. CHAPTER 4 — The Papers on the Glass Table
Caleb snatched the folder from the table and tossed it beside Mara with enough force to make the corner strike her knee.
“Sign it,” he said.
Sienna’s hand tightened around his arm, not to stop him, but to encourage the scene. She wanted the ending. The penthouse. The title. The public debut as the new woman beside Caleb Vale.
Mara did not touch the papers.
Caleb lowered his voice. “You don’t want a fight with me.”
“I never did,” Mara said. “You brought one into my living room.”
“My living room,” he snapped.
The mistake slipped out before he could dress it in elegance.
Mara’s eyes lifted.
Caleb’s face hardened when he realized what he had said. “You know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
Sienna looked between them. “Caleb, just tell her.”
He hesitated.
That hesitation told Mara Sienna had been promised something specific. Not love. Love did not make women wait behind men with legal folders. Sienna had been promised ownership, access, a place in the empire.
Caleb straightened. “Fine. I intended to be kind, but if you force me, I’ll be clear. This marriage has become a liability. You are emotionally unstable, socially isolated, and unfit to influence Vale Holdings. The board will support my transition plan.”
“Will they?” Mara asked.
“They already do.”
That lie was so confident it almost deserved applause.
Mara reached for the glass of water on the table and took a slow sip. Her hand did not shake.
Caleb hated that most. He wanted tears, raised voices, a scene he could later describe as evidence. Instead, he had a woman in white sitting beneath a chandelier, looking at him like a judge waiting for testimony to end.
Then the elevator beyond the double doors chimed.
Sienna turned.
Caleb frowned. “Who is that?”
May you like
Mara set the glass down.
“The board,” she said.
