Behind The Mask

Chapter 5: The Beautiful Lie

POV: Fiona

My hand hovered over the cold brass doorknob. My heart was slamming against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack them.

"Sit down," Maxwell Jordan said. His voice wasn't loud, but it filled the massive office.

I looked at the man sitting behind the giant desk. He was the monster who had grabbed me at the club. He was the reason I had been fired, the reason I had spent the last three weeks eating nothing but cheap noodles, terrified of losing my small apartment.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" I asked, my voice trembling. I looked down at my resume scattered across his expensive carpet. "Did you bring me all the way up here just to humiliate me again?"

Maxwell let out a long, heavy sigh and rubbed his face with his hands, looking incredibly guilty.

"No, Fiona," he said softly. He stood up from his chair and slowly walked around the desk. He stopped a few feet away from me, keeping a respectful distance. "I brought you here to apologize."

I blinked, completely stunned. "What?"

"I was a drunken, arrogant fool that night at the club," Maxwell said, looking directly into my eyes. His dark eyes looked warm and deeply regretful. "I crossed a line. You had every right to slap me. In fact, I deserved much worse. But what my ego did afterward, getting you fired, was unforgivable."

I stood frozen. I didn't know what to say. I had spent weeks hating this man, imagining him as a heartless villain. But right now, he just looked like a man who realized he had made a terrible mistake.

"I tried to find you," Maxwell continued, his voice smooth and gentle. "When I sobered up and realized what I had ruined, I wanted to make it right. My team found out about your father’s medical debts. They told me you were struggling. So, I created this job opening. I want you to be my personal executive assistant. The salary will be enough to clear your debts by the end of the month."

He reached out and gently picked up my scattered papers from the floor, handing them back to me.

"Please, Fiona," he said softly. "Let me fix what I broke. Take the job."

I looked at him. I looked at the massive office, the beautiful view of the city, and then down at my worn-out shoes. I was two days away from being homeless. I was hungry, tired, and completely broken. I didn't have the luxury of pride anymore.

"Okay," I whispered, holding the papers tightly against my chest. "I'll take it."

Maxwell smiled. It was a small, handsome smile that actually made his eyes crinkle at the corners. "Thank you. I promise, you won't regret it."

Six Months Later.

If someone had told me that the arrogant billionaire from the club would become my best friend, I would have called them crazy. But over the next six months, Maxwell Jordan completely tore down every single wall I had built.

He was wonderful.

Working for him was a dream. He never raised his voice at me. He respected my opinions during meetings. When I worked late, he would order my favorite takeout and sit with me at my desk, talking to me not like a boss, but like an equal.

One rainy evening, I was sitting at my desk, organizing some files. I sneezed quietly. Five minutes later, Maxwell walked out of his office holding a warm cup of tea. He placed it gently on my desk.

"You need to take better care of yourself, Fiona," he murmured, his fingers lightly brushing against mine as he set the cup down. A warm spark shot up my arm at his touch.

"Thank you, Maxwell," I said, blushing slightly.

He pulled up a chair and sat next to me. "Tell me more about your father," he asked softly.

And I did. I told him how much I missed my dad. I cried, and Maxwell just sat there, listening patiently, handing me tissues. He looked at me with such deep, caring eyes. He made me feel safe. He made me feel seen. For a girl who had been alone in the world for so long, his attention was like a warm blanket on a freezing night.

Slowly, without even realizing it, I fell completely, hopelessly in love with him.

I loved the way he laughed at my terrible jokes. I loved the way he remembered my coffee order.

Something shocking happened on a Friday night.

Maxwell had asked me to stay late to help him review a contract. But when I walked into his massive office, there were no files on the desk. Instead, the lights were dimmed. Soft music was playing in the background, and a table for two was set up by the floor-to-ceiling windows, complete with candles and an expensive dinner.

"Maxwell?" I asked, my heart doing a nervous flip. "What is all this?"

He walked toward me, looking breathtaking in a tailored black suit. He took my hand, his thumb gently rubbing my knuckles.

"Fiona," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "These past six months have been the best of my life. You came into my world and completely changed it. You're strong, you're brilliant, and you're the most beautiful woman I have ever known."

Tears pricked my eyes. I couldn't believe this was happening. It felt like a fairy tale.

He slowly lowered himself down onto one knee right there on the plush carpet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He flipped it open, revealing a stunning, glittering diamond ring.

"I don't want to be just your boss anymore," Maxwell said softly, looking up at me with those dark, mesmerizing eyes. "I want to take care of you forever. Fiona Caldwell, will you marry me?"

A happy sob ripped from my throat. I covered my mouth with my free hand, tears of pure joy streaming down my face. All the pain, all the struggles, all the loneliness, it had all led me to this perfect moment.

"Yes," I cried, nodding my head eagerly. "Yes, Maxwell, I will marry you."

He smiled, standing up and slipping the cold, heavy diamond onto my finger. He pulled me into a tight hug. He pressed a soft kiss to the side of my head.

"I have to use the restroom," I whispered, wiping my happy tears. "I look like a mess. Give me one second."

"Take your time, my beautiful fiancée," he said warmly.

I floated out of his office. I walked down the quiet, empty hallway to the executive bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face, looking at the diamond on my finger. It caught the light, sparkling brightly. I was going to be a wife. I was going to have a family again.

After a few minutes, I dried my face and walked back down the hallway toward his office.

The heavy oak doors were slightly cracked open. I reached out to push them wide, a huge smile on my face, ready to run back into his arms.

But my hand froze in mid-air.

Maxwell was speaking on his cell phone. And his voice... it was completely different.

His tone was as cold and sharp as a knife. It was the exact same voice he had used that night at the club when he told the manager to throw me out.

"It's done, Arthur," Maxwell said coldly into the phone. I can finally get my inheritance.

I stood frozen outside the door, my heart dropping into my stomach. He was talking to his grandfather. And I wondered what inheritance he was talking about.

"Yes, she said yes," Maxwell continued. "I gave her the ring ten minutes ago. She was crying like a baby. It was almost pathetic how easy it was."

My breath hitched. Pathetic? "No, of course I don't love her," Maxwell laughed, a harsh, cruel sound that made my blood run cold. "Do you expect me to love such person? She’s a broke, naive waitress. She’s nothing."

I pressed my hand hard over my mouth to stop the sob from escaping. My chest felt like it was being ripped open with a jagged saw.

"Arthur," Maxwell snapped into the phone. "You told me to find a wife so I could secure my inheritance and take over the company. Well, I found one. She has no family to interfere, no money to demand, and she is blindly devoted to me. I bought her father's debt, I played the nice guy, and she fell right into the trap."

I leaned against the cold wall, my legs shaking so badly I thought I might collapse.

It was all a trap. He had hired me to use me. Every coffee, every gentle touch, every time he listened to me cry about my father... It was all an act. He had broken my life into pieces just so he could put it back together and own me.

"I'll marry her," Maxwell said coldly. "But not sure of a happy home. The moment I have the inheritance, she gets a guest room and a credit card, and I get my life back."

He hung up the phone.

I looked down at the massive diamond on my finger. It didn't look beautiful anymore. It looked like a shiny, expensive chain.

I wanted to run into the room and scream at him. I wanted to throw the ring directly at his face and run out of the building forever.

But then, a terrifying reality crashed down on me.

I couldn't run. I had signed an employment contract. He legally owned the apartment I had just moved into. He had paid off my father’s debts, meaning I now owed him everything. If I walked away now, he could ruin me all over again. He could put me out on the street with absolutely nothing.

He had trapped me flawlessly.

I slowly lowered my hand from my mouth. The tears on my face dried instantly, replaced by a cold, sickening shock.

I took a deep, shaky breath, smoothing down my skirt. I forced a fake, trembling smile onto my face.

I pushed the door open and walked back into the office.