The Heiress Who Married Her Enemy

chapter 2

**IRINA'S POV**

The man I slept with last night wasn’t Daniel. That I was sure of. But doesn’t that make me a cheater too?

My mind raced with the realization that I had slept with an unknown man. Who in hell did I sleep with?

It could be anyone—a bartender, a hotel worker who had an infection, or a pot-bellied maniac?

My finger casually trailed the half-broken apple necklace that had been sitting on my neck since I was ten. It was the only reminder of my parents’ awful accident.

This necklace, not belonging to either of them, was found at the accident scene.

The voice of my grandma jarred me back to life and I sniffed. She shouldn’t know I was crying. She shouldn’t know that the reason I wanted to reveal my identity was because of a betrayal that sank deep into my heart.

“Irina… why now? Why reveal yourself?”

My grip on the phone tightened, letting the pulse of determination course through me. “Grandma, I know I can’t keep hiding, I cannot keep pretending I am someone else… It’s suffocating. I need my name, my identity. I’ve lost too much already.”

Grandma’s sigh was quiet but it carried a deep weight of worry. “But what if the people… who hurt your parents… are out there? Your parents had kept you hidden for too long, what if they know about you?”

“I will be careful,” I assured, though my heart raced with conflicting emotions. “I’ve spent years in the shadows—watching, wondering, and waiting for something that probably wouldn’t ever come, I’m done with that. If I stay hidden, nothing changes and if I step forward, nothing changes. I will do this, even if it means facing those who wronged me.”

All my life, I had been hiding. I never stayed up to a month with my parents, they were always sending me to stay with relatives. It was easy to hide my identity since then, very easy. And the day I was to be revealed as their daughter, they died.

“Irina… you’ve always had that fire in your soul. Just promise me that you wouldn’t allow anger to cloud your judgment. You have to be patient always.”

With a sigh that I dragged in too long, I assured her. “I promise, Grandma.” Though, patience was the last thing on my mind.

Her voice had softened now. “Then go and take your place now.”

“Yes, Grandma.” I said and hung up. My heart accelerated with fear and exhilaration. It felt like I was about to win a prize. For too long, I’d been invisible—living under a name I couldn’t use in the midst of anyone. But now, I was about to redefine my story.

---

The following week had me preparing for my comeback. I walked into the reception of the company I had watched and controlled from afar. With each step I took, people whispered. I was Bella’s regular friend whom they had been seeing. They had no idea that timid, cautious girl would be who I was today.

Today, I was the CEO. I was Irina Jerkins, the heiress of the Jerkins Diamond and Gold Company.

Bella’s voice rang out incredulous the moment she saw me walking into the open-plan office. She half-ran towards me. “Irina… what… what are you doing here?”

My eyes were locked on her with a lethal calmness.

“Bella,” I called. “It seems you still don’t get the gist, do you?”

Her face paled, eyes widening in disbelief. She had assumed I would stay hidden after her betrayal, that I would continue to play my role under a fake name—Irina Thomas.

I walked past her, each step taken with precision. Heads turned, whispers rose to a crescendo. I stopped at a table, letting her panic meet my gaze.

“I think it’s time I take back what belongs to me.”

Her lips parted. “What?” She asked and then lowered her voice, “people might think…”

“Think what?” I interrupted, stepping closer. “That I’m just your friend? That I’m someone who stays in the shadows while you take everything? Look around, Bella. I’m not hiding anymore.”

The whispers grew louder.

“Why is that woman here,” one man muttered. “She’s just Bella’s friend. How can she—”

Bella’s eyes darted around, her panic rose. “Quiet! Don’t say anything! She’s not…”

“Well, I am,” I said proudly, “I am Irina Jerkins, the CEO and Heiress of the Jerkins Diamond and Gold Company. And as you can see, Bella has been playing boss for a very long time now. She doesn’t deserve it anymore so I am here.”

Some people exchanged stunned looks. “CEO?” a young woman whispered. “But… she’s never…”

With the growing murmur, Bella’s hands flew up. “Stop! You can’t just… No! This isn’t how it works. You can’t just claim anything when you’ve never worked for it.”

I c****d an eyebrow. “Really? Did you work for the man I dated for a year before you slept with him, betrayed me?”

Now, that earned gasps from the onlookers in the office.

Talks of, “is Irina really the boss?” “Did Bella sleep with Irina’s boyfriend?” “What is going on here,” filled the air around us.

Her mouth opened, then closed. A flicker of defiance passed across her face, but the uncertainty in the staff’s eyes only weakened her.

“Irina, I deserve more than this! You can’t just throw me out! You know what you’re risking by doing this!?” Bella charged on.

Before I could answer, Bella dragged me towards a glassed-in office at the end of the floor. I didn’t fight, I just allowed her to lead me. Once she had slammed the door, the creak of chairs and drawers filled the air. I stood and watched because I wanted to know what she was up to. The workers around were curious too, but because we were in another enclosed office, they couldn’t hear us.

She finally found what she was looking for—a slim, black file. Her smile was cold as she walked right up to me and dropped the file on the table I was leaning on.

I took the file and checked the headings. For a moment, all I saw were columns, words, signatures, and the company seal. When I read the words, a chilling feeling ran through my body and paralyzed me instantly.

“Half of the company is in my name,” Bella announced. “You signed them off to me several months ago.”

“What?” My voice cracked. Heat flushed my neck. “That’s not possible—”

She snatched the file from me and tilted her head. “Oh, it is. You signed the documents yourself. At the charity gala, remember? You told me I was worthy and you didn’t even read what you were signing, I only told you as a twenty-five year old inexperienced heiress that you are, in the business world you need someone with experience to take control of the company for a while. Funny how memory gets hazy when the truth is pushed to your face.”

My mind scrambled through the fog of memory. That day, she had actually told me the documents were to put her in charge of the company for a while, not forever. I didn’t think twice before signing it. My palms were wet with sweat when I realized the gravity of what had happened.

“You’re lying,” I heard myself cry out. I placed my hand on the table until the wood bit the skin on my palm. “You forged my name, Bella, you stole from me!”

Bella threw back her head in laughter. “Forged? Darling, what you see is real. I have videos of you signing them, I have witnesses. You wanted to be invisible and you willingly gave people the chance to take advantage.” Her eyes glittered with triumph. “And now you want it back?”

“Bella, you can’t do this to me,” I said, exhaustion weighing me. “You can’t…”

My head was starting to spin. The weight of the double betrayal pressed heavily on me. No wonder she slept with Daniel and confidently came to work today. She knew what she was doing. She had it all planned well.

“I have evidence, Irina, even the police wouldn’t take me for this… you have nothing to use against me.” Bella purred, leaning in. “You have to learn that cunning is a kind of skill. While you were in Philadelphia working your ass off as a waitress, I was here working day and night. You slept too much, baby girl. This is the only way I can get what I want from you cunningly.”

My throat tightened until I felt it was hard to breathe. My vision blurred and I crumbled. A thousand needle prickles shot at my chest as waves of what she did crashed upon me. She had stabbed me from behind and had confidently come to stand before me to see me die.

For a moment, I wanted to snatch the file, tear it, scream until my voice was hoarse. Instead, I breathed. Quietly and slowly.

“Fine,” I echoed and turned my gaze upward. “If you want everything, Bella, you can have them… at least, it’s for now.”

Her smile didn’t even falter. Like, this woman had been the closest human I had after my grandma. I gave her access to everything my parents left behind. We had met in high school and the friendship had kicked off since then. I never knew she wasn’t to be saddled with something as huge as what made me an heiress.

“You wouldn’t be having them for long.” I added.

I marched out of her office, out of the open-plan office and out of the company. Outside my hand curled into a fist.

This was just the beginning.