UTOPIA

Strings of Gold

Michel’s POV

I hated the sound of her name already.

Mira Austin. The girl I hadn’t met, but the one my father kept throwing in my face like she was the solution to everything. A merger. A future. A wife.

I didn’t need a wife. I needed control. I needed to forget Celine and every scar she carved into me. But fathers don’t ask sons what they want. They dictate.

“You’ll marry her,” my father had said at breakfast, his voice as cold as the coffee in his hand. “The Austins are powerful, and this alliance will make us stronger.”

I clenched my jaw, staring at the skyline beyond our glass walls. Stronger for him, maybe. For me, it was another prison.

I thought of Celine—her voice, her betrayal, the way she had looked at me like I was the fool. That wound still burned. And now, I was supposed to chain myself to another girl?

I poured whiskey even though it was barely noon. Mira Austin. What did she look like? Spoiled, probably. Another rich man’s daughter with nothing to offer but her father’s name.

I didn’t care. I wouldn’t love her. I couldn’t.

Love was a luxury I had buried with Celine.

This marriage would be nothing but business. And I’d make sure she understood that.

Mira’s POV

“What’s next, Dad?” I asked, twirling my straw like I wasn’t seconds from exploding. “Is my husband in high school too?”

Silence. Just a beat, but long enough to make my heart pound.

Then his voice came, steady and cold.

“No.”

I blinked. “No?”

“You won’t be marrying a boy, Mira. Your fiancé is older, established. He’s preparing to take over his father’s empire. Aligning with the Reynolds family is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You should be honored.”

“Honored?” I almost laughed. “To be handed off to a stranger like I’m—what? A piece of jewelry you can pawn off for profit?”

“Mira.” His voice sharpened, carrying the weight that had silenced men twice his size. “Enough. The Austins don’t whine, they build legacies. Your marriage to Mr. Reynolds is already in motion. The contract will be finalized soon.”

My grip tightened around the phone until my knuckles whitened. “So that’s it? I don’t even get a say?”

“You’ve had your say,” he replied. “This conversation is over. Pack your emotions away and learn to behave like an Austin.”

Click. The line went dead.

I sat there, staring at the blank screen, pulse pounding in my ears. Around me, the cafeteria carried on—students laughing, arguing, gossiping like their biggest problem was who sat with who. Meanwhile, my future had just been signed away.

Adrian’s voice cut into the storm in my head. “Future wife, huh?” His grin was annoyingly bright. “I’m starting to think destiny agrees with me.”

I forced a smile, standing with my tray before he could see the cracks in me. “Dream on, Adrian.”

But as I walked away, the name echoed in my chest like a curse.

Mr. Reynolds.

Whoever he was, he was already waiting.