The Billionaire Who Regretted Losing Me

Chapter 1 — You’re Alive Amelia Carter had rehearsed this moment a hundred times. None of those rehearsals had prepared her for the way Alexander Blackwood looked at her. She stood at the entrance of the thirty-second-floor conference room, one hand resting lightly against the door. Alexander was standing beside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Behind him, the city stretched beneath a gray afternoon sky. Three years. Three years since she had last seen him. Three years since she had disappeared from his life. And yet, the moment their eyes met, Amelia’s heart betrayed her. It remembered him. The sharp line of his jaw. The dark eyes that had once softened whenever he looked at her. The expensive black suit. The familiar expression of control. Except today, that control was gone. Alexander stared at her as though he had seen a ghost. His lips parted. For several seconds, neither of them spoke. Then he whispered the words Amelia had imagined hearing countless times. “You’re alive.” The conference room became painfully silent. Amelia forced herself to smile. “Apparently.” Alexander didn’t move. His eyes traveled over her face, as if searching for some explanation that would make her existence possible. “You…” His voice broke. He stopped and swallowed. “You’re Amelia.” She raised an eyebrow. “Did you expect me to come back with a different name?” His expression hardened. The old Alexander was returning. The cold billionaire. The man who never allowed anyone to see his emotions. But Amelia had known him before the walls went up. She knew exactly how shocked he was. And she knew something else. He was angry. Very angry. “Everyone said you were dead,” he said. “I heard.” “We held a funeral.” “I wasn’t there.” His jaw tightened. “Three years, Amelia.” She looked away. “I know.” “Where were you?” Amelia’s fingers curled around the folder in her hand. That was the question. The question she had spent three years preparing to answer. But not today. Not yet. She walked toward the conference table and placed the folder in front of him. “We’re here to discuss business.” Alexander stared at the folder. Then at her. “Business?” “Yes.” He gave a humorless laugh. “You walk into my company after three years, after I believed you were dead, and you want to discuss business?” “That’s exactly what I want.” He stepped closer. “What happened to you?” Amelia’s heart pounded. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to scream that she hadn’t betrayed him. That she hadn’t abandoned him. That someone had taken everything from her. But she couldn’t. Not until she knew who had been behind it. Instead, she looked directly into his eyes. “I’m not the woman you remember.” Alexander’s expression changed. “Then who are you?” Amelia pushed the folder toward him. “Your competitor.” He opened it. His eyes moved across the first page. Then stopped. His face went completely still. “This company…” “Is mine.” Alexander looked up. “You founded Carter Holdings?” “Yes.” He stared at her again. Three years ago, Amelia had been the woman who trusted him with her entire heart. Now she was the CEO of a company worth hundreds of millions. And she had come to buy one of his most valuable subsidiaries. Alexander slowly closed the folder. “You came here to buy Blackwood Tech.” “I came here to make an offer.” “You know I won’t sell.” “I know.” “Then why are you here?” Amelia smiled. “Because I wanted to see whether you’d say no before reading the number.” For the first time, something almost resembling the old spark appeared in Alexander’s eyes. Then it disappeared. “You haven’t changed.” Amelia’s smile faded. “Actually, Alexander, I’ve changed more than you know.” He stepped closer. “Then tell me what happened.” She didn’t answer. His voice lowered. “Did you really betray me?” The question hit harder than she expected. For a moment, the conference room disappeared. She was back three years ago. Back in the apartment they had shared. Back on the night everything had fallen apart. Back when Alexander had looked at her with hatred instead of love. Amelia forced herself back into the present. “No.” Alexander froze. One word. One answer. And suddenly the room felt smaller. “You expect me to believe that?” “No.” “Then what do you expect?” “Nothing.” She picked up her handbag. The meeting was over. Alexander caught her wrist. Amelia immediately looked down at his hand. He released her. Neither spoke. Then Alexander said quietly, “I spent three years hating you.” Amelia looked at him. “I know.” “I blamed you.” “I know.” “I thought you left me.” Her eyes burned. “But I didn’t.” Alexander stared at her. “What are you saying?” Amelia walked toward the door. Her hand touched the handle. Then she stopped. There was one thing she needed him to know. She turned around. “The night I disappeared, I was coming to tell you the truth.” Alexander’s face changed. “What truth?” Amelia held his gaze. “The truth about who betrayed you.” Silence. Alexander took one step toward her. “Amelia.” She opened the door. “Find out for yourself.” Then she walked away. Alexander remained frozen in the middle of the conference room. His eyes dropped to the folder she had left behind. He opened it again. This time, a small photograph slipped from between the documents. It was old. Three years old. Alexander picked it up. His blood ran cold. It showed Amelia standing outside his company on the night she had supposedly betrayed him. But that wasn’t what shocked him. It was the timestamp. 11:47 p.m. Alexander stared at the photograph. He remembered that night. At 11:47 p.m., Amelia had supposedly already left the building with the confidential documents. But the photograph showed her entering the building. Not leaving. Someone had lied. And suddenly, for the first time in three years, Alexander wondered if the woman he had spent years blaming… had actually been innocent. His phone rang. He answered without taking his eyes from the photograph. “Sir,” his assistant said nervously, “there’s something you need to know.” “What?” “We found another file from three years ago.” Alexander’s expression darkened. “What file?” A pause. “The original security footage.” Alexander’s heart stopped. “Where is it?” “Someone just accessed it.” “Who?” Another pause. Then his assistant whispered: “Victoria Sterling.” Alexander slowly looked toward the door Amelia had disappeared through. For three years, he had believed he knew exactly who had destroyed his life. Now he wasn’t sure of anything. And somewhere downstairs, Amelia Carter stepped into the elevator. The doors closed. Only then did she allow the smile to disappear from her face. Her hand trembled as she reached into her handbag. She pulled out a second photograph. On the back were four handwritten words: He still doesn’t know. Amelia closed her eyes. Three years ago, she had run to survive. This time, she had returned for the truth. And she wasn’t leaving without it. The story continues: WATCH OUT FOR CHAPTER 2 #vote#! by clicking #VOTE# on Dream