Chapter 18 up
“Mr. Clark.”
His personal assistant’s voice sounded cautious from behind the office door. Clark lifted his head from the stack of files on his desk, his expression still tense since returning from the party the night before.
“What is it?” he asked shortly.
The assistant stepped inside carefully. “I received a report you may need to know about.”
Clark closed the folder. “Go on.”
“Mrs. Nyla… went home last night escorted by Mr. Vincent.”
The words fell like a hammer.
Clark froze.
“And…” the assistant hesitated, then continued, “Mr. Vincent also offered Nyla the position of personal assistant.”
Clark’s heartbeat spiked sharply. The air-conditioned room suddenly felt suffocating.
“Say that again,” he said in a low voice.
“Nyla was driven home by Vincent. And he offered her the job directly.”
Clark stood up abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. “Since when does Vincent do things like that?”
The assistant shook his head. “According to our sources, sir, it’s extremely rare. Almost unheard of.”
Clark began pacing, his jaw tightening. Each step felt heavy, as if anger were trying to force its way out of his chest.
“Get out,” he said curtly.
The assistant nodded quickly and left the room.
The moment the door closed, Clark slammed his palm against the desk.
“Damn it…”
He dragged a hand roughly over his face. Nyla’s image resurfaced in his mind—the way she had stood so calmly at the party, the way her eyes no longer searched for his approval, and now… standing beside another man.
The most powerful man in the city.
Since when? he thought wildly. Since when did she become so close to Vincent?
Jealousy came without permission.
He no longer believed he had any claim over Nyla—but the fact that another man saw value in her, something he himself had ignored, made his chest feel tightly crushed.
The door opened without a knock.
“Why are you yelling?” Selena asked.
Clark turned sharply. “Who told you to come in?”
Selena paused, then stepped further inside. “I heard you shouting.”
Clark let out a short, bitter laugh. “Did you hear that Nyla was driven home by Vincent?”
Selena froze. “What?”
“And offered a job,” Clark continued coldly. “Personal assistant.”
Selena’s face drained of color.
“That’s… impossible,” she murmured. “She’s just pretending.”
Clark stepped closer, his gaze piercing. “Or maybe you’re the one who’s been pretending all along.”
Selena flinched. “What do you mean?”
Clark turned away, trying to restrain the turmoil in his chest. “Do you know what’s most infuriating?”
He laughed without humor. “I’m only feeling jealous now.”
Selena bit her lip. “You… still think about her?”
Clark didn’t answer. His silence was the cruelest response of all.
He walked to the window, staring out at the busy city below. “I thought she would fall apart after leaving.”
His voice was low. “I thought the world would force her back to me.”
Selena clenched her fists. “And now?”
“Now the world is opening doors for her,” Clark said quietly. “And I’m not the one doing it.”
Silence fell.
Selena stepped closer, panic creeping into her voice. “Clark, she’s just using Vincent. Believe me.”
Clark turned, his eyes cold. “Or are you the one who used me?”
The question left Selena speechless.
“Vincent isn’t a fool,” Clark went on. “He wouldn’t offer a position that important to someone without careful judgment.”
Selena began to tremble. “Are you defending her?”
“I’m questioning myself,” Clark snapped. “Why I never saw what others clearly see.”
He picked up his phone and opened an old photo—Nyla smiling softly in the small kitchen of the house they once shared. A smile he had once considered ordinary.
Now it felt rare.
“I lost something,” he whispered.
Selena held her breath. “Clark… I’m the one here with you now.”
Clark looked at her. “You’re here because I chose you.”
The words were cold. There was no warmth in them.
“And Nyla?” Selena asked softly.
Clark looked away. “She left because I failed to protect her.”
Jealousy twisted into a sharp, aching regret.
He imagined Nyla sitting in Vincent’s car, accepting that business card, accepting the trust he had never given her.
His chest tightened.
“If she accepts that offer…” Clark murmured, “she’ll step into an entirely different world.”
Selena stared at him, fear she could no longer hide. “And that scares you?”
Clark let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “I’m afraid I no longer have a place in her life.”