Chapter 1
Before the Hartley Group's cocktail party, I had just landed a major annual energy project.
But my fiancé, Leon Hartley, announced in front of everyone at the party that our engagement was off.
The reason was ridiculous.
Erica Blake, the woman he'd never gotten over, said my red dress reminded her of the life she had lost.
He draped his jacket over her shoulders. "Vivian, you've already got your career. Don't fight her over a dress."
I glanced down at my dress. It was the debut design from my own brand.
Erica cried even harder. "I just want him to favor me for once."
He actually told his assistant to bring scissors so he could cut the hem of my dress on the spot.
I threw my wine at him. "Cut my dress? Who do you think you are?"
Ten minutes later, the billboard for my brand featured a new face.
It wasn't Leon.
It was his biggest rival, Victor Blackwood, a werewolf who ruled Greyford Docks, and the man I was going to marry next week.
*****
Red wine trickled down Leon's expensive tailored suit. The hall was completely silent. Everyone held their breath.
He calmly accepted the towel from his assistant and slowly wiped the wine from his tie.
"Vivian, you've really let me down. I was going to let you keep some dignity.
"But since you're making a scene in front of everyone, don't expect me to remember what we had," he said.
Erica hid behind Leon and clung to his sleeve tightly.
"Leon, please don't treat Vivian like this. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come here.
"Vivian loves you so much. That's why she lost her mind," she pleaded.
I scoffed, and without hesitation, smashed the wine glass in my hand. Glass shards scattered across the floor.
"Erica, drop the act. Who do you think you are? As if you could ever make me lose my mind," I snapped.
Leon suddenly stepped forward. His Alpha aura flooded the room.
The air turned thin and suffocating. Everyone around us stepped back instinctively.
My knees gave out before I could stop them. It felt like a mountain was pressing on my back. I bit my lip until I tasted blood.
I braced myself against the champagne tower table and forced myself to stand straight, refusing to buckle under his pressure.
"Leon, rein in your scent. This is a human-werewolf commercial district. Are you trying to get yourself arrested?" I said.
He let out a cold laugh. "Vivian, you're always so full of yourself. You really think changing your brand ambassador will threaten me?
"You think Victor Blackwood would actually marry you? He's using you to provoke me. People don't like a girl like you who's too strong-willed.
"This is your last chance. Apologize to Erica and restore me as your ambassador."
I stared right back at him, refusing to flinch under his pressure. "Keep dreaming."
He turned his head and snapped his fingers at his assistant.
"Notify the Hartley Group's legal department. Terminate all contracts with Vivian's companies immediately and cut off all supply to her brand," Leon ordered.
The assistant pulled out a tablet and started working.
Erica covered her mouth in shock. "Leon, this will ruin Vivian. Please, don't be so cruel to her. I don't mind suffering a little. It's fine."
He slipped his arm around her waist. "Don't worry, this isn't cruel. I'm teaching her a lesson.
"She needs to learn how to be an obedient wife, not someone who's always out in the public eye."
I grabbed an unopened bottle of champagne from the table and smashed it down at his feet.
The bottle shattered. White foam and glass shards flew everywhere.
"Leon, you make me sick. I don't need you to tell me how to run my companies," I shot back.
He raised his foot and stepped onto a glass shard.
"Vivian, you'll come crawling to me soon enough.
"Lock the doors. No one is allowed to let her out without my permission," he commanded.
Several burly werewolf bodyguards quickly sealed off all the hall exits.
Leon towered over me, looking down at me coldly.
"Tonight, you'll stay here and think about what you did. When you learn to obey, you can leave," he said.
He slipped his arm around Erica and walked her toward the VIP entrance.
She shot me a look over her shoulder.
Her lips moved silently. "You lost."
I pulled out my phone. The screen showed no signal.
Leon had blocked the signal in the hall.
The guests started pointing and gossiping about me. No one dared to help.
Leon's assistant stepped in front of me, a pair of sharp scissors in his hand.
He dropped it at my feet.
It hit the marble floor with a clear sound.
"Ms. Sinclair, Mr. Hartley's orders are clear.
"Either you cut your dress yourself, or I will do it for you," he said coldly.
I kicked the scissors aside with disdain. "Get lost."
His face turned cold. "Ms. Sinclair, you should not be so arrogant in your situation.
"Mr. Hartley has already frozen all your company's cash flow.
"And that energy project you just won, the Hartley Group has already taken it."
I looked up sharply. "That project was under a confidentiality agreement. How did he get the core data?"
The assistant pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Did you forget? Ms. Blake was your assistant. She knows the code to your safe," he replied.