Flawless Ruin

JULIET

“You’ve taken everything from me, Juliet,” he says slowly. Making each word clear. “My reputation. My company. My family’s legacy. But whatever she paid you, I hope it was worth the price. You don’t know what I do to my enemies. But I swear to you, you’re about to find out.”

Those words loop incessantly through my head as I watch Caleb Sterling storm off.

Me. Caleb. Over.

Not only that, Caleb Sterling, the man I thought I was falling in love with, threatened me. Those words make me shudder more and more, each time I replay them in my head.

Yes, he has every reason to be upset. He just lost his family business to his scheming business partner, Olivia. Next to that, what I did to him is probably small potatoes.

But I still did it. I got the job as his assistant, worked with him day after day, slept with him… All the while helping Olivia in the search for a way to bring Caleb down.

Somewhere along the line, though, things changed.

I lost my heart to the ice-cold Caleb Sterling.

And in the end, I couldn’t give Olivia the information she was looking for.

Someone else must have.

But judging from the way he looked at me? He doesn’t care that it wasn’t me.

You don’t know what I do to my enemies. But I swear to you, you’re about to find out.

I’m worse than no one to him. I’m his enemy.

The cool air grips my lungs and I swallow the desperate sob in my throat.

I’ve got to figure out a way to fix things. Somehow. As if that’s even possible.

Spinning on my heel and lifting the skirt of my gown, I race up the stairs, back to the party. People are dressed in their best, drinking cocktails and schmoozing, almost as if nothing has happened. The world is falling apart. How can they celebrate?

I spot Olivia in the main ballroom, smiling in her triumph. She’s chatting it up with, of all people, Sebastian Wolfe. My skin crawls at the sight of them, there, together. I can’t help feeling like they’re plotting something.

I stalk over to her and stand between them as they stand together, heads tilted toward one another, laughing.

“How did you find out?” I demand.

She looks at me, surprised, and her smile dissolves to a smug smirk. “Oh, darling. I have ways. I noticed you were falling for Caleb’s charms, probably before you did. So I made a backup plan.”

A backup plan. I feel my face heat. Here, I’d felt bad for playing Olivia, falling for Caleb when I was supposed to be working for her. But all this time, Olivia was playing me.

“Whatever you have on him, it’s not enough. There could be a very good explanation—”

She cuts me off with a laugh. “Exactly what I’d expect one of Caleb’s ardent followers to say. He can do no wrong. But I promise you, he is not everything you think he is. I’m doing you a favor, Juliet, darling. You’ll see.”

Her condescending tone rips into me, making me feel ill. I try to come up with a witty retort, but I wind up gulping air, silent. Finally, I blurt out: “You’re ruining his entire life.”

She tilts her head at me. “That’s the point.” She shrugs at Sebastian, who nods. “I don’t really care if his life is ruined. All I care about is getting my payday. And now I will, thanks to you.”

The two of them burst into fits of laughter. Meanwhile, I grit my teeth, unable to see anything funny about this.

Thanks to me, Caleb’s out, and… So am I.

My stomach churns. I need to get as far away from them as possible. From everyone. I feel like everyone’s staring at me like I’m some pathetic horror show.

I turn and push through the crowd, only stopping when someone calls my name.