The next morning, the office felt wrong the moment I stepped in.
People were whispering.
Not subtly.
Not quietly.
The second I approached my desk, the whispers got thinner, sharper, more deliberate.
Vanessa stood near the copier with a look of smug anticipation that made my stomach tighten.
Then I saw her.
A middle-aged woman in expensive clothes and a furious expression was standing beside my desk.
The second she spotted me, she marched over.
“So you’re Emily Parker,” she snapped. “The girl sleeping her way through this company.”
The whole floor went silent.
I stared at her. “Excuse me?”
She launched into a speech so wild it almost didn’t register at first. I had seduced her husband. I had ruined her marriage. He had spent money on me. Everyone knew what kind of girl I was.
Halfway through it, I realized who she had to be.
Martin Graves’s wife.
My coworkers hovered at a distance, pretending not to stare and failing miserably.
Vanessa stepped in with fake concern written all over her face.
“Emily,” she said, “if there’s been a misunderstanding, this is really the time to explain.”
I turned to look at her.
The comments snapped across my sight in blazing lines.
There she is.
She started this.
And suddenly, with the woman yelling in my face and Vanessa playing innocent and the rest of the office watching like I was entertainment, something in me just broke.
“Stop talking,” I said.
The wife faltered.
Vanessa blinked.
I folded my arms and looked directly at Vanessa.
“Don’t act like you’re helping. You spread this, didn’t you?”
She laughed, too fast. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you’ve been trying to start rumors about me for weeks. First with Mr. Cole. Now with Martin Graves.”
The wife whirled toward Vanessa in confusion.
Vanessa’s face stiffened. “Emily, you shouldn’t say things you can’t prove.”
That was when Sebastian walked in.
He took in the scene with one sweep of his gaze.
“What is this?”
Martin’s wife pointed at me. “This girl went after my husband!”
Vanessa added sweetly, “Mr. Cole, I know Emily looks innocent, but—”
“Enough.”
He didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
The entire office went still.
Then, in full view of everyone, Sebastian took out his phone, tapped it once, and sent a file to the company-wide group chat.
A hundred phones buzzed at nearly the same time.
Mine included.
I looked down.
It was video footage from a stairwell security camera.
Vanessa and Martin Graves.
Together.
Close enough, intimate enough, undeniable.
Their faces were perfectly clear.
The whole floor froze.
Martin’s wife snatched a phone from the nearest employee, looked at the screen, and let out a sound so sharp it echoed across the room.
Vanessa went white.
Sebastian’s expression never changed.
“I suggest,” he said calmly, “that before anyone accuses my staff of misconduct, they verify they aren’t protecting the actual problem.”
The comments exploded in delight.
Destroyed.
Absolutely destroyed.
Martin’s wife lunged for Vanessa.
Security rushed in before it got far, and within minutes Vanessa, Martin, and the screaming wife were all escorted away in a storm of outrage, humiliation, and corporate disaster.
When the noise finally died, a stunned silence settled over the executive floor.
Then one of the senior assistants, apparently unable to hold back another second, looked between me and Sebastian and asked, “So… what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Cole?”
Every face turned toward us.
My heart kicked once against my ribs.
I looked at Sebastian.
His ears were already turning red.
“Can I say it?” I asked.
His eyes widened slightly.
Then, after the smallest pause, he said, “You can say whatever you want.”
So I smiled and looked back at the room.
“He’s my boyfriend.”
The silence lasted all of two seconds before it broke into gasps, laughter, congratulations, and a level of delighted chaos I had never seen in that office before.
Sebastian stood there, trying to look composed and failing in the most endearing way I had ever witnessed.
The comments floated across my sight like confetti.
The ice king is done for.
He looks so happy.
He did.
He really did.
And when I glanced at him again, he wasn’t looking at anyone else.
Just me.