The Fiancee in Red
1227 Words
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Episode 4: The Fiancée in Red
The next morning, Aurora arrived earlier than usual—7:45 a.m. The office was still quiet, the fluorescent lights barely humming overhead. She liked this version of Wolfe Enterprises: calm, silent, not yet buzzing with tension or secrets.
She sat at her new desk, reviewing Damian’s schedule for the day. Three meetings, a private luncheon with a tech investor, and a video conference with the Singapore branch at 5 p.m. She color-coded each appointment, updated the files, and typed a short memo for Damian.
By 8:25, the elevator pinged.
She looked up, expecting Damian, but the woman who stepped out wasn’t him. She was tall, stunning, with legs that seemed to go on for miles. She wore a body-hugging red dress that screamed money and danger. Her sleek black hair curled at the ends like it belonged in a perfume commercial.
She walked with the kind of confidence Aurora could only dream of, her heels echoing like a war drum across the marble.
“Good morning,” Aurora said, standing.
The woman didn’t smile. “You must be the new girl.”
Aurora blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I’m Clara Monroe,” she said, placing a Hermès purse on Aurora’s desk like it was a throne. “Damian’s fiancée.”
Aurora’s heart skipped. Fiancée?
Clara scanned her slowly from head to toe. “You’re cuter than I expected.”
“I—um, thank you?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t complimenting you. I was measuring the threat.”
Aurora stepped back. “I’m just his assistant.”
“Mmhmm.” Clara’s eyes sparkled, but not kindly. “You know, all his assistants get that look in their eye eventually. That dumb hope. That dreamy, ‘maybe he’ll look at me’ fantasy.”
Aurora’s face flushed. “I’m here to work, Miss Monroe. Nothing else.”
“Keep it that way,” Clara said smoothly. “Because Damian and I… we’re complicated. But we’re permanent.”
Aurora opened her mouth to reply, but just then, the elevator dinged again.
Damian stepped out, suited, sharp, and holding his phone. “Clara.”
She turned, flashing him a perfect smile. “Darling.”
They kissed on the cheek, formally. Cold. Aurora noticed it.
“I wasn’t expecting you today,” Damian said, pocketing his phone.
“I needed to talk,” Clara said. “And I wanted to meet your new assistant. She’s charming.”
Damian glanced at Aurora. “She’s efficient.”
“Mm. Efficiency is sexy,” Clara said with a small smirk.
He didn’t respond. “We’ll talk in my office.”
Clara gave Aurora one last glance. “Have a lovely day, Aurora.”
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Inside the Office
Aurora sat at her desk, but her ears strained toward the glass wall. She couldn’t help it. The door was soundproof, but the tension was thick enough to sense through glass.
Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen.
She stood up to fetch a file, but just as she did, the door opened and Clara strode out, lips pursed. Damian followed, less composed than usual.
“Reschedule my 11 a.m.,” he said flatly, walking back into the office without another glance.
Clara smiled sweetly. “Oh, don’t let me disrupt your day.”
She turned on her heel, heels clicking like warning shots.
Once she was gone, Aurora sat down again, heart racing. What had that been? A power play? A warning?
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Later That Day
By noon, the gossip mill had already started.
“She’s the fiancée? No wonder he’s always cold,” whispered a blonde near the water cooler.
“I heard she only shows up when she’s bored,” murmured another.
“And now there’s a new assistant,” someone giggled. “You know how this goes.”
Aurora kept her head down, working through emails and pretending not to hear. But her name came up too often. Her ears burned.
At 1:00 p.m., Clarissa strolled by with a folder in hand. “You’re officially in the rumor loop,” she said casually.
Aurora sighed. “I didn’t do anything.”
“That’s the problem,” Clarissa said. “You don’t have to do anything. Just being near Damian long enough makes people talk.”
“Great,” Aurora muttered. “Exactly the kind of attention I didn’t want.”
Clarissa sat on the edge of the desk, lowering her voice. “Clara’s dangerous. You should be careful.”
“She seemed… assertive.”
“She’s poison with lipstick. And she’s been engaged to Damian for two years.”
“Do they love each other?”
Clarissa shrugged. “Depends on what you call love. Their relationship is more business deal than romance. But she won’t let him go without a fight.”
Aurora frowned. “So it’s a contract?”
Clarissa stood, adjusting her collar. “You didn’t hear that from me.”
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3:45 p.m. – Private Office
Damian buzzed her through the intercom. “Bring the Anderson file. And shut the door.”
Aurora entered with the file in hand. He was at his desk, eyes shadowed with fatigue.
“Set it there,” he said without looking up.
She obeyed. But instead of leaving, she lingered.
“You okay?” she asked.
He looked up, surprised.
“You don’t usually ask questions.”
“I don’t usually see you lose focus.”
Damian studied her face for a moment, and something inside him shifted. Her concern wasn’t forced. It wasn’t flirtatious. It was… genuine.
“Clara’s complicated,” he said finally. “We were good once. Then we became... convenient.”
Aurora said nothing.
“Everyone thinks I have everything,” Damian continued. “The empire. The suits. The woman. But none of it fits anymore.”
“Why not let her go?” Aurora asked gently.
His eyes darkened. “Because Clara knows things. About my family. About my past. If I push too hard, she could hurt people.”
Aurora stepped closer, unsure why. “You don’t have to live your life out of fear.”
Damian’s lips twisted into a sad smirk. “I don’t fear Clara. I fear what I’ll become if I lose control.”
Their eyes locked.
For a second, nothing moved.
Then he blinked, the mask sliding back on. “You should go.”
Aurora nodded, walking to the door. But before she opened it, he said, “Aurora.”
She turned.
“Thanks for asking.”
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Later That Night
Aurora left the office just after seven, the sky already painted in soft hues of dusk. As she walked down the steps, her phone buzzed. It was a blocked number.
She hesitated, then answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a woman’s voice: low, smooth, dangerous.
“You’re playing a game you don’t understand, Aurora Bennett.”
Her breath caught. “Who is this?”
“Back away from Damian Wolfe… or I’ll make you wish you had.”
The line went dead.
Aurora stood frozen under the streetlamp, heart pounding.
She was no longer just an assistant.
She was a piece in a very dangerous game.
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To Be Continued…
📌 In Episode 5: Aurora receives an anonymous package at work. Clara begins sabotaging her tasks. Damian has to choose between loyalty and truth.
- Writer
