My father, a titan of the tech industry, once saw me as his most valuable asset, meticulously grooming three of his brightest proteges-Mark, Jake, and Chris-not just for his company, but for me. I believed their ambition was for our shared future, a future orchestrated by my father, but a brutal truth shattered that illusion. In the cold silence of my car, after overhearing Mark' s cruel words, I discovered he saw me as nothing more than a spoiled princess, a necessary means to my inheritance, a prize to be endured for power. The realization left me numb, transformed from a hopeful romantic into a woman consumed by a chilling clarity: love was for the foolish. I died listening to Mark's laughter; the new Ava, resolute and cold, emerged from the ashes, ready to forge her own fortress, even if it meant a marriage devoid of affection, a strategic alliance with the formidable Liam Sterling, heir to a rival empire.
