Chapter 2: The Smell of Familiar Lies
The morning after the engagement party smelled like imported lilies, strong coffee, and something fake.
Selena Hayes sat by the window of Julian's penthouse, half-wrapped in white silk, staring at the skyline. Her ring sparkled. Her smile didn't.
The city looked the same, but something felt off.
She stirred her coffee absently, replaying a moment she couldn't quite explain—the face of a man who stared just a second too long, the echo of something she couldn't place. A name she didn't know. Or maybe one she'd buried.
"Everything okay?" Julian's voice cut through the silence. Crisp. Direct. Like a man used to being answered.
She blinked. "Yeah. Just tired."
He studied her. "You didn't sleep much."
"I rarely do, lately."
Julian walked closer, straightening his cufflinks like it mattered. "We made headlines. 'Perfect couple of the year.'" He smirked. "And we haven't even destroyed anyone yet."
Selena gave him a ghost of a smile. It didn't reach her eyes.
"Your speech was... sharp," she said.
He raised a brow. "Too much?"
"Not at all," she lied. "Just… bold."
Julian stepped behind her, placed a kiss just above her shoulder. "I'm always bold. That's how we win."
She didn't reply. Her fingers tightened around the coffee mug.
Downstairs, the city pulsed like nothing had changed. But someone had shown up last night. And something had shifted.
Across the city, in a quieter apartment that smelled of steel and shadows, Adrian Wolfe—known now as Daniel Knight—watched the news play a highlight reel of the engagement.
He paused the video on her face.
Selena.
Frozen mid-laugh, head tilted slightly, just the way she used to look when teasing him. Except that woman didn't exist anymore. Not the way he remembered her.
Not after what she did.
He walked to the window, hands behind his back, posture straight. The scars on his back still itched when it rained. And this city—this high-class cage of power and betrayal—was about to pay him back.
He wasn't in a rush.
But he wasn't here to wait, either.
That afternoon, Selena stood in the middle of Ward & Hayes' boardroom—yes, her name came second now—and listened to Julian talk about their next move. Some joint venture. Some fake smile for another powerful handshake.
But her mind drifted. Back to the stranger. The way he spoke to Julian. That quiet, unreadable confidence.
Something about his voice... familiar in a way that made her stomach turn.
She didn't know why she couldn't forget it.
"Selena?" Julian's voice cut in. "Are you with us?"
She straightened. "Yes, sorry. I was thinking about the investor from last night. The new one you spoke to."
Julian's jaw shifted slightly. "Knight. Daniel Knight. Wants to bring in European capital. Quiet type, but sharp. Why?"
"I just—don't remember seeing him before."
Julian leaned back. "He approached me. Unsolicited. Which means either he's crazy or loaded. And since he showed up in a car worth more than our last merger—I'd say loaded."
Selena nodded, lips tight.
Julian's tone dropped. "Why do you care?"
She shrugged. "Just curious."
Julian studied her a second too long.
"I'll invite him to dinner," he said.
Selena didn't flinch, but her chest tightened.
"Why?"
"Because I want to know him better," Julian replied. "And because I don't like questions I don't ask first."
That night, Adrian received a call.
"Mr. Knight," Julian's voice came through. "Dinner tomorrow. My place. Just us."
There was a pause.
"Sounds… intimate," Adrian said, calmly.
Julian chuckled. "Just strategic."
"I'll be there."
He ended the call, already knowing what suit he'd wear. What watch. What words. He didn't need to plan the moment.
It was already his.
Selena stood at the balcony again that night, glass of wine untouched in her hand.
Something was coming. She didn't know what. Or who.
But it wore a familiar scent.
Like ashes.
Like memory.
Like revenge.
[To Be Continued…]