, her impassive face. But her eyes… those eyes froze up when they spotted me.
"What are you doing here?" she said in a flat voice.
"I needed to see you."
She swept her gaze around the room, then nodded curtly to a private conference room. I followed her inside, my heart pounding.
The moment the door shut, she faced me.
"Stanley, I only acted curtly because this is a work space. Now listen up, whatever it is that you think you're doing…"
"I'm sorry, Liana." I cut her midway. She blinked.
"I know what I did was bad. Hell, it was worse than bad. But I swear, all that I felt for you was true. It is true. I didn't come here to push or coerce. I came to let you know I love you. And I'm not asking you to take me back today. I just… need you to understand that I was stupid and I am repentant."
Her lips tightened. "Stanley…"
"No, no. Please. Let me finish. I know I used you initially. I was angry and hungry for revenge. But somewhere in the middle, you stopped being a component of a plan and became the plan. You opened my eyes. You made me want differently."
She shut her eyes. "Do you think that makes what you did okay?"
"No. But it makes me regret it. All of it. If I could turn it around, I would."
There was quiet between us. Liana gave me that same expressionless stare she had, like she was struggling not to break. "I need space, time. I need to think."
I nodded. "Take as much time as you want. But don't shut the door all the way."
She moved slowly once. "Just leave me alone, for now."
It stung. But it wasn't a rejection.
“Anything you want is fine.” I said and started to turn away.
………
The hallway felt colder, or maybe I was just feeling everything at once. I didn't make it halfway around the corner before I ran into a wall of tension.
His tie was loose. His expression was thunderous. He'd stopped, eyes slicing as he stood watching me step out of the hallway leading to Liana's office.bHe looked me up and down, a sneer crawling up his face.
"What are you doing here? Coming from her office?" Dominic asked.
I smiled. Not because I was happy but at this moment this was all I could do to restrain myself.
"Hi, brother. I heard you've been relieved as CEO. Suspended, yes but these things always start from somewhere. It's surprising that the familys model child is making a mess of it's legacies."
His jaw tightened. His fists curled up. I crept closer, low and slow. "Tell me, how does it feel? I mean watching someone else leave through the door she kept closed to you."
He didn't say a word. Just glared like he wanted to rip something out of me. I just smiled and walked by him with a feeling of accomplishment. It felt like I was the one in control, like I was giving him a taste of his own dangerously bitter medicine.
DOMINIC'S POV
I just stood there for a few seconds after he passed me by. My half-brother, the stray that my father had tried to keep hidden, now wandering around my territory like he owned the place.
I clenched my teeth. Coming out of Liana's office? What was he doing there? What the hell was he doing there? He hardly even showed up in this company but the moment Liana appears he comes? He better not try to win my woman.
I know Liana wants nothing to do with me but him? I won't let it.
Stanley didn't show up unless he had a purpose. He was a deepthinker. And if he was here, on this day of all days, it wasn't by chance.
I strode towards the exit, my mind pounding harder than my feet. I swung open my car door, slapped it closed, and dug into the glove box for my phone.
I dialed a private number. One that only a few people had. It rang once. "Yeah?"
"I want you to do a full tail on Stanley. Who he hangs around. Every door he passes through and most importantly, what his deal with Liana is."
Only after I hung up did I realise that I've been making a lot of these kind of calls lately, it was becoming tiring. But I had a motivation, lianas downfall.