Adira's POV
I thought ignoring him would be easy.
It wasn't.
For a week, I buried myself in work. Meetings, strategy sessions, site visits. Anything to drown out the memory of Jayden's voice low, steady, too familiar.
I knew him. I had always known him. The boy from Lagos summers, the boy who once looked at me like I hung the stars. The boy who had promised he'd find me when the time was right.
And now the man who had been silently watching, investing, building behind my back.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the clash in his expression: arrogance wrapped around something softer. Something dangerous.
So I doubled my hours, doubled my walls. If he thought he could swoop back into my life and shake me, he had underestimated me.
But fate is cruel.
The next week, I was invited to speak at a global business forum in London. I rehearsed my speech, perfected every slide. I wore my sharpest black suit, the one that made people take me seriously before I even opened my mouth.
I walked onto that stage ready to command the room.
And then I saw him.
Front row. Jayden Craig.
Leaning back in his seat, relaxed, eyes locked on me like there was no one else in the room.
My throat tightened, but I pushed through. My presentation was flawless. Applause filled the hall. Cameras flashed.
And yet, when I stepped off the stage, the first face I saw was his.
"You've only gotten stronger," he said, falling into step beside me as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
I shot him a glare. "You shouldn't be here."
He smirked. "It's a public forum, Adira. Besides, I like watching you prove everyone wrong."
I stopped walking, forcing him to face me. "Why, Jay? Why all the secrets? You had every chance to tell me who you were to my company, to my life. And instead you let me find out like this."
He studied me, something unreadable in his eyes. "Because the girl I knew back then — the girl with fire in her eyes and too much weight on her shoulders — she never would've accepted help. I couldn't risk you throwing away your dream out of pride."
The words hit harder than I wanted them to. Because he wasn't wrong.
Still, I straightened, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I'm not that girl anymore."
His lips curved. "No. You're even stronger."
For a moment, the air between us hummed with something sharp and unspoken.
And that terrified me more than anything.
So I walked away. Again.
But even as I left him standing there, I knew: Jayden Craig wasn't going to vanish this time.
And maybe... a part of me didn't want him to.