C7 Cracks in the ice

Antonio

Revenge was supposed to feel clean.

Simple. Satisfying.

You hurt me, I hurt you. Balance restored.

But nothing about Daphne Galanis was ever simple.

---

I arrived at the office early, before dawn.

It was a habit I’d formed years ago — wake before the city, dominate the silence, and leave no room for distraction.

Except lately, distraction had a name. And a pair of storm-colored eyes.

When she walked in that morning — pale, tired, clutching coffee like oxygen — I didn’t look up. Couldn’t.

If I did, I might forget what this was supposed to be.

> She chose Patrick. She humiliated you. She lied.

I reminded myself of those words every time her voice trembled when she said, “Yes, sir.”

She didn’t belong here. Not in my world. Not after what she did.

And yet… I kept finding excuses to keep her close.

---

By mid-morning, I’d already tested her twice — misplaced files, delayed tasks, subtle commands designed to corner her.

She passed every one of them.

When she stammered out an apology for being “slow,” something inside me tightened. She wasn’t slow. She was terrified — of me. And I’d made her that way.

Good. I told myself it was good. She deserved to feel that power imbalance for once.

Still… the look in her eyes when I told her she’d “gotten slower” stayed with me long after she left the room.

It wasn’t defiance. It was something worse. Something fragile.

Regret.

I poured myself another coffee, trying to drown the bitter taste in my mouth.

---

“Newsflash,” Luca said as he burst through the door without knocking — again. “Guess who’s back in the country?”

I didn’t even look up. “Don’t say it.”

“Rhea Barlos.”

I sighed. “Of course she is.”

He grinned, clearly entertained. “Theo called last night. She’s been talking about you non-stop. You sure you want her walking into this building when—”

“When what?” I cut in.

“When your ex-fiancée is sitting twenty feet from your office?”

He smirked. “Might look… complicated.”

“Rhea’s presence changes nothing.”

“Tell that to her ego.”

---

When the Past Walked In Wearing Red

At eleven, the air shifted — a subtle pressure drop, a whisper of trouble.

And then Rhea entered.

I didn’t need to turn to know. Her perfume reached me first — jasmine, expensive, suffocating.

When I finally looked up, she was smiling, radiant and dangerous as ever.

“Rhea,” I greeted, forcing politeness. “You’re early.”

She leaned in, kissed my cheek — and her lipstick stayed behind like a signature.

“You don’t sound happy to see me,” she teased.

I wiped the mark away with my thumb. “Surprised, not unhappy.”

Her eyes flicked toward the glass wall — toward Daphne. “She’s your new assistant?”

I didn’t answer, but that was answer enough.

She smirked, brushing invisible dust off her sleeve. “Pretty. I see why you keep her around.”

My jaw flexed. “Watch your tone.”

“Jealousy’s not a good look on you, Antonio,” she purred.

“Neither is arrogance,” I said sharply. “Sit.”

She laughed, low and musical, as if we were playing a game. Maybe we were.

---

When Daphne entered with the tray, something primal flared inside me.

She moved carefully — avoiding my eyes, chin lifted with quiet dignity that shouldn’t have affected me but did.

Rhea watched her like a cat toying with a mouse.

“Thank you, Daphne,” I said evenly.

Her reply was soft. “Anytime, sir.”

But when Rhea’s next words came — “Oh, Antonio, I like her. She’s obedient.” — I saw Daphne flinch.

Barely. But enough.

I wanted to tell Rhea to shut up.

Instead, I let silence stretch between us — the cruel kind that hurts more than words.

Because this was what I’d wanted, wasn’t it?

To make her feel small. To remind her how it felt to be powerless. To hurt her the way she’d hurt me.

So why did it feel like I’d just punched myself in the gut?

---

When she left the room, Rhea tilted her head, studying me.

“You still care about her,” she said simply.

I looked up, all steel and warning. “Watch what you say.”

“I’m not blind,” she continued, amused. “That little tremor in your voice when she speaks. The way you look anywhere but at her. Antonio, please — you can’t lie to me.”

“You’re mistaken.”

She smiled, slow and knowing. “No. You’re in denial. That’s worse.”

Before she left, she kissed my cheek again — deliberately this time — and whispered, “Be careful, darling. Love makes even the smartest men stupid.”

---

When the building emptied, I sat in the dark, staring at the city.

The lights blurred, the glass cold against my knuckles.

I could still hear her voice from earlier — polite, small, careful. “Anytime, sir.”

I’d thought seeing her broken would satisfy me.

But it didn’t. It hollowed me out.

She was different now — quieter, humbler, scarred by something I didn’t yet understand. And every time I caught a glimpse of that sadness, the anger inside me dimmed… just a little.

This wasn’t going according to plan.

---

My phone buzzed. Leonis again.

“Daphne’s been digging,” he said immediately. “Your assistant.”

“About what?”

“About you. She asked HR where you came from. Looked through company files after hours.”

A slow, dangerous smile touched my lips. “Curious little thing.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing. Let her look. If she wants to see what kind of man I am now…”

I swirled the last of my drink, voice low. “I’ll show her.”

---