Chapter 142. Blackmail

Hermes POV

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I can feel my heart shatter into a thousand jagged pieces as I sit against the door she just closed, back pressed hard against the wood. I want to scream, but all that comes out is a hollow silence. I hope she can somehow hear the internal chaos, the reason I can’t choose her.

I’d let the company burn for her… but at what cost?

Her words echo in my head, sharper than any blade.

“I hate you, Hermes, and I pray that in my next life, I never cross paths with you again.”

They twist in me like a dull knife, relentless, unforgiving. She hates me… and I deserve it.

I don’t even know how to protect her. I say I love her, but I can’t love her the way she deserves. I can’t shield her from Natalya, from this mess I’ve built around us. It’s better… she hates me.

I’ll carry her words to my grave. And if, by some impossible chance, life gives me another shot, I pray I’m not the man I am now. That I can love her pr