Ch. Called Off the Wedding 32 Called Off the Wedding 32

Chapter 32 

After all, they had once been classmates in high school. 

Cynthia was skilled at coming up with creative strategies and proposals, but she’d never been at home at the negotiation table. Sitting across from sharp eyed business sharks was not her strong suit. 

But 

it now that she was here, there was no way she’d just slip out with her tail between her legs. 

She sat on the leather sofa, keeping her posture calm, but she could feel the man’s gaze from across the room–cool, assessing, as if he was weighing her worth from a pedestal: 

Determined not to let herself be at a disadvantage, Cynthia drew a subtle, steadying breath and rose to her feet, meeting his eyes levelly. 

“Holloway Enterprises is looking to break into the Cloudcrest City market. If you start from scratch, it’ll burn up a lot of time and resources. For someone like you, Mr. Holloway, time is money“} 

The man didn’t so much as blink. 

Cynthia exhaled quietly, steeling herself. She was good at the planning side, but actual deal–making? Not so much. 

Still, she was here she might as well see it through. 

“VistaSphere Group has everything you’re looking for. We’re the perfect fit if Holloway Enterprises wants a fast track into Cloudcrest City. I can’t imagine Mr. Holloway would walk away from such a valuable opportunity just because of a minor… misunderstanding between us.” “A minor misunderstanding?” he echoed, rolling the words around, as if tasting them. 

The cigarette in his hand was crushed between his fingers, its tip bent out of shape. 

Cynthia forced herself to nod. 

She remembered when her engagement to the Holloway family had been announced. She’d returned to Cloudcrest City with her mother, but she’d broken off all contact with the Tremaines and demanded the engagement be dissolved before she and Dominic ever truly met face–to–face. 

There had never been anything between them. If not for that marriage arrangement made by their parents, they would have been strangers 

So to her, it hardly counted as a real grudge.2 

The cigarette finally snapped in Dominic’s hand, loose tobacco scattering on the polished floor. 

He gave a short, humorless laugh, then asked, “Miss Tremaine, do you know the three lifelong grudges a man can carry?” 

Cynthia blinked in confusion and shook her head. “I don’t 

Dominic turned away, his voice low and cool. 

“The murder of one’s father. The theft of one’s wife. The loss of one’s son 

Cynthia fell silent.! 

“We were never married, she said quietly, feeling a little guilty, a little defensive. 8 

“A fiancée is still a wife,” he replied, his voice soft and frigid, slipping through her defenses. 

Cynthia lowered her gaze, unable to meet the depth in his dark eyes. 

What was she supposed to do? Apologize? But she didn’t think she’d been wrong to end the engagement. There had never been anything between them–Dominic was just a stranger really 

The tension in the room was suffocating. Cynthia pressed her lips together, then finally found her voice R 

‘Im sorry for disturbing you. 

If this path was blocked, there were always other options. 

She turned to leave, but Dominic’s expression turned visibly colder. 

“So this is how you do business, Miss Tremaine?“) 

She hesitated.. 

Dominic studied her for several long seconds, a half–smirk on his lips. 

“I would have thought the Miss Tremaine who bragged about making her mark in Cloudcrest City would be more persuasive at the negotiating table. But now it seems you’re only here to bother me, then give up at the first setback?” 

Cynthia had no retort. She’d been humiliated in front of him before–this wouldn’t be the last time. She decided she might as well be blunt 2 

“I know you don’t actually care about me, Mr. Holloway. This is just about pride, isn’t it? You’re still holding a grudge over the broken engagement. If you’re set on making things difficult for me, what do you want me to do–stick around just to be humiliated over and over again?” 

Chapter 33