30 DAYS TO HATE YOU

The crash hit before Aria understood what she was seeing. A sharp crack. A scream. Glass raining from the ceiling like falling stars. Aria froze at the doorway of the ballroom. “No. No. No…” The chandelier lay shattered across the floor. Guests stumbled back. Someone yelled, “Is anyone hurt?” Another voice shouted, “Who planned this? Who’s in charge of this?” Her stomach dropped. This is my event,” she whispered, the words scraping out of her like pain. Her breath caught. Her chest tightened. The world around her seemed to shrink. Everything she had worked for was lying in pieces at her feet. All the long nights. All the stress. All the hope she had pinned to this one job. Gone. Jade rushed to her side, out of breath. “Aria—something’s wrong. The stage is messed up too. The lights aren’t set. The playlist changed. Everything is—Broken... Ruined… Gone... ” She whispered too slowly as she scanned the room. Aria pushed forward, her heels slipping on tiny shards. “Check the staff room. Check the AV team. Check the—” She stopped speaking. Because the room went silent. Because he had arrived. Lysander Vale walked into the hall like a storm wearing a black suit. No emotion on his face. No hesitation in his steps. Just cold control. The board members followed behind him. Aria’s chest tightened. Not him again. Not tonight. His eyes swept the chaos once, then landed on her. They locked hard and sharp. “What happened?” he asked. Not a question. A command. Aria swallowed. “The setup was fine ten minutes ago. Someone tampered with it.” “Someone?” Lysander stepped closer. His voice was low, but everyone heard it. “You were responsible for this event.” He groaned. “I know,” she whispered. Then louder, “I didn’t do this.” “Then who did?” His words cut like ice. “Explain why my announcement night looks like a crime scene. Do you know how important this event is to me?.” “—I’m trying to find out.” “Try faster.” Jade jogged to them. “The tech logs are gone,” she said. “Completely wiped.” Lysander’s jaw flexed. “Wiped?” Aria nodded. “Someone has erased everything.” A murmur rippled through the board. “She’s covering something,” one of them whispered. Lysander didn’t blink. “Aria, what are you covering?” His eyes darkened as he gazed at her. Her throat tightened. “I’m not covering anything. I’m telling you the truth.” A board member stepped forward. “This level of failure doesn’t just happen, how can you be very careless?” Aria felt the sting behind her eyes. “Please—I worked all night. Everything was perfect.” Her eyes were filled with tears as she tried to defend herself. Lysander’s gaze didn’t soften. “Perfect doesn’t fall from the ceiling.” Her breath hitched. Heat rose in her cheeks. Shame. Anger. Fear. “But this isn’t my fault,” she whispered. “Then prove it!” Lysander stormed. Those words slapped the air between them. Her hands shook. Her chest burned. “I will. But I need time.” “You don’t have it,” he said. Another board member pointed at the broken chandelier. “If a guest was standing under that—” “Don’t,” Aria snapped. “Don’t imply I'm reckless." Lysander stepped closer. “Are you saying someone targeted this event?” “Yes,” Aria said. Her voice cracked. “Someone sabotaged it.” His brow lifted slightly. “And why would anyone target you?” “I don’t know,” she said. “But they did.” “Or,” one board member said, “she’s blaming a ghost to avoid responsibility.” Aria’s chest squeezed tight. “That’s not true.” Lysander looked at her for a long moment. Something flickered across his eyes—doubt, confusion, recognition. She couldn’t tell. Jade touched her shoulder. “Aria… the backup files… They’re gone too.” “Gone?” Aria was stunned. “Everything got deleted.” Jade added. Lysander’s voice dropped, agitated. “Convenient.” “Lysander,” Aria whispered his name. “I would never sabotage your event.” Tears filled her eyes but she held them back from flowing. “You’re the only person whose name is on the contract,” he replied. A tight laugh left her in dismay. “So now I did this on purpose?” “I don’t make assumptions,” he said. “I make decisions.” “And what decision are you making about me?” He didn’t answer. That was worse than anything he could have said. Someone from the press lifted a camera. “Miss Wynn! Are you responsible for the accident?” Aria stepped back. “Please—don’t print lies.” But the reporter was already typing. Headlines forming. Her name is attached to failure. Again. Lysander watched her carefully. “You look nervous.” “I’m exhausted,” she said. “And overwhelmed. And terrified that you’ll blame me for something I didn’t do.” His face didn’t change. “Fear doesn’t fix anything.” “And coldness doesn’t help,” she shot back. Something dark flashed in his eyes. Jade pulled Aria’s arm. “We should go. Just for a minute. To think.” But Aria didn’t move. She stared at Lysander. “You remember me, don’t you?” A flicker. Barely there. “I remember your work,” he said carefully. “That’s not what I asked.” He didn’t answer. She felt the humiliation rise again—the same sharp sting from three years ago, when he ruined her career with one calm, cutting comment. The memory tasted like metal. Before she could speak, a security guard rushed up. “Sir, you need to see this.” Lysander stepped away. Aria followed the guard’s gesture. A door backstage hung open. A shadow moved inside. Someone had been there. Someone was still there. Aria’s pulse jumped. “Jade—did anyone go in there?” “No one on our team,” Jade whispered. Lysander’s voice cut through the air. “Everyone stay back.” He approached the door. Slow. Controlled. Calculating. Aria held her breath. A man in a black hoodie slipped out the side exit. Jade gasped. “Who is that?” Aria whispered, “He was near my equipment earlier…” Lysander turned sharply toward her. “And you didn’t mention this?” “There were dozens of staff,” she said. “I—I didn’t know—” Lysander stared at the empty doorway. “Someone was here.” The board members turned restless. “Someone broke in.” “Someone tampered with everything.” “Someone wanted this event ruined.” Aria met Lysander’s eyes. For the first time, he looked unsure. “Why would anyone sabotage my inheritance night?” he asked quietly. Aria’s heart sank. “Maybe they weren’t sabotaging you.” Lysander frowned. “What?” “Maybe they were sabotaging me,” she said. “They did it before.” His eyes sharpened. “Before?” But before she could explain— A staff worker burst into the hall. “Mr. Vale—there’s more!” Everyone turned toward him. “The wires backstage… They weren’t cut. They were switched. On purpose.” The guests in the room gasped and whispered. Lysander’s jaw tightened. Aria’s chest tightened too. Someone wanted this to happen. Someone wanted her blamed. Someone wanted Lysander embarrassed. And someone was still out there. Lysander stared at Aria like he was seeing her for the first time. “This wasn’t an accident.” “No,” she whispered. “It wasn’t.” “And it wasn’t your failure,” he said softly. The words landed like a shock. She didn’t breathe. He looked away quickly, hiding something in his expression. But she saw it—the first crack in the cold man she hated. Before she could speak, another security guard ran toward Lysander. “Sir… you need to come upstairs. Right now.” “Why?” Lysander asked. The guard swallowed. “It’s about your grandfather’s will. There’s been a change.” Aria’s blood chilled. “A change? Tonight?” Lysander turned pale—just for a moment. Then he straightened, mask snapping back on. “Clear the room,” he ordered. He walked away fast. But before disappearing through the glass doors, he looked back at Aria. One second. One silent message. “I’m not done with you yet.” Her hands went cold. The doors shut behind him. Aria exhaled shakily. Jade whispered, “What was that about?” Aria didn’t answer. Because her phone buzzed. One unknown text. No name. Just a single sentence. “You’re next.” Her hands went cold. She looked at the exit where the hooded man escaped. Her heart slammed hard. This wasn’t sabotage. This was a warning.