THE DISABLED HEIRESS, MY EX-HUSBAND WOULD PAY DEARLY.-Chapter 71

At that moment his tone was calm, but it carried weight. "Cora, I’m not saying reject them. I’m saying don’t let the excitement cloud your judgment. Don’t let your guard down. Because if they sense even a bit of weakness or desperation, they’ll use it."

For a moment, silence lingered between them. Then Cora exhaled, her voice coming softly.

"Oliver... you worry too much."

"I do," he admitted without hesitation. "Especially when it comes to you."

Cora smiled faintly, her eyes warm despite the tension in the air. "I expected this from you. You’ve always been the cautious one. You’ve always been the voice pulling me back when I’m ready to leap. And honestly? I’m glad I have that voice beside me, it keeps me in cheek."

She shifted in her seat. "But the decision has been made. I’ve thought about it long and hard. I’m not going into this blind. That’s why the contract hasn’t been signed yet only a proposal. If anything feels wrong, if even one condition doesn’t sit well with me, I’ll walk away. You have my word."

Oliver still looked skeptical, but he nodded slowly.

"And besides," she added, her voice growing firmer, "this project is my dream. My statement. I won’t let anyone steal it from me—not Robert, not JSK, not anyone."

Oliver gave a quiet sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just... be careful, Cora."

Cora nodded. "I will. Always."

Then the call ended, and Oliver was left sitting there, staring at the quiet screen as the silence in the room suddenly felt heavier. He didn’t move for a few seconds, as if the weight of everything they just talked about was slowly settling on his shoulders. It wasn’t sadness in his eyes, it was something deeper. Something restless. Something uncertain.

He wasn’t angry either. No, not even disappointed in her. He just felt that gnawing pressure in his chest—the kind that comes when someone you care about might be walking into something dangerous, and there’s very little you can do to stop it.

His thoughts drifted back to the first time Cora ever mentioned the MegaCity project. She wasn’t even in her full element yet, still fighting to be taken seriously, still living in the shadows of her mother’s legacy. But when she spoke about that city, her whole being lit up. Her voice would rise. Her hands would gesture passionately. And the gleam in her eyes? Unmistakable. It wasn’t just business for her, it was personal. It was her tribute. Her promise. Her unfinished Chapter.

And now, after years of rejection, closed doors, and sleepless nights, it seemed like the very people who once mocked the project were the ones coming back to her... not just with interest, but with power. Influence. Connections.

And that’s what worried him the most.

Oliver ran a hand down his face and leaned back in his chair, his mind already racing. He knew her—knew her heart, her pride, her determination. She would push herself to the very edge to prove something, to honor her mother’s vision. And even if danger stood in the middle of that road, she’d charge ahead without blinking.

Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wasn’t going to fight her on it anymore. That would only push her further or thinks he doesn’t want to support her. Instead, he would do what he had always done. Watch. Protect. Guide, quietly, from a distance.

If this was the path she chose, then he would walk the same road in the shadows, making sure no one tried to harm her from behind. Because while Cora may not always listen to him, he was going to make sure she never had to walk alone, even if she never realized it.

And so, with a heavy heart and a silent promise, Oliver got up from his chair and turned toward the window, staring into the fading skyline, already planning what next steps he needed to take... because if anything tried to bring her down, it would have to get past him first.

**

James stood like a man consumed by fire, the storm inside him roaring louder than any words could express. His chest heaved with fury. The once pristine study now looked like the aftermath of a violent break-in. The expensive vase was in pieces by the door. Books and files were tossed across the floor like trash. His leather chair was turned over, and one of the shelves leaned sideways as though even the furniture had surrendered to his rage.

He threw his hands through his hair again, pacing in sharp, stomping steps.

"Gone... it’s all gone!" he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. "Do you know what that flash drive meant to me? That was my last hand! My winning card!"

However Emily stood near the doorway, frozen. Her heels were still on, but her knees felt like they were about to give way. She had never seen James like this before. Not even when the Victor deal fell apart.

It wasn’t just anger she saw, it was fear, pure, desperate fear.

At that moment James picked up a thick folder and flung it across the room. "They think they can outsmart me. Cora thinks she’s won. But I swear—she hasn’t seen the last of me."

Emily swallowed hard. Her throat was dry. She had always thought James was untouchable. His confidence used to shake the air in any room he entered. She remembered how she admired him from behind her little desk when she was just his secretary. She worked late. She picked every word carefully. She dressed up in her best outfits, hoping someday he would notice.

And he he did, and now, she was here, not as a secretary, but as the woman who finally got the man every other woman whispered about. But the man in front of her no longer felt like the James she fell for.

He looked... lost, the man who once crushed enemies with his words now stood trembling over shattered pieces of his empire.

First, the Victor deal collapsed like a house of cards, snatched out of his hands when he was just inches from signing. And now, his largest company, his crown jewel—was gone. Taken. Just like that. And the final piece of leverage he had against Cora had vanished without a trace.

Then Emily slowly walked further into the room, careful not to step on broken glass.

"James," she said softly, her voice barely rising above a whisper, "you still have resources. We can—"

"Don’t patronize me," he snapped without turning to look at her. "You think this is just about money? About losing a company? That flash drive had everything—everything. With that gone, I’m no longer ahead. I’m exposed."

He finally turned to face her. His eyes were bloodshot, lips tightened in fury, but beneath it all, she saw something else, panic.

Emily didn’t reply. What could she possibly say? She was always proud of being the woman by his side, the one who made it to the top with him. But now she was beginning to wonder if the top was already crumbling beneath their feet.

And in that silence, as the sound of James’s heavy breathing filled the room, something shifted inside her.

She didn’t know what scared her more, Cora’s rising power or James’s crumbling fall.

Because if everything around him was falling apart, then maybe she wasn’t standing beside a king anymore. Maybe she was just clinging to a man who was already drowning.

And she doesn’t know if truly this place, if James was someone she would decide to commit her future to.