Adira's POV
The morning after the gala, I woke to the buzzing of my phone. Dozens of missed calls. Hundreds of notifications.
For a second, I thought it was about the award. Until I saw the headlines.
Twin Wars? Williams Sisters Clash at Business Gala.
Ashley Williams Shines in Silver Outshines Entrepreneur Sister.
Mystery Tech Mogul Jayden Craig Caught Between the Williams Twins.
I dropped the phone on the duvet, my stomach twisting. Of course. Ashley had probably fed them the story herself she'd always known how to work the media.
The articles painted me as the quiet, awkward sister standing in my model twin's shadow, while Ashley dazzled with charm. And in every photo, Jayden was there. Sometimes beside me, sometimes caught in the background, his unreadable expression fueling the gossip.
By mid-morning, my inbox was full of press requests. Investors wanted reassurances. My staff were whispering. And my assistant looked like she was one more headline away from fainting.
"Should I draft a statement?" she asked nervously.
"No." I rubbed my temples. "We don't feed gossip."
But part of me burned. Because it wasn't just gossip. It was Ashley's way of reminding me she could still wound me, even now.
And worse the articles hinted that Jayden was at the center of it all. That he was a prize we were both circling.
I hated it.
I hated how easily Ashley turned everything into a performance. And I hated how much the idea of her anywhere near Jayden made my chest ache.
Jayden's POV
The tabloids didn't bother me. They never had. Let people speculate. Let them underestimate.
But seeing Adira dragged into it seeing Ashley try to paint her as small, invisible, forgettable that made my blood run hot.
I knew Adira well enough to know she wouldn't fight this battle publicly. She wasn't Ashley; she didn't crave cameras. She built her empire brick by brick, in silence, with grit.
Which meant it was my turn to step in.
Not to save her. Never that.
But to remind the world exactly who Adira Williams was.
And to remind her that she wasn't alone this time.