Chapter 145
Chapter 145:
The heavy revolving glass doors swept open.
Declan Hayes walked in wearing a bespoke midnight-blue suit, flanked by three members of his legal team. His eyes swept the lobby and locked onto June in seconds. A slow, appreciative smile moved across his face. He walked past the reception desk and the security turnstiles without acknowledgment and headed directly for the espresso bar.
“Dr. Erickson,” he said, his voice cutting cleanly through the ambient noise of the lobby.
June looked up. Her professional mask was flawless. “Mr. Hayes. I wasn’t expecting you until this afternoon p>
Declan dismissed his lawyers with a gesture. “I had some thoughts on the supplementary clauses of the patent licensing agreement. I prefer to handle the critical details in person.” He nodded toward the leather sofas in the corner. “Do you have five minutes p>
June handed the data reports to Chloe. “Copy these and prep the lab. I’ll be up in ten p>
She crossed to the sofa and sat down across from Declan. They moved immediately into a rapid, high-level exchange on intellectual property rights and profit margins. Declan was formidable, but June met him point for point without hesitation. The intellectual friction between them was palpable. Declan leaned forward, forearms on his knees, entirely absorbed.
We uр𝖽𝖺𝘁е 𝖾𝗏е𝘳𝗒 𝘄𝖾e𝗄 o𝗻
On the street outside, a black Maybach eased to a stop at the curb.
Cole sat in the back seat. He was supposed to be at an investment banking meeting three blocks away. His brain had other ideas. He had redirected the driver past Apex Bio — needing, in some dark, irrational part of himself, to see her struggling. To confirm that without the Compton name and the Compton money behind her, she was floundering.
He pressed a button. The tinted window lowered halfway.
He looked through the floor-to-ceiling glass of the Apex Bio lobby.
The sight hit him like battery acid to the eyes.
June was not struggling. She was not hollow-eyed and desperate. She was radiant — leaning forward on the sofa, engaged in what was clearly a deep, electric conversation with Declan Hayes. As Cole watched, she made a sharp point and a small, entirely confident smile crossed her lips.
It was a smile Cole had never seen in three years of marriage.
With him, she had always been careful. Measured. Walking a line she could never fully relax on. With Declan, she was an equal. She was glowing from the inside.
The physical reaction in Cole’s body was immediate and violent.
His throat closed. A dark, toxic fire exploded in his gut. The gold clover bracelet. The platinum pen. And then her voice, quiet and final: I mistook you for someone else.
The memory twisted like a blade. Mistook me, Cole thought, his breathing going ragged. She didn’t mistake me — she found a bigger target. She realized Declan Hayes could offer her more, so now she’s rewriting our entire marriage as a mistake to justify moving on.
His vision went red.