Thinking back to all those times I couldn't stand Valerie's garish makeup and told her to pay attention to her appearance—and how Elwin always defended her—it hit me all at once. He'd been cheating on me even then.
I'd just been too buried in work, too busy helping him build his business empire, to notice his heart had already drifted to another woman.
And now, at the very pinnacle of his career, he wanted to demote me from girlfriend to sworn sister—a neat little cover for his betrayal while making himself look loyal and honorable.
Fine. Then I wouldn't hold back either.
I'd taken Starlight Corporation public. I could just as easily bankrupt him.
But this was still the company I'd poured everything into. I didn't want to destroy my enemy at the cost of destroying myself.
"I need to use the restroom. Give me five minutes to think."
Elwin saw me wavering and took it as my last show of resistance. He let me go.
I left the celebration and called Elwin's biggest rival.
"Thirty percent of Starlight's shares. Interested?"
Because of Elwin, Arnold Delgado and I had always been on opposite sides—competitors, even enemies. But that never stopped us from respecting each other's abilities.
As Arnold put it, Starlight's equity was nothing to him.
What he actually wanted was the product patent I was bundling with the share transfer.
It was a surprise I'd secretly prepared for Elwin, meant to celebrate today's IPO.
Too bad. He'd missed his chance.
I didn't mind selling it to Arnold at a premium—and throwing in the Starlight shares as a bonus for him to play with.
Whatever he did with them was no longer my concern.
Arnold's response was immediate:
"Time and place. I'm on my way."
While Elwin and Valerie celebrated their engagement upstairs, Arnold and I signed the contract in the ground-floor café.
Once the money hit my account, we raised our glasses in a toast.
But Elwin, still fixated on getting me to sign that nominee shareholder agreement today, had sent someone to find me in the restroom.
When Phineas Sullivan spotted me downstairs with Arnold, he immediately ran to fetch his boss.
"Maureen! What the hell is this?"
I didn't spare Elwin a single glance. I clinked glasses with Arnold again.
"Mr. Delgado, here's to a successful partnership."
Being ignored made a vein throb at Elwin's temple.
"Maureen, what kind of deal did you make with him? You know he's my enemy!"
Before I could answer, Valerie appeared out of nowhere and cut in:
"Elwin, isn't it obvious? She's exactly what the rumors say—only ever interested in your status as the Gilbert heir!"
"Since she can't be Mrs. Gilbert, she's latched onto your rival just to spite you!"
"Who knows? She's probably already sold company secrets to him!"
Elwin's patience snapped. He lunged forward to drag me from my seat.
Arnold raised a hand and blocked him.
"Elwin Gilbert. You're an embarrassment to men everywhere. You cheated, and you have the nerve to interrogate your girlfriend?"
"Oh wait—ex-girlfriend now. And while we're at it, let's update our relationship too. 'Rivals' sounds so harsh. From now on, we should call ourselves partners."
Arnold deliberately waved the share transfer agreement in Elwin's face.
Before Elwin could read it, Arnold turned to me with a wicked grin.
"Maureen, what do you say—should I crash Starlight's stock price right now? Give everyone a front-row seat to watch Valerie Pruitt, the so-called billionaire's daughter, try to save the day?"
Even Arnold, an outsider, knew that Starlight's success was entirely my doing—not Valerie's.
Yet Elwin couldn't see it.
He was so blind, so willfully ignorant, that he believed every lie Valerie fed him.
