Echoes Of A CEO's Hidden Love

The Entanglement

Day after day, my life went on like normal, as if nothing had changed. I spent my days buried in work, trying to perfect every detail of the project. Evenings were peaceful—back at my apartment, I enjoyed the quiet of living alone. Just when I thought my new life was heading in the right direction, Adrian showed up at my office.

“Eleanor,” Jessica said one day, looking a bit hesitant, “Someone’s here to see you. I tried to stop him, but he went straight to the general manager, and now he’s waiting for you in the meeting room.”

She paused, then added, “If you don’t want to deal with him, I can tell him you’re out handling something.”

I smiled. “It’s fine, Jessica. Since he’s gone this far, he won’t leave without seeing me. Besides, I wouldn’t want to put that on you. I’ll handle it.”

Still, I was caught off guard. Why would Adrian go through all this trouble to find me at work? Knowing his pride, I thought he'd be pissed off after all that and never bother with me again.

With my colleagues whispering behind my back, I walked into the meeting room. There he was, dressed sharply in a suit, sitting at the center of the room with a stormy expression.

“Eleanor, what the hell are you doing?” Adrian started as soon as I walked in. “You moved all your stuff out, blocked my number—are you seriously still throwing a tantrum?”

I walked up to him. “Adrian, I told you clearly that day—we’ve broken up.”

“Cut the crap. There’s no way you’re breaking up with me! ” he snapped, tossing a set of keys at me. “That villa, any other place, cars, bags, jewelry—I’ll give you all of it. But don’t expect a marriage. Stop acting ridiculous.”

The keys hit my leg, and I felt pain. “I never asked you to marry me, Adrian. Let’s just end this on good terms.”

“You’ve been with me for almost five years, and you think you can just walk away? I’ve given you everything you’ve ever wanted. I’ve told you—me, Adrian Finch won’t have just one woman in my life. ”He stood up, grabbing my chin as he spoke. “You've known about the others for a long time, but you pretended nothing for so many years just to stay by my side, haven't you? What else do you want?”

I pushed him away, snapping, “I don’t want anything from you! I just think it’s time for us to move on. Why can’t you understand that?”

“You still haven’t cooled off and thought this through, have you? I’m giving you one last chance. If you don’t come back to me, there are plenty of women waiting in line. I could easily replace you with Vivian. And if that happens, forget the villa—you’ll be left with nothing.”

“I’ve made up my mind, Adrian,” I said, stepping back. “I won’t be your mistress.”

“Fine. You made your choice. Don’t regret it! ” He angrily slammed the door and left, leaving me shocked, Jessica worried outside the door, and my other colleagues snickering in the office. I reassured Jessica with a few words, then pretending nothing had happened and got back to work.

For the next few days, I threw myself into my projects, negotiating with potential partners and handling all the details. But something strange started happening. The companies that had shown a lot of interest were suddenly pulling away. They either ignored my emails or politely hinted they weren’t interested anymore. I couldn’t figure out what went wrong, so I decided to call one of the companies directly—the one from Z City.

When the call connected, Mr. Thompson, the project lead, greeted me, but his tone was distant. “Eleanor,” he said, “we’ve reviewed your proposal thoroughly, and while it’s impressive, we’ve decided not to move forward.”

I was taken aback. “Mr. Thompson, I respect your decision, but could you tell me why? Last week, you seemed really interested in working with us.”

There was a pause, as if he was searching for the right words.“Well, there are some external factors influencing our decision.”

I was confused. “External factors? Is there something I can help with?”

He hesitated before sighing. “Eleanor, have you upset anyone recently? Maybe someone with a bit of power?”

My heart sank. I immediately understood what he meant. Adrian—this was his doing. I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm as I responded, “I see. Thank you for being honest, Mr. Thompson.”

After hanging up, my mind raced. Adrian was trying to ruin my career just because I broke up with him. He was used to discarding women, but no one had ever dared to leave him. His bruised ego was seeking revenge.

I called another company, hoping for a different outcome, but the conversation played out in the exact same way, confirming my suspicions that Adrian was pulling the strings behind the scenes. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how he knew about these negotiations. The project was still in its early stages, and I hadn’t reported anything yet. How was Adrian getting this information?

I returned to the office, feeling anxious. I needed to figure out a way to convince the third company to work with us. Otherwise, I’d have to start from scratch, and these three companies were the best options we had.