Chapter 8: When Everything She Chose Fell Apart

A week after Yvette left the gates of the White estate, Jenkins Group collapsed.

Not completely.

Not yet.

But the company she had once proudly called her life's work was bleeding from every direction.

The investigation into Ethan's transfers revealed that nearly a third of the company's available cash reserves had disappeared into shell corporations.

Banks froze several accounts.

Suppliers demanded advance payment.

Two major clients suspended their contracts until the investigation was complete.

The board called an emergency meeting.

For the first time since founding the company, Yvette was asked to step down as chief executive.

My father placed the financial report on my desk that morning.

"You should read this."

I barely glanced at it.

"Why?"

"Because Jenkins Group may not survive the month."

I continued signing the documents before me.

"Then I hope its employees find new jobs quickly."

My father remained silent.

After several seconds, I looked up.

"What?"

A faint smile touched his face.

"Nothing. I'm just remembering the son who once threatened to leave the family because I refused to invest in that woman's first business idea."

I remembered too.

Yvette had been twenty-three.

She had sat on the floor of our tiny apartment with a laptop balanced on her knees, talking excitedly about starting her own company.

She had no capital.

No connections.

No experience.

But she had ambition.

I had loved that about her.

Three days later, the money appeared.

Yvette believed an investment firm had discovered her proposal.

She never knew I owned the investment firm.

"That was a long time ago," I said.

"You loved her."

"I did."

My father leaned against the desk.

"And now?"

I signed the final document.

"Now I hope she learns how to stand without me."

My father nodded.

"Good answer."

He turned to leave, then paused.

"There's another matter."

"Ethan?"

"Yes."

Ethan Carter had spent the previous week in custody.

The fraud case against him had grown rapidly.

Once the first victims came forward, others followed.

Fake investment schemes.

Forged documents.

Loans obtained under false identities.

Money stolen from Jenkins Group.

Even his legal wife had provided evidence against him.

"His attorney wants a deal," my father said.

"That's between him and the prosecutor."

"He offered information about several people who supposedly have connections to our rivals."

That caught my attention.

"Supposedly?"

"Most of it appears useless. He's desperate."

"Then let him be desperate."

My father smiled.

"Exactly what I told them."

My phone rang.

My assistant's name appeared on the screen.

"Yes?"

"Sir, there's a woman downstairs asking to see you."

I already knew who it was.

"Yvette?"

"Yes."

I rubbed my temple.

"Tell her I'm unavailable."

"I did."

"Then why are you calling me?"

My assistant hesitated.

"Because she says she isn't here about your relationship. She says it's about Jenkins Group's employees."

I went silent.

That was different.

There were hundreds of ordinary people working for Yvette's company.

They had not betrayed me.

They had not chosen Ethan.

They should not suffer because of the people at the top.

"Send her to the conference room," I said.

My father raised an eyebrow.

"Careful."

"I'm not taking her back."

"I know."

He walked out.

Ten minutes later, I entered the conference room.

Yvette was waiting alone.

I barely recognized her.

The woman who once refused to leave the house without designer clothes now wore a plain coat and inexpensive shoes.

There were dark circles beneath her eyes.

She stood quickly.

"Jayden."

"You said this was about your employees."

Her expression tightened.

She had probably hoped I would at least ask how she was.

I did not.

Yvette placed several folders on the table.

"The company is going into restructuring."

"I heard."

"The board removed me."

"I heard that too."

She looked down.

"We're selling almost everything."

I waited.

"My house is already listed. I sold my shares in two smaller companies. My jewelry is being auctioned next week."

"Yvette, get to the point."

She flinched.

"If we liquidate completely, more than four hundred employees could lose their jobs."

She pushed a folder toward me.

"I don't want you to save me."

I looked at her skeptically.

"I mean it," she said.

"Then what do you want?"

"Buy the profitable divisions."

That surprised me.

"What?"

"Your companies already operate in some of the same markets. The distribution and technology divisions are profitable. Ethan never touched them."

She swallowed.

"If White Holdings acquires them, most of the employees can keep their jobs."

"And you?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing?"

"I surrender my remaining ownership as part of the restructuring."

I studied her carefully.

For once, Yvette was asking for something that would not benefit her.

"Why?"

Her eyes reddened.

"Because I've finally understood something."

I remained silent.

"For years, I thought I was successful because I was extraordinary."

A bitter smile appeared on her face.

"Every door opened for me. Every crisis disappeared. Every time I fell, something caught me."

She looked directly at me.

"It was you."

I did not deny it.

"I thought you needed me," she continued. "I thought you were lucky that I chose you."

Her voice broke.

"I never realized I was the lucky one."

I looked away.

There had been a time when hearing those words would have meant everything.

Now they had arrived years too late.

"The acquisition would have to make financial sense," I said.

"I know."

"I won't overpay."

"I'm not asking you to."

"And you will have no position in the acquired businesses."

She nodded immediately.

"Agreed."

I opened the folder.

The numbers were better than I expected.

The profitable divisions had value independent of Yvette.

Acquiring them could genuinely benefit White Holdings.

"I'll have my people review it."

Relief crossed her face.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet."

"Even considering it is enough."

I closed the folder.

"Is that everything?"

Yvette hesitated.

"Yes."

I stood.

She suddenly called my name.

"Jayden."

I stopped.

"I went to the lake yesterday."

My fingers tightened slightly.

"Why?"

"I wanted to understand."

"Understand what?"

"What I did to you."

Her voice trembled.

"I stood where you fell into the water. I looked at the rope on the boat. I kept thinking about your hands being tied."

I said nothing.

"I don't know how I became that person."

"Neither do I."

Tears gathered in her eyes.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me."

"Good."

She nodded slowly.

"I reported everything to the police."

I stared at her.

"Everything?"

"Everything I did at the lake."

"Your attorney advised that?"

"No."

A sad laugh escaped her.

"He told me I was insane."

"Then why?"

"Because I kept asking you to take responsibility for things you didn't do while refusing to take responsibility for what I did."

She wiped her cheek.

"I'm done doing that."

For the first time since the mountain, I looked at Yvette without anger.

Not with love.

Not with longing.

Just with recognition.

Perhaps consequences had finally taught her what my forgiveness never could.

"Whatever happens," she said, "I won't use your name to escape it."

"Good."

I walked toward the door.

"Jayden?"

I turned.

She smiled faintly through her tears.

"I hope you become a better leader than the people who came before you."

"I intend to."

Then I left.

Two days later, White Holdings submitted an offer for Jenkins Group's two profitable divisions.

The acquisition was approved.

Three hundred and sixty-seven employees kept their jobs.

Yvette received nothing from the transaction beyond the reduction of company debt.

She did not complain.

By the end of the week, Jenkins Group as she had known it ceased to exist.

The remaining assets entered liquidation.

Her mansion was sold.

Her luxury cars disappeared.

The woman who once told me she could buy thousands of wedding rings moved into a small rented apartment.

I learned all of this through reports.

I never contacted her.

Then Ethan's trial began.

Because of the scale of his fraud, the courthouse was surrounded by reporters.

I had no intention of attending.

Until Ethan requested to see me.

I rejected him twice.

The third time, his attorney sent a message.

Ethan claimed he had information concerning the night at the mountain farmhouse.

That made me pause.

The official story had always been that Ethan accidentally swallowed an aphrodisiac instead of a painkiller.

Something about it had bothered me from the beginning.

I agreed to a monitored meeting.

Ethan was brought into the interview room in handcuffs.

He looked nothing like the smug man who had once kissed Yvette in front of me.

His hair was unkempt.

His face was hollow.

The moment he saw me, hatred filled his eyes.

"Look at you," he muttered. "Playing king."

I sat across from him.

"You asked for this meeting."

He leaned back.

"Yvette ruined me."

"You stole millions from her company."

"She gave me access!"

"Access isn't permission to steal."

His jaw tightened.

"You think you're better than me?"

"I don't think about you enough to compare us."

His expression twisted.

"She still loves me, you know."

I almost smiled.

"If believing that helps you sleep."

"She chose me over you."

"And where did that get you?"

Ethan's smile disappeared.

I leaned forward.

"Tell me about the farmhouse."

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then a strange grin spread across his face.

"There was no accident."

I went still.

"What?"

"The pills."

He laughed softly.

"I knew exactly what I was taking."

Coldness spread through me.

"You deliberately took the drug?"

"Not exactly."

He leaned closer.

"I never took anything."

Silence filled the room.

"I pretended."

My hands slowly curled into fists beneath the table.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to know whether she'd still choose me."

His grin widened.

"And she did."

I stared at him.

The entire nightmare at the farmhouse had begun with a lie.

"You manipulated her."

"Don't make her innocent."

Ethan shrugged.

"I told her I couldn't control myself. She could've walked away. She could've called for help. She could've chosen you."

His eyes glittered.

"She didn't."

For once, I agreed with him.

Ethan had created the situation.

But Yvette had made her own choice.

"Why tell me now?"

His expression hardened.

"Because she gave evidence against me."

There it was.

Revenge.

"You want me to hate her again."

"Don't you?"

"No."

He looked confused.

"She cheated on you because of me."

"That's between her and her conscience."

"She humiliated you."

"And I left."

"She nearly killed you!"

"And she'll answer for it."

I stood.

"You're not important enough to control either of our lives anymore."

Ethan's face reddened.

"She'll come crawling back to me!"

I walked toward the door.

"Then you'll both be exactly where you belong."

"Jayden!"

I stopped.

Ethan shouted after me, "You want to know the funniest part? She talked about you afterward!"

I turned slowly.

"What?"

"At the farmhouse."

His smile became cruel.

"She cried after you gave away your oxygen. She kept asking whether you were okay."

I stared at him without expression.

"She knew she was destroying you, Jayden. She just believed you'd forgive her anyway."

That sentence followed me out of the room.

Not because it hurt.

Because it finally explained everything.

Yvette had never believed I felt nothing.

She knew I was hurting.

She simply believed my love was stronger than my ability to leave.

She had been right for ten years.

Then she pushed once too far.

That evening, I received a letter.

No expensive envelope.

No attorney.

Just my name written in Yvette's handwriting.

I almost threw it away.

Instead, I opened it.

"Jayden," it began.

"I learned today that Ethan lied about taking the medicine."

"For a few minutes, I wanted to blame him for everything."

"Then I realized that would only be another lie I told myself."

"He created the excuse, but I made the choice."

"I chose him at the farmhouse."

"I chose him at our wedding."

"I chose him when you were hurt."

"And when you finally chose yourself, I punished you for it."

I stopped reading for a moment.

Then continued.

"I used to think your hundred promises proved how much you loved me."

"Now I understand that love should never have been a debt."

"You paid me back for saving your life many times over."

"I was the one who kept collecting long after the debt was gone."

"I'm not writing to ask you to return."

"I'm writing because for the first time, I want to give you something without asking for anything in return."

"Freedom."

"I won't contact you again."

"I hope one day when you remember me, the good years hurt less than the ending."

"Goodbye, Jayden."

"Yvette."

I folded the letter.

For a long time, I sat alone.

There was sadness.

Of course there was.

Ten years could not disappear simply because love had.

But beneath the sadness was something stronger.

Peace.

The next morning, my father found me in the garden.

"Big day tomorrow," he said.

I nodded.

Tomorrow would be my first formal gathering as head of the White family.

Representatives from every branch would attend.

For years, the organization had survived through fear and violence.

I intended to change that.

Legitimate businesses would expand.

Criminal operations that endangered civilians would be dismantled.

Old enemies would either negotiate or discover that the White family had not become weak simply because its new leader preferred restraint.

My father sat beside me.

"You ready?"

I looked at the morning sun rising over the estate.

"Yes."

"No regrets?"

My thoughts briefly returned to Yvette.

The young woman who once saved my life.

The girlfriend who once made me happier than I thought possible.

The fiancée who eventually destroyed everything between us.

"Some," I admitted.

"About leaving her?"

"No."

I stood.

"About waiting so long to leave."

My father smiled.

As we walked toward the mansion, my assistant hurried outside.

"Sir, urgent news."

"What happened?"

"Ethan Carter accepted a plea agreement this morning. He's going to prison."

I nodded once.

"And Ms. Jenkins appeared in court regarding the lake incident."

I stopped.

"What was the outcome?"

"She pleaded guilty to the charges her attorney negotiated. Sentencing will take place later, but she's accepted responsibility and isn't contesting your statement."

I absorbed the news quietly.

"Anything else?"

My assistant hesitated.

"Yes."

"What?"

"She asked her attorney to deliver one final item to you."

He held out a small box.

I already knew what was inside.

The wedding ring.

This time there was a note attached.

"It was never Ethan's. But it isn't mine anymore either."

I looked at the ring for several seconds.

Then I closed the box.

"What should I do with it?" my assistant asked.

I glanced toward the horizon.

Tomorrow, an entirely different life would begin.

"Sell it."

"And the money?"

I thought about the mountain rescue team that had eventually arrived after the avalanche.

"Donate it to mountain rescue services."

My assistant nodded.

I walked toward the mansion without looking at the box again.

The hundred promises were over.

The ring was gone.

Ethan was facing the consequences of his crimes.

Yvette had finally accepted hers.

There was only one thing left.

Tomorrow, I would stand before the entire White family as its new leader.

And for the first time in ten years, the future waiting for me belonged entirely to me.