Episode:The deal that changes everything
294 Words
Zariah stared at the laptop screen as if it might disappear. Her father’s signature was right there—on every altered document. He had done it. He had staged the fraud. To protect her.
Dominic hadn’t stolen Laurent Tech. He had been used—just like her.
She closed the file, hands shaking, when the door creaked open.
Dominic stood there, jacket off, sleeves rolled, tired and watching. “You’ve been in here for hours.”
Zariah met his eyes. For once, she didn’t flinch. “I found something.”
He didn’t ask what. Just stepped forward and said quietly, “Is it bad?”
“It’s worse than I thought. But not for you.”
A pause. She was testing him—waiting for the ego, the power-play, the gloating. But he said nothing. Just: “You want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
He nodded once. “Fine. But until then, you need protection.”
“What?”
Dominic tossed a stack of documents on the table. “The press knows who you are. The board is panicking. If they think you’re a threat to KingTech, you’ll be buried.”
“So what’s your plan?”
He took a step closer.
“We pretend we’re together. Publicly. If you’re my fiancée, they can’t touch you without touching me.”
Zariah’s heart jumped. “Fake a relationship?”
“Exactly. Buy us time. And leverage.”
She knew it was risky. She knew it would only blur lines further. But somehow… being by his side felt safer than anything else right now.
“Fine,” she said. “But only if I get to call the shots in public.”
Dominic’s mouth twitched. “Deal.”
- Writer
