The Marriage Proposal
1069 Words
By ten o'clock on Monday morning, Maya Ellis had already spilled coffee on her blouse, missed two calls from her landlord, and been reminded by her boss that deadlines did not care about personal problems.
It was, in other words, a perfectly normal day.
“Don't tell me you're still working on the manuscript,” Lena Brooks said, dropping a stack of papers onto Maya's desk.
Maya glanced at the pages and sighed.
“I am.”
“You've been working on it since Friday.”
“And?”
“And you're officially married to your job.”
Maya smiled faintly. “At least my job doesn't complain about my cooking.”
Lena laughed.
For the first time that morning, Maya felt herself relax.
Her life had become quieter since her mother's death six months earlier. Sometimes, the silence was comforting. Other times, it felt like the walls of her small apartment were closing in around her.
She had learned not to think too much about the past.
There was nothing waiting for her there except memories.
“Maya?”
She looked up.
Daniel Carter, the editor-in-chief, stood beside her desk.
“There is someone here to see you.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“A man named Alexander Sterling.”
Maya frowned.
The name was familiar.
Everyone in New York knew Alexander Sterling.
Twenty-nine years old. Billionaire. CEO of Sterling Enterprises. His face appeared regularly in business magazines, usually beside words like ruthless, brilliant, and untouchable.
Maya looked toward the reception area.
A tall man in a dark suit stood there.
He didn't look like someone who had come to discuss publishing.
He looked like someone who expected the entire room to make way for him.
Their eyes met.
And something strange happened.
Maya's heart skipped.
Not because she recognized him.
Because for one brief second, she had the unsettling feeling that he recognized her.
Alexander walked toward her.
Daniel stepped aside.
“Maya Ellis?”
“Yes.”
Alexander stopped in front of her.
His expression remained controlled, but his eyes stayed on her face.
“You're exactly the same.”
Maya blinked.
“Excuse me?”
He reached inside his jacket and placed a cream-colored envelope on her desk.
“I came to see you.”
“I gathered that.”
“You should read it.”
Maya stared at the envelope.
There was no company logo.
No explanation.
Just her name written neatly across the front.
She looked back at him.
“What is this?”
“A marriage proposal.”
Silence.
Lena's mouth fell open.
Daniel suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.
Maya slowly looked down at the envelope again.
Then back at Alexander.
“I think you've got the wrong person.”
“I don't.”
“I don't know you.”
Alexander's jaw tightened slightly.
“You don't remember me.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“It is in this case.”
Maya pushed the envelope back toward him.
“Mr. Sterling, whatever this is, I'm not interested.”
He didn't take it.
Instead, he studied her with an expression she couldn't understand.
“You really don't remember?”
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
Maya shook her head.
Alexander looked away for a moment.
When his eyes returned to hers, something had changed in them.
Disappointment.
Not anger.
Not surprise.
Disappointment.
“You were supposed to remember me.”
Maya felt a chill run through her.
“Where did we meet?”
“Five years ago.”
“I was nineteen.”
“I know.”
“And I've never been to your company.”
“I know.”
“Then how exactly did we meet?”
Alexander was silent.
Before he could answer, another voice came from behind him.
“Alexander.”
Maya looked up.
An older man had entered the office.
He was dressed impeccably, his silver hair perfectly combed, his expression stern.
Maya recognized him immediately.
Charles Sterling.
Alexander's father.
The founder and chairman of Sterling Enterprises.
His eyes moved from Alexander to Maya.
The warmth disappeared from his already severe expression.
“So this is her.”
Maya frowned.
Her?
Alexander turned toward his father.
“Father, this isn't the time.”
Charles ignored him.
“Maya Ellis,” he said.
It wasn't a question.
Maya stood.
“How do you know my name?”
Charles looked at her for several seconds.
Then his gaze hardened.
“Because I knew your mother.”
Maya froze.
The mention of Clara made something inside her tighten.
“You knew my mother?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Charles didn't answer.
Alexander stepped between them.
“That's enough.”
Charles looked at his son.
“You were told to stay away from this.”
“And I made my decision.”
“You're making a mistake.”
Maya looked between them.
“What exactly is going on?”
Neither man answered immediately.
Then Alexander turned back to her.
“Five years ago, Maya, you and I were close.”
Her pulse quickened.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
He picked up the envelope and placed it back in front of her.
“You disappeared from my life without an explanation.”
Maya stared at him.
“I never disappeared.”
“You did.”
“I would remember.”
Alexander's expression softened for the first time.
“That is what frightens me.”
Maya couldn't speak.
Alexander stepped away from her desk.
“I'll give you time to think about the proposal.”
“I don't need time.”
“You will.”
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
Without looking back, he said quietly,
“There was a reason you left five years ago.”
Maya's fingers tightened around the envelope.
“What reason?”
Alexander looked over his shoulder.
“I was hoping you would remember before I had to tell you.”
Then he walked out.
Maya remained frozen beside her desk.
Lena slowly approached.
“Maya…”
But Maya wasn't listening.
Her eyes were fixed on the envelope in her hands.
For the first time since her mother's death, she felt something stronger than grief.
She felt fear.
Because Alexander Sterling wasn't behaving like
a stranger.
He was behaving like a man who had lost someone.
And somehow, that someone was her.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD