Five years ago, Nina Hale lost everything… her family, her reputation, and the man she once loved. Betrayed by her own sister and abandoned by those she trusted most, she disappeared without a trace.

Now she’s back.

With a new identity and a burning determination, Nina is ready to reclaim her life and chase the dream she once gave up: becoming a star actress. But her return awakens old enemies, and her scheming sister Lydia is determined to ruin her again.

Just when Nina thinks things can’t get worse, she’s caught in another trap… and unexpectedly crosses paths with a quiet, lonely little boy.

Ethan Grant hasn’t spoken in years.

Feeling responsible for him, Nina agrees to stay and help the child come out of his shell. But she didn’t expect Ethan’s dangerously charming father, Lucas Grant, to enter the picture.

Cold, powerful, and impossible to read, Lucas slowly finds himself drawn to the woman who brightens his son’s world.

What begins as a simple act of kindness soon turns into something far more complicated, because Nina came back for revenge.

She never planned to fall in love.

**********

“I shouldn’t be here,” Nina whispered, even as she stayed rooted in place.

Lucas stepped closer, slow and deliberate, his presence closing the distance between them. “Then why are you?”

Her breath hitched when his fingers brushed hers—light, almost accidental, but it lingered.
“This isn’t part of the deal.”

“Maybe it should be.” His gaze dropped to her lips, dark and intent.

“You don’t even like me,” she said, though her voice softened.

“That’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?”

He leaned in, close enough for his voice to turn low, intimate.
“That I want you anyway.”

“Lucas…” Her hand pressed lightly against his chest, but she didn’t push him away.

His eyes held hers, unwavering.

“Use me, Nina.”

A/N: Hey Lovelies... I really want to apologize for the delay in updates. I'm back now. I appreciate all your support from the beginning.


"How do you expect me to know?!" his father screamed, his voice distorting so violently over the cell phone speaker that the harsh, tinny sound practically rattled Adrian's teeth. "I handed the company over to you, Adrian! Fresh, profitable, on a silver platter! And you messed it up! You completely ruined it!"


"Don't tell me to calm down!" Arthur Cole's breath hitched, sounding like a man drowning in his own bile. "That company was built by my grandfather! My father built the legacy! It was passed down to me, I poured forty years of my blood into those boardrooms, and it was passed onto you… and now it's getting destroyed in your useless hands?! Whom did you offend, Adrian?! Tell me right now! Who did you piss off?!"


Chapter 172 - Chapter 0172: You're Not Fit To Lead The Company Anymore