Ryan, clearly enchanted, grinned widely. “I think I’m in love,” he declared, not wasting a second. “I need her number—this is going to be good!”
With a determined stride, he moved toward her, his charm entirely on display. “Hello, beautiful!” he greeted, his smile radiating confidence. “I’m Ryan Adams, son of the president of Adams Group. Would you allow me the honor of getting to know you better?”
Belinda smiled—just a touch, a slight curve of her lips that felt like a secret. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her. Ryan, who had once been cruel to her and mocked her behind her back, was now standing before her, dazzled by her appearance. He had thrown insult after insult her way in the past, but here he was, trying to win her over as though she were a prize to be claimed.
The bitter amusement that flickered in her chest only deepened as she looked at him. She had returned to Owathe, not for men like Ryan, but to reclaim her power. To make her presence known.
Ryan, wholly captivated, cleared his throat, trying to recover his cool. “May I know your name?”
Before Belinda could speak, a low, familiar voice cut through the tension, smooth like velvet but carrying an unmistakable weight.
“Belinie…”
Her name, spoken in a way only he could, brought her attention back to him. The voice she had longed to forget, the voice that still haunted her in the darkest corners of her thoughts.
She turned, her heart giving a small, involuntary leap. There he stood—Lucas—his gaze on her, steady and unreadable.
The room seemed to fade away briefly, leaving only the two of them. Belinda could feel the air shift, heavy with unspoken history. The last time she had seen Lucas, everything had been different. She had been a stranger to herself, to him, caught in a web of lies and betrayal. But now, she was not the same.
She had come back. Not for him. Not for anyone.
But for herself.
And as she met Lucas’s eyes, she knew this moment would define her.
