Claimed By The Man I Betrayed

The last man Aria Laurent expected to see that morning was the one whose heart she had broken five years ago. Unfortunately, Alexander Kane was standing less than twenty feet away. And he had just looked up. For one terrible second, Aria forgot how to breathe. Alexander stood in the middle of the Kane Enterprises lobby, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. Three executives surrounded him, listening as he spoke into his phone. He looked powerful, composed, and completely untouchable. He also looked nothing like the young man who had once promised to love her forever. Five years had changed him. Or perhaps losing her has. Aria tightened her grip on the folder pressed against her chest and silently begged him not to recognize her. Please, Alexander. Just this once, don't look at me. But his gaze moved across the lobby and stopped directly on her. His expression changed. Only slightly. A tightening of his jaw. A brief stillness in his shoulders. A coldness entering eyes that had once softened whenever he looked at her. He remembered. Of course, he remembered. "Miss Laurent?" The receptionist's voice nearly made Aria jump. "Your interview is scheduled for 9:30. You can take the elevator to the thirty-second floor." Aria swallowed. "Thank you." She turned toward the elevators, hoping to escape before Alexander could approach her. "Aria." His voice struck her harder than she expected. She stopped. Slowly, she turned around. Alexander had ended his call. The executives beside him were watching with poorly concealed curiosity, but he seemed oblivious to them. His attention belonged entirely to her. "Alexander," she managed. His eyes moved over her face as if searching for something he had once known by heart. "Five years," he said. It wasn't a question. Aria's fingers tightened around her folder. "Yes." "That's how long it's been." "I know." A humorless smile touched his mouth. "Good. At least one of us remembers." The words stung, but she had no right to complain. She was the one who had left. She was the one who had disappeared. And she was the one who had allowed him to believe she had stopped loving him. "I'm here for an interview," she said, forcing herself to sound calm. "I can see that." "I didn't know you worked here." One of his eyebrows lifted. "Worked here?" She immediately regretted the words. Kane Enterprises wasn't some ordinary company. Alexander wasn't an employee who happened to occupy an office. He was its chief executive officer, the man whose decisions moved millions of dollars and whose name appeared on the city's tallest buildings. "I mean, I didn't know you were going to be here today," she corrected. "Does it matter?" "No." "Then we're making progress." His voice was smooth, but there was nothing gentle about it. Aria lowered her gaze. "I should go upstairs." "Why?" "Because I have an interview." "With whom?" "The executive recruitment team." Alexander glanced at the folder in her hands. "What's the position?" "Executive communications assistant." "And you thought you'd be working for someone else?" She looked up sharply. "I applied for a job, Alexander. I didn't come here looking for you." For the first time, something resembling genuine anger crossed his face. "That's interesting." "Why?" "Because five years ago, you were very good at making me believe things that weren't true." Aria felt the words like a blade between her ribs. She wanted to defend herself. She wanted to tell him that she had never stopped loving him, that leaving him had cost her more than he could imagine, and that every day since had been a punishment she had chosen willingly. But the truth had never been as simple as she wished. And she had learned what silence could cost. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Alexander stared at her. "Don't." She blinked. "Don't apologize to me unless you're prepared to explain what you're apologizing for." She couldn't answer. His expression hardened. "That's what I thought." He turned toward the executives. "Give us a moment." They immediately stepped away. Aria's heart began to pound. "Alexander, please. I don't want to cause a scene." "Then don't." He looked at her again. "Why are you here, Aria?" "Because I need a job." "You're telling me that after five years, you walked into my company because you need a job?" "Yes." "And you expect me to believe that?" She held his gaze, though it took everything she had. "I don't expect anything from you." For a moment, neither spoke. Then Alexander stepped closer. She caught the familiar scent of his cologne, and an unwanted memory flashed through her mind: his arms around her waist, his lips against her forehead, his quiet promise that nothing in the world would ever separate them. Aria forced the memory away. That girl was gone. She had made sure of it. "Your interview is canceled," Alexander said. Her stomach dropped. "I understand." She turned toward the elevators. "Where are you going?" She looked back. "You just canceled my interview." "I canceled your interview with the recruitment team." He slipped one hand into his pocket. "You're interviewing with me now." Aria stared at him. "Why?" His smile was cold. "Because I want to know what brings you back into my life." "This is a job interview, not your personal investigation." "Then you have nothing to worry about." She knew that look. Alexander had always been stubborn, but the man standing before her had turned stubbornness into something sharper. He wasn't going to let her walk away without answers. Not this time. "Nine thirty," he said, checking his watch. "Thirty-second floor. Don't be late." Then he turned and walked away. Aria remained frozen in the lobby. She had come here because she needed work. Because the last year had stripped away the security she once took for granted. Because she needed a chance to rebuild her life without asking anyone for help. She had not come here to reopen the worst wound of her past. Yet in less than five minutes, Alexander had managed to do exactly that. Her phone vibrated. Aria glanced down, expecting another reminder about her interview. Instead, she saw a message from an unknown number. You should have stayed away from him. The color drained from her face. She read it again. Then a second message appeared. Five years isn't enough to make you forget the rules. Her fingers went numb around the phone. For a moment, the lobby seemed to tilt beneath her feet. No. It shouldn't be happening again. She looked toward the glass entrance, searching for the people passing outside. A man in a gray coat stood across the street, his face partly hidden behind a newspaper. He lowered it. Their eyes met. Then he turned and disappeared into the crowd. Aria's heart hammered against her ribs. She had spent five years believing the past was behind her. Five years convincing herself that leaving Alexander had been enough. But someone knew she had returned. And whoever it was had been waiting. The elevator chimed. Aria stepped inside, her phone clutched in one trembling hand. As the doors began to close, she caught a final glimpse of Alexander across the lobby. He was watching her. His expression was unreadable. Then the doors shut, trapping her reflection inside the elevator. She looked pale. Frightened. Almost like the woman she had been five years ago. Her phone vibrated once more. This time, the message was only six words. If you love him, leave now. Aria stared at the screen. The elevator continued rising toward the thirty-second floor. And for the first time since returning to New York, she wondered whether getting the job might be the most dangerous mistake she had ever made.