Chapter 322

• Silverstone Estate was a hive of orchestrated perfection. Event planners, stylists, and PR teams buzzed across the property, making sure every detail of tomorrow’s engagement celebration would dominate the society pages. Thanks to Oliver’s role as CEO of Hell Monarch Technologies a defense-tech conglomerate with international influence the estate radiated power and prestige. Although the ceremony wasn’t until the next day, tonight’s pre-engagement banquet had all the trappings of a gala: high-end champagne, industry moguls, and velvet-rope exclusivity.
• I had never planned to be here not like this, not again.
• When I walked out of Farrell Corporation and my marriage to Thomas Farrell collapsed, the board and his powerful family felt obligated to compensate me. Their guilt wasn’t just about the sudden divorce but how publicly it had played out. To save face and ensure I wouldn’t be left destitute, they returned my original capital contribution, granted me a lump-sum equity payout from Thomas’s trust fund, and transferred ownership of a valuable commercial property portfolio to my name.