Nicholas reared back as if he’d just been slapped in the face. Hurt flashed across his face and it lingered for a second too long.

"What have I done?" He questioned back, glaring right at Cassian, baffled by the question. "What have I done?" He asked again, this time, offended. "I’ve been the one taking up her tasks since she left us ten years ago. I’ve been the one cleaning up the whole mess while she wasn’t around and you ask me what I’ve done?"

Nicholas looked deeply offended by what Cassian had asked, but the brother didn’t regret his words either.

Then Nicholas pointed at Arianna who was still speechless from hearing all he had to say about her.

She was aware that her disappearance must have affected them in some way, since they always worked as a team with specific tasks assigned to them. Each of them had tasks to do especially during missions.

Even so, was that enough for Nicholas to wish death upon her?

Hearing him say such things shattered her heart.

"Nicholas, that’s enough!" Her father yelled, but still, Nicholas didn’t stop. If anything, his glare towards Arianna intensified.

"You should have just stayed back here since you knew you were only going to bring us more problems. At least then, we’ll have one less thing to worry about."

Then he turned to leave without waiting for any of their replies.

Arianna froze, still unable to believe what had just happened.

Mr. Wesley turned to Arianna. "You shouldn’t listen to what Nicholas said, he’s not thinking right."

Arianna looked up at her father. "But he’s right. I made everything worse by coming back."

"Of course not, la mia principessa. My princess." He said, patting her on the back. "I’ll talk to him. I’ll make sure he comes back to his senses and apologizes to you."

Arianna shook her head as she took a step back.

"I’ll be right back," she said, leaving the house.

Mr. Wesley didn’t stop her. He knew she needed fresh air to calm her nerves.

Nicholas’s words had been vile, and even though he was the one who took up her tasks the years she’d been gone, it was not enough reason for him to talk to her like that.

"He’s really starting to do too much now," Josephine mumbled from the couch. With a sigh, she stood up and stretched her limbs. "I’m going to bed now. It’s been a hectic day." And with that, she turned to leave while they watched her back disappear behind a door.

Cassian turned to his father. "So, what now? Are we just going to let Arianna stay married to that man? What if he hurts her, kills her, and keeps her hostage?"

Mr. Wesley didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he remembered the way Daemon looked at Arianna during the meeting. He’d seen that look somewhere because that was the same way he looked at his wife.

Was Daemon in love with Arianna? He wasn’t certain, but the way he protected her image in front of his family...

Mr. Wesley shook his head when he realized where his thoughts were heading.

He needed to remind himself that Daemon was still an enemy who was just waiting for the perfect time to strike.

The next day...

Arianna marched into the Henderson Corporation with her heels clicking on the clean marble floor.

Heads turned to look at her, most of them shocked to see her there.

"What could she possibly be doing here? She already sold her shares, right? She no longer has any business with this company."

"So what? That doesn’t mean that she can’t come in and say hi, does it?"

The first girl glared at the other one. "I was just talking."

"Get back to work," the second girl commanded.

Arianna ignored the murmurs of the employees and marched till she entered the elevator.

She held a stoic expression, making it obvious that she didn’t want to be spoken to and they made sure to steer clear of her especially after she arrived at the top floor.

She once held an office on that floor, but now, she doesn’t own it anymore because she’d signed those papers that night.

Arianna ignored the greetings of all the staff and marched directly to the part of the building where the board meeting was being held.

Inside the room, Logan was standing before his board members, the most important people of the company.

They all stared at him with a judging gaze, eyes narrowed as if they were trying to understand something but he wouldn’t talk.

"So you mean to tell us that you cheated on the very same woman who helped you build this company?" Mr. Woods asked, perplexed about the situation.

He was a man in his late fifties, one of the people Arianna had introduced Logan’s business to when he was just starting up.

Due to her convincing skills, he’d trusted her judgement and decided to give Logan a chance, which he’d done.

But now, he was hearing that this same Logan had cheated on his wife with her best friend whom he already had a child with and was expecting another one with soon.

Logan’s lips thinned for a second before he parted them to speak.

"Before all of that had happened, I had already made my plans known to Arianna, that I wanted to divorce, to end our union, but she didn’t agree."

"So, you ended up cheating on her?" Mrs. Cooper questioned with eyebrows furrowed. "Am I hearing you right?"

She was one of the people that Arianna had brought to the company, to put their hopes on Logan.

"From the looks of things, this didn’t start recently. You and Vivian have a six-year-old daughter which was around the same time that your relationship with Arianna had begun," Mr. Ford said, making heads turn to him. "That means that while she was trying to help you build your business, you were busy fucking her best friend and making a baby with her."

Logan felt sweat run down his back.

He wasn’t supposed to be here trying to explain his situation. Usually, board members shouldn’t care about the relationships of the CEO but the ones he had there were old and traditional people.

They treated loyalty like gold.

If it wasn’t for Arianna running her mouth at the anniversary party two days ago, then he wouldn’t be here explaining himself in the first place.

"Logan, explain yourself!" Mrs. Cooper yelled, slamming her fists on the table.

Logan parted his lips as he tried searching for the words that could explain his actions but nothing came to his mind.

Then the door opened suddenly, and the root of all his problems marched in like she owned the place.

Arianna stepped into the board meeting, wearing one of the prettiest business suits he’d ever seen her in. From the silky fabric, he could already tell that it cost an arm and a leg.

Since she didn’t have anything, he quickly assumed that she was using Daemon Langford’s money to make her recent purchases.

The thought of her being married to Daemon still didn’t sit well with him.

Heads turned to the door, and once they saw Arianna walking inside, confusion marred their faces.

They weren’t expecting to make an appearance. From the information they’d received from Logan, she’d sold all her shares to him after she found out that he’d been cheating on her.

Her actions had gotten them questioning Logan because Arianna didn’t seem like the type to throw her hard-earned position away just like that, like it meant nothing.

"I hope I wasn’t too late for the meeting," she greeted, her voice sweet like honey but it carried an unapologetic tone, like she didn’t care if she’d arrived late.

When no one responded, she smiled and walked over to her seat which was right next to Logan’s. That was her main seat whenever they had to gather and make some decisions for the company.

Everyone stared at her, especially Logan, who stared at her with wide eyes, baffled at her level of audacity to show up knowing fully well that she didn’t have any right to walk through that door.

"You’re not supposed to be here," he said through gritted teeth, a pair of brown eyes scowling down at her as if she was a taint to his appearance.

"How come?" She asked, her tone innocent. She glanced around the room while the members of the board all stared at her, questions hanging at the tip of their tongues. "If I remember correctly, I’m still a part of this company."

Logan stared at her as if she’d lost her mind, or perhaps her memory from being so delusional.

’Is this a part of her game?’ He wondered, eyes narrowed down at her.

She couldn’t have just waltzed in there like she didn’t have a plan. And out of all days, it just had to be today.

He paled.