Chapter 2
1012 Words
Voss Capital, the name made Elena go silent. The Voss family. Their name had barely been mentioned in the Virelli household for years. Not because the Voss family was insignificant.
“What does Voss Capital have to do with this?”
“They offered a solution.”
Elena looked at her father suspiciously.
“A solution?”
Lorenzo nodded. “They’re willing to buy the company’s debt.”
“That’s not a solution. That’s an acquisition.”
“They don’t call it that.”
“Because they want you to feel better about losing the company.”
Lorenzo sighed.
“Elena.”
“What?”
“There’s one condition.”
Elena’s heart began to beat faster.
“What condition?”
Lorenzo did not answer right away. Then he said, “Adrian Voss wants to marry you.”
Elena stared at her father for several seconds, genuinely unable to process what she had just heard.
“What?”
“Adrian Voss.”
“I know who he is.”
“He made an offer.”
Elena placed the folder back on the desk.
“What kind of offer?”
“He’ll take care of everything. He’ll settle all of Virelli House’s financial problems.”
“And in return?”
Lorenzo fell silent.
Elena already knew the answer before her father said it.
“You marry him.”
Silence filled the room. Then Elena burst into laughter.
“Is this a joke?”
“No.”
“So our family business is on the verge of bankruptcy, and your solution is to marry your daughter off to a man who has never even spoken to me?”
“He’s not just some man.”
“He’s still a stranger.”
“Adrian Voss knows what he wants.”
“And apparently what he wants is me.”
Elena stepped away from the desk, her hands curling into fists at her sides.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Impossible.”
“I looked into it.”
“And?”
“He refused to give me a reason.”
Elena turned back toward him.
“So he wants to marry me, save our family business, and you don’t even know why?”
“He offered a six month contract.”
Elena went still.
“After six months, the marriage can end.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Elena stared at her father for a long moment. Something about this did not make sense. Too many things had fallen into place at exactly the wrong time. Three companies canceled their contracts. Virelli House was about to lose control of its assets. Voss Capital appeared with a solution. And Adrian Voss wanted a marriage.
It was all too neat. As if someone had planned every move long before Elena even realized there was a game being played.
“I want to meet him.”
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow.
“Elena.”
“I’m not agreeing to marry a man I don’t even know just because you told me to.”
“He’s already waiting.”
Elena stopped.
“Where?”
Lorenzo pointed toward the door.
“In the living room.”
Elena stared at her father in disbelief.
“He came here?”
“He said there was no reason to discuss this marriage through intermediaries.”
Elena let out a long breath. If Adrian Voss wanted to speak to her, then he was going to get his answer directly. Elena opened the study door. But before she could step out, her father called her name.
“Elena.”
She stopped but did not turn around.
“Never accept anything from Adrian until you understand what he really wants.”
“You just told me to consider marrying him.”
“I know.”
“And now you’re telling me to be careful around him?”
“Because I’ve known the Voss family longer than you realize.”
There was something in her father’s voice that made Elena decide not to ask any more questions.
She left the room. Her steps carried her toward the living room. The large wooden doors stood open. A man was standing with his back to her near the window. He was dressed in a black suit without a single unnecessary detail. When he heard Elena approach, he turned. For a moment, Elena said nothing.
Adrian Voss looked far too calm for a man who had just come to propose marriage to a woman he had never met. His eyes met hers. And for some reason, it felt as though he already knew exactly what the woman standing before him looked like.
“Mr. Voss.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Elena.”
The way he said her name made something inside her feel strangely unsettled. As if there was something deeply familiar about hearing her name from his lips. As if he had been saying it for far longer than he should have. Elena stopped a few steps away from him.
“We’ve never met.”
“I know.”
“And you know I’m not going to accept this offer without question.”
“I know that too.”
Elena held her breath. Then Adrian said something that immediately put her on even higher alert.
“I never expected you to accept tonight.”
“Good.”
Adrian picked up a black folder from the table and held it out to her.
“But I do expect you to read this.”
Elena did not take it immediately.
“Why?”
Adrian’s expression did not change. For the first time that night, however, something shifted in his eyes. Something Elena could not quite understand.
“Because,” he said quietly, “we’re already eighteen years too late.”
Elena fell silent. She did not know why, but suddenly she had the unsettling feeling that the man standing in front of her was not someone who had just walked into her home. He was someone who had been waiting for her for a very long time.
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