Chapter 3 Gavin's Rage

Emily had managed to leave Colton speechless twice in less than a minute.

"Do you even hear what you're saying right now?" He stared at her in disbelief.

Emily knew her proposal was sudden. He could have almost any woman he wanted. Why would he pick a divorced woman like her?

Still, he was the only person she knew who could go up against Gavin in both power and influence. She needed his help to take Gavin down. More than that, she wanted to cut off any chance Gavin had of changing his mind later.

After spending years acting in movies and TV dramas, she had grown to hate those ridiculous stories where a playboy suddenly changed his ways and won the woman back.

And there was one more thing. She and Colton had already slept together. She owed him.

"I only need one answer. Are you marrying me or not? If you're not interested, I'll ask someone else." Emily was quickly losing patience. She reached for the box to take the couple's rings back, but before she could grab it, Colton caught her wrist.

"Then at least tell me why you picked me." Colton watched her closely, like he was trying to see right through her.

There was still a slight smile on his face, but there was nothing warm about the way he looked at her.

Emily knew if she didn't give him a good reason, he'd think she was playing him.

She had no reason to lie. "Because without you, there's no way I'll be able to keep half of what Gavin gave me. Sooner or later, he'll find a way to take it all back."

She knew exactly what she was good at—and what she wasn't. Gavin was a shark in the business world, ruthless and calculating. She knew showbiz inside and out. She had the looks, the acting chops, and the charm to work any room. But business? That had never been her thing.

Every attempt she'd made to start something of her own had ended badly. Every shop she opened went under. Every industry she tried, she lost money. Somehow, she always lost a fortune.

At one point, she'd even tried moving behind the camera and producing a movie herself. The project had been a complete disaster, and she'd lost everything she'd invested in it. Even her enormous fanbase hadn't been enough to save the film.

So this time, she had learned her lesson. She wasn't going to gamble with that money alone. She needed someone who could help her keep it.

"You know what Gavin's like when money and business are involved. You've been fighting him for years, and even you haven't been able to stay ahead of him for long. What chance do you think I have on my own? But if you marry me, that changes things. I can give you an advantage over him."

Emily looked Colton straight in the eye as she continued, "Gavin isn't stupid. He turned his half of the fortune into property and cash before giving it to me. When it came to the company, he only transferred 12.5% of the shares."

"Only 12.5%?"

"Yeah. He kept 53% for himself, so he still has full control of the company."

With Collins Group's power and reach, giving Emily half his wealth had cost Gavin a fortune. But a man like him could make it all back eventually.

Emily knew that better than anyone. The settlement had hurt Gavin's wallet—but not his foundation.

"He's weaker now than he's been in years. If you've ever wanted a real chance to bring him down, this is it," Emily said. She knew that was the bait Colton couldn't resist.

Sure enough, he finally seemed interested. "I'll think about it."

His reaction confused her. In her last life, when Gavin set her up, Colton stepped in and protected her—no strings attached. Back then, she'd even wondered if she was different to him.

But now? She was no different from anyone else to him.

Maybe she'd gotten the whole thing wrong?

Before Emily could think about it any further, an irritatingly familiar voice carried through the cruise ship restaurant.

"Emily? This is the important date you were talking about this morning? You're here with Mr. Willis?" Kaitlyn had spoken loudly enough to draw attention, and Gavin immediately looked toward their table.

The moment he saw Emily sitting across from Colton, his face turned grim.

Emily rolled her eyes. Silnord was enormous. How the hell had she still managed to run into these two assholes? Her luck really was terrible.

Colton said nothing. He leaned back in his chair and watched, amused—clearly in no hurry to step in.

Getting a reservation at this cruise ship restaurant was ridiculously difficult. Emily had asked Gavin more times than she could count to bring her here, but he'd always claimed he was too busy. Apparently, he wasn't too busy when Kaitlyn asked.

It stung, but Emily swallowed it. She wasn't going to let them see it bother her. She turned back to Colton and kept talking like they'd really been discussing business. "Mr. Willis, I'll think about the endorsement. My agent can go over the rest with your people."

Endorsement? Colton caught on immediately. One corner of his mouth lifted as he played along. "Sounds fair. I'll think about your terms too."

Gavin interrupted before either of them could say more. "You're doing an endorsement for the Willis Group?"

That familiar condescending tone immediately got on Emily's nerves. She looked at him. "Yeah. Why? Is that a problem?"

Gavin's whole presence turned cold.

Even Kaitlyn noticed the change. She bit her lip, looking all hurt. "Emily, you got so mad at Gavin because of what happened between us, and we both felt awful about it. But aren't you and Mr. Willis kind of doing the same thing?"

She deliberately left the rest unsaid and let Gavin draw his own conclusion.

It worked. His gaze turned noticeably colder. "You're unbelievable."

He had always been good at hiding his feelings. In all the years Emily had been with him, she'd never once seen him lose it in public.

A man in his position couldn't afford to show his hand. He'd learned to bury his feelings long ago.

Other people might not have noticed anything unusual, but Emily knew him too well. He was furious.

Gavin hit back fast. Emily had only mentioned the Willis Group endorsement as a cover, but Collins Group made its move—announcing Kaitlyn as the global brand ambassador for Untold Story's ready-to-wear line.

It made no sense. Untold Story's ready-to-wear line had always gone for a mature, sophisticated vibe—nothing like Kaitlyn's sweet, innocent image. And her level of fame? Nowhere near enough for a deal that big.

The announcement blew up online almost immediately.

Anyone who followed celebrity news knew exactly what an endorsement like that could mean, especially when it came out of nowhere.

Kaitlyn's fans were thrilled. Emily's supporters had spent months tearing into them and calling them fans of a homewrecker. Now, they finally had something they could use to fight back.

"Gavin Collins obviously stopped caring about that woman a long time ago, and she's still hanging on to him. When was the last time anyone even saw them together? It's been over a year. They probably got divorced ages ago and just never made it public."

"She tried so hard to get Untold Story and still couldn't land the deal, but now our Kaitlyn is their global brand ambassador. That's actually hilarious. Her career is about to go through the roof."

"Well, I guess we know who Gavin really cares about now. A CEO doing something this public for her? Come on. How much more obvious can he make it?"

Emily found the whole thing hilarious as she scrolled through the trending comments. Her agent, Michelle Brooks, was ready to explode. "Gavin Collins is a real piece of work! Remember when everyone started questioning your commercial value? Those 'fashion pariah' articles were everywhere, and you needed a big endorsement to shut them up. We begged him to let you work with Untold Story, and he still said no. Said your image didn't fit the brand. Said signing you just because you were together would piss off customers. Said business and personal had to stay separate. Bullshit. Then Kaitlyn shows up, and suddenly none of those rules apply."