Billionaires At War

CHAPTER I

Cassandra stretched out from underneath her sheets, pushing them off her body as she pulled herself up straight against the headboard. The young girl whispered apologetically at the noise she made, not that it was what woke her up, but she didn't have the voice to say so. She just watched quietly, her cheek resting against her knee. Her morning tray sat on her side table, the fresh smell of tea wafting through the air.

She shuffled to her balcony, wrapping her arm around her waist, looking over her home in silence. The colours of dawn, a brilliant yellow and underlying orange, was slowly fading as the blues of the sky become more prominent. Cassandra sucked in a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of the rising sun on her face. She waved at some of the gardeners who noticed her, and they smiled back in greeting before falling back into their work.

Nothing had changed since she left Santa Montes a month ago, but things didn't feel the same. Her biggest competitor died a few weeks after she left. A stroke, she heard it was. His son, a man she heard of only a handful of times, had flown back into the city to take over the business she intended to buy. The long-planned redecoration finally hit its peak, and she returned to a completely refurbished house. Her mom had gone on a trip herself, so Cassandra was all alone in her home.

The changes weren't wildly life-changing, but with the life she led, it was impactful.

Cassandra leaned against the rails, dropping her head down in thought. Another thing that changed was her morning routine. They were so different in the past. There was a time, not too long ago, she woke up to a short message from her fiancé. He would wish her a good day or compliment her simply to brighten the start of her day. She used to wake up in the mornings to slip an engagement ring on her finger. It had become so much of a habit that she couldn't even remember how she stopped doing it.

Cassandra sighed, massaging the back of her neck unconsciously. She turned away from the balcony to begin her day. She was never very comfortable with vacation days or stepping out of the office for long periods. After one month away, she was more than ready to get back to the heat of things.

"Morning Miss Hernández." Her chauffeur smiled, hurrying ahead of her to hold the door open as she climbed into the back seat. The door slammed, the engine revved, and they were on their way.

The skies overhead were fully awake now as dawn had faded away, the sun rising fully over the sky. Santa Montes was a city filled with skyscrapers of different sizes and shapes, it was one of the many things that made the drive to work enthralling. The tall buildings with windows reflecting the bright sun and the light blue of the sky above them. As her car rolled through the streets, she listened to the busy day unfold, the honking of cars cruising through the tight roads, the low hum of voices from the people conversing on the sidewalk.

She had lived in Santa Montes all her life, so there was no street she didn't know and no business she wasn't aware of. She grew up admiring the tall buildings, wondering if she would ever make it up there as her father had. In the end, she made it up there but fell short in other areas of her dreams.

She exhaled noiselessly and looked up from her fingers. She unintentionally traced the shape of her ring finger as she looked out the window. It had taken a few weeks for the ring's imprint to fade away, but the mark on her heart from that day didn't.

Her lips pursed as she shook her fingers out, she was changing things, memories included.

The door clicked, her head snapped around as her chauffer pulled the door open for her to step out. She took the hand he offered, muttering her thanks distractedly while she reached for her purse.

Placer De Cuerpo had been her pride and joy for eight years. It hadn't always been successful, especially when she started, reluctant to have any sort of aid from her father. It wasn't as a form of rebellion but for the joy of relying on her strengths to get to where she wanted. Her parents had been proud of her, their pride built her ladder which, she consistently climbed until she was at the top of not only the tall buildings she admired as a child but the business as well.