The world was built on power. Money. Legacy.

He had all three.

Nathaniel Aldridge had spent his life ensuring he would never be in anyone’s shadow—not even the one cast by his own family’s old-money empire. He built his own from the ground up, from steel and glass, from stocks and ruthless acquisitions. His name carried weight in every boardroom, and his presence turned heads in every social circle.

And yet, here he stood, tethered to a woman he despised.

The daughter of his father’s greatest adversary. The woman who forced his hand, who tore his life apart in the blink of an ironclad contract. A merger disguised as a marriage. An empire solidified through a single, cold exchange of vows.

The gala shimmered in wealth, chandeliers casting light across the faces of men and women alike. Women who wanted him, who had dreamed of being the one on his arm tonight. And yet, it was her.

He felt their gazes, lingering with longing, with envy. But none burned more than the pair of eyes that had once been his favorite.

His ex-girlfriend stood across the room, draped in the arm of another man, wearing a dress he once imagined peeling off her himself. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. He could feel the way she watched him, searching for any sign of regret.

She would find none.

Nathaniel exuded control, dominance. Everything was his to command, except, perhaps, the woman at his side. She played the part well, standing poised, graceful, but she was nothing more than a means to an end.

He leaned in, close enough for his breath to tease the sensitive skin of her ear. His voice, low and deliberate, curled around her like smoke.

“How does it feel,” he murmured, “to stand in a room full of men who want you?”

A pause. A blade waiting to sink in.

“Except your own husband doesn’t.”

He pulled away before she could react, before she could try to match him. It didn’t matter. He had already won.