New beginning: Billionaire love story

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

"My fault?" Claudia 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 are laughing 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, Claudia."

Claudia's eyes gleamed as she leaned back in her chair once more, crossing her legs in a casual display 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 glared at her. "This isn't how business works, and you know it."

"Business?" Claudia laughed, 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 play with people's livelihoods like this."

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

Claudia stood up, brushing imaginary dust off her perfectly tailored blazer. "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 Claudia's office flew open with a bang, causing both Claudia and Alexander to snap their heads toward the sound. Standing there, bold as ever, was Claire, her smirk already in place. Behind her, Claudia's secretary, looking flustered, was waving her arms and shouting in her thick French accent.noveldrama

"Madame! You cannot just walk in here!"

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

Claudia's face flushed with annoyance, her jaw tightening as she glanced from Claire to her secretary. "Get out!" she barked at the poor woman, who mumbled a quick apology before scrambling out of the room. Claudia's glare then fell back on Claire. "What are you doing here?" Claire 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."

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

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

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

Claire raised an eyebrow. "No drama? Claudia, 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."

Claudia'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, glaring at Claire like she could set her on fire with her eyes.

Claire, completely unfazed, reached into her bag and pulled out a small flash drive. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it across the room. Claudia caught it, more out of reflex than anything.

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

Claudia frowned, glaring at the flash drive like it was a snake. She stomped over to her laptop, 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 played on her screen. "What the" she muttered under her breath, her face drained of color. She turned sharply, marching back toward Claire, the flash drive clutched in her hand. "Where did you get this?!"

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

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

"And by the way," Claire 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 account isn't so private anymore."

Claudia'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 account was set to public-it was almost too perfect. Her head snapped up, eyes blazing.

"Did you do this?!"

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

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

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

Claire watched the whole exchange, amused. She took a step to the side, hands on her hips as she circled them. "Listen, Claudia, 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."

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

Claudia 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. Claire had come in and completely blindsided her. Alexander, still gripping Claudia's wrist, looked between the two women. "What is this video?" he finally asked, his tone cautious.

Claudia 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." Claire's eyes sparkled with triumph. "Oh, it's definitely a mistake. One that's going to cost you dearly if you don't play nice."