Marrying my enemy

My eyes skimmed the familiar lines again, each clause sharp and uncompromising. It was clinical, prec

r the briefest moment before I curled

n in the mirror looked untouchable, her dark waves falling past her shoulders like a crown. But behind the mas

r black blazer. Her eyes met mine, searching, but she didn't voice whatever concern simmered there. She knew better. I

her lips pressing tighter each time. I felt her worry, but it was irrelevant. I'd made my decision. My company. My na

l O

sitated as I reached for the door handle. "You sure about thi

ed, stepping out bef

s gaze a tether that I refused to acknowledge. He sat in the corner of the room, half in shadow, the glass of wine in his

rough the air. Rael didn't stand-he never does-but his eyes traced my every step like

his voice rich with amusement. "Tho

ract from my bag and sliding it across

nt, flipping through the pages with deliberate slowness. "Straight to busine

?" I asked, my irrit

is quite the arrangement you've outlined. Smile for the cameras, play house, sleep in se

t. "We both get what we wa

to me for a year won't come with comp

his eyes. "Do you have an i

es gleaming with something dark and inscrutable. "Not exactly. Most of it's fine. B

ht in my throa

g to marry you, I'm not interested in an expir

s words sinking in like cold

e dangerous. "You came to me, remember? And if I'm goi

hissed, my hands curling i

why does it feel like you're fighting me on this already?

and desperation warring wit

red smoothly. "Which makes us the

my voice. "Fine. But if you think for

cutting me off. "I would

got up, towering over me, his presence felt suffocating. He leaned down, brushing a strand

breath warm against my ear. "Once you sig

"I know exactly

ow. "Good. Let's see how long

ke a countdown. I sat there, the contract still on t

. Thought he's teth

't over-not b

___

hes stabbing at my eyes like a relentless barrage of tiny daggers. Questions ricocheted through the air, chaotic and overlap

ten

iated control, and it sickened me. I stood rigid, my fingers grazing the edge of my skirt, my nails biting into the f

nore

he gra

n at his hand, the feel of it foreign and oppressive, and then up at him. His expression didn't falter, his focus already fixed on the

carrying over the din like the toll of a bell. "The Vesper family lega

d a smile, every muscle in my face protesting the effort. The charade felt li

ed. A deliberate squeeze,

link. Instead, he leaned in, his breath ghosting against my ear. "Smile, Amara," he mu

n some twisted game he was orchestrating. My jaw tightened, my forced smile slipp

want to slap it clean off his face. "Now, now," he whispered, his tone a

My fingers twitched in his grasp, itching to break free, but

uld hear. "You're forgetting something, Amara. You wanted th

e could shove his smug confidence. Instead, I leaned i

s face toward the cameras, he let his voice rise for their be

g my mouth to curl into that fake smile once more. "Of course," I said

n a chalkboard. Rael used their reaction as an excuse to pull me closer, his arm snakin

pressed into my side just enough to remind me

Rael Oryn thought he could con

votion. But inside, I was a storm waiting to break. I'd play his game, sure.

union. It was

his world of power plays and manipulation. But I

ould leave him with

. Rael's smirk deepened, his whispered words echoin

e was

nee

y realized that, i

wasn't going to b