Clara Bennett walked into the boardroom of the Blackwood tower, her heels clacking on the marble floor as she strode in confidently.
The executives turned to look at her. She ignored all of them.
Her eyes went straight to the man at the head of the table.
Adrian Blackwood sat with his hands folded in front of him, dark suit, dark tie, an expression cold as ice. He was reading something on a tablet when the doors opened, and just like his habit, he did not look up. But he felt that something was wrong, the presentation wasn't starting and his executives were quiet.
He looked up.
And for a moment, nothing felt real.
For seven years, he had trained himself to reveal nothing.
He had learned to bury every emotion beneath a calm, unreadable expression.
Nothing could shake him.
Until now.
The moment his eyes landed on the woman standing in the doorway, He froze, something inside his chest twisted with such force that his fingers tightened around the edge of the table just to keep himself still.
For the first time in seven years, he had no idea what he was feeling and even had less control over it.
It was her.
It could not be her. And yet it was.
She still had that stubborn little tilt to her chin, the same sparkling brown eyes. Seven years had passed, but he remembered that look, the way she used to make him feel like he was the only person in the room, even when they were surrounded by powerful men.
She was older now, seven years older, and there was something different about her. She is now more distant. The gray suit gave her an air of confidence that made her seem completely out of his reach.
But he knew that face.
He knew the way she walked, the way she carried herself, even the small details she probably didn't realize she still had.
It was her.
After all these years, somehow, it was still her..
“Mr. Blackwood”. Her voice was calm and professional, aimed towards him like a blade. “I’m Clara Bennett. I'm here on behalf of Bennett Holdings, regarding your acquisition of Meridian Textiles”.
She did not know him.
Adrian understood this in the space of a heartbeat, and it hurt worse than anything Victor's lawyers had ever threatened him with. She stood three feet away from him, looking at him the way a stranger looks at an obstacle, and there was no flicker of recognition in her eyes. None.
He had buried her seven years ago. An empty casket, because there had been nothing left to bury, or so he had been told. He had stood in the rain at that funeral and promised himself he would never again let anyone matter enough to destroy him if he lost them.
And now she was standing in his boardroom, alive, breathing, hating him without even knowing why.
“Miss. Bennett”, He kept his voice level. It cost him everything. "I wasn't aware Bennett Holdings still existed."
Anger flashed across her face. She tried to hide it, but he saw the tightness in her jaw, the way her eyes hardened.
“It exists. Barely. And that’s because men like you keep circling around whatever is left of it”.
He stared at her. For a second, neither of them spoke. The air between them felt suddenly too tight.