"The Bet that Burned"

Chapter 6: The First Strike

Farr’s POV

When I stepped into the office the next morning, everything felt… off.

The stares were heavier. The whispers thicker. People looked at me like I was made of scandal and shame.

I didn’t understand why until I opened my email.

Subject: Gold-Digger in Davis Holdings?

I clicked. My stomach turned.

There I was in a grainy photo standing too close to Nyl at the gala. Another photo followed: the two of us in the coatroom hallway. Then one more. A private moment in the office that never should’ve been seen.

A message beneath it read:

“She slept her way to the top. Typical.”

My hands shook.

They knew.

Someone had leaked everything.

And only one person had a reason to do that.

Aureline.

Nyl’s POV

I slammed the conference room door so hard the glass rattled.

“Trace the IP. I want the source of that leak now.”

The IT team scrambled. My legal department was already drafting statements. But none of it mattered. Not really.

All I could think about was Farr.

I found her in the break room, hunched over her coffee, face pale.

She didn’t look at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I knew this would happen,” she whispered.

“This isn’t your fault. It’s hers.”

“She’s winning, Nyl. She’s painting me as” Her voice cracked. “As some... gold-digging secretary.”

I stepped forward, cupped her face gently. “You’re not. And anyone who believes that doesn’t deserve to breathe near you.”

Her eyes glistened.

“I’ll fix this,” I vowed.

But I didn’t know yet what that would cost me.

Aureline’s POV

From across the city, I watched the chaos unfold.

Poor little Farr.

She was exactly the kind of girl who thought love could survive in the real world.

But love doesn’t win.

Power does.

And I was about to take back everything Nyl thought he rebuilt.

To be continued...