The counter blow
675 Words
The final strike against Damien was set for the next day.
Eve spent the morning finalizing the documents that would expose his bribery in the Voss takeover. Her hands moved with precision, but her heart felt heavy. The mansion, once a place of budding hope, now felt like a gilded cage filled with silence and regret.
Kael joined her in the office around noon, looking as exhausted as she felt. His stormy gray eyes were shadowed, and the professional mask he wore seemed more strained than ever.
“Everything ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” Eve replied, sliding the USB drive across the desk. “This will destroy his credibility. The press will have it by tomorrow morning.”
Kael took the drive, his fingers brushing hers for a brief second. They both froze at the contact. He pulled back quickly.
“Good,” he said, voice rough. “My team will handle the distribution. We stay low-profile today.”
The rest of the day passed in tense quiet. They avoided each other as much as possible, but the mansion felt too small for the distance between them. Eve retreated to her balcony in the evening, watching the sunset over the ocean, trying to steady her emotions.
Her phone buzzed with a message from Marcus:
Damien knows about the upcoming leak. He’s preparing something big. Watch your back.
Eve’s stomach tightened. She immediately went to find Kael.
He was in the living room, staring at the ocean through the windows, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He turned when she entered.
“Damien knows,” she said. “He’s planning something.”
Kael set the glass down. “I figured as much. My security team is on high alert. We’ll be ready.”
The silence stretched between them. Eve wanted to say so many things — how much his coldness hurt, how she had started falling for him, how she missed the man who had held her so tenderly. Instead, she kept her voice professional.
“I’ll be in my room if you need me for anything… business-related.”
She turned to leave, but Kael’s voice stopped her.
“Eve.”
She paused but didn’t turn around.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said quietly. “I thought keeping distance would protect us both. But seeing you like this… it’s killing me.”
Eve’s heart clenched. She turned slowly, her hazel-green eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Then why did you push me away? Why make me feel like I was nothing more than a business partner after everything we shared?”
Kael stepped closer, his expression raw. “Because I’m scared. I’ve lost people I cared about before. I didn’t want to lose you too if this plan went wrong. But I’m realizing now that pushing you away might have been the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
Eve’s breath caught. The wall she had built around her heart cracked dangerously.
Before she could respond, Kael’s phone rang. He answered it, his face darkening instantly.
“It’s happening,” he said after hanging up. “Damien just released a statement accusing us of corporate espionage and claiming our marriage is a sham. He’s also threatening to release more dirt on my past.”
Eve’s eyes hardened. “Then we release our final evidence tonight. End this.”
Kael nodded. “Together.”
For the first time in days, they worked side by side again — not as distant partners, but as a team. As the clock struck midnight, they pressed the button together, sending the final blow against Damien into the world.
As the evidence went live, Kael turned to Eve, his voice soft. “Whatever happens next… I’m sorry. I want to fix this. When this is over, I want us to be real.”
Eve looked at him, her heart torn between hope and lingering pain. “We’ll see.”
The final battle with Damien had begun.
And the battle for their hearts was far from over.
- Writer
