Chapter 3 - The Innovator's Gala
One year later.
The annual Manhattan Tech Innovator's Gala was the most important night of the year.
Cole desperately needed a cash injection to save his company from bankruptcy.
He and Sloan arrived on the red carpet looking desperate disguised as confident.
Sloan wore a custom gown, clinging to his arm, making sure the cameras saw her diamond ring.
They walked into the grand ballroom expecting to court the heavy hitters.
Then, the heavy double doors opened again.
The cameras exploded into a frenzy.
I walked in.
I was no longer the swollen, exhausted woman crying on a sidewalk in the rain.
I wore a tailored midnight-blue silk gown.
My hair was perfectly styled.
My posture was flawless.
And my hand rested comfortably on the arm of Edward Langley.
The ballroom went completely silent.
Cole turned around, his champagne glass freezing halfway to his mouth.
He stared at me as if he had seen a ghost.
Sloan’s perfectly contoured face twisted into a mask of pure jealousy.
She recognized the woman her husband had thrown away, but she couldn't comprehend the power I was suddenly radiating.
We didn't walk toward them.
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We didn't have to.
Within five minutes, every major investor in the room had abandoned Cole to come speak with Edward and his brilliant new Head of Strategy.
