The buzz surrounding Clara and Alexander's sudden engagement hadn't died down. If anything, it had spread like wildfire.
From gossip blogs to financial newspapers, headlines screamed with curiosity:
"Heiress Clara Lancaster Engaged to Tech Billionaire Alexander Wolfe?!""From Abandoned Wife to It-Girl — Clara's Comeback is Just Getting Started."
And Damien Blackwood? He was spiraling.
From the moment he saw the photos — Alexander's hand resting low on Clara's waist, her delicate fingers flashing a glittering diamond ring — something in him snapped.
His jaw clenched so hard he felt the pressure in his temples. He was in his penthouse, hands trembling as he scrolled through the gossip site again and again. Every picture felt like a slap.
She was supposed to be invisible.
Forgotten.
His discarded pawn.
Not the damn queen.
Meanwhile, Clara stood at the window of her grandfather's estate, watching the city skyline blink against the night. The fake engagement with Alexander had done exactly what she needed. It crushed the rumors about her being obsessed with Damien. It gave her leverage. And it planted a seed of doubt in all the right places.
And most importantly—it rattled Damien.
She knew it.
He hadn't reached out. Not directly. But his silence was louder than a scream.
Behind her, her phone buzzed.
It was Alexander.
Alexander Wolfe: "Damien's watching you. And he's furious. Want me to escalate this?"
Clara smirked.
Clara Lancaster: "No need. He'll come to me. They always do."
At Blackwood Corp
Damien sat in his glass-walled office, but his mind wasn't on the report his assistant had handed him. Every line blurred into nothing. He was supposed to be reviewing quarterly forecasts, but his mind kept dragging him back to her.
Clara.
Smiling.
Glowing.
Engaged.
The word felt like poison on his tongue.
"Sir," his assistant said cautiously, "You have a visitor."
He looked up sharply. "Who?"
There was a pause. "Ms. Rhea Carlton."
His mood worsened.
Rhea walked in without waiting to be invited, draped in designer black, her lips painted red like a warning.
"You're avoiding me," she said sweetly.
"I've been busy," Damien replied, voice flat.
Rhea walked over and dropped the latest tabloid on his desk. "Busy getting heartbroken, apparently."
Damien's eyes didn't flicker. "It's a fake engagement."
"You sure about that?" she whispered. "Because she looks pretty happy to be his fiancée. I mean, unless she's suddenly learned to fake joy that well."
Damien's fist clenched. "Get to the point, Rhea."
Rhea's expression turned cold. "You still want her. That's the point."
He said nothing. He didn't need to. The tension between his brows, the storm in his eyes—it was answer enough.
Rhea's voice sharpened. "After everything we did for you… you're still pining for your little ex-wife like a lovesick puppy?"
Damien's glare sliced through her. "Watch your mouth."
But Rhea stepped closer, undeterred. "You think she's back just for revenge? No, Damien. She's winning. And you're letting her."
For once, Damien didn't deny it.
Later That Night
Clara sat across from Alexander at a rooftop bar. Twinkling lights reflected in her wine glass as she toyed with the diamond ring on her finger. Alexander watched her with amusement.
"You're really enjoying this little charade, aren't you?" he said.
Clara tilted her head, smiling. "It's not a charade if it gets results."
He raised an eyebrow. "You sure you don't actually want to marry me? You'd make a great billionaire wife."
She laughed. "And ruin all your fun? Please."
Suddenly, Alexander leaned forward. "He's going to try to trap you."
"Damien?"
"Obviously. Men like him don't like to lose. He'll come at you with apologies, seduction, manipulation—you name it."
"I'm ready."
But was she?
Because deep down, there was a voice she hated to hear. The one that remembered what it felt like to love Damien. Not the monster he became. But the man she thought he was.
That was the real danger.
The Confrontation
Clara didn't have to wait long.
The next day, her car pulled up to a charity auction hosted at the Blackwood Foundation. She'd expected to dodge him the entire night.
But as soon as she stepped inside the ballroom, she could feel him.
His presence was like gravity—pulling the air out of the room.
Damien was dressed in a black suit, jaw tight, drink untouched.
Their eyes met across the crowd.
And it was like the rest of the world blurred away.
Clara walked past him, as if he didn't exist.
But Damien wasn't used to being ignored.
Not by her.
He followed.
"Clara," he said behind her.
She turned slowly, her smile rehearsed. "Mr. Blackwood. What a surprise."
"I want to talk."
"I don't."
She started to walk away.
He stepped in front of her. "What you're doing with Alexander—"
"Is none of your business," she finished coldly.
"You think I'm stupid?" he hissed, lowering his voice. "You think I don't see what this is?"
Clara leaned in slightly, just enough for her breath to hit his cheek.
"I know exactly what this is. A reminder that you lost."
Rhea's Breaking Point
Back at her apartment, Rhea smashed the wine glass she was holding. Watching the event live through a streaming site, she saw the way Damien looked at Clara.
Like a man starved.
And Clara? Cool. Beautiful. Triumphant.
"Don't you dare," she muttered at the screen.
Because she knew that look.
She'd worked too hard, done too many dark things to get rid of Clara the first time. There was no way she'd let it all be undone now.
If Damien wouldn't take action… she would.
A Dangerous Offer
That night, Damien showed up at Clara's apartment.
Uninvited.
Unannounced.
She opened the door, surprised. "How did you—"
"Don't ask," he said.
He looked uncharacteristically unguarded. Vulnerable. But Clara didn't lower her defenses.
"What do you want?"
He stepped closer.
"You're not marrying him."
She laughed bitterly. "Oh? Didn't realize you were my father."
He ignored it. "I'll triple whatever he's offering you. You want influence? Power? I'll make you my partner. Just… end this joke of an engagement."
Clara stared at him.
"You still think everything is about money. That I can be bought."
He softened. "No… Clara… I just want you back."
Her heart skipped a beat.
The words she used to long for. But now… they tasted like poison.
"You don't want me, Damien," she said quietly. "You want control. And I'm not yours anymore."
She closed the door in his face.
And this time—she was the one who left him standing in the cold.
Final Scene: Rhea's Plan in Motion
Rhea met with a shadowy figure in a secluded cafe. Her sunglasses hid her expression, but her voice was venomous.
"She's rising too fast. I want her dragged back down."
The man across from her nodded. "You said you have something on her?"
"I have everything."
She slid a flash drive across the table.
"Leak it. Ruin her. And make sure it leads back to Alexander. Let's see how long that fairytale engagement lasts when the world thinks she betrayed him."
The man grinned.
And just like that, the next storm was already brewing.