VOWS OF ASHES

Selene Langford didn’t believe in fate. Not anymore. Not since the day the soil closed over her father’s coffin and the whispers of betrayal buried her family alongside him. But tonight, fate had a face. Cassian Ward. The name alone could silence a room. Billionaire CEO. Ruthless. The man who rose from the ashes of his ruined family to build a tech empire and who never forgot the name of the man who destroyed him: Langford. Selene’s father. He sat across from her in a private suite high above Manhattan, framed by glass walls and city lights, as if he owned not just the skyline but the stars themselves. He wore his power like a second skin: a tailored black suit, silver cufflinks, not a strand of hair out of place. There was no warmth in his eyes, only precision. "This is the contract," he said, sliding a cream folder across the polished table. "Review it. I expect your signature before the night ends." Selene didn’t touch it. Her fingers curled around the armrest instead. "You’re asking me to marry you," she said slowly, "for twelve months." "I’m not asking," Cassian replied. "It’s a transaction. You’ll be my wife in the public eye. In return, your family’s remaining debts will be cleared, the Langford estate preserved, and your brother’s medical trust reinstated." Her throat tightened. Elias. The only piece of her family she had left. The reason she hadn’t collapsed when everything else had. She lifted her chin. "You could’ve chosen any heiress desperate for a title." "I didn’t want just anyone," Cassian said, his voice calm, clipped. "I wanted you." The words landed like ice. "Is that supposed to be flattering?" "No," he said. "It’s strategic." Selene leaned forward, her voice low. "You think I don’t see what this is? You’re not offering salvation. You’re offering a sentence." His eyes flicked to her mouth, then back up. "I don’t offer salvation, Selene. Only terms." She finally opened the folder. The pages were written in cold legalese: allowances, confidentiality, and public appearances. At the bottom, her name was already typed in. Spouse A: Cassian Ward Spouse B: Selene Langford Her name didn’t belong next to his. Not anymore. Especially not after what her father had done. Her gaze rose. "You hated him." Cassian didn’t flinch. "He ruined my family." "He’s dead." "And yet you’re still paying for his sins." The bitterness in his voice was buried beneath control, but she caught it just like she caught the flicker in his eyes when he looked at her: not affection, not even desire. Something darker. "This is revenge," she whispered. Cassian stood, moving to the window, staring down at the glittering city. "It’s justice. The kind I was never given." Selene rose too, heart pounding. "And marrying me accomplishes what, exactly?" His voice was ice. "It gives me the final word." There was silence, thick and dangerous. Then he turned to face her. "You’ll smile beside me, wear the ring, attend the galas. We’ll be the perfect couple on paper. But behind closed doors, there will be no illusions. No affection. No history. Just terms." Her lips parted. "So you expect me to become your puppet for a year." His gaze flicked to her again, and something unreadable passed between them. "You always did know how to play a role, Selene." That stung more than it should have. Because once, she’d loved him. Foolishly. Recklessly. Before everything had turned to ash. She folded her arms. "What aren’t you telling me?" Cassian’s expression didn’t change, but the air shifted. Just enough. "There’s something more to this deal," she said. "You wouldn’t go this far just to humiliate me." "I already told you," he replied. "I needed a wife the press wouldn’t question." "You mean someone you could control," she said. "Someone who won’t fall in love with you." His mouth curved, but it wasn’t a smile. "Because I won’t fall for you." The words hit her harder than she expected. Still, she stepped forward, lifting the pen from the table. "Fine. I’ll sign. But on one condition." Cassian raised a brow. "You don’t use me as a public pawn. If this is some twisted final blow for what my father did—" "He’s already gone," Cassian interrupted, voice lower now. "This is about you." Selene didn’t blink. "Then I want protection in writing. You humiliate me; I walk. No press, no scandal. I disappear, and you lose the Langford name." His jaw flexed. "Deal." She signed. Her signature flowed with mechanical grace, but inside, her stomach twisted. As she handed him the folder, a soft knock broke the silence. The door opened. Vivienne Grant stepped in: crisp blazer, blood-red lipstick, and an expression as sharp as her heels. Cassian’s legal counsel. His ex-lover. And still part of his inner circle. "There’s a problem," Vivienne said coolly, glancing at Selene without hiding the disdain in her eyes. "The press is downstairs. Someone leaked the engagement." Cassian’s eyes darkened. "Who?" Vivienne’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Does it matter?" Selene straightened. "I didn’t leak anything." Vivienne stepped forward. "Let’s hope the media believes that." The tension snapped like a wire between them. Selene turned toward Cassian, but he said nothing. Didn’t defend her. Didn’t question Vivienne, either. Just silence. Selene’s chest tightened. "Is this part of it, too? Humiliation by design?" Cassian’s voice was unreadable. "The world moves fast. I move faster. Learn to keep up." Selene stepped back. "You think I won’t fight back?" "I’m counting on it." She stormed out of the room, heels echoing through the marble corridor, fury crackling in her veins. But just as she turned the corner, she heard Vivienne’s voice through the cracked door. "She won’t last." "She’ll stay," Cassian said. "Because she doesn’t know the truth." Selene froze. "The truth?" Her fingers trembled. "What truth?" She kept walking. She didn’t look back. But as the elevator doors closed around her, Selene made a silent vow. She would find out what Cassian Ward was hiding. Even if it meant burning them both. The following weeks were brutal. Cassian assigned her a position in his company, Director of PR, but it was more of a test than a gift. His staff eyed her with judgment. He ignored her in meetings. Yet, she refused to break. She learned the protocols, outmaneuvered his expectations, and soon enough, her name started commanding quiet respect in the corridors. Even Cassian noticed, though he never admitted it.