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Chapter 32
~Zara’s POV~
After Zoe left, the tension slowly dissipated. I leaned back in my chair, letting out a deep breath.
Storm was too focused on his cake to notice the lingering awkwardness, but I wasn’t.
Zoe’s words stung a little more than I cared to admit. She had been around for years, taking care of Storm like he was her own, while I had only just entered the picture.
Though, it shouldn’t matter given that our marriage contract was just for a year and after that I’d leave but still.
It was a battle, and even though I’d won this round, I knew it wasn’t over. Zoe wasn’t going to back down easily.
"Can I have more cake, Zara?" Storm asked, his voice snapping out of my thoughts.
I smiled down at him, pushing the plate closer. "Of course. But not too much. You don’t want a stomachache, do you?"
Storm grinned, happily taking another bite.
After sitting in the living room for so minutes, I was surprised when Storm walked up to to ask for noodles.
I had been tempted to call for the maids but his puppy dog eyes prevented .
Till now, I didn’t know much about Snow and that bugged . I could swear he knew more about than he let on.
Turning to Storm, I inquired, "Hey kiddo," I ruffled his hair a bit, "who is Zoe to you? Is she your mother?"
Storm turned to look at , ready to answer the first question but stupidly I added the second and imdiately his mood dropped.
The bubbly child eating the chocolate cake was imdiately replaced with a sad boy.
"I..."
My heart stung. What have I done?
Rather than leave things as they were, I questioned again, reaching for his hair, "I can understand if she is and you don’t have to..."
Storm snapped my hand away and yelled so pained filled words.
"She’s not my mother! None of you could ever be!" With that he got down from the chair and rushed out, leaving alone.
Pain struck in my chest. What have I done?
I stood from my sit, rising half way when my eye glanced up and the sight before made my heart skip a beat.
"S-Snow."
The cold deadly irritated look in his eyes made cease my breath, my heart thudding in my chest.
"Snow." I reached out, but before I could take a step in his direction, he snarled, forcing to halt and walked off in the direction Storm went.
For now, things were calm but I knew better than to let my guard down. Zoe’s will to cling to this family threatened to upend everything.
Watching Storm eat, I felt an urge to protect him. Though not related by blood, I had to shield him from Zoe’s sches — even if it ant dealing with Snow’s ss no matter how much I dreaded it.
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~Ivan’s POV~
**Lattice Domain**
I leaned back in my leather chair, swirling the whiskey in my glass as I stared out the window of my office.
The skyline of the city glittered under the evening sky, but my mind was elsewhere—on Zara. My forr fiancée who had slipped through my fingers.
"She should’ve been mine," I muttered under my breath, downing the rest of the whiskey in one gulp.
Across from , my best friend Lucas smirked, his feet propped up on the corner of my desk.
"Still stuck on her, huh?" Lucas was finding this amusing but I wasn’t. "You let her go, Ivan. Maybe it’s ti to move on."
I slamd the glass down on the desk, glaring at him. "Move on? You don’t understand, Lucas. It was never supposed to end like this. Zara’s father’s company is like a goldmine. I need control of that company, and Zara was the key."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "Oh, so it’s about the company now, is it? Not the girl?"
I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. "It’s both. You know how much her father’s company ans to my family’s business. rging with them would’ve made us unstoppable. But now... now she’s married to my uncle out of all people."
Lucas whistled, leaning forward. "Ah, Snow. The Alpha CEO of Aurora Conglorate. That’s not just your regular guy, Ivan. You’ve got yourself a real challenge now."
I clenched my fists. "Clarissa was supposed to take care of that. She swore the hotel scandal would ruin Zara’s image, make Snow doubt her and file for a divorce. But all it did was backfire. If anything, it made her look even more trustworthy in his eyes."
Lucas laughed, clearly enjoying my frustration. He shook his head and placed his hands on the desk.
"You should know by now, Clarissa isn’t exactly known for subtlety, man. She’s a wildcard. But hey, at least you tried."
I shot him an irritated glance. "Tried? This isn’t over, Lucas. Zara’s father still sees as a potential ally. I can use that. He kept on calling the other day when I scolded him about Zara. And as for Snow... he won’t be able to protect her forever."
Just then, the door to my office creaked open, and Clarissa sauntered in, her high heels clicking against the floor.
She was all smirks and swagger, her confidence fierce as did her dressing as she strutted toward us.
"Speak of the devil," Lucas muttered under his breath, amused as he leaned back into his chair.
Clarissa tossed her hair over her shoulder, flashing a knowing smile. "Well, well. Still talking about , are we?" she purred, sliding into the chair next to Lucas.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "You promised that hotel stunt would work."
She pouted dramatically. "Oh, darling, I did my best. But Zara is slipperier than I thought. Who knew Snow would actually believe her side of the story? I an, I set everything up perfectly."
Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. "Maybe not as perfectly as you thought," Lucas challenged, enjoying the rage in Clarissa’s eyes.
He raised his hands in mock surrender, his shoulders raised but his smile was sothing else.
I too would have enjoyed the tease had I not been enraged by my situation.
"You’re talking about a girl who used to run her father’s company etings at the age of twenty or nineteen. Did you really think she’d fall for sothing as obvious as a staged scandal?"
Clarissa shot him a glare before turning her attention back to . "So, what’s the next step, Ivan? Surely you’re not giving up now?"
I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing. "Of course not. If we can’t ruin Zara’s image, we’ll hit Snow where it hurts. His business."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
I smiled darkly as a plan ford in my mind. "I know a certain investor Snow has been trying to bring in for a major deal. His na’s Marcus."
"Marcus?!"
Clarissa had her eyes opened. "As in, Marcus Deveraeux?"
I gave a nod. "If I can make sure I get to him first, I’ll have leverage. Marcus isn’t loyal to anyone, but he loves money. If we can sway him, we can destabilize Snow’s upcoming deal and cause a rift in his company."
Clarissa crossed her legs, her eyes gleaming with interest. "And while Snow is busy scrambling to fix his business... you’ll be there to comfort Zara, make her see that she made a mistake leaving you."
"There’s that...but I’ll have Zara take the fall for everything which would enrage Snow and my grandfather. They’ll divorce and I’ll help her get back into her father’s company. From there boom, get what we want and toss her aside."
Lucas laughed, clearly enjoying the drama. "Man, you really are sothing. But this plan could actually work."
I stood up, feeling a renewed sense of determination. "It will work. Snow’s got the upper hand now, but he won’t see this coming. I’ll take back what’s mine—and Zara’s father’s company in the process."
Clarissa grinned, clearly enjoying the idea of causing chaos. "You know, I can always help... distract Snow. Maybe get him off his ga a little."
I shot her a look. "No more stunts. This ti, we do things smart. We get Marcus on our side, and everything else will fall into place."
Lucas raised his glass in a mock toast. "To ruining Snow’s perfect little world."
Clarissa smirked, clinking her glass with his. "And to getting Zara back where she belongs."
I downed my drink, the fire in my chest igniting once more. This wasn’t just about business. This was personal. And Snow Zephyr had no idea what was coming for him.
My father was right. Find a weak link and destroy it.
"So, when do we start?" Clarissa asked, peering at with her seductive eyes.
"Umm... how about you rope Marc
us in with your charms tomorrow. Then lead him to ."
"Plan in motion."
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