Chapter 2: The Man She Chose To Stand Beside
1056 Words
Ethan found out the next morning.
Not from Aurelia. Not from a call. Not even from his own investigation team.
But from a headline.
‘Draxen Group Secures Exclusive Acquisition Deal—Unexpected New Executive Signs’
Ethan barely spared it a glance at first.
He knew that deals like that happened every day until his assistant spoke.
“…Sir, you might want to read the full article.”
Something in her tone made him pause.
Ethan reached for the tablet, irritation already settling in as he skimmed past the numbers, the projections, the usual meaningless praise—
And then he saw it.
A name.
One he had read a thousand times. Signed beside his own. Spoken in quieter moments. Once loved.
Aurelia Virelle.
Aurelia
Virelle.
For a second, nothing registered… then everything did. She’s using her maiden name.
His grip on the tablet tightened, eyes scanning the line again like it might change if he forced it to.
‘Newly appointed strategic partner under Draxen Group—personally endorsed by CEO Lucien Rhys Draxen.’
The room went Cold.
Ethan let out a short, humorless breath.
“No.”
His word wasn’t a denial. It was full of disbelief.
Because Aurelia didn’t work.
She didn’t involve herself in business. She stayed out of corporate politics, out of negotiations, out of everything that made his world sharp and ruthless. That had been his world, not hers.
“Get me everything on this,” Ethan said, voice dropping.
His assistant hesitated. “Sir, it’s already confirmed. The signing happened early this morning.”
Of course it did. It was clean and efficient, just like her exit.
Ethan stood abruptly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor.
“She doesn’t even know how to handle a deal like that,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “This is—what? A stunt?”
But even as he said it, something didn’t sit right.
Because he knew that Aurelia wasn’t impulsive. She didn’t act without thinking, and she certainly didn’t move unless she was sure.
Which meant—
This wasn’t sudden.
This wasn’t emotional.
This was planned.
---
Aurelia stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of Lucien’s office.
The skyline stretched endlessly before her, but she wasn’t looking at it.
Not really.
She was looking at her reflection. The woman who once caged herself to prove her worth to Ethan.
“Regretting it already?”
Lucien’s voice cut smoothly through the silence that stopped her from deep thoughts. Aurelia didn’t turn.
“No.”
A single word, but certain.
Lucien watched her from where he leaned against his desk, arms crossed, eyes sharp with quiet interest.
“Good,” he said. “Because there’s no reversing this.”
“I’m not here to reverse anything.”
That made something flicker in his gaze.
Approval.
Amusement.
Maybe both.
Aurelia finally turned to face him, her expression calm, controlled—the kind that revealed nothing and everything at once.
“You said you needed someone who understands Ethan.”
Lucien tilted his head slightly. “I said I needed someone who could predict him.”
Aurelia stepped closer.
“He’ll go after the deal first,” she said. “Not me.”
Lucien’s lips curved faintly. “And after that?”
Her eyes didn’t waver, “He’ll come for me.”
Her voice has no hint of fear and uncertainty.
Lucien studied her for a moment longer, then pushed himself off the desk, closing the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps.
“Then we should make sure,” he said quietly, “he doesn’t reach you easily.”
Aurelia held his gaze.
“I’m not planning to run.”
That earned her a real smile.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
---
Ethan didn’t call this time.
He went straight to Draxen Tower.
Because some things couldn’t be handled over the phone. Some things needed to be seen.
The moment he stepped into the building, the shift was immediate.
Different energy.
Different power.
Simply because this wasn’t his territory. But that did not stop him from barging in.
“I’m here to see Lucien Rhys Draxen,” Ethan said coldly at the front desk.
The receptionist hesitated, “I’m sorry, do you have an appointment?”
Ethan’s expression darkened. “No.”
“Then I’m afraid—”
“I don’t need one.”
The tension in the air tightened. But before it could escalate, a familiar voice cut in.
“Let him through.”
Ethan froze.
Slowly, he turned, and there she was.
Aurelia.
Standing just a few steps away, as she had always belonged there, but everything about her was different.
The softness—gone.
The quiet hesitation—gone.
Even the way she looked at him—Gone.
Replaced with something steady. Untouchable.
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “You.”
Aurelia didn’t react to the tone.
Didn’t flinch. Didn’t soften.
“Ethan.”
A cold voice reaches him. No warmth. No affection.
Just his name—stripped of everything it used to mean.
His eyes scanned her, instinctively, like he was searching for something familiar to hold onto.
But he didn’t find it. The feeling was so unfamiliar, like he had never known her at all.
“What the hell is this?” he demanded, holding up the tablet like evidence. “You think you can just walk into a deal like this and stand against me?”
Aurelia glanced at it briefly, unimpressed.
“I’m not standing against you.”
She paused,
“I’m standing where I should have been all along.”
The words hit harder than he expected because they weren’t emotional. They were calm. Certain as always but firmer this time.
Ethan stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“This isn’t your world.”
Aurelia met his gaze evenly.
“It never was.”
That flicker of control he’d been holding onto slipped.
“Then why are you here?” he pressed.
Silence formed in between them, then, before Aurelia decided to answer.
“Because you made the mistake of thinking I’d stay where you left me.”
A heavy silence followed.
And behind her—
Lucien Rhys Draxen watched everything unfold. Seemingly Interested.
Like a man observing the beginning of something he had already decided would end in his favor.
- Writer
