####Chapter 5: The Taste of Regret

​The double doors of Elias’s office didn’t just open; they were slammed back by a man who thought he still owned the world.

​Julian Vale stormed in, his face flushed with a mixture of rage and desperation. Behind him, Saren Locke scurried like a shadow, her designer heels clicking frantically on the obsidian floor.

​"Thorn!" Julian roared, pointing a trembling finger at Elias. "I don't know what kind of game you’re playing, but you can’t just abduct my wife! This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. This is—"

​Julian froze.

​The words died in his throat as his eyes landed on the woman standing beside Elias.

​Marina didn’t look like the woman he had tossed into the mud twenty-four hours ago. She was draped in blood-red silk that made her skin look like cream. Her hair, once dull and tied back, now flowed over her shoulders in rich, glossy waves. But it was her eyes that stopped him—they were no longer filled with tears. They were filled with ice.

​"Marina?" Saren whispered, her mouth falling open. "Where did you get those clothes? Is that... is that the Crimson Bloom limited edition gown?"

​Elias didn’t move. He remained seated behind his desk, one hand casually draped over Marina’s hip, pulling her into the warmth of his side. The gesture was silent, possessive, and utterly dominant.

​"First of all, Julian," Elias’s voice was smooth, like a blade sliding through silk. "Marina isn't your wife. You divorced her in front of a thousand people yesterday. Remember? Or has your memory failed along with your stock prices?"

​"She’s still my business partner!" Julian snapped, though his eyes wouldn't leave Marina’s neck, where a diamond necklace worth more than his house now rested. "Marina, stop this nonsense. You’re making a fool of yourself. Come home. We can discuss the terms of your exit."

​Marina felt a flicker of the old fear, but then Elias’s thumb brushed against her hip, a steadying, electric touch. She stepped forward, breaking Elias’s hold just enough to stand on her own.

​"Home?" Marina asked, her voice steady and cold. "You changed the locks, Julian. You moved your mistress into my bed before the ink on the divorce papers was even dry. I don't have a home with you."

​"Marina, baby, you're just emotional," Saren interjected, trying to force a sweet smile. "Julian is just worried. You’re staying with a man like him? Do you even know his reputation? He’ll discard you once he's bored."

​Marina turned her gaze to Saren. For years, she had played the "nice" wife. She had been polite to Julian’s "friends." No more.

​"I’d rather be discarded by a lion like Elias Thorn," Marina said, each word a strike, "than be kept by a vulture like Julian Vale. At least Elias knows the value of what he’s holding."

​Julian’s face turned a dangerous shade of purple. "You think you're clever? You think this silver-haired shark actually cares about you? He’s using you to get to my company! He wants the code, Marina! The code you haven't even finished!"

​"Actually," Marina smiled, and it was a predatory thing. "The code is finished, Julian. I finished it this morning. In Elias’s private lab."

​Julian’s eyes went wide. "What? That’s my property! That’s Vale Enterprises assets!"

​"Incorrect," Elias interrupted, standing up. He moved to stand behind Marina, his hands resting heavily on her shoulders. He was a head taller than Julian, and twice as broad.

The power imbalance in the room was physical. "The patent for that software was never filed under Vale Enterprises. It was filed under Marina’s maiden name. And as of ten minutes ago, she has licensed that technology exclusively to the Thorn Empire."

​"You... you can't!" Julian lunged forward, but Elias didn't even flinch.

​In a flash, two of Elias’s security team appeared at the door, their hands on their holsters. Julian stopped dead.

​"I can," Elias whispered, his eyes dark with a cruel joy. "And because you used company funds to buy your mistress that engagement ring instead of paying your server maintenance fees, your entire network is going to crash by midnight. Unless, of course, you want to buy the license back from my wife?"

​The word 'wife' hit the room like a bomb.

​"Wife?" Julian gasped. "What are you talking about?"

​Elias reached for Marina’s hand, lifting it so the light caught the massive, twelve-carat emerald-cut diamond he had slid onto her finger before Julian entered.

​"Meet the new Mrs. Thorn," Elias said. "We were married this morning. Legal, binding, and very, very expensive."

​Saren looked like she was about to faint. Julian’s knees actually buckled. He had spent ten years treating Marina like a rug, and in one day, she had climbed a mountain he could never reach.

​"You... you married him?" Julian’s voice cracked.

​Marina looked at the man she had once loved. He looked small. He looked pathetic. "I married a man who doesn't have to hide his soul, Julian.

Now, please leave. You’re trespassing on Thorn property. And my husband doesn't like his time being wasted."

​Elias signaled to the guards. "Show Mr. Vale and his... companion... the way out. Through the service elevator. I don't want them upsetting the prestigious guests in the lobby."

​As Julian was dragged out, screaming about lawyers and betrayal, and Saren was sobbing about her reputation, the room finally fell silent.

​The adrenaline began to fade, leaving Marina trembling. She felt a hand on her waist, turning her around.

​Elias was looking at her, his expression unreadable. "You did well, Marina."

​"I... I can't believe I said those things," she breathed, her hand resting on his chest. Her heart was racing so hard she was sure he could feel it.

​"Believe it," Elias said. He leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. "That is the woman I saw in the rain. The woman who is going to help me burn this city to the ground."

​He tilted her head back, his dark eyes searching hers. The revenge was sweet, but the heat between them was becoming something far more dangerous.

​"Julian was right about one thing," Elias murmured, his voice dropping to a husky growl.

​"What?"

​"I am using you." He leaned in, his lips a breath away from hers. "But not for the code. I’m using you to remind myself what it feels like to actually want something."

​Before she could respond, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that wasn't gentle. It was a victory. It was a claim. It was the start of a whole new kind of trouble.