Chapter Nine

Grace had never liked being caught off-guard. But the name Lillian Carter echoed in her mind like an unanswered question

The morning after their almost-kiss , she buried herself in work , Meetings, Calls Reports, Anything to block out the memory of Liam's eyes when she pulled away looked frustrated, maybe even hurt. But not surprised.

By noon, she couldn't help herself.

She pulled up a browser and typed the name.

Lillian Carter.

It didn't take long.

Former COO of Vale Systems. Philanthropist. Tech darling. Liam Vale's ex-fiancée.

The article was old, but the headline still made her stomach clench:

"Tech's Power Couple Call It Quits After Sudden Split No Comment From Either Side "

They'd built the company together. Lillian had been his partner in business and life, and then nothing. No public fallout. No scandal. Just a silence that felt too clean to be real.

"Grace" Maya's voice interrupted from the doorway.

Grace clicked out of the tab.

"Yes"

"You've got to see this urgently ."

She frowned. "What?"

The headline hit like a slap as Maya showed her .

"Governor's Daughter or Corporate Mouthpiece? Grace Cole's Cozy Deal with Vale Systems Raises Eyebrows"

Grace read the article twice each word more venomous than the last. Photos of her leaving Vale Systems, cropped and angled to look intimate. Quotes twisted out of context. And the kicker: anonymous sources claiming she was "installed to soften public backlash"

She didn't need to guess who those sources were. And she didn't wait to cool down.

By the time she stormed into Liam's office, the receptionist barely managed a startled "Ms. Cole" before Grace flung the door open, coffee still in hand.

Liam looked up from his desk. "Grace"

"Don't" She slammed the cup onto the table. "Did you plant that story"

His brow furrowed."What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're telling me a media outlet just happened to get private boardroom quotes and pictures of me leaving your building at midnight , Either you're behind it, or someone in your camp is and you're letting it slide."

Liam stood, calm but tense. "Why would I sabotage the one person making this damn project viable"

"Because it makes you look collaborative," she snapped "It makes me look bought."

"I didn't leak anything"

"Then control your people," she hissed. "Because right now, I'm being painted as your puppet and I don't play strings for anyone."

He came around the desk, voice rising. "You think I'd drag you through the mud just to score a PR win? You really think I'd risk this " He stopped, gesturing between them. " for a headline" as he close the distance between them

"I think you're used to control" she shot back. "And I think when you can't have it, you find another way to win"

"You're angry, and you have every right to be," he said, jaw tight. "But don't confuse me with the men you've had to outmaneuver your entire career. I don't see you as weak. I see you as the only person in this room who might actually be smarter than me"

She blinked, thrown off by the honesty in his voice. The storm inside her stalled just a moment but the adrenaline had nowhere to go.

He stepped closer.

"I brought you in because I needed your vision" he said quietly "But I kept you here because I couldn't stop needing more than that"

She hated how her pulse responded. How close they were. How the fight had blurred into something else entirely.

"Don't" she said softly, warningly, as his hand brushed hers.

"I know," he whispered, eyes locked on hers. "But I'm tired of pretending we're just business."

The distance evaporated. His hand skimmed her jaw, his touch hesitant asking, not taking.

Her lips parted.

And just before they crossed the line her phone buzzed again.

"Father"

She exhaled, the moment shattering like glass between them.

"This isn't finished" she said, breath shaky as she backed away.

"No," Liam said, eyes still burning. "It's not."

And as she walked out for the second time every step felt heavier than the last