“Mom, I still don’t want them to know about my real identity, so I’ll start from the bottom of the company before I become CEO,” I said, adjusting my lanyard as I stood near the marble pillars of the Steel Corporation lobby.
There was a soft sigh from the other end of the line. “But Camilla, it’s your birthright. You—”
“Please, just let me earn it,” I interrupted gently.
Before she could answer, a loud scoff cut through the air behind me.
“Oh, give me a break. Why are you here?”
I didn’t even have to turn around to recognize that voice. Amber Green.
She stormed toward me, snatched my phone right out of my hand, and tossed it to the side like it was trash. It clattered against the tiled floor, earning gasps from the new hires nearby.
“What the hell is your problem?” I asked, jaw tight.
Her eyes burned as she stood too close. “How the hell did a poor girl like you even get into Steel Corporation? You didn’t have a single slot for interview—yet somehow, your name is on the accepted list.”
She took a step forward, voice dripping with venom.
“What did you do, Camilla?”
I didn’t flinch. “It’s not my fault I’m better than you. Maybe they made an excep—”
“Exception?!” she snapped. “Or did you seduce someone from the inside?”
Then—with a smug, dramatic flourish—she pulled out a stack of glossy photos and hurled them at me.
They scattered like leaves in the wind. The lobby gasped again.
And my heart… dropped.
Photos. Of me. Talking to Harold Steel. Laughing. Walking with him after a private strategy meeting. Him—the board member. And my cousin. A person I trusted to help Mom run the company while I stepped into disguise.
Amber’s voice cut through the ringing in my ears.
I don’t know where she got those but she might have an eye inside the company so I really need to be careful.
I stared at her, then at the photos littering the floor. People had already started whispering. Some picked them up. A few even took pictures of them.
Amber’s lips twisted. “So that’s how you got in, huh? You seduced Harold Steel and got your way in like some desperate little whore.”
I met her gaze and let out a short laugh.
“Think whatever you want to think,” I said and walked away.
But I barely made it five steps before I felt her yank on my hair.
I spun around, furious, and shoved her back.
“I’m so done with you, Amber!” I shouted, loud enough to make heads turn. “Can you just stop?!”
She staggered but caught herself, glaring. “It’s unfair! You got in and I didn’t! Ugh! Such a seducer! No! I wouldn’t accept that! She slept her way in! That’s how she got in! This company is a joke!”
I didn’t turn back as Amber screamed and stormed off. I bent down to pick up my phone—thankfully not cracked—dusted it off, and calmly walked out the glass doors of Steel Corporation.
And there he was. James Diaz, my soon-to-be husband. When he spotted me, he smiled that smile, the one that used to melt my heart. Not anymore.
“Hey, baby,” he said, walking over. “You okay?”
I tried to hold my composure. “It’s nothing,” I murmured.
“Just a bad day. Amber Green decided to stir up trouble.”
His jaw tensed, eyes narrowing. “Amber? Again? Come on, don’t let her ruin your day. She’s nothing compared to you. Let her be jealous. She was always like that. What a spoiled brat!”
Then he leaned in and kissed my forehead, brushing my hair back with a touch that once felt comforting.
“How about we go on a date, love?” he said, slipping his arm around my waist like he always did. “You deserve a break since you got accepted, and it would be fun because we’re gonna be in the same company.”
I nodded slowly, letting myself lean into him. But deep inside, I wanted to strangle him.
I had known for months that the man who swore I was his world had been sleeping with Amber Green behind my back. For over a year. The same girl who called me garbage in high school. The same girl who just accused me of seducing my way into Steel Corp.
What a pair they made. It started with subtle signs—her perfume lingering on his shirt, unexplained late nights, the fake fights they both tried to stage in public. I kept quiet, watched, learned. I didn’t confront. I planned.
Because when you’re going to destroy someone, you do it quietly. Precisely.
We got into the car and drove down the quiet road near the bay. He played music like nothing happened, one hand on the wheel, the other reaching for mine.
And then, his phone buzzed.
He tried to flip it over fast, but not fast enough. I saw the screen light up.
AG: Ugh! I hate it. That bitch got in and I didn’t... I need you now, please spoil me. I miss you...
My eyes stayed fixed on the window as I felt his thumb twitch nervously against the steering wheel.
He cleared his throat. “It’s just... someone from work.”
“Mhm,” I replied, lips curling into a polite smile.
He didn’t know I saw everything. He didn’t know I already knew everything.
And I wouldn’t tell him. Not yet.
Because the girl he thought he was lying to was the same girl who would one day own the entire company. The reason why he even got the job in the first place.
Today, I let him hold my hand, drive me to dinner, pretend like everything was okay.
Because when I finally took off the mask?
When I told the world who I really was?
James wouldn’t just lose me.
He’d lose everything.
