Lara had never believed in perfect nights. Not even when she was naïve enough to believe in perfect men....But tonight?
Tonight, she believed in making impact.
Dressed in black silk gown and with cold intention she stepped out of the waiting car, her heels clicking against marble like a slow countdown. Her dress clung to her body, dipped low at the back, and shimmered faintly under the city lights.
The reporters outside the Skyline Hotel stilled as she approached the entrance. Flashbulbs burst to life.
"Is that her?"
"That's Ethan Vale's ex....what's her name again?"
"Lara. Lara Alden. She's COO now."
"Let them stare....Let them whisper" She thought quiet.
She wasn't the woman who had once stood in white, waiting for a love that didn't arrive. She was the one walking straight into the fire, unburned and unbothered.
Inside the ballroom, the air was warm with perfume, money, and secrets.
Ethan saw her the moment she walked in. Of course he did. It was like something in him twitched the moment the room changed.
She didn't look at him, but she felt it. That quiet magnetism,that tension she once ignored for love, now worn like armor.
She moved through the crowd, poised and unreadable, until he met her halfway.
"You're late," he said.
She tilted her head. "I prefer entrances over arrivals."
"You always did like attention."
"I liked your attention," she corrected. "And I earned every bit of it."
For a moment, he had no reply. His gaze swept over her slowly, like he couldn't decide if she looked dangerous or beautiful.
She was both.
Maya arrived minutes later, all glitter and control in a silver gown that probably cost more than Lara's rent five years ago.
"Lara," Maya greeted sweetly, air-kissing the space beside her cheek. "Black suits you. It hides all those little… cracks."
Lara smiled. "Silver's safe. A little predictable, don't you think?"
Maya's lips tightened, just slightly. "We saved you a seat. Ethan insisted." She said.
Lara's gaze turned to him.
He didn't deny it.
Ah. So this was the move tonight.
An old favorite: public humiliation, served cold on crystal plates.
"Of course," Lara said coolly. "How thoughtful."
Dinner was a performance, one Lara had already rehearsed in her nightmares.
She sat beside her ex-fiancé and across from the woman who replaced her like a seasonal accessory, Forks clinked, wine were poured and cameras flashed.
Maya leaned in. "Still working at the same company where you got... left behind? Brave."
Lara didn't blink. "You know coming back to the scene of a crime is only scary when you're guilty. If you know what i mean"
Ethan coughed into his drink.
One of the guests tried to change the subject. "Lara, you've really turned things around since your appointment. What's your vision for Vale Group in the next quarter?"
Lara smiled. "Transparency, clean leadership and knowing the difference between ambition and betrayal."
Maya stiffened immediately, it was clear she wasn't comfortable.
After dinner, Lara stepped out onto the balcony, letting the wind loosen strands of her hair. The city below pulsed with lights loud enough to drown everything else.
Behind her, the glass door opened quietly.
Ethan joined her, jacket slung over his arm.
They stood in silence for a long moment.
"I didn't expect you to sit with us," he said.
"I didn't expect you to let her invite me." She replied.
"She surprises me too."
Lara turned to him. "Still hiding behind other people's choices, huh?"
"I never wanted to hurt you."
"Yet here we are," she said. "One big wound walking around in designer suits."
He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I thought I loved her. I did. But when you walked in tonight… I remembered what it felt like to be scared."
"Of me?" She asked.
"No. Of losing you."
The words landed hard, somewhere beneath her ribs.
She stared at him, lips parted slightly. For a second, her anger wavered.
But then she remembered.
"You already lost me, Ethan," she said quietly. "You just didn't notice until someone else put on the dress."
He stepped closer regardless, too close. The wind stirred between them, and the city noise disappeared under the weight of whatever they hadn't said.
Their faces were inches apart. His breath hitched. Her hand curled around the balcony rail.
Don't do it, Lara. Don't be stupid again.
She stopped right there, just before their lips could meet.
"You don't get to miss me," she whispered. "You don't get to want me back."
And then she walked away, her heels sharp against the floor, her heart pounding like a war drum.
Back inside, Maya was waiting.
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" she hissed under her breath. "You think you can just come back and what? Steal him?"
Lara didn't even slow down.
"I don't need to steal what's already mine," she said without looking back.
Maya's voice trembled. "He chose me!"
"No, Maya." Lara paused at the exit and finally looked over her shoulder. "He just didn't think he could survive me."
Maya stood frozen as Lara disappeared through the ballroom doors, her fingers clenched so tightly around her clutch that her knuckles paled.
She turned toward Ethan, who had re-entered minutes later, visibly disoriented. His bow tie hung loose around his neck and his eyes flicked around the room as if searching for someone though both he and Maya knew exactly who.
"She's trying to humiliate us," Maya said quietly, stepping close to him.
He didn't respond.
"She thinks she can just walk back into our lives, into this company, and take over everything you built."
Still he said nothing.
"She's still in love with you, you know."
That got a flicker out of him. His jaw tightened.
"No," he said. "She's in love with who I used to be."
And then he walked off leaving Maya standing there alone, for the first time, not entirely sure she had won anything at all.
Midnight – Lara's Apartment
Lara peeled off her earrings slowly, her reflection staring back from the mirror, unreadable even to herself.
Tonight had been a win no doubt.
She'd shown strength, presence. She'd reclaimed power in front of everyone who once pitied her.
And yet… something about it hurt more than it healed.
Maybe it was seeing Ethan's face up close again the guilt in his eyes, the confusion, the ache he tried to bury with arrogance.
Maybe it was knowing he still looked at her like he remembered how she tasted. How she cried. How she whispered his name when the lights were off and she thought forever meant something.
Lara exhaled and wiped off her lipstick, pressing the tissue hard against her lips.
She didn't need his guilt. Or his lingering stares.
She needed to stay focused.
Tomorrow, phase two would begin.
The next morning Lara arrived an hour earlier than usual. Her assistant, Nina, followed her into the elevator with a puzzled look.
"You're in early."
"I should," Lara replied. "Before the chaos starts."
"What kind of chaos?"
Lara handed her a folder. "We're auditing every international account Ethan personally signed off on in the last year."
Nina blinked. "Every single one?"
"Every. Single. One," Lara said. "And I want copies sent directly to legal."
"But… that could open"
"Exactly."
This wasn't just about Ethan's betrayal. It was about cleaning the rot he allowed to grow under his watch.
If there was anything left to expose, Lara would be the one to do it.
And this time, there'd be no cameras. Just truth.
Meanwhile Maya watched Lara's interview clip from the gala on her phone.
"Coming back to where you were broken takes strength. But power is knowing you can rewrite the story."
Maya's fingers curled tighter around the phone.
"Rewrite the story, huh?" she muttered. "Not if I publish the next chapter first."
She picked up her tablet and began typing an email.
To a reporter.
With an attachment.
The file was labeled: "COO Lara Alden Confidential Photos (2018)"