Chapter 10
– Soraya –
On a Friday,
was in Cedar Heights.
She was going to meet her old friend, now CEO of Aegis Core Systems, Silas Ward. So, she dressed to impress, looking like a future executive. Clad in a white business suit, she found herself settling at the most secluded part of The Summit Lounge.
The restaurant was renowned for its exclusivity, making it a popular venue for business meetings. Soraya would know. She had arranged many client meetings for Calum in that same place.
At first, Soraya hesitated about going to The Summit Lounge, but since it was the same place Silas had booked for their meeting, she had to go.
Soraya had just pulled over at the restaurant’s parking lot when she got a call from her divorce lawyer. When she answered it, the lawyer said. “Miss Azar, your husband’s lawyers have not gotten back to me yet about the divorce. The last time I spoke with them, they said they were changing the agreement
Changing the agreement?” Soraya asked with a frown. “Change what? I did not ask for anything. There should be nothing to change.” “Im sorry. Miss Azar, but his lawyers insisted. I’ll follow it up,” the lawyer said.
Soraya took deep breaths. She studied the call logs on her phone. Calum had called her a few times, but she had refused to take his calls. In total, she ignored eight of Calum’s calls. She knew the reason for the call had something to do with their encounter a few days back. Sage had also sent her an apology message. Soraya had purposely seen that text but ignored them nonetheless.
This time, with their divorce still not filed, she messaged Calum: [Please process the divorce ASAP.)
Calum did not reply, but Soraya never expected him to.
Soon, Soraya found herself in the restaurant. A table had already been reserved for her and Silas. She felt strange as she sat there, but she ignored her inkling and simply waited.
After a few minutes, her old friend finally arrived.
Silas Ward walked in with his assistant and driver, perhaps. Each of them was holding a bouquet, with Silas carrying the largest one of
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This man was always playful. Back when they worked together at Aegis Core Systems, Silas had constantly brought a smile to Soraya’s face. Fir was one of those who knew about her sad marriage, and he made it a point to crack a joke or two in between serious coding hours.
-Suraya, a symbol of radiance, grace, and untouchable beauty,” Silas said with a smile. “How are you?”
All the guests turned to Silas. After all, he was a beautiful man. He had the “Ken” appeal, with blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He had
a simile that could launch a thousand ships. But while he was very attractive, he had a reputation for being a Casanova
Salas had taken many women on dates, but he never settled down in one relationship. Of course, that was years ago. Soraya did not know if the man had already changed Still, despite his reputation among women, Silas was a brilliant programmer,
Soraya could not help but chuckle at il
at the scene. She truly was happy to see him.
“Silas” she said After dut, the driver landed her the twelve–stalked pink roses. Then, the assista santur flowers. And Silas? He had two dozen in his hands.
When Soraya received all the lowers she could barely hold on to them. There were fou many!
Some of the customers dining at the restaurant beamed at her. Some clapped their hands. “How romanue
gave her twenty–four stalks of the
Thank you Thank you everyone” Silas said, smiling as he unched closer to Soraya. “We a
are not a couple, though, not yet-
this a propenal?“.
You two look so good together”
154PM PP
Chapter 10
His words broke off because Soraya kicked him in the leg
That did not stop him from saying. “But I do love this woman. She is a great friend, co–worker, and the most beautiful woman in Cedar Heights.”
“She is indeed lovely,” the old gentleman seated next to their table said, raising a glass. “Good luck, Mr. Ward.”
Soraya was startled, and obviously. Silas was as well, but she supposed his name was starting to make headlines after he was appointed as CEO. Only Soraya had missed it because she was so focused on trying to fix her family only to fail
Thank you, sir.” Silas acknowledged. He helped Soraya with the flowers and handed them to his assistant. Then, he embraced Soraya tightly, saying. “I’m so glad to see you after all these years. I am even more glad to know that you are finally divorcing that scumbag
husband of yours.”
“You deserved better, Soraya,” he added. “Now, let me hold you longer because I am loving the reaction I’m getting from
your ex-
Soraya’s eyes rounded. She tried to push Silas away, but her friend held her tighter. “Don’t I want him to realize that he is not the only man in this world. I like the way he is looking at us like he is questioning all his decisions in life–DONT TURN,”
I wasn’t planning on looking,” Soraya said.
Later, Soraya and Silas had their early lunch. When they were full, they began to talk business.
Soraya never turned to Calum.
Her priority now was herself, and not him.
“NeuroSenunel has served us well over the past four years,” Silas said. “It’s helped secure not just Aegis Core’s internal systems, but also those of our clients who rely on it. But cybersecurity threats are evolving. Hackers are getting faster, smarter, more aggressive.”
He leaned in, his tone sharper. “We’re starting to see more sophisticated attacks. The old model of static defense is no longer enough. We need a better version of NeuroSentinel.”
“Just last week, one of the companies using NeuroSentinel experienced a breach,” Silas said, his voice light with urgency. “That’s why I flew into the capital myself. I wasn’t going to leave it to the incident response team.”
rogue
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he resumed, “I was the one who traced the anomaly in their traffic logs, isolated the process, and worked with our encryption engineers to patch the vulnerability. Me–the CEO, I was in the war room at 3 a.m. one else understood the system like I did.”
because no
Then, softly yet firmly, he added, “I need you, Soraya. Someone who sees numbers and codes the way others see patterns and faces. Aegis Core Systems needs NeuroSentinel 2.0, and only you can help rebuild it from the inside out.”
Soraya’s eyes gleamed. she stared back at Silas. “I thought you would never ask.”
Silas winked at her. He leaned back and said aloud in a sexy voice, “Why don’t we go to my office and make it happen?“
Soraya frowned. He was twisting the words to make it sound suggestive when, in reality, he was just talking about a work contract! Heaven only knew what people around them were thinking. Even the old man at the next table
sle was smirking!
But that was Sillas
He was always thin
eas something Soraya was already used to
“Did you bring a car Silas asked, and Soraya hummed as confirmation.
Then, give me your car keys. I’ll let iny assistant drive your car, and you can ride with me.” Silas instructed
After taking her car keys, Silas said, “Wait here. I’ll get the car. It would be ungentlemanly of me to let such a beautiful woman walk to
soraya rolled her eyes but Silas ondy samirked,
dujdes Hashing, making
women around them sigh in awe
As Soraya waited, she felt someura burung gaze on her. She wondered why, but she did not bother to turn around and look.
vaya no longer cared.
Chapter 10
Just then, a text from Calum came through: Working on it. You seem too eager. Have you met someone?]
Soraya replied without hesitation: [Yes, I’m very eager to get a divorce. I found a new man.
I trust you’ll process the divorce quickly. I promise not to stand in your way.)
Calum didn’t respond.
Soraya remained indifferent as if Calum wasn’t behind her. But then his voice cut through, low and sharp, “Silas Ward? Not exactly your usual type. Soraya”
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