Ai Group CEO's Office.
The air was so heavy it could be wrung dry. Emma stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, her back to her father, Chairman Ai Mingyuan, and several senior executives. Outside, the city glittered—but in her eyes, it was all gray.
The investigation report her assistant had just delivered lay quietly on her desk. Like a bomb already ticking.
"It's confirmed," Emma said, her voice dry, trembling without her realizing. "The actual controller of First Heart Capital… is Gu Liang."
Despite having mentally prepared for it, the moment his name was spoken aloud, the room filled with gasps.
"Gu Liang? That Omega perfumer you were dating?" one of the veteran executives blurted out, stunned. "How is that possible? Where did he get the money? The connections?"
Ai Mingyuan slammed the desk, face dark with fury. "Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! An Omega, using god-knows-what money, dares to challenge Ai Group publicly? Emma! What the hell happened between you two?!"
What happened?
Emma's lips curled into a bitter smile.
What could she say? That she got bored and wanted to break up? That she marked him during rut and then walked away? That his revenge was something she brought upon herself?
None of it could be spoken. It would ruin her reputation—and reveal a cruelty she couldn't bear to admit.
"Personal matters," Emma said, turning around, trying to maintain composure. Only her clenched fists betrayed the storm inside. "I'll handle it."
"Handle it? How?" Ai Mingyuan roared. "He's not just your little Omega anymore! He's the founder of First Heart Capital! He's backing our biggest competitor! His preliminary data has the board in a panic! Do you even know how much our stock dropped this morning?!"
Every word hit Emma like a whip. She knew better than anyone how precise and brutal Gu Liang's move had been. Prometheus was Ai Group's ten-year strategic core. Billions had already been invested. If Corei beat them to market—or even severely disrupted progress—it could be catastrophic.
And the spark that lit this fire… was a relationship she thought she could discard at will.
Absurd. And poetic.
"I'll find a solution," Emma said, lifting her gaze. Her Alpha sharpness returned, though her heart felt frozen. "Just give me time."
After finally sending off her furious father and anxious executives, Emma collapsed into her chair. The room was empty, filled only with her restless cedar whiskey pheromones.
She needed to see Gu Liang. Now.
Not as CEO. Not even as an Alpha. Just… as someone who used to matter to him.
She pulled every string she had and finally got his new address—and his new number.
Standing outside the luxury high-rise, Emma looked up. His unit was high above, overlooking the city—just like his current position. She took a deep breath and walked into the lobby.
As expected, the concierge stopped her politely but firmly.
"Apologies, Ms. Ai. Mr. Gu instructed us not to allow any unannounced visitors."
"Tell him Emma is here," she said, barely containing her anger.
The concierge made a call, spoke quietly, then hung up and smiled professionally. "Mr. Gu said… he doesn't know you. Please leave."
Doesn't know her.
Three words. Three ice picks to the heart.
Worse than being blocked. Worse than ignored.
He wouldn't even see her.
Emma's Alpha temper flared. She pushed past the concierge toward the elevator.
"Ms. Ai! Please don't make this difficult!"
In the chaos, her phone rang. A number she didn't recognize. She answered instinctively.
The voice on the other end was one she knew to her bones—now cold and distant.
"Ms. Ai."
Not Emma. Ms. Ai.
She froze. The noise around her faded.
"Trespassing and harassing a resident is grounds for legal action," Gu Liang said calmly, like reciting a fact. "If you don't want to see headlines tomorrow reading 'Ai Group CEO detained for harassing ex-boyfriend,' I suggest you leave."
Emma's heart clenched. Breathing became difficult.
"Gu Liang… can we talk?" Her voice trembled with a plea she didn't even recognize.
"Talk about what?" His tone was emotionless. "Business? Go through official channels. Personal matters…" He paused, then chuckled—a sound devoid of warmth. "Do we even have any left?"
"Do you have to do this?" Emma's voice cracked with pain and anger. "Is this how you choose to get revenge?"
"Revenge?" Gu Liang repeated, amused. "Ms. Ai, you flatter yourself. It's just business. Isn't competition healthy? Or are you so used to control that even your ex's life has to follow your script?"
Every word was a scalpel, slicing through her carefully maintained facade.
"Gu Liang, I know I…" She wanted to say I'm sorry, but the words felt laughable.
"No need," he cut her off, voice firm. "Your apology means nothing. It changes nothing. If you have no further business, I'm hanging up."
"Wait!" Emma cried. "Prometheus is vital to Ai Group…"
"So?" His voice finally carried a trace of mockery. "What does that have to do with me?"
What does that have to do with me.
Four words. And Emma was plunged into ice.
She finally understood. The Gu Liang who once saw her as his entire world… was gone.
He died the moment she said break up. The night she marked him in rut. Every time she said I'm tired.
Now, what remained was Mr. Gu of First Heart Capital. Calm. Ruthless. And utterly indifferent.
The call ended. Only the dial tone remained.
Emma stood frozen, a puppet with its strings cut. The concierge watched her with a mix of pity and caution.
She didn't know how she left the building. How she got back to her car.
She sat in the driver's seat, forehead against the cold steering wheel, drowning in a despair unlike anything she'd ever felt.
She had lost him.
Not in the way she imagined—her walking away, him begging her to stay.
But in this way: He erased her. Crushed her. And even his revenge was delivered as healthy competition.
She had lost. Utterly.
And the war… had only just begun.
She knew Gu Liang wouldn't stop here. This was just the beginning.
Emma lifted her head, staring at her reflection in the rearview mirror—disheveled, defeated.
And for the first time, her eyes held something beyond guilt and frustration.
Fear.
She was truly afraid. Of the Omega she once thought she could control.