Page 64 of Broken Destiny

“Yes, but that doesn't mean enough changes in three days to justify meetings on such short notice,” I replied.

My pulse quickened, anger hovering dangerously close to spilling out of my mouth in words I knew I shouldn’t say.

“These meetings are critical, just for your information. It’s not like nothing has changed in three days. A lot has happened. I’m taking time out from my busy schedule to do this too. I do have otherprojects,” he said in a raised voice, standing up and leaning across my table.

“Well then, maybe you should focus on those and send someone else to work on this one,” I shot back, my raised voice matching his as I stood up and leaned toward him.

The air between us was filled with tension.

We stood staring at each other, the scent of his aftershave drifting between us. When I looked into his eyes, I noticed that his pupils were dilated. His lips were slightly parted, and his nostrils flared.

Standing there in my office, face to face with him, emotions from the past rose. My heart hammered against my ribs as a rush of awareness swept through me, the kind that made my skin feel too sensitive and my thoughts too loud.

I cleared my throat, forced myself to look away, and leaned back slightly, putting a small distance between us. My fingers trembled faintly as I shuffled the papers in front of me and then tucked my hair behind my ears.

Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I gathered my thoughts and tried to breathe through the tension that clung to me.

As much as I hated admitting it, he wasn't entirely wrong.

I was still learning the construction side of the business every single day. Instead of appreciating the time he took to ensure the project moved in the right direction, I had allowed frustration to cloud my judgment simply because the meetings were happening more frequently than I expected.

I opened my eyes slowly.

Swallow your pride, Jiya. Forget the past, and move on.

20

CALEB

My heart kicked hard against my ribs as I looked at Jiya across her desk. The moment my eyes locked onto her honey-brown ones, my pulse accelerated.

They were the same eyes I had once looked into with trust and devotion, the same eyes that had drawn me in years ago and held me captive without effort. The same lips I had kissed until the world had faded around us. The same face I had traced with my fingertips in the quiet aftermath of love, memorizing every curve as if it belonged to me forever. I hadn’t stopped thinking about her, not for a single day, and standing here now only made those thoughts grow.

“I’m sorry,” she said gently. “You’re right. I don’t know a whole lot about this field. The meetings are fine. I’ll try to show up on time for the next one.”She lowered her eyes. “If you could just give me a heads-up much earlier, I’d appreciate it so I can figure out how to manage the kids and everything else.”

She looked back up at me and smiled.

That smile hit me like a memory I hadn’t asked for, like tenderness, and I hated it.

I had told my secretary to schedule meetings with Jiya’s office. I did have other projects that demanded my attention, but I made thisone my priority. I knew I didn’t need to have these meetings with her, not this often, but I couldn’t stop myself.

I wanted to see her. I wanted to watch her reactions, study her expressions, search for cracks in her story. I wanted to find out about her life, about her past, and about the man she had married. And somewhere beneath all of that, I wanted to warn Liam before things spiralled out of control.

Her apology made me flinch with a brief flicker of guilt rising. I straightened instinctively and began buttoning my jacket. The back of my throat ached as I thought about how little time she seemed to have for her children because of this project.

For a brief second, I felt responsible for that.

For a brief second, I felt like the villain in a story I had never intended to write.

That guilt lasted exactly two seconds.

My eyes dropped to her hands.

The rings were still there.

The diamonds caught the light and flashed like tiny blades, cutting through whatever sympathy had tried to take root inside me. The sight of them brought back every bitter assumption I had carried since reading about Cole and his wife.

Jiya had entered Cole’s life while another woman still stood beside him. She had taken what did not belong to her.