CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

The Game Ends

The Weight of Betrayal

Nicole Melbourne stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of her penthouse, gazing down at the city she had conquered. The empire she had bled for.

Her phone vibrated on the marble counter.

Unknown Number.

Her lips curled into a smirk. Andrew.

She took a sip of her wine before answering. "You're calling earlier than I expected."

A low chuckle came from the other end. "You always did like to predict my moves, Nicole."

She walked to her desk, her heels clicking against the polished floor. "And you always disappoint me by making them so predictable."

His voice darkened. "Meet me. Let's finish this face-to-face."

Nicole ran a finger along the rim of her glass. "You think you still have the right to demand anything from me?"

Andrew exhaled. "I think you owe me this much."

She let a silence stretch before answering.

"Midnight. Your estate."

She hung up, her expression unreadable.

Emma, standing in the doorway, frowned. "Are you sure about this?"

Nicole met her gaze. "I'm always sure."

Emma sighed. "If this is a trap—"

Nicole smirked. "Then Andrew just made the biggest mistake of his life."

Merissa's Warning

At that same moment, Merissa Bond stormed into Tyler Winslow's office.

"You need to stop her."

Tyler leaned back in his chair, unimpressed. "Nicole doesn't need my protection."

Merissa slammed her hands on his desk. "Andrew is desperate. If he can't have her, he'll destroy her."

Tyler's expression darkened. "He can try."

Merissa shook her head. "This isn't a joke, Tyler. You know what Andrew is capable of."

Tyler studied her for a long moment, then grabbed his phone.

"I already took care of it."

The Final Meeting

At 11:59 PM, Nicole walked through the gates of Andrew's estate.

The mansion was grand, but to her, it was nothing more than a gilded cage—a place where a man who had once mattered to her now rotted in his own bitterness.

Andrew was waiting in the dimly lit lounge, a whiskey glass in hand.

"You came."

Nicole smirked, stepping inside. "I always finish what I start."

Andrew studied her. "Do you ever regret it?"

She raised a brow. "Regret what?"

"Us." His voice was quieter now. "What we had. What we could've had."

Nicole gave a slow, elegant laugh. "Andrew, there was never an 'us.' Just a boy who thought he could control me—and a girl who proved him wrong."

His grip tightened around his glass. "You still don't understand."

She folded her arms. "Then explain it to me."

Andrew took a step closer. "I never betrayed you because I wanted to. I did it to protect you."

Nicole's eyes turned cold. "That's the excuse you're going with?"

He sighed. "There were forces at play you didn't know about. People watching us. If I stayed by your side, they would have destroyed you to get to me. I had to make you hate me so you'd be safe."

Nicole tilted her head, her voice razor-sharp. "You think I needed your protection? That I wasn't strong enough to survive on my own?"

Andrew clenched his jaw. "It wasn't about strength, Nicole. It was about survival."

She scoffed. "So, sleeping with Florence Cocci was survival? Flirting with every woman who showed interest in you—was that protecting me, too?"

Andrew's throat bobbed, but he had no response.

Nicole let the silence stretch. "That's what I thought."

His expression hardened. "It wasn't what you think—"

She cut him off. "You want to know the truth, Andrew? I saw it all. I saw the way you let women throw themselves at you. And you know what? I still overlooked it. Because I believed in you."

Andrew inhaled sharply.

"But then you crossed a line even I couldn't ignore. You betrayed my trust. And the worst part?" She smiled, but it was nothing short of lethal. "You still think you can win me back."

His gaze darkened. "We could end this, Nicole. No more battles, no more destruction. Just come back to me willingly, and I'll end the war."

Nicole's smirk deepened.

"Andrew, you still don't get it, do you?"

She stepped closer, lowering her voice to a deadly whisper.

"There is no 'us.' There never was. And now? There never will be."

Andrew's expression turned blank.

Nicole turned to leave.

Then the doors burst open.

Security stormed in.

Andrew's eyes widened. "What—?"

Nicole's voice was pure ice.

"Andrew Bond, you're under arrest for financial fraud, corporate espionage, and conspiracy."

He lunged toward her, but security held him back.

Nicole leaned in, whispering the final blow.

"I told you, Andrew. I don't lose."

As he was dragged away, she walked out into the night—victorious.

Tyler's Move

At sunrise, the headlines exploded.

❖ "Andrew Bond Arrested—Melbourne Enterprises Unshaken."

❖ "Nicole Melbourne: The Untouchable Queen."

❖ "Tyler Winslow and Nicole Melbourne: A Power Merger in the Making?"

Nicole sipped her coffee as she watched the reports.

Then her phone rang.

Tyler.

She answered.

His voice was smooth. "Miss me?"

Nicole smirked. "You wish."

Tyler chuckled. "Dinner. Tonight. Let's celebrate your victory."

She hesitated.

Then, finally—"Fine."

Tyler's laughter rumbled through the line. "I'll pick you up at seven."

Nicole hung up, shaking her head.

She had won the war.

But somewhere across town, in a high-rise office overlooking the city, Tyler Winslow leaned back in his chair, watching the headlines with a slow smirk.

"She's good," he murmured to himself, fingers drumming against his desk.

Too good.

But that only made him want her more.

He picked up his phone, scrolling through the latest financial reports. Nicole had won this round, but the game between them was far from over.

And Tyler Winslow never backed down from a challenge.