The New Reality
TWO WOUNDED HEARTS
By Covenant Udosen
Chapter 1:
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The early morning rain over London had a way of blurring the edges of Canary Wharf, softening the sharp glass lines of the financial district’s skyscrapers into ghostly gray silhouettes. Inside the high-rise offices of Vance & Sterling, however, everything was crisp, clear, and rigidly controlled.
Just the way Victoria Wood preferred it.
She adjusted the lapels of her dark navy blazer, stepped off the elevator on the thirty-second floor, and checked her watch. 7:45 AM. Early enough to enjoy the quiet, uninterrupted hum of the central floor before the rest of the team flooded the room. Victoria had spent the last three years building this routine—a fortress of predictability, order, and steady career progression.
Three years since her world had been ripped apart by a betrayal so sharp it had left her emotionally paralyzed for months. She had vowed then that no one would ever catch her off guard again. She had poured every ounce of her energy into her work, guarding her heart behind professional excellence and polite, unbreakable distance.
"Morning, Victoria," David, the regional director, called out as he walked past her desk, carrying a steaming mug of coffee. "Great work on the Q3 reports. Step into my office for a quick moment?"
"Thank you, David. Right away," Victoria replied, picking up her leather-bound notebook and stepping into his glass-walled corner office.
"I’ll cut straight to it," David said, leaning against his dark wood desk. "The board just approved the expansion project for our major European accounts. It’s our biggest strategy contract of the year, and I’m putting you in charge as lead strategy director."
A sudden surge of pride warmed Victoria's chest, validating every late night she had given to the firm. "Thank you, David. I’ve been preparing for this."
"I know you have. But given the sheer scale, you won't be running it alone," David added, taking a slow sip of his coffee. "We’ve brought in a senior co-lead from our Edinburgh branch to partner with you. He transferred down this morning."
Victoria paused, her pen hovering over the paper. "A co-lead?"
"He’s top of his field, Victoria. Highly capable," David reassured her, glancing past her shoulder toward the glass doors of the main entrance. "In fact, he should be walking in right about—ah, there he is."
Victoria turned around, a polite, professional smile already rehearsed on her lips. But as her eyes landed on the tall man standing near reception, shaking off his wet umbrella, the air rushed out of her lungs.
The sharp line of his jaw. The dark, immaculate coat. The quiet, intense way he carried himself.
It was Bryan Walter.
The man who had shattered her trust, broken her heart, and walked out of her life three years ago.
