Maddox Raye's hand hovered above the contract, his fingers trembling slightly. He hadn't felt this way in years vulnerable, exposed. The weight of the decision was crushing him, and he knew deep down that this wasn't just about a marriage contract. It was about his empire, his reputation, his legacy. Everything he had worked for now rested in the hands of the woman standing before him, the woman he had once loved and then destroyed.
Cambria Vale.
Her name tasted bitter on his tongue, even now. The girl he had once married was gone, replaced by a woman who exuded control and power in every step. Gone were the soft, apologetic eyes that had once looked to him for protection. Now, those eyes held only cold calculation and a fire he couldn't extinguish.
"I'm not doing this," Maddox said, trying to push the contract away, but his voice faltered as he did. The words felt empty, hollow, like the last vestiges of control he had left slipping through his fingers.
"Then let your empire burn," Cambria replied, her voice low but cutting. She moved around him, circling him like a predator eyeing its prey. "This isn't about love, Maddox. It never was. This is about survival."
His chest tightened as he met her gaze. "Survival? You think this is about survival?" He could feel the anger building in him, the pride that he'd long held onto refusing to die quietly. "You think you can come in here after everything you did everything I did and control me? You have no idea what you're dealing with."
Cambria's lips twitched into the smallest of smirks. "Oh, I think I do. You've always underestimated me. You always thought I was the weak one, the one you could just discard when it suited you." She stopped in front of him, her presence overpowering as she stared him down. "Well, guess what, Maddox? The tables have turned. I don't need you. But you… you need me."
He opened his mouth to retort, but the words caught in his throat. She was right. He needed her. And it sickened him.
His thoughts raced, but every plan he tried to form felt meaningless. How could he fight someone who had already won? His empire was collapsing under the weight of scandal. His name was on the edge of being ruined. And now, here she was, offering him the only lifeline he had.
"I don't want this," he said through gritted teeth, his hands clenching into fists. "I don't want you. You can't make me do this."
Cambria's eyes darkened, and for a moment, a flash of something dangerous flickered in them. "You have no choice. You think I'm here for your approval? For your love? I'm here to claim what's mine what you stole from me." Her voice dropped to a whisper, but the venom in it was palpable. "And if you think for one second that I'll let you walk away from this then you've learned nothing."
The silence between them thickened, suffocating. Maddox could feel his resolve cracking, the weight of his pride bending under the weight of her words. He wasn't the same man he'd been before. He had built an empire of ruthlessness, of control, but now it was crumbling, and the one person who could help him was the woman he had betrayed.
"I'm not the same man I was, Cambria," he said, his voice softer now, more defeated. "I can't be. Not after what happened."
"Then prove it." Her words were sharp, like a blade. "Sign the contract. Marry me. And do what you have to do to fix your mess."
He stared at her, this woman who had once been his everything, the woman who had believed in him when no one else did. She had trusted him. And he had destroyed her. He had chosen his family, his legacy, over her.
But now, she was the one holding the cards. She was the one who controlled him.
His hand hovered over the paper again, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. Could he really do this? Could he swallow his pride, give in to her demands, and save himself?
He couldn't. But he knew he had no other choice.
The sharp sound of a door slamming open broke the tension between them, and Maddox's heart skipped in his chest. He looked up to see Evelyn Stone standing in the doorway, her face a mask of calm, but her eyes cold and calculating.
"Evelyn," Maddox said, his voice betraying a hint of panic. "What are you doing here?"
Evelyn's lips curled into a sly smile. "I should be asking you the same thing, Maddox. I came to remind you that I'm still here. Still waiting for you to come to your senses."
Cambria's smile widened, a cruel glint in her eyes. "Oh, don't worry, Evelyn. Your time will come. But right now, Maddox is mine."
Maddox froze. The weight of his past mistakes slammed into him with a sickening force. His fiancée, the woman he was supposed to marry before everything fell apart, was standing in front of him, and the woman who had been his wife, the woman he had hurt, was here as well.
He had been living a lie for years. But now, the truth was unfolding before him, and it was too late to turn back.
Evelyn's gaze flicked to Cambria, then back to Maddox, her expression sharpening. "You think you can fix this, Maddox? You think Cambria is going to save you? You've made your bed. Now lie in it." She turned and walked out, leaving Maddox standing there with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He looked back at Cambria, his mind racing. "I don't know what's worse," he muttered under his breath, "the fact that I need you... or that you've already won."
Her smile was the only answer he needed.