27

27
Cole
The door to my office creaked open, and Philip stepped in, his expression grave. I barely glanced up from the pile of papers on my desk. “What is it now, Philip?”
“She rejected the proposal,” he said quietly, almost hesitant.
My pen froze mid-signature. “Who?”
Safe to say I know who would.. Who was capable, but I couldn’t help asking regardless.
“Miss Gomez Arlene. She rejected our partnership offer.”
I leaned back in my chair, my jaw tightening. “Explain.”
Philip cleared his throat. “She signed with Sathorn Group from Thailand instead. It was finalized minutes after she turned us down.”
Sathorn Group. A company that couldn’t even hold a candle to mine in terms of revenue, reputation, or influence. The sting of the rejection deepened. She didn’t just reject me—she chose something inferior, and I couldn’t help but feel something else about it.
Her actions felt deliberate.
“The news?” I hummed out, my finger curled in anger and frustration.
“Nothing about the rejection is out yet.“ Philip replied.
Rejection?
Why would he use such words when I had never felt the sting of it before. It felt foreign and I couldn’t help gritting my teeth even at the thought of it.
“Make sure nothing comes out. Not even about the proposal for partnership.”
“Yes sir.”
“Get the car ready,” I ordered coldly. I’m for many reasons tired of sitting in this enclosed office.
Philip hesitated, as if wanting to say more, but he wisely left without another word.
\---
The car was waiting for me within minutes. As I slid into the backseat, the driver asked, “Where to, sir?”
I stared out of the window, my thoughts a chaotic storm. “Home.”
The ride was silent, but my mind wasn’t. Miss Gomez rejection wasn’t just business—it felt personal. She’d known how much that deal meant to me, to the expansion plans I’d been working on for years. And yet, she chose them.
I made sure it was perfectly drafted out. We had planned this collaboration for months but after I found out about the new president handling the company, I had Philip get rid of that preposition and drafted out the best one myself. But she rejected it, even without glancing through.
I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to this.
The rejection was sharper because of the ghosts that lingered around it. Yasmin. The woman I’d once promised sufferings to. The woman who was gone, and yet her presence haunted every choice I made.
The car pulled into the underground parking lot and I took the elevator to my home.
I stepped into my house, craving the quiet. But the sight that greeted me shattered any hope for solitude.
Sarah was there. She sat on my couch, nursing a glass of whiskey like she owned the place. She wore a crimson silk lingerie set, her dark hair cascading down her shoulders in deliberate waves.
“What are you doing here?” My voice was as cold as the marble floors beneath me. I just wanted her out.
She raised her head, a slow, sultry smile spreading across her lips. “Relax, Cole. I’m just making myself comfortable.”
I clenched my fists. I’d given her an open pass to the house during my darkest days, a petty move meant to humiliate Yasmin. Now, that decision mocked me.
“Answer the question,” I demanded.
She stood, her movements seductive. I would have found that alluring last week, the silk clinging to her figure as she sauntered toward me. “I heard you were planning to go to Las Vegas,” she said, her voice dripping with faux curiosity.
“That’s none of your business.”
Her smile faltered, but she recovered quickly. “Is it because of her?”
I stiffened, my eyes narrowing. “Her?”
“Yasmin,” she said, almost accusingly. “Is she the reason you’re so obsessed with this partnership? The heiress in Las Vegas—you think she’s like Yasmin, don’t you?”
The mention of Yasmin’s name was a slap to the face. I snatched the whiskey glass from her hand, the liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. “Leave.”
Sarah’s eyes flashed with something—anger, desperation, maybe both. Instead of obeying, she stepped closer, her fingers grazing my arm. “I’m leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow,” she murmured. “To close a deal.”
I didn’t respond. My thoughts were spiraling, and I couldn’t trust myself to speak without unleashing the storm inside me.
She hesitated as if to say something else, but stopped. I didn’t care. “I don’t know when I’m going to return… I just want us to be together so I don’t have to miss you too much.”
I turned my attention to the whiskey, pouring myself a generous amount and swallowing it in one go. The burn was a welcome distraction from the ache in my chest, from the memories clawing their way to the surface.
“You aren’t saying anything Cole. I just told you I’m leaving…”
“Then go.” Why am I too tired to push her away? I badly want her out of my space.
Sarah didn’t leave. She crossed her arm and walked towards the bar for another glass. “You will not say anything? Then I’ll join you.”
I still didn’t reply. I hate it that I had to snuggle each time Yasmin’s face taunts me so badly.
When I finally turned my eyes to Sarah, I saw her intent clear as day. She wanted me drunk, pliable, and weak. She thought she could seduce me, that I’d give in to her advances.
“Leave,” I repeated, my voice sharper this time.
She didn’t. Instead, she moved toward the staircase. “I’ll wait upstairs,” she said, her tone dripping with fake sweetness.
Before I could stop her, she was halfway up the stairs.
I followed, my anger simmering dangerously close to the surface. When I reached her, she turned, her hands reaching for me. “Cole—”
I didn’t let her finish. My fingers tangled in her hair, not gently, and I dragged her back down the stairs. Her gasp of shock filled the silence, but I didn’t care.
“Cole!” She sheinked. I had been so gentle with not unleashing the anger and frustration in me. But she succeeded in having them released.
“Cole, you’re hurting me!”
I said nothing, I warned her. “My bedroom is off limits to you.”
“Since when?” She asked, I could sense her voice breaking. “Since fucking when?”
“From the very moment I got married to her!”
When we reached the bottom, I pushed her toward the door.
“Kelvin,” I barked, my voice echoing through the house.
My Butler appeared within seconds, his expression neutral but his eyes sharp.
“Escort her out,” I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.
Sarah glared at me, her chest heaving with indignation. “You are not serious Cole, are you? Who promised I would be the only one to warm that bed the moment you get rid of her!”
“And I changed my mind,” I said coldly, ignoring her words. “Take her out and make sure she doesn’t return.”
“You will regret this!”
As Kelvin took her arm and led her out, I turned back to the whiskey, pouring another glass. The house was finally silent again, but the damage was done.
I stared at the amber liquid, my mind betraying me with images of Yasmin. Her laugh, her touch, the way she used to look at me as if I were her entire world, and her tears and sad face.
I closed my eyes, gripping the glass tightly. If there was one woman I wanted, it was Yasmin. But she was gone, and all I was left with was a hollow ache and the chaos of my own mistakes. I should have loved her right! And maybe the universe did want me to by bringing Arlene my way.