chapter 12:For the Truth,For Her
823 Words
Liam stared at the boardroom glass wall, his reflection fractured by the New York skyline behind it.
His phone buzzed on the table. Again.
Amara.
She hadn’t called back.
And maybe she never would.
He’d screwed up — again. Let his fear speak louder than his heart.
But this time… he wasn’t going to run.
He was going to find the truth.
---
An Hour Later...
“Tell me who gave the photos to the press,” Liam snapped.
Darren, his senior aide, blinked. “Sir—”
“Don’t lie. Don’t cover. I’m done protecting cowards.”
Darren hesitated. Then:
“It was Victor Green.”
Liam’s jaw tightened.
Victor. A board member. Old money, old values. He’d never liked Amara — said she was “too opinionated” and “too visible.”
“He sent the photos to BuildCore’s VP,” Darren said. “Told them to ‘handle her.’ Wanted to scare her off the project so his niece could replace her.”
Liam’s rage burned white-hot.
“He tried to ruin her,” Liam said lowly.
Darren nodded. “And you.”
Liam’s hands curled into fists.
Not anymore.
---
That Night – Blackwood Board Dinner
The venue was the exclusive, members-only Grand Orchid Club. Glass chandeliers. Gold accents. Smiling waiters with silver trays.
The kind of place Amara hated.
But she was there.
Not because she wanted to be.
Because Victor Green had formally submitted a request for her removal from the Roosevelt Tower project — citing “professional compromise and public scandal.”
She would defend herself. Once.
Then she’d walk away.
She didn’t see Liam when she entered.
Didn’t want to.
If he had doubts, he didn’t deserve her loyalty.
She took her seat at the end of the table, next to the finance chair and across from Victor.
Victor raised a brow. “You came. Brave.”
Amara gave a tight smile. “You’ll need more than lies to scare me off.”
Victor chuckled and lifted his wine.
“Shall we begin?” he said to the board.
But the doors opened again.
Liam.
He entered in a black suit, no tie, looking like fury and resolve made flesh.
“Before this meeting continues,” he said calmly, “I have a few things to say.”
Victor frowned. “This is a closed vote.”
“I own 62% of the company. I am the vote.”
Victor’s smirk twitched.
Liam turned to the table.
“I made mistakes. I let people get between me and something real. Someone real.”
He looked directly at Amara.
“She was never a threat. She was the only one doing her job without playing games. While the rest of you made backdoor deals and gossip trades, she was in the field, in the mud, saving a $50 million tower from collapse.”
Silence.
“I’ve seen the photos. The messages. Victor Green leaked them to build a case to remove her.”
Gasps.
Victor stood up. “This is slander—!”
“I have signed witness testimony and digital trail logs,” Liam snapped. “You used your niece to try to take over her position. You used me to do it.”
Victor turned red. “I was protecting the company!”
“You were protecting your ego.”
Liam turned back to the board.
“I won’t let this company be run by men who crush women because they’re afraid of being outsmarted.”
He looked at Amara again. “And I won’t lose someone who made me better.”
Amara’s throat tightened. Her fingers curled into her lap.
Victor snarled. “You’re just doing this because she slept with you!”
Liam didn’t blink.
“Then she should run the whole damn company. Because I’ve never been clearer in my life.”
Dead silence.
Amara stood slowly.
Her voice was calm, but firm.
“I don’t need a title or your approval. I came to finish the project. And I will. With or without your blessing.”
Then she turned to Liam.
“I didn’t come to be saved.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “I’m not saving you.”
“I’m saving us.”
---
Later That Night...
The city was quieter than usual.
They stood on Liam’s penthouse balcony, overlooking a sea of glittering lights.
“I didn’t expect you to defend me,” she said.
“I didn’t do it for you,” he replied.
She raised a brow.
“I did it for me,” he said. “Because losing you would’ve been the worst failure of my life.”
She stepped closer.
“I was ready to walk,” she whispered.
“I would’ve run after you.”
She smiled — small and soft.
Then leaned in.
And this time, the kiss wasn’t desperate or hot.
It was safe.
Certain.
Real.
- Writer
