“My name is Nora,” I said, my voice carrying clearly across the quiet circle of onlookers. “And you are standing in a room built by my family’s foundation, speaking to the woman who owns sixty percent of your firm’s debt.”

Blake stepped back, his eyes widening in pure horror as he realized the magnitude of his mistake. The arrogant man who had walked out of our home with an overnight bag had suddenly become very small, standing in the shadow of the giant he had failed to recognize.

Adrian looked down at Blake with cold indifference, placing a protective hand over mine. “You told her she was too ordinary for the life you were building, Mr. Warren. But the truth is, you were simply too small to understand the greatness that was standing right in front of you.”

Without waiting for a reply, I turned gracefully away from Blake, leaving him standing frozen in the middle of the ballroom as whispering waves of high society began to wash over his shattered reputation. Beside Adrian, I walked toward the balcony overlooking the city skyline, completely whole, completely restored, and finally home.