Chapter2
1055 Words
NATHANIEL PIERCE
~TESSA’S POV~
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. I could still hear Ethan’s voice echoing in my head.
‘Boss’
I turned to look at the man whose hand I was still holding. He looked calm. Maybe too calm. Like Ethan calling him that wasn't A big deal.
“Wait.” my voice came out hoarse. “Boss”
Ethan’s eyes darted between the two of us, his face a mix of panic and disbelief. “Tessa,” he started, voice low. “You have no idea what you just did.”
No. No, I did not.
The stranger beside me—my supposed fiance— exhaled slowly. As if this was just another minor inconvenience in his day. He finally let go of my hand, taking a step back.
“I take it you two have history,” he mused, tucking his hands into the pockets of his expensive suit.
Ethan swallowed hard. “Sir, I…..”
Sir? Oh, this just keeps getting better. My pulse pounded in my ears. “Who the hell are you?” I demanded.
For the first time, I swear I saw something flash in his stormy gray eyes. Amusement.
“Nathaniel Pierce,” he said smoothly.
The name rattled inside my brain like I should recognize it. And then— “Oh, s**t”
Nathaniel Pierce. Ceo of Pierce Enterprises. ‘The Nathaniel Pierce’
A man so powerful his name alone made Wall Street tremble. A man whose face was rarely caught in the tabloid, but when it was, it was always accompanied by whispers of ruthless business takeover and a fortune so brutal it made Billionaires jealous.
I had just proposed to him. And hell he had said yes.
Ethan looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. His face had gone pale, sweat beading at his temple.
“Sir, this is just a misunderstanding,” he tried to explain, his voice almost pleading. “Tessa is my……”
“If you say girlfriend, I will throw this ring at your face.” My tone was murderous.
Nathaniel’s lips twitched. He was enjoying this. Ethan flinched. “I—Tessa, you don’t understand..”
“What’s there to understand?” I snapped. “You cheated on me. And now, I’m engaged to your boss.”
He was starting to get on my nerves with each word that came out of his mouth.
Ethan paled further.
Nathaniel glanced down at the engagement ring still sitting on his finger, then back at me. “Well, this is certainly an interesting predicament.”
Predicament? ‘PREDICAMENT?’ that's a very calm way to put it.
I turned to him, my stomach twisting into knots. “I…I didn’t mean to… didn’t know who you were!”
His gaze was unreadable. “I gathered as much.”
“Then—then say something! Tell him this was a mistake!” I said without realizing it.
Nathaniel tilted his head slightly. “Was it?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
His lips curved ever so slightly like he was entertained. “You came to me. You put this ring on my finger.” He lifted his hand, watching the light catch the diamond. “You asked, I answered.”
My breath hitched. “I—” He was crazy. More crazy than me who proposed.
“I take engagements seriously, Tessa.” His voice was smooth, but there was an underlying sharpness. “And I don’t particularly enjoy backing out of agreements.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. What the hell was he saying?
Ethan finally found his voice. “Sir, she doesn’t—”
Nathaniel turned to him, the hint of amusement vanishing from his face. “Ethan.”
Ethan immediately shut up.
My stomach dropped. Nathaniel hadn’t raised his voice. He hadn’t threatened. But the way he said Ethan’s name carried an unmistakable weight.
Power. Authority. Fear. Ethan feared him.
And I was suddenly very, very aware that I had just trapped myself up with a man I knew nothing about.
I swallowed. “Nathaniel,”
“Please call me Nathan, after all, you are my fiancee” he interrupted, correcting me with a devilish smile plastered on his lips.
“Right…” I started, my voice weaker than I wanted it to be “This… this isn’t real. We can just—”
“Tell that to the reporters.”
I froze.
“What?”
He leaned his head towards the street behind us. I turned sharply. Oh, s**t.
A few feet away, a couple of photographers were already snapping pictures. A small crowd was forming, people whispering and pointing.
My public proposal had not gone unnoticed.
Nathaniel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And just like that, you’ve given them their Valentine’s Day headline.”
My stomach churned. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.
“Just what have I done” I thought to myself.
Ethan looked just as horrified as I felt. “Sir, you…”
“Save it, Ethan.” Nathaniel’s tone was dismissive. “You and I will have a separate discussion about… your choices.”
Ethan swallowed hard.
Nathaniel turned to me, his expression unreadable again. “Well, fiancée,” he said smoothly. “It looks like you and I need to have a little chat.”
I gaped at him. “Chat? What—”
“I’m assuming you’re free, considering you just left your ex-boyfriend in the dust.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. He wasn’t wrong. Nathaniel stretched his hand towards me. “Shall we?”
I hesitated. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to run, to fix this mistake before it got worse.
But the damage was already done. The cameras were flashing. Ethan was watching, his face twisted in panic.
And in front of me stood Nathaniel Pierce—cold, unreadable, dangerous.
My fiancé. I covered my hand with my mouth as if I were still trying to process the situation.
I exhaled sharply. What the hell have I done? Then, before I could think too hard about it, I placed my hand in his.
Nathaniel’s fingers closed around mine, firm and certain.
“Good girl,” he murmured.
And just like that, my fate was sealed.
- Writer
