ADRIAN'S POV
The hall was still clapping.
Standing ovations.
Cameras flashing.
Names whispered like prophecy.
But all I could see was her.
Kissabel Wilson Goodwill.
My wife.
My ghost.
My miracle.
She stood on the stage like she had never left — spine straight, chin lifted, eyes cold and sharp like a queen who had bled and survived. The lights kissed her skin, turning her into something unreal.
I couldn't breathe.
Isaac leaned closer, his voice low.
"Adrian… you're shaking."
"I'm not," I muttered.
He grabbed my wrist. "You are."
The applause thundered again when she smiled — not sweet, not warm — but controlled. Powerful.
And then she spoke.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."
Her voice.
God.
"I'm honoured that my empire has been recognised tonight," she continued calmly. "This award isn't just a victory. It's a statement."
People leaned forward.
"I left this city once," she said. "Broken. Silenced. Almost erased."
My chest tightened.
"But I came back," she finished softly, "stronger. And this time, I intend to take back everything that belongs to me."
Silence.
Then chaos.
The hall erupted.
I staggered back into my seat as she stepped down from the stage, her heels echoing like a countdown to war.
Oscar whispered behind me, "Boss… that's Mrs—"
"I know," I snapped.
My hands were clenched so tight my knuckles burned.
She was alive.
She was here.
And she hadn't come back for me.
I thought.
KISS' POV
I felt him before I saw him.
That familiar pull.
That ache I had buried under discipline and steel.
The moment I stepped off the stage, I knew he was watching me — not as a CEO, not as a rival, but as the man who once held my hand,my waist,my body and my heart while I slept.
A reporter rushed forward.
"Miss Wilson, is it true that—"
"My team will handle questions," I said politely, waving him off.
Security moved in, clearing a path.
And then—
"Kiss."
I stopped.
Slowly, deliberately, I turned.
Adrian stood there like a man struck by lightning.
His eyes were red. His jaw tight. His entire body screaming restraint.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he whispered, "You're real."
I swallowed. "So are you."
He laughed — broken, disbelieving. "Do you have any idea what you did to me?"
I tilted my head. "I didn't disappear to punish you, Adrian."
"Then why didn't you come back?" His voice rose. "Why didn't you call? Write? Send a message?"
I stepped closer, lowering my voice.
"Because I woke up in a foreign country, half-dead, with my womb stitched and my future stolen. Because I was told if I returned, my children would die."
His face drained of colour.
"What… did you just say?"
"I lost everything," I continued quietly. "Including the woman you knew."
He reached for me instinctively.
I stepped back.
"Don't," I said.
His hand fell.
"You don't get to touch me like nothing happened."
His voice cracked. "They're alive, Kiss. Our children. I raised them. I held them every night when they cried for you."
My breath hitched.
"You named our daughter Princess," he added hoarsely. "Because she looks like you."
That broke me.
I turned away before the tears could fall.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
I faced him again, eyes steady now.
"Because hiding won't protect anyone anymore."
ADRIAN'S POV
She was colder.
Stronger.
And more dangerous than before.
"You should've told me," I said.
"You should've protected me," she replied instantly.
The words landed like a slap.
"I failed," I admitted quietly.
She studied me for a long moment, then said, "Yes. You did."
The honesty hurt more than any insult.
A pause.
Then she sighed. "But we don't have time to relive pain tonight."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," she said calmly, "I came back to finish unfinished wars."
My phone vibrated.
Oscar.
I ignored it.
"Kiss," I said, stepping closer again, "whatever you think you're planning—don't do it alone."
She smiled — slow and dangerous and somehow genuinely.
"I never do."
KISS' POV
I left him standing there.
Because if I stayed one more second, I would have collapsed into his arms and undone everything I had built.
Outside, my car waited.
Inside, my phone rang.
I answered without slowing my steps.
"Yes."
"My lady," my secretary said. "Ashley Barlow is still in City V."
I paused.
"Good," I said softly. "Bring her to the east basement. Make sure she's… comfortable."
"Understood."
I ended the call and leaned back against the seat as the car moved.
Outside, City V glowed — the city that broke me.
Inside, my heart burned — for the man I still loved.
I whispered to myself,
"Hold on, Adrian. Just a little longer."
ADRIAN'S POV
I watched her leave.
Again.
But this time, I didn't chase.
Because I finally understood something.
She hadn't come back to be saved.
She had come back to rule.
Isaac joined me quietly.
"You still love her."
"Yes."
"She still loves you."
"I know."
He frowned. "Then why does it feel like war?"
I looked toward the exit where she vanished.
"Because love doesn't survive secrets," I said. "And someone is still trying to kill my family."
My phone buzzed again.
Oscar.
This time I answered.
"Boss," Oscar said urgently, "Ashley's name just came up again. Something big is coming."
I closed my eyes.
"Then let it come," I said coldly.
Because this time—
I wouldn't lose her again.