The Cost Of Your Stolen SapphireChapter 1

The night of the charity gala, I dropped half a million dollars just to see Maddy smile. I didn’t know that while I was signing the paperwork, her "star intern" was busy rerouting the delivery to his own apartment.

Thirty million dollars’ worth of custom-designed jewelry—pieces I had spent years saving for—ended up in the hands of a kid who hadn’t been with the company for more than three months.

When I confronted him in the office, Tyler didn’t argue. He didn’t make excuses. He simply dropped to his knees right there in the middle of the open-plan floor, tears streaming down his face.

"Nate, please," he sobbed, his voice carrying across the silent cubicles. "I was desperate. My family... we’re losing everything. Without this, they’ll be on the streets by the end of the month!"

Maddy stepped out of her glass-walled office, her heels clicking sharply against the polished concrete. She didn't look at the intern with suspicion. She looked at me with pure, unadulterated disgust.

"Honestly, Nate? It’s just money," she snapped, stepping over to Tyler and resting a protective hand on his shoulder. "You were going to give those pieces to me anyway. If I want to give them to him to save his family, what’s it to you? Where is your heart?"

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a cold, razor-sharp whisper. "I’m telling you now: kneel down and apologize to him. Beg for his forgiveness for being so cruel. If you don't, consider our wedding off. I won’t marry a man who values diamonds over human lives."

I looked at the woman I had spent three years worshipping, and for the first time, the fog lifted. The disappointment wasn't a sharp pain; it was a cold, heavy stone settling in my gut.

"Fine," I thought, my gaze drifting to the intern’s smug, hidden smirk. "Let’s see how much 'heart' you have when I take back everything that actually belongs to me."

* * *

The office was a vacuum of judgment. People were whispering behind their hands, their eyes darting between me and the scene on the floor. I could feel the ridicule. I was the "rich CEO" picking on the "poor, noble intern."

A couple of Maddy’s loyalists—people I had hired and promoted—started chiming in from the sidelines.

"Maddy’s right. Tyler’s going through hell. You’ve got millions, Nate. Helping him out wouldn't even dent your bank account."

Maddy caught their supportive glances and offered a small, saintly smile. She looked at me not as her fiancé of three years, but as a villain she was forced to endure.

"See, Nate? Everyone else gets it. Everyone can see how much Tyler is suffering, yet you’re standing there acting like a victim because of some jewelry."

She crossed her arms, her chin tilted up in that defiant way I used to find charming. "Besides, we built this company together. That money is as much mine as it is yours. Consider the jewelry my gift to him."

I didn't beg. I didn't yell. I just stood there, watching her. This wasn't an isolated incident. Ever since Tyler Beck started at Sinclair Media, Maddy had been under some kind of spell. She was obsessed with his "potential," his "tragic backstory," his "raw talent." She was so busy playing the role of his savior that she had forgotten who was actually standing by her side.

On the floor, Tyler’s lips twitched. The fear was gone. He knew he had won. He always won. Maddy had never chosen me over him—not once—since the day they met.

"Mr. Cross," Tyler whimpered, though his eyes were dry now. "I know I messed up. Please... just forgive me. I won't get up until you do."

He shifted his weight slightly, bracing himself to stand the moment Maddy gave the word. This was the routine. He’d play the martyr, Maddy would demand I fix it, and I’d end up apologizing for his mistakes.

But the script was changing today.

"Then stay there," I said, my voice flat. "Stay on your knees for all I care. But if you think an apology is coming, you’re more delusional than she is."

I turned on my heel and walked out, ignoring the gasp that rippled through the room and Maddy’s shriek of my name.

I took the elevator down to the garage and sat in the back of my car. I didn't tell the driver to go anywhere. I just stared at my phone. The auction house had sent me the high-res photos of the items: a vintage pear-cut sapphire ring and a matching necklace.

Maddy and I had a deal years ago. She told me that when I could finally afford those two specific pieces, she’d know I was serious about our future. Back then, I was a scrappy founder with more debt than assets. I had tracked those pieces through three different private collections, waiting for the day I could finally bring them home.

Today was supposed to be the day. The company had gone public, our Series C was closed, and I finally had the liquid capital. I had set everything up at our house—the flowers, the vintage champagne, the life we had promised each other. Everything was ready. Everything except the ring.

When I called the courier and realized they had delivered it to a walk-up in Queens—Tyler’s address—because Maddy had "authorized a change of destination," I felt the world tilt.

I stared at the sapphire in the photo. It was beautiful. Cold. Just like the woman I thought I loved. I sat there until the sun dipped below the city skyline, then finally told the driver to take me home.

The moment I stepped through the front door, the scent of garlic and rosemary hit me. My heart gave a pathetic little flutter. Was she here? Was she cooking? Was this her way of saying she’d realized how insane she was being?

I pushed open the kitchen door.

Maddy was there, wearing her favorite silk apron. But Tyler was behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as they watched something simmering on the stove.

Tyler heard me first. He turned, and there wasn't a hint of embarrassment on his face. He looked at me with the cheerful, welcoming expression of a host greeting a guest.

"Nate! You're back. Come in, come in! Dinner’s almost ready."

He sounded like he owned the place. Like he was the man of the house and I was just a stray that had wandered in.

Maddy glanced over her shoulder. The moment her eyes met mine, the warmth she’d been sharing with Tyler vanished, replaced by a wall of ice.

I looked at them together. They looked like a couple. I looked like the intruder.

I didn't take the slippers Tyler tried to hand me. I didn't step further into the room. I just looked at Maddy and spoke the words that had been rotting in my throat all afternoon.

"Maddy, we’re done. Get your things. Get out."