Page 65 of Broken Destiny

Heat rushed through my body again, rising inside me like a fire fed with fresh oxygen.

“It’s fine,” I said coolly. “Maybe you should share your workload with Eva. I’m sure she’d be happy to help.”

“Eva?” Jiya’s brows drew together.

“Your husband’s first wife,” I said, smoothing down my jacket, sliding my hands into my pockets. “Before you replaced her.”

Her expression shifted instantly—shock flashing across her face before it hardened.

“You know what?” she said, reaching for her bag with controlled, precise movements.

“What?” I asked, even though I already felt the change take hold between us.

“This meeting is over.” Her voice was steady, but there was steel beneath it. “My personal life is none of your business. And if you’re done making assumptions about a life you know nothing about, you can direct your questions to someone who actually owes you answers.”

My jaw flexed.

“And for the record,” she added, adjusting the strap on her shoulder, “I don’t take what doesn’t belong to me.” Her gaze held mine, unwavering. “Whatever you think I did says more about you than it ever will about me.”

“You were the one who brought up your children and schedule,” I replied, a hint of mockery slipping into my tone. “I was trying to make it easier for you.”

Even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t concern driving the words.

“You can deal with Liam from now on, and he can update me on things. Goodbye!”

She turned sharply and walked toward the door, her steps quick, her back straight, that same fierce pride in her posture that had always drawn me to her…

… and driven me crazy.

The door shut behind her, the sound echoing through the room.

I exhaled slowly, staring at the empty space she’d left behind.

I enteredmy penthouse in the evening. As I walked up the stairs toward my bedroom, my mind drifted back to the meeting earlier that day.

Cooper trotted over the moment I stepped inside, a toy already clutched in his mouth, tail wagging expectantly. I took it from him and tossed it across the room. He sprinted after it, caught it mid-run, and came straight back, dropping it at my feet.

I scratched behind his ears, earning a low, satisfied rumble before he fell into step beside me, following me up the stairs.

My thoughts, however, were nowhere near as simple.

They were still on her.

I thought about how I had used my first card—Eva—to cause Jiya pain. The memory of her stunned expression and the fury that followed had made it a success.

It should have felt like a victory. It should have filled me with satisfaction after striking that decisive blow.

It didn’t.

There was no satisfaction in it. No sense of balance restored. Just a quiet, unsettled weight I couldn’t quite shake.

Maybe it wasn’t enough.

Maybe it would take more—more truths, more pressure, more cracks in the life she had built—before anything inside me shifted.

Entering my bedroom, I stopped short when I saw Tatiana sitting on my bed.

Our living arrangements had always been uncoordinated, like two travellers sharing the same map but walking different roads. Sometimes I stayed at her place. Sometimes she stayed at mine. There was no rhythm to it, no comforting pattern.