Page 241 of Modern Romance October 2025 5-8

‘You’re telling me!’ She saw the moment he registered her engagement ring and what it meant. She’d won the race. Though she wasn’t technically married, she was engaged and short of obtaining a special exception—almost impossible to have granted—Zeus would have to wait out the same month-long period that she and Dante were. Meaning that if he hadn’t already filled out the legal paperwork for a wedding, there was no way he’d beat her down the aisle.

She’d won. The company was, legally, bound to be hers.

‘You’re engaged?’ he demanded.

‘And you’re utterly vile,’ she threw at him, worry for Jane making her unable to think straight.

He looked indignant. ‘You sent your best friend to Athens to seduce me so you could steal my company and I’m vile?’

Shame made her blood curdle. She’d done that. She’d really done it. She couldn’t even recognise the woman she’d been that day, after the appointment with the lawyers. She’d been so devastated, so angry, so furious. She hadn’t thought anything through, least of all the potential for collateral damage. When heaven knew there’d been enough of that already.

But his accusation put her on the defensive, so she said, ‘Yeah, well, you sent her home utterly messed up, so what are you going to do about it?’

He visibly recoiled, his features showing shock, pain, hurt, worry. Yes, worry. Only then, he stood straighter, tightening his features into a mask of non-concern, as he said, dismissively, ‘I’m sure she’ll recover.’

Charlotte wasfurious.‘Are you? Well, that shows how well you know her, because I’ve never seen Jane like this. Not even after Steven,’ she threw at him, referring to the man who’d date raped Jane years earlier and ruined her ability to trust any man afterwards. But then, she closed her eyes, because Charlotte had known how vulnerable Jane was and she’d still asked her to do this. ‘And it’s my fault,’ she continued. ‘I’m the one who begged her to do this. I’m the one who pushed past her objections. Who pleaded with her because I knew that she would never say no to me. I used her,’ Charlotte now was guilt-stricken. She crossed her arms but it didn’t keep the chill at bay. ‘And now, I have to fix it.’

His features were like storm clouds. ‘Some things can’t be fixed.’

She was appalled. How could anyone not love Jane? How could he not appreciate what a gift she was?

‘You’re not even going to try?’

‘Why would I?’ he demanded.

‘So, you don’t love her?’ she threw down the gauntlet.

‘I can’t see what business that is of yours.’

There was something in that, that caused Charlotte to hope, because it wasn’t an outright denial. ‘I’m making it my business.’

‘That’s not your prerogative.’

God, but he was a smarmy, arrogant piece of work.

‘This makes it so,’ she said, taking great pleasure in showing him her engagement ring, then narrowing her eyes. ‘You care about this company.’

He glared at her.

‘You want to keep it?’ she pushed.

He thrust a hand onto his hip.

She sucked in a breath, surprised by how easy she found it, in the end, to give up on her plans. Anything for Jane, though. ‘Well,’ she said, carefully, intentionally. ‘I will walk away, sign whatever I need to in order to give up my stake in it, if you promise to at least go andtalkto her.’

His features, momentarily, showed surprise, but then he was all arrogant, unreadable man-mountain again. ‘I thought you wanted the company badly enough to do anything?’ he challenged.

‘I want my best friend to be happy more,’ she said, with a withering and derisive scowl. ‘I would give up anything for her, as she would for me. Did you even know that’s what she was planning to do?’

He didn’t respond, so Charlotte pushed on.

‘She was coming home to tell me that she loved you. That she thought I’d love you, too. That she wanted us to be friends. She knew it might mean losing you, but she was going to put you and me first, because that’s the kind of person she is. And if you truly don’t see that,’ she glared at him one last time before stalking towards the door and wrenching it open. ‘Then you don’t deserve her.’

‘Wait.’ Zeus caught her at the elevator bay, and his voice was as imperious as it was commanding. But Charlotte was suddenly exhausted. And worried about Jane. And wracked with guilt. Nothing—no revenge, nothing—was worth this. What had she done?

She turned to stare at Zeus, utterly forlorn and completely furious, all at once, but the look on his face stopped her from letting the curse of invectives go.

His face was...she couldn’t describe it. If she had to choose a word, she’d say he was just as forlorn as she was. Just as concerned.