Sidney Williams hated Mondays.
She hated the traffic, the office gossip, and the endless demands from people who expected her to smile while doing their work.
But on this particular Monday morning, she hated something else.
She hated remembering Davis.
Not because she missed him.
At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
She had convinced herself that leaving him had been the sensible decision. Richard Coleman had money, influence, and the connections she wanted.
Davis had possessed potential, but potential didn't pay for designer handbags or luxury holidays.
She had chosen the man who could give her the life she wanted.
So why did she keep remembering the expression on Davis's face when he discovered her betrayal?
She pushed the thought aside and entered Richard's office.
He was sitting behind his desk, speaking on the phone.
"Yes, I heard about the acquisition. Find out who the buyer is."
He paused.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
Richard listened for several seconds before abruptly ending the call.
Sidney approached him.
"What's wrong?"
"Sterling Tower has been sold."
She shrugged.
"Isn't that good for the company?"
"Not when the buyer is someone nobody has heard of."
Richard opened his laptop and turned the screen toward her.
A business news article displayed a photograph of a young man standing outside Sterling Tower.
The headline read:
MYSTERY YOUNG INVESTOR ACQUIRES PRESTIGIOUS AURELION PROPERTY.
Sidney glanced at the photograph.
Then she stopped breathing.
The young man in the photograph wore a dark suit. His hair was neatly styled, and his expression was calm and confident.
But she knew those eyes.
She had looked into them countless times.
"Davis?"
"You know him?"
Sidney swallowed.
"He's my ex-boyfriend."
Richard laughed.
"Your ex-boyfriend? The unemployed Oxford graduate?"
"Yes."
He studied the photograph again.
"This man just purchased Sterling Tower."
Sidney snatched the laptop closer.
"No. That can't be right."
Richard frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"He didn't have that kind of money."
"Well, apparently he does now."
Sidney stared at the screen.
Only days earlier, Davis had been struggling to pay his bills.
She remembered the old phone he carried, the modest clothes he wore, and the way he sometimes declined expensive outings because he wanted to save money.
She had interpreted those things as signs that he would never amount to much.
Now he owned a building worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Her stomach tightened.
"Maybe someone is financing him," she whispered.
Richard shrugged.
"Who cares? If he's smart, he'll keep making money. If he's stupid, he'll lose it."
Sidney barely heard him.
Her mind was already racing.
What if Davis became even richer?
What if he purchased other companies?
What if people who once looked down on him began treating him like royalty?
And what if he eventually met a woman who would receive everything Sidney had once hoped to obtain?
The thought was unbearable.
"Richard, do you think you could introduce me to him?"
Richard slowly turned toward her.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, perhaps we should congratulate him. We could maintain a professional relationship."
"You dumped him because he was broke. Now you want to congratulate him because he's rich?"
Sidney's cheeks burned.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
She had no answer.
Richard shut the laptop.
"Listen carefully. If Davis has genuinely become wealthy, you should stay away from him. Men like that remember who abandoned them when they had nothing."
Sidney looked down.
For the first time, she wondered whether she had made the biggest mistake of her life.
Meanwhile, Davis was sitting in the back of his newly acquired luxury sedan when his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
Davis, it's Sidney. Can we talk?
He stared at it.
Once, that name had been enough to brighten his entire day.
Now it reminded him of a wet alley, a broken heart, and a promise he had made to himself.
He typed a reply.
Then deleted it.
He typed another.
Deleted that too.
Finally, he locked his phone without responding.
The system chimed.
[EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE CHECK COMPLETED.]
[REWARD: £100,000 BONUS CASHBACK CREDIT.]
Davis raised an eyebrow.
"So the system rewards me for ignoring my ex?"
[SYSTEM RESPONSE: THE REWARD WAS TRIGGERED BY THE COMPLETION OF A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE.]
Davis laughed.
"Fine. I'll take it."
He looked through the window as the car moved toward the financial district.
Sidney had been part of his past.
But he would not allow her to control his future.
Not anymore.