Sebastian's POV
The room was too small for the truth standing between us.
Vivienne on one side.
Aria on the other hand.
And me in the middle, split open like a fault line.
Rain thundered against the windows, violent and relentless, as if the sky itself was demanding an answer I was no longer able to delay.
Vivienne's voice echoed in my skull.
Her… or me.
I had always believed I was a man who made decisions easily.
Business decisions, political ones, financial risks worth billions.
I had ruined companies without losing sleep.
Signed papers that ended thousands of jobs with steady hands.
I had stood in courtrooms, boardrooms, funeral halls, never once shaking.
But now…
I could barely breathe.
Aria stood there, small, pale, eyes glossy with unshed tears she refused to let fall.
Still trying to be invisible.
Still trying to disappear so the world could remain comfortable.
She whispered, "Choose her."
The words cut deeper than any scream.
Vivienne watched me like a predator, confident, sharp, certain that the world had already promised her my loyalty.
And for years, it had.
Our engagement was not born from love.
It was built from contracts, power, alliances, family expectations. Two empires joined. Two bloodlines strengthening. Two carefully shaped futures locked together long before I was old enough to understand what love even meant.
Vivienne had always known her role. And I had always played mine.
Until Aria walked into my life with shaking hands and a cup of coffee.
I looked at Vivienne.
At the woman I was supposed to marry.
"You framed her," I said slowly.
Vivienne did not deny it.
"She was dangerous."
"She is innocent."
Vivienne scoffed. "She is a temptation."
Aria flinched.
"She is a person," I snapped.
Silence cracked open between us. I turned to Aria. Her eyes met mine for half a second before dropping to the floor. As if she already knew. As if she was preparing herself to be abandoned.
Again.
My chest tightened violently.
I remembered my grandmother's voice.
"Power does not make you superior. It makes you responsible."
And suddenly, I understood something terrifying. All my life, I had chosen what was easy. What was expected. What was safe. I had never chosen what was right. Until now.
I inhaled deeply.
Then I spoke.
"I will not marry you, Vivienne."
The world stopped breathing.
Vivienne's face was drained of color.
"What?"
"I'm ending the engagement."
Her laugh was sharp and broken.
"You're joking."
"I am not."
"You can't," she whispered.
"I can."
"You would destroy everything."
"Yes."
Her eyes filled with fury.
"For her?"
I didn't answer immediately. I looked at Aria again. She was crying now.
Silently.
"I am not choosing her because I want to possess her," I said.
"I am choosing not to become a man who crushes someone innocent to protect his comfort."
Vivienne's hands trembled.
"You love her."
I swallowed.
"I don't know what I feel yet," I said honestly.
"But I know what I will not do."
"And what is that?" she demanded.
"I will not build my future on cruelty."
Her voice broke.
"My family"
"My family will survive."
"Our reputation"
"My name will survive."
"Your company"
"I will rebuild it if I must."
She stared at me as if I had become a stranger.
"You're throwing away your life."
"No," I said quietly.
"I am finally taking responsibility for it."
Vivienne laughed again, but this time tears streamed down her face.
"You think she will stay?" she asked bitterly.
I turned to Aria.
She shook her head immediately.
"I never wanted this," she whispered.
"I know."
"I don't belong in your world."
"You belong on your own," I said softly.
Silence fell again.
Vivienne straightened her spine. Her voice turned cold.
"You will regret this."
"Maybe."
She picked up her umbrella.
"This isn't over."
Then she walked out.
The door slammed.
The storm roared.
And just like that, everything collapsed.
Aria covered her mouth.
"I've ruined you," she whispered.
I stepped closer.
"No."
"Yes," she cried.
"Your family. Your future."
"My future was a cage."
Tears rolled freely down her face.
"I never wanted to be loved like this."
"I know."
"I only wanted to survive."
I nodded.
"And you will."
She shook her head.
"I can't stay."
My heart clenched.
"You don't have to decide anything tonight."
"I do," she said softly.
"If I stay… they will destroy you."
I reached out, then stopped myself.
"I can protect myself."
"You shouldn't have to."
She bowed her head.
"I'll leave tomorrow."
The words hollowed me out.
I wanted to beg.
I wanted to command.
I wanted to lock the doors and stop time.
But I didn't.
Because love that cages is not love.
It is possession.
"I understand," I said.
Her shoulders shook.
"Thank you… for believing me."
"You never needed proof."
She gave a broken smile.
"Goodbye, Sebastian."
And she walked out of my life.
The consequences came fast.Violently.
The news exploded.
Headlines flooded the media.
SINCLAIR HEIR CANCELS ENGAGEMENT
BUSINESS ALLIANCE COLLAPSES
SCANDAL SHAKES ELITE CIRCLES
My phone never stopped ringing.
My mother cried.
My father shouted.
Board members threatened resignation.
Investors withdrew millions overnight.
Stocks dropped, partners cut ties, friends vanished, enemies multiplied.
In one week, I lost:
My engagement, two major contracts, half my board's loyalty, and the illusion that power protected anything meaningful but what hurt the most was the silence.
Aria was gone.
Her room empty.
Her footsteps erased.
Her voice haunting the halls like a ghost that refused to rest.
My grandmother visited me two days later.
She said nothing at first.
Just looked at me for a long time.
Then she smiled sadly.
"You chose the difficult road."
"Yes."
"It will cost you."
"I know."
"But yo
u did not choose to be small."
She took my hand.
"I am proud of you."
I closed my eyes.
For the first time in my life
I cried.
Not for the company, not for the money, not for the reputation but for the girl who believed she was nothing.
And the man who finally chose to be human.