Chapter Eleven: Business or Betrayal?

Lia's fingertips hovered over the tablet screen, her eyes scanning yet another article questioning her presence in Cross Enterprises. The latest gossip column practically screamed the headline:

Damien Cross's Wife or Corporate Spy?

She scoffed under her breath. The words stung, even if she pretended they didn't.

Damien had left early for the office, and the silence in the penthouse was oppressive. Gloria had sensed her unease that morning and made Lia a cup of chamomile tea without asking, setting it down with a motherly pat on her shoulder. Even the housekeeper knew something was off.

The quiet didn't last.

By midday, Lia's phone buzzed with a message from Ethan Hale.

Ethan: We need to talk. Damien's in a meeting, but this concerns you. Come to the office. Urgently.

Her stomach dropped.

She arrived at Cross Enterprises within the hour. The receptionist barely met her gaze, and whispers followed her through the halls like a dark cloud. People who once smiled politely now averted their eyes.

In Damien's office, Ethan was already pacing.

"Ethan?" she asked, her voice cautious.

He stopped, hands tucked into the pockets of his tailored slacks, brows drawn in that lawyerly frown that never meant anything good.

"Lia," he said. "Tell me... have you had any contact with Archer Tech?"

She blinked. "What?"

"They're Damien's most aggressive competitors. And somehow, sensitive files Damien only shared with two people, his assistant and you, were leaked. The digital trail... it points back to your account."

"I didn't; Ethan, I would never!"

"I believe you," he said softly. "But Damien's shaken. He doesn't know what to think right now."

Her chest tightened. "Where is he?"

"In the boardroom, facing hell."

Lia didn't wait. She stormed down the hall, heels echoing against marble floors. Her heart pounded with each step, the betrayal she hadn't committed choking her with every breath.

Through the glass walls of the boardroom, she saw him, Damien, standing tall, impassive as several executives pointed fingers, projected files, made accusations. His face was unreadable, but his hands were clenched on the table.

He looked up as she entered.

"Lia," he said, low and curt.

She ignored the gasps around her. "I need to speak to you. Now."

"This isn't the time."

"It's exactly the time."

His jaw ticked, but after a tense beat, he nodded. "Five minutes."

They stepped into his adjacent private office.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded.

"You tell me," he said. His voice was cold, clipped. "You had access to those documents."

"You think I gave them away? Damien, do you even hear yourself?"

"I don't want to believe it, but the evidence..."

"The evidence is fake. Or planted. If you think for a second I'd betray you, after everything, we're further apart than I thought."

He looked away, hands on his hips, back tense. "I've trusted the wrong people before, Lia."

"And I'm not Vanessa," she snapped.

That got his attention. He turned, eyes sharp. "Don't bring her into this."

"I will. Because you're lumping me with your past, your pain, your fear of betrayal. And it's insulting."

They stood there, breathing heavily, the space between them thick with anger and disbelief.

"I didn't leak anything, Damien," she said, quieter now. "Someone set me up."

He studied her, something flickering behind his eyes. Doubt? Regret? She couldn't tell.

"Then we find out who did," he said finally.

Her shoulders slumped, relief mixed with lingering hurt. "Together?"

He hesitated.

"Yes," he said. "Together."

By evening, Lia sat beside Ethan in the private security office, reviewing digital logs and access points. Damien had reluctantly stepped out for a board follow-up, trusting Ethan to handle things.

"There," Ethan pointed. "That login wasn't from your usual device."

Lia leaned in. "That's not my IP."

"Exactly."

Ethan typed rapidly. "This device spoofed your credentials. Someone wanted it to look like you."

A knock interrupted them. Gloria entered, holding a tray.

"Dinner," she said gently. "You two need to eat."

"Thank you," Lia said, her voice tired.

Gloria hesitated. "Miss Lia... I know you didn't do what they say."

Lia's lips trembled, and she nodded silently.

Later that night, Lia sat alone on the balcony of the penthouse, the city lights sprawling below. Damien joined her silently, holding two mugs of tea. He handed her one, then sat.

"They're backing off," he said. "The board, I mean. Ethan showed them the spoofed access."

She nodded, staring into the dark.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," he said after a long pause. "I didn't want to... but the fear got to me."

"You don't trust easily," she said.

"No. But I'm learning."

The silence settled again.

"Why did you marry me, Damien?" she asked suddenly. "Beyond the deal, beyond appearances."

He turned to her, eyes earnest. "At first, it was all business. A strategy. But somewhere along the line... I stopped seeing you as a means to an end."

Her breath caught.

"I don't know what we are now," he added. "But I want to find out."

She met his gaze. "Then start by trusting me. Even when it's hard."

He nodded.

"I will."

Inside, her phone buzzed again.

An unknown

number.

Next time, he won't believe you so easily, the message read.

Lia stared, pulse racing.

The game wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.