Lili stood by the filing cabinet, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of a folder. She knew Leo didn't like Sienna—she could see the way he winced at her touch, the way he refused to look her in the eye. She knew their "romance" was a lie constructed by Arthur.
But seeing Sienna's hands on him—the same hands that had held a gun to his father's head—sent a sudden, violent surge of jealousy through Lili's chest.
It was irrational. She was supposed to be the professional "Elizabeth Reed." She was supposed to be a ghost. But watching Sienna claim space that used to be hers—the curve of his shoulder, the attention of his gaze—felt like a thousand needles under her skin.
That should be me, a voice screamed in the back of her mind. I'm the one who knows how he likes his coffee. I'm the one who stayed with him in the rain. I'm the one he almost remembered five minutes ago.
Lili snapped the folder shut, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the quiet room.
"Mr. Vance," Lili said, her voice trembling with a suppressed heat she couldn't quite hide. "If you are finished with the archives, I have other reports to attend to.
I wouldn't want to interrupt your... personal time."
Leo looked at Lili, his brow furrowing. He heard the bite in her voice, the sharp, jagged edge of her words. He saw the flush on her cheeks and the way she refused to look at him.
"You're not interrupting, Elizabeth," Leo said urgently, stepping toward her. He ignored Sienna entirely, his eyes searching Lili's face. "Stay. We need to finish the 1924 deed analysis."
"I think I've seen enough for today," Lili muttered, grabbing her cane. She turned and limped toward the door, her heart a chaotic mess of anger and heartache.
She didn't see the way Leo's hand reached out for her as she left. She didn't see the way he turned back to Sienna with a look of pure, unadulterated loathing.
"Get out, Sienna," Leo whispered, his voice dangerous.
"And tell my father that if he wants to see me, he can come to my office alone. I'm done playing house."
The heavy oak doors of the executive suite had barely clicked shut behind Lili before she was limping down the hallway, her breath coming in jagged, angry hitches. The sound of her cane striking the marble floor was a rhythmic reminder of everything she had lost—and everything Sienna was currently touching with her diamond-clad fingers.
"Elizabeth! Wait!"
The voice was a low, commanding roar that echoed off the high ceilings. Lili didn't stop. She didn't want him to see the tears stinging her eyes or the way her hands were shaking with a jealousy she had no right to feel.
She reached the heavy fire door leading to the stairwell, her hand grasping the cold metal handle, when a large, warm hand slammed against the wood above her head, pinning the door shut.
Leo was there, towering over her, his breathing as ragged as hers. He had ignored the auditors, he had ignored his father, and he had left Sienna standing alone in the middle of his office like a discarded mannequin.
"Look at me," Leo commanded, his voice a low, dangerous vibration.
Lili kept her head down, her obsidian bob shielding her face. "I have archives to file, Mr. Vance. Your fiancé is waiting for you. I suggest you go back to your 'perfect' life."
"She is not my life!" Leo shouted, the sudden volume of his voice making Lili flinch. He gripped her shoulders, turning her to face him. His eyes were no longer vacant; they were burning with a terrifying, fractured clarity.
"I don't know why I'm supposed to love her. I don't know why every time she touches me, I feel like I'm being choked. But when I look at you... when you walked out of that room because you were angry..."
He trailed off, his grip softening, his thumbs tracing the line of her collarbone through the fabric of her suit.
"Why are you so upset, Elizabeth? If you're just an assistant from London, why did you look at me like I was breaking your heart?"
Lili looked up then, her eyes flashing with a raw, agonizing fire. The "Elizabeth Reed" mask didn't just slip; it shattered.
"Because you are breaking it, Leo!" she cried out, her voice breaking. "You sit there and let that woman put her hands on you—the woman who tried to destroy your father, the woman who was a contract, not a choice! You look at me and see a stranger, but I have to stand there and watch you live a lie every single day!"
Leo's brow furrowed, his head tilting as a violent migraine spiked behind his eyes. "What are you talking about? Sienna... she's my history.
My father said—"
"Your father lied!" Lili stepped into his space, her hand rising instinctively to rest against his chest, right over his heart. "He took your memories and replaced them with ghosts! He moved me across the country! He told me you were happy so I would stay away!"
The air in the sterile, marble corridor felt like it had been sucked out of a vacuum. Lili's hand, which had been resting over Leo's heart, suddenly felt like it was touching a live wire. The look in Leo's eyes wasn't just confusion anymore; it was a violent, fractured awakening.
"Lili..." the name left his lips like a shattered piece of glass.
But the moment Arthur's shadow fell over them from the end of the hall, the reality of her situation hit Lili like a physical blow. She wasn't a corporate strategist. She was a woman with a fake name, a forged history, and a limp that Arthur had given her. If she stayed, she was giving him the chance to finish what he started two years ago.
"No," Lili whispered, her eyes wide with terror.
She didn't wait for Leo to grab her again. She didn't wait for Arthur to reach them. Ignoring the sharp, white-hot protest in her leg, she wrenched herself out of Leo's grip. She turned and bolted toward the heavy fire exit, her heels skidding on the polished floor.
"Elizabeth! Lili! Stop!" Leo's voice roared behind her, but she didn't look back. She pushed through the heavy steel doors and vanished into the dim light of the concrete stairwell, the sound of her frantic, uneven footsteps echoing until they were swallowed by the silence.