Love me after the lie

Chapter One Selene Four years. That’s how long it had been since I last saw Alexander Voss—four years since the night I found out the man I loved was nothing more than a beautiful lie wrapped in tailored suits and whispered promises. Four years since I walked out of his penthouse and never looked back. Until now. The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing the twenty-seventh floor of Voss Enterprises. Marble floors. Cold lighting. Sleek silence. Everything screamed money, power, control—everything he was. My heels clicked with a confidence I wasn’t sure I felt. I was here for one reason: business. The magazine needed a cover story, and Xander Voss had finally agreed to an interview. He didn’t know who they were sending. I made sure of that. Let him see me now. Let him see what he lost. “Miss Hart?” A woman in all black—polished, intimidating—stepped forward. “Mr. Voss will see you now.” Of course he would. I followed her through glass doors into a cavernous office with floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the Manhattan skyline like art. And there he was—standing with his back to me, hands in his pockets, looking out at a city he ruled. “Thank you, Daniella,” he said without turning. His voice hadn’t changed. Deep, smooth, dangerous. She left, and the door clicked shut. “I didn’t ask who the magazine was sending,” he continued. “I suppose I should have.” I swallowed. “Would it have changed anything?” Finally, he turned. And there he was. Alexander Voss. Just as I remembered, and somehow worse for it. Too handsome. Too controlled. The suit was custom, the jawline sharp, but the eyes—that shade of storm—I knew those eyes better than I wanted to. “No,” he said quietly. “It wouldn’t have changed a damn thing.” I hated that my heart reacted before my brain did. I hated that I still remembered how he tasted. How he lied. “Let’s get one thing straight,” I said, setting my bag on the desk between us like a shield. “I’m not here for closure. I’m not here for you. This is work. That’s all.” He smiled, slow and unreadable. “Then let’s get to work, Selene.” Xander She walked in like she owned the floor. Same walk. Same fire. Different woman. Selene Hart wasn’t the girl I remembered—wide-eyed and in love with the idea of forever. No, this version of her was sharper. Polished. Untouchable. And she was standing in my office like a damn reckoning. I kept my back to her for a few seconds longer than necessary. Not because I needed to compose myself—hell, I’d been preparing for this moment since the day she left. No, I waited because I wanted her to see it. The world I built. The empire she inspired. The price I paid for one goddamn mistake. When I turned, it hit me. Time had changed her. Not in the way people age, but in the way pain sculpts you into something new. Her eyes—still the color of warm honey—held nothing but ice now. “Let’s get one thing straight,” she said, setting her bag down like she was drawing a line between us. “I’m not here for closure. I’m not here for you. This is work. That’s all.” Liar. I saw the flicker in her throat when she swallowed. The way her hand tightened around her pen like it was the only thing keeping her upright. She was trying to act like I didn’t matter. I used to know her better than anyone. Maybe I still did. “Then let’s get to work, Selene,” I said. Her name tasted like regret. She sat across from me, and for a moment, neither of us spoke. The city buzzed behind us, alive and indifferent. I wanted to say a thousand things. Apologies. Explanations. The truth I’d never given her. But instead, I leaned back in my chair and gave her what she asked for. The professional version of me. The one that didn't bleed. She opened her notebook, refusing to look me in the eye. “Let’s start with the question everyone’s asking. After a scandal and near collapse, how did Voss Enterprises make a comeback?” I almost smiled. She wanted to start with business. She’d end with war. And maybe—just maybe—something close to love.