Shackled By Choice

Chapter2

Chapter 2: Morning After

The sunlight pierced through floor-to-ceiling windows, waking Elena from her sleep. Her eyes flickered open and reality hit her like a wave. Last night wasn't a dream. Her body felt sore with proof of that.

She raised the silk sheets, confirming her nakedness, and memories of last night came rushing back. Marcus Reed had been … intense. Dominant. Nothing like the cold businessman she had envisioned. She recalled and felt her cheeks flush.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered, making herself sit up. She hadn’t slipped into bed with him so easily had she? Whatever happened to keeping her distance, treating this like the business arrangement it was?

The huge bed next to her was, of course, empty. She never really expected him to stay, did she?

After a shower that was too hot for comfort, Elena walked downstairs and found Harrison in the dining room with coffee and breakfast.

“Mr. Reed had to take off early this morning,” Harrison announced before she could even ask. "Business abroad. He'll return in a few days."

Elena’s coffee cup clanged onto its saucer. "He what?"

“It’s not unusual for him to — “

"Normal?" Elena cut him off. “Where does he sleep with me, then vanish before dawn?” That's normal?"

Harrison’s face was a study in careful neutrality. “Mrs. Reed, maybe it’s better to—”

“Stop calling me that,” she said, leaning away from the table. "I need to get to work."

An hour later, Elena swept through the lobby of Mitchell Industries, disregarding the stares from employees who had certainly heard about her sudden marriage and were curious about the new Mrs. Mitchell. She pressed the elevator button, then stepped inside to see the last person she wanted to see.

“Well, well,” Victoria said, a cruel smile curling her red lips. “If this isn’t Mrs. Reed herself. How has married life been treating you? Or has he lost interest and gone away?”

Elena got inside the elevator, maintaining an even expression. “Aren’t you supposed to be at a photoshoot?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for anything. Does Daddy know his lovely little plan is going to s**t? That your new husband couldn't even stay for breakfast?”

Elena turned her head towards her stepsister. "How did you—"

"Please," Victoria scoffed. “I know people at the Reed household. You actually thought that marrying you was going to change Marcus? He's probably already—"

“Complete that statement,” Elena said quietly, “and I will make certain the board is made aware of your little embezzlement attempt last quarter.”

Victoria's face went white. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." The elevator doors slid open on Elena’s floor. "Oh, and Victoria? Those friends of yours in the Reed household? I'd be careful. Marcus doesn't like spies."

She walked outside, leaving Victoria sputtering behind. But in her office, Elena’s confidence falters. Victoria’s words hit too close to home. Why had Marcus married her just to keep acting distant and erratic? What was the real purpose of this setup?

Her phone buzzed — a text from an unfamiliar number:

“Mrs. Reed — I need you to come to Crown Jewelers tomorrow at 9 AM. Car will pick you up at 8:30. — James Walker”

Elena stared at the screen. Not even a note from Marcus himself — his chief of staff had to do the dirty work.

Fine. If this was how he wanted to play it, she could shift. Not that Marcus Reed was the only one with the ability to keep secrets and play games. She had some moves of her own to make.

She opened her computer and started digging through the company archives. If she were to survive this marriage, she needed leverage. And somewhere in that mountain of data about the Reed-Mitchell “merger,” she was going to discover it.

—--

Few hours later

“Since when has the board been holding meetings in the absence of the Chief Director? Elena spoke up and broke the silence in the boardroom, prompting Margaret and her father to look at her.

Her father put on a mask of practiced indifference. "Sit down, Elena."

"I'd rather stand." Her gaze passed over the empty chairs where the shareholders had sat a moment earlier. “Victoria has been very smug in the elevator. Now I know why."

“You’ve done well for yourself, Elena,” Margaret said, her smile as keen as a knife. “The wife of Marcus Reed surely does not have to worry about day-to-day business operations.”

Elena's laugh was bitter. "Is that what this is about? You think that just because I married Marcus, I'm going to give you everything to Victoria?”

"It's already done." Her father pushed a piece of paper across the table. The marriage contract you signed contained your step down as Chief Director. Effective immediately."

The room spun. Elena clutched the back of a chair for support. "What marriage contract?"

“The one you wrote, Marcus Reed’s lawyers.” “Surely you read it before you signed?”

She hadn't. In the haste of the arrangement, she’d taken her father’s word that it was a standard prenup. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“You lured me,” she hissed Detective Zachary King “The marriage, the merger... it was never about saving the company, was it?

“Elena,” her father’s voice cracked slightly. “You’re married to one of the richest men in the country. Let Victoria handle DREA. Focus on being Mrs. Reed."

"Being Mrs. Reed?" Rage made her voice shake. “Like being left alone in that mansion while he goes off for days?” Which he earned in a business deal?”

“That’s what the arrangement was,” Margaret said coolly. “Although I’m surprised he departed so soon. He usually at least pretends to — "

"Get out." Elena's voice was ice. "Both of you. Get out before I call security and have you escorted from MY building.”

“It’s not your building anymore, dear,” Margaret smiled. “The paperwork’s already been filed.”

Once they were gone, Elena sank into her chair, on the verge of tears. She won’t give them that satisfaction. Already, her mind was whirring, plotting. She was going to need a lawyer — one with no ties to either Reed or Mitchell Industries. The divorce papers would be slow, but —

Her phone buzzed. A message from Harrison: “Mr. Reed has risen. He's asking for you."

Elena froze at the message, her despair turning into a cold fury. Perfect. She had a few questions for her dear husband.

It was dark at the mansion when she arrived, moonlight spilling long shadows through the windows. She’d been waiting for Harrison to welcome her, but had instead discovered Marcus looking out at her from by the window, his shadow sharp against the night sky.

"You're late." There was that familiar edge of ice in his voice. "House rules specify—"

"House rules?" Elena cut him off. “Like the law — no wives are allowed to work?”

He turned, slowly, and the look on his face made her back away. "Ah. So you read the contract after all.”

"Why?" The question burst from her. “Why marry me only to shove me out of my own company?”

Marcus advanced on her with predatory grace. “You think I’m the one who wanted you out?”

"My father would never—"

Your father,” Marcus said gently, “has been selling company secrets to our competitors for a decade. Did you never wonder why DREA’s new designs kept appearing in other catalogues?”

Elena felt the axis of her world tilt. "You're lying."

"Am I?" He was so close now that she could feel the heat from his body.

“Why not ask him about Project Aurora? Or better yet… ask him what really happened to your mother?”