SEVEN DAYS TO SAY FOREVER

Chapter 5: The Message

The private jet touched down on the snow-slicked tarmac of Aspen, the tires screeching against the ice before taxiing toward a line of waiting black luxury SUVs. The crisp, thin mountain air hit my face the moment the cabin doors opened, instantly snapping me out of the shock of that anonymous photograph.

Axel didn't let go of my hand for a single second. As we slid into the heated leather interior of the vehicle, he took my phone, zooming in on the mysterious brunette pressed against Dominic in the picture. His jaw was clenched so tightly a small muscle pulsed near his ear.

"We play this incredibly smart, Hazel," Axel murmured, his gray eyes locking onto mine as the SUV began its steep climb up the winding mountain roads toward Chateau Reed. “That woman isn’t random. I’ve seen her before.”

My breath caught. "Who is she?"

Axel studies the picture. “Someone who shouldn’t be anywhere near Dominic Reed.”

“Meaning?”

Axel looks away. “I’ll explain later.”

Twenty minutes later, the SUV pulled up to a massive, multi-million dollar glass and timber chalet nestled against the snow-covered pine trees. Chateau Reed looked like a fortress of pure opulence. The driveway was packed with high-end sports cars, and the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows revealed a crowded room full of high-society guests sipping champagne.

The second we walked through the grand double doors, the heavy chatter in the room completely died down.

"Hazel! Oh my goodness, look who actually made it!" My mother’s high-pitched voice echoed across the foyer. She rushed over, wrapped in a plush fur shawl, her eyes immediately bypassing my face to analyze Axel. Her mouth fell open in an instant, unpolished gasp. "And you must be... Axel Blackwell. The billionaire."

"A pleasure, Mrs. Westbrook," Axel said smoothly, stepping forward to shake my stepdad’s hand while keeping his arm securely wrapped around my waist. The heat of his body was the only thing anchoring me as the entire room stared, whispering frantically.

Clara and Dominic stepped out from the main parlor, holding matching crystal flutes of champagne. Clara’s perfect smile looked completely strained, her eyes darting from the blinding diamond on my finger to Axel's impeccably tailored suit. Dominic, however, was staring directly at me, his eyes dark, heavy, and full of an intense, toxic possessiveness that made my skin crawl.

"Welcome to our home," Clara said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I'm so glad Axel’s... little schedule cleared up enough to join the main family. Let me show you to your quarters. I personally arranged the room assignments to ensure everyone was completely comfortable."

I felt a sudden prickle of anxiety at the back of my neck. Axel tightened his grip on my hip, pulling me closer against his side as we followed Clara up the grand winding staircase, away from the staring guests.

Clara stopped at the very end of the long, east-wing hallway, throwing open a heavy oak door. The room inside was beautiful, featuring a massive stone fireplace, a private balcony overlooking the snowy valley, and—

My heart stopped dead in my chest.

One bed. A single, king-sized bed adorned with white silk sheets and a mountain of plush pillows.

"Oh, I hope this is alright," Clara purred, spinning around to face us with a look of pure, calculated malice in her eyes. "Since you two are *so* passionately in love and rushing to the altar, I figured you wouldn't mind sharing the master suite. The rest of the mansion is completely booked out by Dominic's extended family. There isn't a single extra cot available in the entire valley. You don't mind, right Axel?"

She was testing us. She wanted to see if we would panic, or demand separate rooms, proving that our whirlwind engagement was a complete fraud.

Before I could even open my mouth to stutter out an excuse, Axel let out a low, deeply amused chuckle. He stepped past Clara, tossing his heavy black overcoat onto a nearby armchair.

"Mind?" Axel echoed, turning back to face her with a devastatingly charming grin. He walked right back over to me, his hands sliding up to frame my face, his thumbs gently brushing over my cheekbones in a way that made my pulse instantly skyrocket. "Clara, I practically had to bribe your sister just to let me sleep in the same timezone as her back in the city. Sharing a bed with my future wife is exactly what I was looking forward to this week."

He leaned down, his gray eyes darkening with a heavy, intense heat that felt entirely too real. Right in front of my stepsister, Axel pressed his lips against mine.

It wasn't a fake, polite peck. It was a slow, deeply possessive, lingering kiss that tasted like dark chocolate and winter air. My fingers instinctively gripped the fabric of his vest, my head spinning from a sudden, violent wave of vertigo that had absolutely nothing to do with my medical condition.

It wasn’t the intensity of the kiss that frightened me; it was the terrifyingly small part of my heart that wished it hadn't ended.

When he finally pulled back, his breathing was slightly uneven, his eyes locked onto my mouth. "Right, love?"

"R-Right," I breathed out, my voice completely breathless as I tried to regain my footing.

Clara’s hands tightened around her champagne flute so hard I thought the glass would shatter. Her face turned a brilliant shade of furious red. "Wonderful," she snapped, her sugary voice completely vanishing. "Dinner is at eight. Formal attire. Don't be late."

She slammed the heavy oak door behind her, leaving us completely alone in the massive suite.

The moment the lock clicked, I stumbled backward, dropping onto the edge of the silk mattress. "Axel... what the hell was that?"

Axel didn't answer immediately. He walked over to the stone fireplace, tapping the smart-home panel to ignite the logs, his back turned to me. "We had an audience, Hazel. If I didn't make that look completely undeniable, she would have called the papers by dinner time."

"But the bed..." I whispered, looking at the single mattress. "We have to sleep together? For a whole week?"

Axel turned around, a slow, wicked smirk playing on his lips as he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his dress shirt. "Don't worry, Sterling. I don't bite unless I'm provoked. You take the left side, I'll take the right. We are business partners executing a contract, remember?"

I swallowed hard, the memory of his lips still burning against mine. This was getting dangerous. The boundaries of our friendship were melting faster than the snow outside.

I reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone to review the anonymous photograph one more time, trying to force my mind back onto the mission. But the moment the screen lit up, a brand-new notification banner popped across the top.

It wasn't an email. It was a direct text message sent to my private number from an untraceable, encrypted number.

I tapped it open, my breath catching as my eyes scanned the words.

*“Enjoy the master suite, Hazel. Since you’re sharing everything now, maybe ask your fiancé why Sterling Design Group has been sitting on Blackwell Capital’s internal corporate acquisition watchlist for six months. He didn’t come to Aspen because you’re his best friend.”*

My head snapped up, the room spinning violently as the text planted a dark, chilling seed of doubt in my mind. I stared across the room at the man standing by the fire—the man who had just kissed me like I was his entire world.