Chapter 25: The Corporate Guillotine
The high of the previous night felt like a fever dream as I stepped into the sleek, glass-and-steel lobby of V.X. Enterprises. My lips still felt the ghost of Vihaan's kiss, and for the first time in five years, the suffocating weight in my chest had lifted. I wasn't just a victim anymore; I was a woman who had chosen to trust again.
But the atmosphere in the office was... off. The usual morning hum was replaced by a sharp, electric tension.
I sat at my desk, trying to focus on my emails, but my phone buzzed incessantly. It was a flurry of texts from Priya.
Priya: Janvi, turn on the business news. Now.
Priya: Tell me he didn't do this. Tell me he told you.
Before I could reply, a company-wide notification flashed on my monitor. Immediate Town Hall – Main Atrium. All staff presence mandatory.
The Announcement
As the staff gathered in the vast, marble-floored atrium, I saw Vihaan standing on the raised platform. He looked... blindsided. His jaw was set so tight it looked like it might snap. Beside him stood a tall, silver-haired man—Vikram Malhotra, the founder and the only man Vihaan truly feared.
And then I saw her. Sophia.
I recognized her instantly. I'd seen her around the office several times over the last month. She was always draped in high-end couture, walking into "private meetings" with a proprietary air that I had assumed was just the arrogance of a wealthy consultant or a major shareholder. I remembered how she had looked at me in the elevator once—with a pitying, knowing smirk.
She knew. She's known this whole time.
"Thank you all for coming," Vikram's voice boomed. "V.X. Enterprises was built on the foundation of legacy. To ensure that legacy, I am thrilled to announce a union that will solidify our future."
The room went silent.
"My son, Vihaan, will be wed to Sophia D'Souza, daughter of my lifelong friend and partner, Marcus D'Souza. This merger of our families marks the beginning of a new era for our firms."
The room erupted in polite, stunned applause. I felt like I had been doused in ice water.
The Betrayal
I looked at Vihaan. He looked paralyzed, his eyes frantically scanning the crowd until they landed on me. He looked horrified, his face a mask of mounting panic. But to the rest of the world—and to my breaking heart—it didn't matter.
He didn't speak. He didn't protest. He just stood there as Sophia stepped forward and linked her arm through his, leaning in to press a proprietary kiss to his cheek. She caught my eye over his shoulder, and that same smirk from the elevator returned. It was a victory lap.
I couldn't stay. The notebook, the tears at the waterfront, the confession in the gym—it all felt like a cruel, calculated joke. Was I really that easy to fool twice? Was I just a placeholder until the "real" bride arrived?
I bolted for the emergency exit. I didn't stop until I reached the concrete stairwell, my breath coming in jagged, painful gasps. The door slammed open above me.
"Janvi, stop! I didn't know!" Vihaan's voice was raw, echoing off the walls as he raced down after me.
I turned, my back against the cold metal railing, tears streaming down my face. "You didn't know? Sophia has been in and out of this office for weeks, Vihaan! I've seen her! You've seen her!"
"I thought she was here for the D'Souza merger negotiations!" he shouted, stopping a few steps above me. He looked frantic, his tie pulled loose. "My father... he's been orchestrating this with Marcus for months. He kept the marriage clause out of the official briefs because he knew I'd walk away from the deal."
"But you didn't walk away on that stage," I choked out, the image of Sophia's kiss burned into my mind. "You stood there. You let him announce it. You let her touch you."
"What did you want me to do? Create a PR nightmare that would tank the company's stock in front of the press?"
"I wanted you to be the man who wrote those things in the notebook!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "But you're still just a line item in your father's ledger, Vihaan. And apparently, so am I. Only this time, the price was your father's approval."
I turned and ran, ignoring his voice calling my name. I didn't go back to my desk. I went straight to the parking lot, the ring of the engine drowned out by the sound of my own heart shattering. I needed to get home. I needed Priya. I needed to hide from the man who had just broken me for the second time.