Eda Roman POV:
The freight elevator lurched to a halt on the top floor. The steel doors slid apart, and I launched myself out of the cabin like a bullet leaving a chamber.
I immediately collided with a massive metal catering cart parked in the hallway. I didn't care about the pain in my hip. The ticking clock of my father's failing organs was the only thing screaming in my head.
A silver carafe tipped over. Hot, dark coffee cascaded off the edge of the cart, splashing heavily against the hem of my trench coat. The fabric soaked up the brown stain instantly.
The catering staff gasped and yelled at me. I didn't even turn my head. I locked my eyes on the heavy, double mahogany doors at the far end of the corridor and sprinted.
Mark heard the crash. He stood up from his sleek assistant desk outside the boardroom. When he saw it was me, the color drained entirely from his face.
He ran around his desk, throwing his arms wide to intercept me. He yelled that the meeting was in session and I could not go in.
I didn't stop. I dropped my shoulder, sidestepped his grabbing hands with a burst of adrenaline, and threw my entire body weight against the heavy wood of the boardroom doors.
The doors burst open with a loud, hollow boom that echoed like a gunshot. The ambient hum of the room died instantly. The air inside the boardroom turned solid.
I stood in the doorway, chest heaving. Around the massive, oval obsidian table sat over a dozen high-ranking executives in tailored suits, alongside a delegation of Japanese clients.
Every single pair of eyes snapped toward the doorway. They stared at my stained coat, my messy hair, and my wild, desperate breathing.
Sitting at the head of the table, Axel Foley froze. He clicked off the red laser pointer in his hand. The muscles in his jaw tightened, pulling his brow into a deep, furious crease.
He locked his icy blue eyes onto mine. The sheer, crushing pressure of his gaze hit me. My heart gave a pathetic, involuntary shudder. Years of being ground down in this marriage had wired my nervous system to physically recoil from his anger.
The Japanese clients looked startled. They leaned toward their translators, whispering in confusion, clearly disturbed by the intrusion.
Mark sprinted into the room behind me, panting heavily. He bowed deeply toward the table, sweating through his shirt as he frantically apologized to Axel for failing to stop me.
Axel didn't even look at Mark. His eyes remained fixed on me, scraping over my ruined clothes like a sharp blade. The disgust radiating from him was palpable.
I forced air into my lungs. I stepped over the threshold, pushing against the invisible wall of his authority. I opened my mouth to speak.
I barely got the word "Axel" out before he raised his left hand. It was a sharp, chopping motion. A command for absolute silence. It cut off my vocal cords instantly.
Axel turned his head toward the Japanese delegation. He spoke in fluent, flawless Japanese. His tone was incredibly warm, sickeningly gentle, apologizing for the unexpected disruption.
The moment he finished, he snapped his head back to me. The warmth evaporated. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated ice.
A few of the executives exchanged smirks. I heard a faint, suppressed snort of laughter from the far end of the table.
A wave of intense, burning shame washed over my skin. I bit down on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, using the pain to anchor my spine. I refused to back down.
I raised my voice, projecting it across the massive room. I yelled that my father was dying and I needed the fifty thousand dollar trust approval right now.
The words hung in the air. Fifty thousand dollars. In a room where they were discussing billion-dollar transnational mergers, the amount sounded so trivial, so incredibly pathetic.
Axel's eyes darkened to a terrifying shade of midnight blue. He thought I was throwing a tantrum, weaponizing a minor issue to publicly humiliate him.
He pushed his chair back and stood up. His massive frame cast a long, dark shadow across the polished table. The aggressive energy rolling off him made the executives shrink back in their seats.
He walked slowly around the table, stopping barely half a meter in front of me. The familiar, expensive scent of his cedar and bergamot cologne filled my nose, suffocating me.
I looked up at him. For a split second, a pathetic spark of hope flared in my chest. I thought he was going to ask what was wrong with my father.
Axel leaned down. He brought his mouth close to my ear, his breath cold against my skin.
He didn't ask about the hospital. He didn't ask about the leukemia. He delivered his verdict in a voice devoid of a single ounce of human empathy.
My body went completely numb. The blood drained from my extremities, leaving me paralyzed, staring blankly at the knot of his silk tie.
Heavy footsteps sounded behind me. The building's security team had arrived in the hallway, waiting for their boss to give the order.
"Get out."
