Marrying my enemy

A VE

r the ballroom, igniting diamonds and gold threaded through designer gowns. The Vesper name shimmer

rounding me. A room full of power brokers stared back at me, their faces mas

," I said, forcing my voice to be steady despite the knot in my stomach

t I felt the cracks beneath it-the skepticis

wishers. Handshakes and hollow congratulations surrounded me, their words blurring together in a

ogether, the glow of their phones illuminating their grim e

crowd. One glance at their screens, an

ED OF CORPORATE SABO

taking. My hands shook as I scrolled through the article, the accusations hitting like punches: leak

an attack-it wa

around me began to shift, murmu

tock prices

y'd always wondered if I could handle it, if a woman could fill her fa

nic mirrored my own as she pushed through the crowd

rds tumbled out, desperate

in, whispers curling in

he let it f

er father never p

ating. I couldn't afford to stand there

rtner. The man who could undo or destroy me with a word. Ev

n hand, watching me with the same infuriating detachment he alway

lling at his lips. "Amara. I was wonde

me to fall. The kind of smirk that told me he'd been watching, waiting for this precise moment. I hated him for that.

as humiliation seared under my skin. My world

Rael Oryn-or anyone else-wa

hum. All I could see was him, standing against a pillar as if he owned the place, didn't so muc

in place, as though this moment

ing his name out thr

a mock toast. The amber liquid caught the light as

word felt li

ce trembled, and I hated myself for it. "The media's tearing me apart. The company

riosity that made my skin crawl. "Ah, yes. I've heard whispers. N

ng clean through my composure. My fists cl

ing closer. "This isn't

lp? Now that's interesting. Tell me, Amara,

a slap, sharp a

mockery. "You've made that abundantly clear over the years. So, I'm

at least, I had told myself that enough times to believe it. Yet here I was, st

lf. I reached out and grabbed his arm, the move instinctual, de

e admission tasting

his gaze suffocating. Then, slowly, he set his gla

y me

impossibly out of place, that

ked, certain I

tion in the world. His eyes gleamed with something darker th

ed, the polished floor beneath my

d?" I managed, the quest

feel too close. "You need me, Amara. Whether you like it or not. And I'm offering you a solution-one

me," I whispered

tered, his tone smooth and cold

etween us, heavy

" I demanded, crossing my arms in

ine, unflinching. "Wha

is response sent a

hating me, Amara, you've never stopped to wonder why I'm always ther

ling with each word. This wasn't

ingered on me for a moment longer. "When you're ready

in the middle of the ballroom. His proposition loomed

ry

he decision suffocating. Pride, freedom, and sa

, I already k