Chapter 5: Whispers at the Gala
The city lights of Neo-Veridia glared through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Elena’s penthouse office. She slammed the dossier onto the mahogany desk. “This is unacceptable. If the merger fails, we lose everything.”
William stood by the door, his posture relaxed, a sharp contrast to her tension. To the world, he was just a nobody—a convenient pawn in a contract marriage meant to ward off her predatory relatives. But beneath his humble facade, William was the sole heir to the Sterling Empire, a truth he guarded closely.
“Perhaps,” William began, his voice calm, “you’re looking at the problem from the wrong angle, Elena.”
She shot him a scathing glare. “And what would you know about corporate acquisitions, William? Stick to the agreement. Look pretty, nod at the cameras, and stay out of my way.”
A subtle smile played on his lips. “As you wish, my dear wife. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The tension crackled in the room, suffocating. He turned to leave, his phone buzzing with a message from his loyal assistant, confirming the total buyout of her rivals. Soon, she would know just who she had married.
To be continued…
The stakes grew higher as the days passed. Elena tirelessly fought the corporate battles, oblivious to the protection William placed around her. Every smirk from a rival, every veiled threat from a family member, was secretly dismantled by his immense wealth and power. Yet, the icy exterior of the beauty CEO began to thaw, a genuine connection forming despite the lies.
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