"Nicole is better than you, Eloise."

"In a lot of ways… if you know what I mean."

The words were spoken quietly, almost politely.

As if it weren't betrayal.

"She comes from a well-known family. She has a name. Stability."

"And you…" He hesitated. "You did what you could."

Each word landed like a blow.

Eloise was still wearing white.

Still holding the bouquet.

Still believing that love was enough.

However, it wasn't.

-

The reception clock read exactly 8:45 a.m. when Eloise Beaumont pushed open the glass doors of Montgomery Group. The sharp click of her heels echoed across the white marble floor, polished so perfectly it reflected her fitted wine-colored dress. Discreet, yet more than enough to highlight her enviable curves.

Was she nervous? A little.

Determined? Absolutely.

Three months earlier, Eloise had learned that promises didn't keep anyone from leaving.

She had been abandoned at the altar by the man who claimed to love her. Betrayed by her own family, her cousin Nicole who had always envied her.

Since then, trust had become a risk she was no longer willing to take.

But now, everything was different.

She needed that job.

And not just for the paycheck.

Her father, sick and retired, could barely get out of bed on his worst days. The medications were expensive, and the bills kept piling up. Eloise didn't have the luxury of waiting for luck to knock on her door. She had decided to chase it down herself.

"Good morning," she said to the receptionist with a polite smile. "I have an interview for the personal secretary position with Mr. August Montgomery."

The woman looked her up and down, as if trying to decide whether a girl like her could handle a boss like him. She swallowed before answering.

"Top floor. Room fifteen. He's expecting you."

Him.

Even his name carried tension: August Montgomery. Cold. Ruthless. A perfectionist. The man who ran a billion-dollar empire like he had been born to rule. Maybe he had. People said his green eyes could pierce straight through your soul, and that no secretary lasted more than a month working for him.

And there she was.

Walking straight into the wolf's den.

The elevator rose in silence. Eloise adjusted her long dark hair, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her racing heart. She wasn't the kind of woman who intimidated easily, but something inside her already knew.

That man was going to turn her life upside down.

The doors opened.

She knocked twice on the imposing dark wood door.

"Come in," a deep, steady voice called.

She stepped inside with confident strides, even as she felt his gaze travel slowly over every inch of her body.

August Montgomery lifted his gaze from his laptop.

And for the first time in months… he froze.

She had dark hair and a striking figure. Her expression held a challenging gaze.

She wasn't smiling. She wasn't bending.

She stood there like the world was supposed to adjust to her. Not the other way around.

"Eloise Beaumont?" he asked, his tone almost bored as he tried to hide the impact.

"That's me," she replied, a faint smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "But you can call me Eloise. No one ever manages to pronounce my last name with the right amount of arrogance."

One of his eyebrows lifted.

She was certainly bold.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. "Let's see if you've got more than a sharp mouth."

"Let's see if Mr. Montgomery has more than fame and money," she shot back without blinking.

In the silence that followed, there was tension as their eyes locked.

And in that very first clash of words, August knew.

This woman was going to be his own personal hell.

And maybe… the only heaven he could still reach.