Alexander gritted his teeth. "You''re still upset about that? The apology video was your own fault."


    "My fault?" udia scoffed, shaking her head in mock disbelief. "You forced me into it! You made me sit there, like some guilty child, apologizing for things that weren''t even my responsibility. And don''t even get me started on that stupid handwritten letter. Do you have any idea how many people online areughing at me because of that?" Alexander''s jaw clenched. "You deserved that. You messed up, and you needed to own it. That''s how adults handle things, udia."


    udia''s eyes gleamed as she leaned back in her chair once more, crossing her legs in a casual disy of triumph. "Oh, darling. I owned it, all right. But now? Now it''s your turn."


    Alexander''s hand balled into a fist again, the knuckles turning white as he red at her. "This isn''t how business works, and you know it."


    "Business?" udiaughed, the sound light and carefree as if this were all just a fun little game. "Sweetheart, this isn''t business. This is war. And in war, there are no rules. You should''ve learned that by now."


    Alexander swore under his breath, pacing the room like a caged animal. "You can''t just y with people''s livelihoods like this."


    udia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, but I can. And I will. And there''s nothing you can do about it because, as you so helpfully pointed out..." She gestured to the contract on the table. "You signed it."


    Alexander grabbed the contract again, feeling like the words on the page were mocking him. He knew he should''ve been more careful.


    "I swear, udia," he growled, "I will find a way out of this."


    udia stood up, brushing imaginary dust off her perfectly tailored zer. "You do that. In the meantime, I''ll just sit back and watch you squirm. It''s quite entertaining, really."


    Alexander shot her a withering look. "You''re insufferable."


    The door to udia''s office flew open with a bang, causing both udia and Alexander to snap their heads toward the sound. Standing there, bold as ever, was ire, her smirk already in ce. Behind her, udia''s secretary, looking flustered, was waving her arms and shouting in her thick French ent.


    "Madame! You cannot just walk in here!"


    ire ignored her entirely, sauntering in like she owned the ce. "Well, well, well, look who''s ying queen of the castle," she said with dripping sarcasm, her eyes locking onto udia''s. "Hope I''m not interrupting anything too important."


    udia''s face flushed with annoyance, her jaw tightening as she nced from ire to her secretary. "Get out!" she barked at the poor woman, who mumbled a quick apology before scrambling out of the room. udia''s re then fell back on ire. "What are you doing here?" ire took a step closer, her smirk widening. "Aw, don''t be like that. I thought you''d be happy to see me. Miss me? I mean, our first little get-together wasn''t exactly the warmest."


    udia stood up from the couch, her posture stiff, arms crossing tightly over her chest. "Cut the crap, ire. What do you want?"


    Alexander, still seated, looked just as bewildered. He stood up slowly, looking between the two women. "ire, what the hell is going on?"


    ire''s smirk faded, reced by a serious expression. She met Alexander''s gaze before turning back to udia. "I''m here to save you, Alexander. Whether you realize it or not." udia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Save him from what? There''s no drama here."


    ire raised an eyebrow. "No drama? udia, please. You''re the star of your own soap opera, and it''s about to get canceled." She walked even closer, her gaze icy now. "Let''s not waste time. You''re going to delete that video of Alexander, and you''re going to make a statement about it."


    udia''s eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me? Who do you think you are, ordering me around?" She folded her arms tighter, if that was even possible, ring at ire like she could set her on fire with her eyes.


    ire,pletely unfazed, reached into her bag and pulled out a small sh drive. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it across the room. udia caught it, more out of reflex than anything.


    "Take a look at that," ire said coolly. "Then we''ll talk."


    udia frowned, ring at the sh drive like it was a snake. She stomped over to herptop, plugged it in, and opened the file. Her expression changed almost instantly. Her eyes widened in shock, practically bulging out of her head as the video yed on her screen. "What the" she muttered under her breath, her face drained of color. She turned sharply, marching back toward ire, the sh drive clutched in her hand. "Where did you get this?!"


    ire chuckled, crossing her arms casually. "Oh, udia, you''re not the only one with connections. Did you think you were the only one capable of ying dirty?"


    udia was fuming, practically shaking with rage. "You... you can''t "


    "And by the way," ire cut her off with a satisfied smirk, "you might want to check your Twitter. I noticed it''s getting quite a bit of attention. Seems your private little ount isn''t so private anymore."


    udia''s hands trembled as she snatched her phone off the desk, her fingers frantically scrolling through her notifications. The flood of replies, the shock on her face as she realized her ount was set to public-it was almost too perfect. Her head snapped up, eyes zing.


    "Did you do this?!"


    ire tilted her head, grinning like the cat who''d caught the canary. "What do you think? Was I good?"


    udia shrieked in fury, pointing an usatory finger right at ire. But before she could make any move, Alexander stepped in, grabbing udia''s wrist firmly. His face was a mix of anger and confusion, his voice cold as ice. "Don''t even think


    about it, udia. Don''t touch her."


    ire watched the whole exchange, amused. She took a step to the side, hands on her hips as she circled them. "Listen, udia, you''re going to delete that video and publicly admit you were behind it. Because if you don''t, well..." She paused, letting the weight of her next words sink in. "Erelease this little gem online. And trust me, you know exactly what will happen to your precious reputation. Not to mention how bad it''ll be for Metacortex and Harris Hotel."


    udia looked like she was about to tear her own hair out. She was livid, furious that ire had managed to flip the script on her so effortlessly. "You... you can''t do this!" she shouted, her voiceced with frustration. "Oh, I can," ire said smoothly. "And I will unless you do exactly what I said."


    udia opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. She looked like a fish gasping for air, her mind scrambling for a way out of this mess. But she was trapped, and she knew it. ire hade in andpletely blindsided her. Alexander, still gripping udia''s wrist, looked between the two women. "What is this video?" he finally asked, his tone cautious.


    udia flinched, her face twisting in frustration as she yanked her wrist free. "It''s none of your business!" she snapped, then caught herself, realizing how bad that sounded. She sighed heavily. "It''s just just something from years ago. A mistake." ire''s eyes sparkled with triumph. "Oh, it''s definitely a mistake. One that''s going to cost you dearly if you don''t y nice."