chapter 2
1511 Words
Aria barely slept.
The broken chandelier replayed in her mind all night.
The reporters.
The whispers.
Lysander’s cold eyes.
By morning, every news site had the same headline:
EVENT PLANNER RUINS VALE GALA
“Who is this man in black?” she thought to herself. “And why is he after my career? What did I do to deserve this?” She curled up and bit her lip as the thoughts ran through her head.
She stared at her phone until her vision blurred.
Jade pushed a cup of coffee toward her. “Drink. You look like death, Aria,” she said gently. “Should we report the hooded man and the warning text to the police?”
Aria didn’t drink. She shook her head. “Not yet,” she said softly. “If we call the police now, it will only make things worse. The news will spread again, and they’ll say I’m trying to cover my mistakes. I can’t survive another headline.”
She continued, “I can’t pay the studio rent. Clients are canceling. Jade… this was my last chance.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jade said.
“No one cares whose fault it is.”
Jade sat beside her. “Did Lysander call?”
Aria laughed without joy. “Lysander Vale? Calling me? He’s probably telling his assistant to destroy what’s left of my career.”
Jade hesitated. “Well… someone did call.”
Aria looked up fast. “Who?”
Before Jade could answer, someone knocked on the studio door.
Three hard knocks echoed through the room, sharp and authoritative.
Jade whispered, “That sounds like security.”
Aria froze. “No. No way.”
Jade approached the door shakily, her hand trembling as she reached for the knob.
Two men in black suits stepped inside.
And behind them—
Lysander Vale.
Aria’s breath caught. “Why are you here?”
Lysander entered like he owned the place. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“You will,” he said.
His tone was calm. Too calm. It scared her more than his anger.
Jade stood. “She’s not alone. If you’re here to accuse her again—”
“I’m not here to accuse her,” he said quietly. “Not anymore.”
Jade blinked. “What?”
Lysander looked at Aria. “We know the wires were switched on purpose. We know someone deleted your files. Someone sabotaged us both.”
Aria swallowed. “So you believe me now?”
“I believe facts,” he said. “And the facts point to an enemy, not incompetence.”
His words were sharp, but they held something else—guilt.
Aria didn’t trust it.
“So what do you want?” she asked.
Lysander took a breath. “I need you.”
Aria’s heart jumped into her throat. “For what?”
Before he could answer, his phone rang—sharp and shrill. He checked the screen, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.
“It’s my mother,” he muttered.
He answered. “Mother, I’m in a meeting.”
Her voice burst through the phone, loud enough for Aria to hear the panic beneath the elegance.
“Lysander, you must listen. Your grandfather has made his decision. If you don’t find a wife immediately—today, Lysander—he will hand the will to the dogs in this family. Do you understand me? The board is already circling. They will tear everything apart.”
Aria stared at him. Lysander closed his eyes for a brief second, stunned, as if the world had tilted beneath him.
“I don’t have time for this,” he groaned under his breath.
“You don’t have time for anything,” his mother snapped. “Find a wife. Now. Or everything your father built will be lost.”
The call ended abruptly.
Lysander lowered the phone slowly. His face looked carved from stone.
Aria swallowed. “Lysander… what was that?”
He looked at her—eyes dark, cornered, desperate—and then he spoke, voice low and controlled.
“That,” he said, “is why I need you.”
“For a marriage,” he added.
Jade choked on her coffee. “A WHAT?”
Aria stared at him. “Is this a joke?”
“No.” Lysander’s voice did not shake. “My grandfather’s will has a requirement. I must marry within thirty days or lose the company.”
Aria blinked. “How is that my problem?”
“Because the board already doubts me after the sabotage,” he said. “They’re looking for any reason to take my power. So he wants me to find a wife who can stand strong with me—someone who can support me and fight through the storms with me. And if I don’t, he’ll hand the will over to the hungry dogs in the family.”
Aria laughed. It sounded broken. “So… your solution is to marry the girl you humiliated?”
Lysander didn’t flinch. “Yes. My time is limited.”
Jade pointed at him. “You have lost your mind.”
Aria shook her head. “No. No way. I’m not marrying you.”
“You would be compensated,” he said.
“No.”
“I would fund your business. Fully.”
Aria paused, and he saw everything in that moment—her hesitation, her fear, her reality.
“Your company is drowning,” he added. “You need support. I need stability. It’s simple.”
“Nothing about this is simple,” she groaned.
Lysander stepped closer, so close she could smell his rich cologne. As she scanned his handsome face, she saw something she never expected on a man like him—fear. Fear of losing something big. His voice softened, not warm, but careful. “Aria… whoever sabotaged the gala is targeting us both. A united front helps us survive the fallout.”
“Why me?” she whispered. “There are a thousand women you could ask.”
His jaw tightened. “Because you won’t fall in love with me. And I won’t fall in love with you. That makes the arrangement clean.”
Her chest stung. “You think I’m incapable of being loved?”
“I think you’re incapable of wanting me,” he said. “And that makes this game fair.”
The words hit her like a slap.
Jade cursed under her breath. “Lysander, what the hell is wrong with you?”
He didn’t look away. “I need practicality. Not romance.”
Aria’s voice trembled. “You ruined my life once.”
“I know.”
“You blamed me for something I didn’t do.”
“I know.”
“You don’t even know how much you cost me.”
He closed his eyes for a brief second. “If I could take that moment back, I would.”
It was the closest thing to an apology she would ever get.
“Please.” He opened his eyes. “Hear the offer.”
Aria stepped back. “I should throw you out.”
“Then why haven’t you?” he asked.
She didn’t answer.
Because she knew the truth—
Her business could not survive this scandal.
Her career was hanging by a thread.
Her savings were gone.
“Think about it,” he said. “Thirty days. A contract marriage. Freedom after. And enough money to rebuild your life.”
Aria whispered, “You think money fixes everything.”
“No,” he said quietly. “But it can fix what I broke.”
Her hands shook.
Jade whispered, “Aria… don’t do this.”
Aria looked at the bills on her desk.
The cancellation emails in her inbox.
Her future slipping through her fingers.
She looked at Lysander.
Thirty days of him.
Thirty days of pretending.
Thirty days of danger.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
Lysander nodded once. “Good. I’ll return tomorrow for your answer.”
He walked out with his guards.
The moment the door shut, Aria collapsed into a chair. Her chest felt tight. Her eyes burned.
“Aria,” Jade whispered, “you can’t marry him.”
“I won’t,” Aria said quickly.
But her voice betrayed her.
Jade saw it. “You’re considering it.”
“No,” Aria said. “I’m… I’m just scared.”
“Of him?”
“Of losing everything.”
Her phone buzzed.
Another unknown text:
“If you marry him, you’ll regret it.”
Aria’s blood turned cold.
She looked at the message.
Then a second one appeared beneath it:
“He won’t survive the next hit. And neither will you.”
Aria dropped the phone.
Jade gasped. “Aria… what does that mean?”
Aria stared at the screen.
Her voice trembled.
“It means… someone doesn’t want me near Lysander.”
And then, softer—
“It means someone is watching.”
- Writer
